Autotec - ECU repairers - my experience!

[merc300e]

Recently my Range Rover lost its electric windows/sunroof/mirrors. All else ok. Landrover told me it was either the body electrical ECU or the switch panel. I sent off my ECU to Autotek - £35 to check it out. Got a 'phone call - 'it's been spiked you need a new one at £345.' Bit surprised at that as all other ECU functions were working ok. Total invoice was £395. Got it back. Plugged it in. No change - exactly the same faults. Got a new switch panel -plugged it in - all now ok. Came to conclusion it was the switch panel all along. 'Phoned Autotek - no joy. Wrote to managing director - no response. Asked to speak to him - not available. I leave you the reader to make your own mind up about using this firm. - Autotek of Poole Dorset.

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

well i hate to say "i told you so " butsome one posted regarding abs modules and recomended auto tec or kf link or whaever they call themselves now, and i said then to "tread boldly", now people please this is not the 1st instance of this having been in ecu repairs for a long time, (which reminds me,why the hell didnt you call me ) i CAN fix them! but only if they are broken in the 1st place!
people need to be made aware of these guys ,i know them VERY well
be carefull the bcm(body control modules ) are prone to water ingress any probs,call me!
all bcms repaired £250 no vat and carriage

 

[Uncle Benz]

I have experience of another so called ECU testing/rebuild specialist. I won't name them at this stage, but had a complete non start Rover 214. I diagnosed ECU fault, and the owner of the car set off with the unit to be tested. Arrived at the firm as they opened, waited 3 hours, to be told 'nothing wrong with it mate!' . On returning still wouldn't start the car so I bought another one as a gamble. Car fired up straight away. Ripped the cover off the old ECU on found it full of water. What that firm did for three hours is a mystery to me and cost £90!!!!

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

Go On...name And Shame!

 

[merc300e]

Looks like I'm not alone

It looks like Autotek are regulars at this - please see this link: http://uk.blagger.com/scripts/db4.php?companyname=&company_id=1239

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

as i said ,they used to be called "K F Link" of poole,they wreked the same havoc there too
i have astory of a guy who eventually had his ecu rtnd after mucho aggro ,he sent the unit to me only to be told that 18 components were "missing" off the board
ever tried getting a refund?!!!!!

 

[merc300e]

Ever tried to get your money back? - well yes.

Hmm - I am going to do just that - I've given them 14 days then I litigate in the County Court. Luckly I have help - my cousin is a Judge and another is a Barrister. Autotek have told me that they fitted a 'new' not reconditioned circuit board into my own 'box'. Interesting to see what we find when it is opened infront of my solicitor. Even if it is a new PCB the legal issue still stands under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. I was charged £345.00 for an ECU that performed exactly, and no better, than when I sent it to them. They told me it had tested as 'spiked' and unrepairable ( even though all the other multitude of functions still were working ok ) So they charged me for making no improvement to it's functioning, even though this was exactly what the contract was between us. In legal terms it is a breach of contract. I am also looking into the legality of their practice re: distance selling regulations - they are required by law to inform you of the cooling off period and also they should have sent me a hard copy of the contract including this point -they did not. Their refusal to comunicate with me - and therefore force litigation - will not go down well with the Judge -they don't like having court time wasted in this way, the court may well award costs because of this. Originally I generously only asked them for a partial refund - allowing them to deduct their reasonable cost - they chose not to respond. I will of course have to have the PCB examined by my own electronics expert witness although we expect to recover this cost in court. They still do have the option, much cheaper for them, of settling within these next 14 days. After that it will be too late - we will see it through the Court. Watch this space - although knowing the legal ststem as we do it could be some wait. I am posting this issue on many more car forums as and when I get time- already on BMW, and Lexus. After all they did get my business from a recommendation on this forum - so allegedly they will lose business when the truth is out. After the Court judgement we will be legally able to publish much more. In the meantime we have got Trading Standard on the case and I recommend any and all of those who feel cheated by this firm to do the same - Trading standards need several complaints before they can justify inforcement action - yours might be the one that tips the balance.

 

[Uncle Benz]

Name and shame?? Ok, they even advertise in the back of Mercedes Enthusiast!! The company was Lynx.

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

lynx automotive, i know them too but never purchased from them, i thought they were a breakersdealing with bigger firms, clearly,not!

if that ecu needs checking and you need someone to do it,bear me in mind.
i used to have a laugh with a guy in portsmouth that has retired now,if ever we had anything in from autotec/ff link" (it was always buggered by then) we would say that it had been "bournemouthed"!! ( you had to be there!)

 

[merc300e]

How 'big' are Autotek - maybe not as big as they claim

Autotek told me they did lots of work for main dealers - but interestingly their invoice to me did not detail any VAT. In law if they are VAT registered they have to show the VAT paid as a seperate item. They need to be VAT registered if their turnover exceeds £61k in any year. At £400 per customer? that would be only 152 customers a year. Any VAT inspectors on this forum?

 

[terry313]

Of all the rotten luck - Autotec

I can't believe I have seen all these threads about Autotec. I sent the ECU for my works Sprinter off to them last week as I sent a request to one of those online breaker yard parts sites, the only company to get back to me was, yep, you guessed it. When I replied to them it sounded perfect. £35 diagnosis £10 delivery and they won't try and repair it if it'll cost more than half of a new unit with a 24hr turn around. The actual bill all inc was £390 and apparantly the circuit board inside was fried. When I questioned will the replacement still work with the chipped key and the WSP they said there will be no problem as they are copying all the info from the damaged board to the new board (how naive was I) I asked them to send back the old parts along with the new now working unit. All I recieved was the apparantly working one. I plugged it into the van and exactly the same error has occured as before. When I sent it off to them I noted all the labels I.e. the manufacture date etc and it's the same case but polished up. I daren't open it to see whats inside as there is that fatal void sticker on it. Does anyone know if Trading Standards would be interested in this and all the other posts.

 

[merc300e]

Trading Standards

Hi - the issue with Trading Standards is that they need several complaints in order to act. If all the members who had been badly treated by Autotek complained to TS then we would get a result. Click on this link to do this:
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ regards

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

ohh if only they did! i would be a damn site better off!
serious now, these guys have been around far too long ,and i dont consider them "comptition" they make us genuine ecu repairers look bad (tarred with same brush), which, i can assure, i am NOT!
btw i bet "that fatal sticker" is stuck on both ends with red nail varnish, go on, bet ya!

 

[bruceseaton]

I have just had my c200 struggle to a halt,seems like 2 cylinders aren't firing and the rac diagnosed a coil problem.
the usual garage i use say they have tried a coil and its same problem so looking more like ecu,I did the same as other posters and contacted an online breaker site,and surprisingly two firms contacted me by phone,autotec and!!!! lynx automotive both tellling me they were the only and best!
So if this turns out to be my ecu is there a reputable company i can trust,or is it something you could do alan@ecu?
please let me know as i am getting a bit weary of trusting anyone after reading about these scams.

thanks

bruce
bruce@bruceseaton.co.uk

 

[ALAN@ECUCLINIC]

could only be a rumour, but ive not seen their website for a bit, and someone has told me they no longer get involved with ecus as i say, could be a rumour.

sorry bruce, probably waaayy too late for this but yes i can repair them.only YOU can tell me if im the best and i most certainly am not the "only"!!

 

[ventech]

I have spoken to both Lynx & Autotek today & was not impressed. I also spoke to Avilec T/A Car Electronic Services of Cowes who did impress me. They offer a 2 yr guarantee. Does any one have good/ bad experiences of them?

 

[television]

I have spoken to both Lynx & Autotek today & was not impressed. I also spoke to Avilec T/A Car Electronic Services of Cowes who did impress me. They offer a 2 yr guarantee. Does any one have good/ bad experiences of them?

Someone else in the last couple of months recommended them and had a good job done

 

[Juddian]

I have spoken to both Lynx & Autotek today & was not impressed. I also spoke to Avilec T/A Car Electronic Services of Cowes who did impress me. They offer a 2 yr guarantee. Does any one have good/ bad experiences of them?

Yes, i recommend Avilec.

They've repaired 2 x W124 ecu's for me both have been good long term repairs, another chap here just recently had another 124 ecu repaired by them and he was pleased too.
One of those had been declared scrap by another repairer, be careful out there.

They are not cheap, but they do the job properly, i have no complaints.

 

[jberks]

Just a thought but what about Alan above?
He helps us by answering queries on here so we should try to support him in return if we can. May be worth a phone call anyway.

 

[Cole@MBS]

Just a thought but what about Alan above?
He helps us by answering queries on here so we should try to support him in return if we can. May be worth a phone call anyway.

Done just that Jberks, need to have a ABS pump fault sorted, Just spoke to Alan, more than helpful and going to try to sort out in the morning!

Watch this space!