Do not, under any circumstances, take your vehicle to Cowal Garage.
I had a problem with my car, a minor issue, or so I thought, so I took it to Cowal Garage for repair. After leaving the car for two days and paying a fairly reasonable £140, I drove away, only to find that the problem hadn't been fixed.
I returned the following day and was assured that the work had been done, but agreed to leave the car so they could check it. I returned later that day to be told that the issue wasn't as I'd thought, but instead there was a problem with my brake discs and calipers. I left the car with them for another three days, returned, paid a further £220, and drove away, only to find that the problem still had not been resolved.
After taking the car back for the third time I was told that there was only one explanation - the car needed an entirely new gearbox and would cost in the region of £800-£1000 to fix. I drove away disheartened, but determined to raise the money to pay for the "necessary" repairs.
Now, I don't know much about cars, but I'm not a fool. Before laying out that kind of money, I decided to seek a second opinion, so I took the car to Glasgow and had it examined by a garage that specialised in my make of vehicle. Imagine my surprise when they told me after just fifteen minutes that the problem was the original issue Cowal Garage was supposed to have fixed.
I assured them that it couldn't be so - the part in question had been replaced less than a month earlier by Cowal Garage. They told me that they were confident that they were right, so confident, in fact, that they would replace the part and if the problem persisted I wouldn't have to pay a single penny. Turns out, they were right. Cowal Garage, it seems, had charged me for work they hadn't carried out - and it gets worse. After completing the work the mechanic told me I would need to get new brake discs very soon. Cowal Garage had charged me for two lots of work they hadn't completed.
Of course, when I returned to confront the owner, he had plenty of answers. He claimed that the brake discs had been "cleaned", not replaced, and that he must have replaced the original part with a faulty part. He went on to refuse to refund my money as "work had been done" and insisted that I should have given him the chance to "make it right".
Fortunately I have now found a very good garage in the area and will entrust my vehicle to them in future. Please don't make the mistake of trusting Cowal Garage with your car. read more
