Where do I stand?

[Rickie3]

G,day all :) last week I removed the inter-cooler from my 2000 GU 3L direct injection, as I suspected the tanks to be leaking, so I took it to a so called aluminum welding shop to have both tanks removed then welded up, any Friday last week I picked it up and the welds look like a kid had done them, so I took it in and had it pressure tested, and to my horror it had more leaks than sieve, and the radiator place that tested it basically told me the metal shop had ruined it, so I took it straight back out, and the welder said he would re-do it, anyway this morning I get a call from the company saying they couldn't fix it, they recon the 2 end tanks had porosity, now I know these tanks have a decent thickness to them, anyway they offered my money back on the repair, to which I have refused to accept, because I believe they are liable to replace the inter-cooler that was in perfect condition, after all they had basically destroyed it, the unit is not serviceable, so my question is are they liable to replace the inter-cooler that they have ruined? what makes it worse I have 3 days to source a intercooler and have it shipped to Tassi by Thursday this week, if it doesnt get here then my family easter break has been totally ruined, thoughts please folks

[BigRAWesty]

Pics mate. How bad is it?.

Knowing a 3ltr the ic would have had oil threw it.. So would have been difficult to weld to start with..

But they should have cleaned it out, purged it and then welded it..

[Drewboyaus]

I would imagine that if the sitution is as you describe then yes, they would be liable for a new IC. Give your local office of fair trading a call would be my suggestion. Then, armed with knowledge of their response, go back and see the clowns who did the work......

[Rickie3]

Pics mate. How bad is it?.

Its bloody bad, and the radiator place that tested it said the welds were full of porosity, due to not being cleaned properly in the first place, I am waiting for the owner of the welding shop to call me back, because when I went out there he supposedly wasnt available

[Bloodyaussie]

The job has not been done to a satisfactory level even to the point of destruction so I would document everything and let the company that has done the work know you are going down this path.

Now see if the other mob will write a report... sometimes they are reluctant to do this as they dont want to get involved.

Do not give up even if you have to replace your gear then seek reimbursement .

This shits me when this happens. ..

Goid luck

[the evil twin]

Your IC was 14 years old so I think you have no legal recourse to a "new" one in any circumstance.

You might get a "without prejudice" second hand "new" one out of them without going legal if you are a good negotiator

You are certainly entitled to your money back for the cost of the botched repair (as has been offered) but anything past that gets murky and is usually sorted out thru binding arbitration which would essentially assign a value to a 14 year old Intercooler and duke it out from there.

[Rickie3]

Regardless of age, they ruined a perfectly good working IC, the simple fact is they accepted the job and destroyed it, they didnt clean and prep the job, they just welded it to blow the job out the door quicker, anyway ive just ordered a new unit and it will be here tomorrow, and I will be presenting the company the invoice for the new one, and they still havent rang me back, I just called and the receptionist said he wasnt back from lunch, since when do workers have 2 hour lunch breaks.
And a big special thanks to a very kind member here who took the time to PM me saying he had a IC that I could use over easter, definetly true Aussie spirit here THANK-YOU:)

[megatexture]

i would think they have to replace it and give you a refund but as et has said i wouldn’t expect a new one but just a refund is not good enough, you should not be worse off for their incompetence.

[Bloodyaussie]

This is true... why should he be worse off for crap work done ??

A replacement is what I would expect... does not have to be new but in good working order.

[tassie wombat]

What part of Tassie are you in mate,Id be more than happy to try and fix it for you,if you are stuck? let me know.

[Rickie3]

What part of Tassie are you in mate,Id be more than happy to try and fix it for you,if you are stuck? let me know.I'm in the north of the state wombat, I see in your location your Orielton? I was born and bred at Midway Point I do miss the place:) thankyou for your offer mate really appreciate it, but new IC will be here today

[tassie wombat]

No worries mate, so did you go to sorell school? I've lived in sorell area pretty much all of my life.

[Gecko17]

Sorry to hear about your situation Rickie. As the others have said, document the whole ordeal and then when you speak to the owner, outline the facts as documented. Unfortunately, I believe that it is as ET stated and they may not be liable for a new IC, however that doesnt not absolve them of responsibility for shonky workmanship and you should at least be able to come to some sort of compromise as to reparation. At the end of the day, they also have a reputation to protect and, if they do believe in customer service, should come to the party.

I hope this gets sorted to your satisfaction mate. Good luck.

[SonOf]

I tend to agree with Evil Twin on this one. You will not get a new one out of them as I am pretty sure they are not obliged to offer you something that is better than what you brought in. Negotiate hard and you should at minimum get the whole cost of repair back as you would be entitled to this legally and maybe the cost of a second hand IC which is around $300, (which is what I paid from the guys up in Rocherlea)

[XT43]

they ruined a perfectly good working IC

They didn't ruin a perfectly good working IC or you wouldn't have taken it there to be fixed.

As mentioned before, I think the best you can do is get you repair bill back ( already offered ) and a contribution / payment to a replacement second hand unit but you're going to have to prove that they ruined the original which becomes the grey area if you don't have before / after pics etc.

Best of luck, once settled have fun telling everyone in your local area how bad of a job they did.

[Rickie3]

Well armed with a wealth of knowledge,I stayed calm and collective and got full refund on repair and replacement new part, the thing is the guy said when he dismantled the unit he had cleaned and purged it, I picked it up right there in front of him and stuck my finger into the large hose ports and pulled it out and my finger was covered in black sludge, hardly cleaned and purged mate I said, ive never seen a redder face, I had to go out there as he hadnt even had the decency to return my call, pretty piss poor service IMO, anyway fantastic outcome, my big girl is back on the road ready for easter

[BigRAWesty]

Very poor but exactly what I thought had been done..

[tassie wombat]

that's good to hear mate.

[Bloodyaussie]

Good on you Rick..... Was not like you were asking for a new car to go with your cooler.

My welder in the bike industry was top notch with custom race bikes sold all over the country and New Zealand, every bit of alloy welding was second to none.

Many might know old Rex Wolferton!!!

[Otech66]

Its sad to hear of businesses that do this sort of thing to people, Word gets around quick in Tassie and it can be not so good for business.
I wouldnt mind knowing where not to get my alloy welding done as I live in northern Tas as well and wouldnt like to be in the same situation.
Regards Otech66

[Rickie3]

As much as I was pissed off with them, I will out of respect not name the company, I personally think they have copped enough from me to last them a life time, guess you could say a lesson learn, they employ several people so slandering their name and giving bad rep against their business name is not what I intend to do, dont want to see already struggling business go under or people loose their jobs, for really at the end of the day was a mistake that shouldnt have happened but did

[Cuppa]

Rickie3, I am surprised that you got such a good outcome. It says much for your negotiating skills, just as your last post says much about your sense of decency & fairness. Well done!