About 8 weeks ago my Toyota Townace Super Extra was broken into and the middle rear seat and three headrests were stolen. I was left with four holes in the floor where the seat used to be! It was at a garage at the time having work done on the lower crankshaft pulley and the garage is not taking responsibility for the damage. If anyone knows of anybody with a Townace who has recently fitted a rear middle single seat and three headrests in grey herringbone please let me know. I cannot find replacements. To buy new ones will be about £2500-£3000. There was also damage to the sliding door where the lock was forced off and to the rear door. We need all of the seats. At the moment one of my children has to sit on the floor where the missing seat was. Any ides or information will be greatly appreciated. We live in North Wales.

- (#9630) Caroline, 16 Jul 03 8:24

ring dewsbury auto dismantlers in west yorks who have 4 aces in
01924 466666

regards jim

- (#9631) j adgo, 16 Jul 03 12:56

Thanks Jim. I'll certainly give them a ring. Will let you know if I find the right ones there.

- (#9740) Caroline, 17 Jul 03 15:22

Surely, the garage must be responsible.


Steve...

- (#9741) Steve Lewis, 19 Jul 03 9:57

Hi Caroline. Sorry to hear about your break in. I was speaking to my father who is a Barister about it and he said that the garage is wholly responsible for any damage or injury to property or persons who are on the premises. They can claim through their insurance Contact your Solicitor and sue them if they don't admit responsibility. 3 grand is the cost of a second hand Townie, you dont want to be paying that for a new seat for one. And in the future I sugest you take your Townie to someone you can trust. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

- (#9742) Bill, 19 Jul 03 10:38

A slightly different case, but when my Masterace was reversed into whilst in the care of my garage they handled the incident very well.

All the repairs were undertaken by their insurance company and I even had a hire vehicle while mine was off the road, despite the fact that the engine was being rebuilt at the time and was effectively off the road anyway.

I say go back to the garage and have a quiet word with them and mention a possible visit to your solicitor or a worded letter to the local newspaper. Bad publicity does not work favourably with garages and you may get the work done without having to pay out for a solicitor.

- (#9743) Mark, 19 Jul 03 13:39

Thanks for all the messages of support. The problem with the garage is that they say that the vehicle was fine when it left them to be taken to a second garage for further work. It was left on a transporter overnight which is when we think the damage may have been done. The transporter dirver says it was OK when he left it at the second garage. The second garage say that it was definately damaged when it got to them, but they did not notify us until we had paid the bill, as they thought we were already aware of it. We feel that the first garage must be responsible for the damage as they took the vehicle in the first place. The solicitor says that we would have to prove that they were negligent in order to sue them. My insurance company says the same thing. As the vehicle was locked at the time of the theft the garage was not being negligent(apparrently). I am naturally very upset by all this and now it looks as though we will have to claim through our insurance company. We have a £400 excess! They will probably write it off as the repair estimates are up to £4,000. If we decide to scrap it I will advertise it on here first! It is in good running order and has had many new parts since we bought it 18 months ago. It is now a 7 seater instead of an 8 seater though!

- (#10099) Caroline, 28 Jul 03 11:56

Caroline. Someone, other than you, was responsonsible for the vehicle while it was away from your custody. You had a contract (yes, a verbal agreement is still a contract) with someone to repair your vehicle and they did not discharge their obligatory duty. You now require the vehicle to be returned to you in the condition in which it left your custody. Go to Trading Standards and explain the situation and, meanwhile, get a solicitors letter sent to the first garage, ie, where you, and the garage, made the contract.
Any grievance which the first garage has with transporters or subsequent repairers, is a matter for them to deal with and you should not be responsible for their negligence You have been badly treated and I am sure that, if you stand your ground, you will receive the recompense which you deserve.
By the way, does you insurance cover include legal assistance? This might just be the time when you need it.

- (#10100) John Davis, 28 Jul 03 14:32

Thank you for your suggestions. I have tried Trading Standards but they just told me to consult a solicitor, which I have. It all comes down to who was negligent, and it is going to be hard to prove in court. It seems very unfair the way things seem to be going and I am extremely upset about the whole situation but I am trying to keep going with the insurance claim as it seems the only reasonable solution at the moment. Any further advice would be welcomed.
- (#10101) Caroline, 29 Jul 03 14:08

Read this thread with great interest. I see negligence seems to be the key word. This need not be the case. Think of your car being vandalised/broken into whilst in your charge. You would claim off your insurance and they would pay up. If you were negligent, such as not locking it etc. they might not. Reverse scenario isn't it? I suggest the garages insurers would treat it the same way. The vehicle was in their charge so they are obligated to return it in the same condidtion as you left it in. Their insurers are no different from yours - if they prove they were not negligent then their insurers are more likely to pay up - maybe they were negligent and their insurers aren't interested??? Just a thought.

- (#10102) Alan, 1 Aug 03 17:32

Thanks for your comments Alan. I have been in touch with my solicitor today and they have heard from the garage's solicitors. They deny all responsibility and are saying that we owe them £600 for the work which they did on the car, which they have never invoiced us for! They quoted us £300 and seem to have doubled it now without giving us any reasonable explanation. All they did was take the lower crankshaft pulley off and supply a new one. They did not fit it. The second garage did that. They charged us £200 for fitting it and repairing the crankshaft. My insurance company (Direct Line) have inspected the car today and have offered my a cash settlement for repairs. They started at £1275 and when I said it was not enough they offered me £1575. They will deduct £400 excess from that. Does it sound reasonable? I was quoted over £1,000 for the bodywork repairs alone, without the seat and headrests. I don't know what to do about it all. Should I carry one with suing the garage or go with the insurance offer? Advice please!

- (#10195) Caroline, 13 Aug 03 18:14