yeh thanks andrew, ive done some law aswell and this is what im thinking but i will deffinatly speak to the consumer protection agency

ohwell hope he emails you and you can sort that issue out!

cheers
Rhys

do you have a written quote for $800 competed? with what competed was? that will be a big help if you do. i feel for you big time. not a good postition to be in, as i can imagine he will now not let you take the car until you have paid? good luck with it

Rhys,I happen to have alot of experience with this type of issue through my work as a Service Dept Manager for a major multi-franchise car dealership here in Sydney.I also have contacts at the MVRIA(Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Association) and The Office of Fair Trading in the automotive dept.If you have a written quote your sweet,If you dont,put it on a statuatory declaration when and where and howmuch you were quoted.Secondly,call me(0409990885)and I will tell you in detail how to handle these guys.From my experience,they should be handing the car over to you and not charging you if they can't complete the job they entered into the argreement to do.

Thirdly,just my opinion,and I say this to all who are travelling the path you are,take note of Rhys experiences and be careful when deciding to use more obscure products(ecu's i.e.megasquirt).There are dollars to be saved on the hardware,but unless you are able to tune these items and/or service them yourself you will certainly end up regretting your decision to use the product.Rhys,unless you can find a guaranteed confident tuner,I would sell the MS and get yourself a Microtec or something along the more well known budget line of ecu's.At least there is phone support and state offices in Australia if you or your tuner have any issues.The chances are,you wont need any of this assistance as there are alot more people with experience with local products out there.

To anyone out there who is likely to take offence to these comments,DON'T,take them as intended,that is to help guys who dont know any better to avoid being caught in Rhys situation.MS maybe a good unit but for the beginner,it is still to obscure in Austalia.

Cheers all,

Phil.

Good call Phil, hence why I choose the Wolf 3D Version 4. Also to expand on that. I think you should choose a sparky first, them get him to recommend something that he is used to working with and is suitable to your cars needs.

Rhys listen to some one who has been there before![^]
Oh[:u] thats ME!!![(#)]haha
i was without my car for around 8months and they attempted to charge me twice what was disgussed with more head f@#ks than you could ever imagine!!![xx(]
Its basic contact consumer affairs first! find out if you have any options.
If C.A. can help you need to find any written quotes paper work relating this will work to your advantage greatly.
C.A. will contact the company in question if you have a case, The business owner loses money 4 C.A. to investigate! so B.O. may contact you with a truce!
If C.A. cannot help don't panic ! next time you contact the business in question just mention that you have spoken to C.A. and you may bluff them into folding! keep ur best poker face!
I hope that no one who works there reads this[88]
good luck buddy!

Rhys, this is bloody awful. I too have played the stupid excuses game for months, only to not get what I paid for in the end anyway. The guys seem to have covered most of my thoughts above...
a: Phark em, Don't give them a cent.
b: Follow up any legal options, (I would probably take up phils offer..)

Honestly, where do people get off. At the point he realises that he doesn't know how to do the job, he puts the price up and gives it back??? WTF is that. I did use the legal approach, and was fortunate to have a lawyer friend who took some basic action without starting the meter for me. I believe the ole legal firm letterhead still packs a punch.
Either way, I sincerely hope you get your car back with no charge.

thanks for all the help guys, phil if it comes to it ( i haven't had a phone cal as of yet) i will be in contact.

to tell the thruth phil have been thinking eexactly what you said, sell up ad buy a second hand working unit then it is a day job..... but i would rather they just got it working and out of my hair!

this is anoptherr option i may face if i recieve a non working car back.

see i have no written quotes but i do have a detailed record kept here on the internet and a verbal contract is still legally bonding, harder to prove but still bonding...

i will see if i receive a phone call later today if not i just hope they have had it runing and sheet and all will be good....


dont worry people i have learned alot from this experiance and things will be different in the future.

thanks
Rhys

P.S phil do you want me to ring you before CA? or the other way round?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Phil
[br] be careful when deciding to use more obscure products(ecu's i.e.megasquirt).

---

Unfortunately it is true megasquirt is still obscure in Australia. For the DIY'er there is a lot of support on www.msefi.com with answer usually in a few hours. So really only someone in Rhys's situation suffers(with the guy not willing to get on there and read/ask). In america there are a number of garages building, installing and tuning them - Australia will get there eventually. Just to clarify though Phil, any dyno tuner will be able to tune megasquirt. It is the same as any other ecu in the way it works once set up. Its the setup that is harder as it involves more of a knoledge of how it works/what you want.

I enjoy the DIY of it and i like the fact that i understand how everything (including ms itself) works. Its not some backyard product (as most think), but its not a plug and play motec.

Rhys if/when you have to get your car back let me know and i'll help you over email get it set up (i'm sure grant will too). As it is the tedious bits (most of the wiring and fuel lines) are done, assuming they're still there when you get it back! I would, however, recommend installing fuel only first until you understand it.

Remember an amateur built the arc, professionals built the titanic. Go DIY!!

andrew

Agree with Phil and is what i said earlier, if you knew was going to cost $800 to get going???? plus the rest for the ecu why not buy a name branded ecu and be done with it?? [x2x]

Sorry but the whole point of it is for DIY to save the cost of setting up etc, and im sure these guys dont appreciate wasting 7 weeks on it. Had you even tested the ecu was working before you gave to them?? might be a start it could be a dodgey one and no wonder they haven't achieved anything. All those little resistors and pieces can cause a lot of problems and many hours of thinking, which should be done in the shed at night drinking beer swearing at the dog, not by them trying to run a business.

He made a mistake by saying he could complete it nobodys perfect, but a main chip that has been overheated when solidered onto the board he will have no idea about, nor anyone else that hasnt had expirence with them. These things do happen as i found out somethings the long and hard way myself.


About legal action, you haven't had your car done to it what they said fair enough, dont pay $800. I would offer him half as an appreciation of the time and effort he has put into it. If he is charging you more then obviously he has spent a lot more time then he estimated on it. Remember they could have said no and done 6 other cars in the meantime, think of his losses too and finish it at that.
Plus if you get sheetty at him whos to say he wont undo some work that has been done which is what i'd be doing in his case not to mention some destruction to your car.

Grant has made a few good points there, dont get the mechanic off side, no Matter how pissed you get. the line of work i am in, when we get agro clients refusing to pay thats when we dont hold back and take legal action against them to recover our money. we do have a signed contract which makes it different in our situation, but try to keep it at least civil with him. you dont know how they could react if you go in shouting consumer affairs and the like...