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Delays in carrying out work – garage repairs
A garage should repair or service your vehicle within a reasonable time. What counts as reasonable will depend on the problem. If the work is straightforward, a few days may be reasonable. The garage may need more time if the problem is hard to find or the garage needs to order parts.
This page explains what you can do if you're not happy with the time the garage is taking to carry out work on your car.
Top tips
While you may be able to claim money back for costs you’ve run up while your car was in the garage, this would be unlikely if the garage offered certain services that you didn’t take advantage of. For example, if the garage offered a courtesy car or would have driven you to and from work while your car was in the workshop, a court would be unlikely to award you compensation for the cost of taking taxis. Always ask your garage what they can do to help before you spend any money.
If you agreed a date for the work to be done
If you clearly told the garage that you needed your vehicle repaired within a certain time and they don't do it, you can take action to get the work done.
Getting the garage to finish the job
If you want the original garage to finish the job you should negotiate a new deadline for the repairs to be carried out. If you're not sure what the new deadline should be, you could get the opinion of another garage about how long the repairs should take.
If you need the car
If you need the use of a car during the delay, you can ask the garage for a courtesy car until yours is ready. If the car is having cosmetic work and parts are delayed, you could take the car back and use it until the parts have arrived.
Getting the car repaired by someone else
If you want to take the car to a different garage to get it repaired, you may be able to do this. It will depend how much work the garage has already done and whether or not your car is in a safe condition to take away. If you decide to get the car repaired somewhere else, you can claim compensation from the original garage for the cost of carrying out extra repairs.
If you didn’t agree a date for the work to be done
If you didn’t agree an exact date for the repairs to be finished, they must be done within a reasonable period of time. However, you can’t just take the vehicle away if you think a reasonable time has passed and the vehicle isn’t repaired.
If you think the delay is unreasonable
If you think the delay is unreasonable:
- talk to the garage. There may be a good reason for the delay, such as problems getting parts or more problems than they first thought. Make a note of who you spoke to, when you had the conversation and what was said
- set a new date for doing the work. The new date should be reasonable. If you don't know what a reasonable time might be, you could ask another garage how long they consider it would take to carry out the repairs. If you do this, make sure the other garage has a good reputation.
If the repairs aren't done by the new date, you can take the vehicle away and get it repaired somewhere else.
If you need the car
If you told the garage that you needed the vehicle for a specific reason, you may be able to claim compensation for the loss of its use and the extra expenses you've run up, such as taxi fares or vehicle hire costs.
Next steps
Find out if your garage is a member of a trade association
