Head gasket at 5000 miles

golddustmedia

Having a bit of a bad day...

2 months ago I bought my partner a Vauxhall Meriva 54 plate on just under 4000 miles which we bought privately.

Sunday the car was good as gold on a long journey but today she got about 30 miles from home and the heater wasnt heating the car, then the engine temp got very hot and it lost power.

I went out to her and found the car had lost all its water so topped it up tried to start it to get off motorway but no use.

RAC came out and diagnosed a blown head gasket!!?? The car has only done 5048 miles and is literally 1 year & 2 months old.

Have got it towed to Vauxhall dealer and await news.

My immediate fear is that having bought the car privately am I covered by the manufacturer warranty given that the car is such low mileage and young age?

Also any mechannical suggestions why the head gasket would have gone like that? Presumeably indicates a manufacturing fault with engine?

I'm a little worried that the private seller may be hiding something but I checked the VIN plate etc, all documents were correct, we've got V5 back from DVLA, was at correct address etc. First concern was the battery died 3 weeks ago and I got it replaced and the man at battery centre told me the battery was older than the car.

RAC man seemed to think Vauxhall should replace whole engine or at least the entire head but with less than 2 weeks before first baby is due I cannot afford any garage bills, hence buying newer low mileage car in first place and ironically selling an older more reliable car!

highguyuk

Heating going is the first sign of over heating apparently ... our Vauxhall Astra at work had this same problem. We have two work cars, both Astra, both suffered from over heating.

On one of ours, the water hose had gone therefore losing water. If you did a long journey, did you check the water before/after. It may have been low.

Not sure about Warranties, but if you had no water in it I cant see how it was there fault!

golddustmedia

Did not check water on Sunday as absolutely no indication that car was anything other than normal. Long journey was only a round trip of about 100 miles and there was water in the car a week ago (less than 200 miles ago).

At 5000 miles who can honestly say they feel the need to check the water before/after driving their car? That's the point of having a newer car, reliability!

I would feel that it was Vauxhalls fault as a 5000 mile car should not do that.

golddustmedia

Just heard back from Vauxhall, the radiator hose split, hence sudden lack of water and cooked engine.

99% certain warranty will cover replacement engine but awaiting confirmation.

golddustmedia

Now confirmed, engine damage was due to faulty part (radiator hose) so warranty covers full repair and manufacturer warranties ARE transferred with the car even under a private sale.

Much relieved.

highguyuk

Yup, our Astras work car hose had gone as well. Nt sure, but think both of the cars hoses have gone at some point.

Maybe a possible recall from Vauxhall then! Glad its all sorted for you.

Wig

Warranties are transferable, but the service history has to be up to date. This is why it's ok to buy a car less than 3 yrs old from auction, but you should know what the service requirements are and then check that they have been done before buying.

A silly mistake for the RAC man to have made.

xycom1

highguyuk wrote:

On one of ours, the water hose had gone therefore losing water. If you did a long journey, did you check the water before/after. It may have been low.

If the Meriva is the same as the Corsa on which it's based, the radiator fluid is not user-servicable. It's a sealed system with special fluid in it that's designed to last the life of the car (sparing accident impact, hose failure such as this, etc.).

golddustmedia

Never seen a sealed system like that before, dont think the Meriva is like that as there is a water bottle to top up water for the engine and of course that water cycles through the radiator to cool before returning to engine. Not sure how a sealed radiator like that would work...

..Anyhow, hopefully picking repaired car up today/tomorrow.