silly question??

worried123

HiI know this might be seen as a really silly question but I have to ask somebody....and although not really an appropriate question for here, I know that somebody will (hopefully respond).Is it at all possible for my parked car to be tampered with - pos at night - to cause ongoing problems with the running of it - the engine etc......one thing after another after another has happened to my car since it has been parked in a hidden area of the car park....and next to the car of somebody that i have issues with.I know this sounds paranoid but I simply had to ask somebody.Apologies if my post comes out in one big clump without paragraphs etc but this always happens here...Many thanks

FARE-COP

I'm no expert on cars by a long chalk, but I know the short answer is 'Yes'

Several years ago, a friend of mine once had a big falling out with a someone who lived nearby and next morning found his car started, ran very erratically for a minute or so and stalled. It wouldn't re-start. An hour or so later he tried it again with the same result.

After getting two different people to look at the car and eventually, having to make an expensive garage call out it was found that a potato had been pushed tightly several inches up the exhaust pipe!!

worried123

Thank you fare copI hope that your friend stuck a potato in the other chaps exhaust as a thank you.Mine seems to be lots of silly problems one after the other.....air con compressor gone....coolant leak....starter motor problem....oil leak....I have always had my car serviced well and not had probs and in the space of a couple of months just one thing after another.....I do get quite anxious as i know nothing about cars (just a mere female!) but just find it worrying that the problems started when i parked my car in a different place.....in an out of view place next to a guy who I have had to inform the powers that be about his anti social behaviour.....so he is probably slightly deranged anyway and capable of doing anything....I just wondered whether it is possible to damage the inside of the car......maybe from underneath it in some way.....anyway, getting it fixed tomorrow .....again!!!

vaio

sounds like bad luck to me, don't really think there is anyway someone could secretly damage the items you are talking about without it being noticeable when you got it repaired

LandyAndy

worried123 wrote: »

Thank you fare copI hope that your friend stuck a potato in the other chaps exhaust as a thank you.Mine seems to be lots of silly problems one after the other.....air con compressor gone....coolant leak....starter motor problem....oil leak....I have always had my car serviced well and not had probs and in the space of a couple of months just one thing after another.....I do get quite anxious as i know nothing about cars (just a mere female!) but just find it worrying that the problems started when i parked my car in a different place.....in an out of view place next to a guy who I have had to inform the powers that be about his anti social behaviour.....so he is probably slightly deranged anyway and capable of doing anything....I just wondered whether it is possible to damage the inside of the car......maybe from underneath it in some way.....anyway, getting it fixed tomorrow .....again!!!

At a pinch, and without knowing the exact faults, these are all things that could have been caused by someone who was prepared to crawl under the car and tamper with it. However, I think the coincidence theory is a much more likely explanation than sabotage.

benham3160

We're clutching at straws here until you tell us a) What car it is, b) What the faults have been.

It's unlikely on a modern engine, only things that could be done would be

a) Unplug something (either non-starting, or poor running,) but very easily rectified.
b) The old potato/apple trick, but would be easily solved.
c) Just poor luck.

Let us know.

Regards,
Andy

worried123

Thank you for al of your replies.I had a bad oil leak which has been mended - it had a new oil compressor switch as well..........However, would you believe that my clutch has now gone......I had a new clutch fitted 11 months ago and it is under a 2 year guarantee........(the clutch had been getting higher for a few days and juddering as i pulled away.......got into my car and clutch pedal has gone `flimsy`......and so the car is abandoned somewhere until the chap who did the clutch comes back from his hols........He said that it sounds like the hydraulics.........If I had a new clutch fitted under guarantee do you think the hydraulics would be included in that guarantee.Many thanks

worried123

PS Andy - sorry - It is a vauxhall corsa SXi - 03 reg bought from new nearly 7 years ago..............I suppose that i should think of getting a new car. It has done 51,000 and I need it for my job so need something reliable............Do you suppose this is just a spate of unfortunate problems or do you think that now i have started having problems with it I should consider a new car - not come at a good time financially so if i could get a couple more years out of the car it would be good..............However, I have borrowed a really old car until my clutch is fixed and in comparison my car feels great......

Hammyman

The clutch is something they couldn't have done anything to simply due to the location of the parts that'd need tampering with. An oil leak is more than to be expected on a 03 plate and unless they've crawled under the car and unbolted the sump or oil drain plug its not likely to be tampering and if they had, you'd have noticed a massive pool of oil under the car. In fact you say it was the oil pressure switch and when they go, its usually because they're leaking like a sieve.

Inactive

Hammyman wrote: »

The clutch is something they couldn't have done anything to simply due to the location of the parts that'd need tampering with. An oil leak is more than to be expected on a 03 plate

Well it may well be on a Vauxhall.:)