shoddy chevvy garage. help!

RandyRos

its a 2005

Inactive

bigjl wrote: »

The only dealer that doesn't replace the tensioner and water pump when they do a cambelt is mad, the extra tension caused by a new belt is normally enough to cause problems.

Though if the car is a 2008 then surely it is still under warranty, let the dealer pay for everything then.


NB I haven't read the entire thread so I retain the right to be repeating what somebody else said.

The car is a year 2005.;)

bigjl

One of the biggest hurdles for the OP is simply that 2007/8 Chevy Tacuma's, 2.0 CDX with Autobox and less than 20k are being sold at car aupermarkets for around the £3000 mark.

As the engine is based on an old Vauxhall design, i think, and is 16v, i think, then the head will need valves and valves guides as a minimum, the older 8v engines where non interference, the 16v's are not.

I think the reason the dealer wants you to come and see them is that the car is beyond economical repair.


Though reputable Garages have what I call "!!!! up Insurance", which covers mistakes by the Garage, and to be honest for a car to fail in such a way after having a cambelt replaced is entirely the fault of the garage that did the work.

bigjl

Oops I missed that bit, in that case the car is definately beyond economical repair.

Well at least you now know that you can find 2007 Tacumas for under £3000.

Sadly, CarGiant has sold the 3 or 4 they had in stock.

Though you could insist that they fix it, after all they can get money back from their Insurance.

RandyRos

yes, my hubby says they have liability insurance for this sort of thing, but its getting them to admit they should have done a complete job in the first place!

buying another car/engine is out of the question for us. hubby is a discharged bankrupt and doesnt even have his own bank account at the moment. we have beggar all savings (£200) and no credit lines to go down (which after bankruptcy, we dont want to anyway). we're still paying his brother off for lending us money for this car 2 yrs ago

boyse7en

Am I missing smething here? I thought it was a snapped cam belt issue, but the garage inspection reported a possible blown head gasket.
Are they saying the head gasket failure caused the car to overheat, which in turn caused the tensioner to fail?

RandyRos

boyse7en wrote: »

Am I missing smething here? I thought it was a snapped cam belt issue, but the garage inspection reported a possible blown head gasket.
Are they saying the head gasket failure caused the car to overheat, which in turn caused the tensioner to fail?

no no noooooooo. they replaced the cambelt, but not the pulleys/tensioners in sept, then 1st jan the engine fails. turns out the tensioner broke, which made the cambelt slip and killed the engine. ive been advised by everyone i speak to that they should have replaced the tensioner/pulleys in sept with the belt, tho chev head office says its not policy to do so, but it is "good practice". hope thats clear

have just phoned trading standards and they told me that TN did not provide "reasonable care & skill" and thats covered under the supply of goods and services act 1982. she told me to write to TN to complain (using template 7 from their website, which i cant find http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/index.cfm ) giving them a chance to respond. also to check my bank, as i may be covered by paying on my debit card.

bigjl

After reading a bit more about what the Dealer has been saying it does sound like the pulleys have broken up, if they are saying that a car got hot enough in a few miles to melt ae pully that is designed to operate well in excess of the temperatures it could be expected to endure, then they are lying. (Just read the bit about the cambelt failed 5 months later, not sure if I missed that bit earlier or misunderstood, but that does change things slightly, but it is still good practice to change everything, any new belt will exert more force than an old belt, and will lead to the pulley breaking up)

I have never, ever heard of a pulley breaking up due to the car overheating, that is just rubbish, however an old pulley that is internally worn that is then put to work with a new cambelt will be put under extreme strain, and when to much force is exerted on anything like that then heat will be produced, and a lot more heat than an overheating engine can produce surely.

It seems like the Garage are trying to take advantage of your lack of mechanical knowledge, get them to out all of their findings in writing.

Then advise them that you are contacting CAB and Chevvy UK, maybe even trading standards, as they seem to be trying to avoid blame.

The software that you daughter BF is referring to is AutoData, but make sure he keeps his face out of the frame in this, as the Garage may take offence if he gets involved, he is only an apprentice and could get in trouble for giving out the Dealer Principles phone number.


It never used to be standard prcedure to replace the tensioner on some cars, but then due to a lot of failures in similar circumstances it was made best practice to replace them, along with the water pump.

It has been well over 10 years since I worked full time in the motor trade and I would make the customer sign a disclaimer if they wanted to save money by not changing the tensioner and water pump, happy to do so, as long as they knew that failure was their problem and not mine.

It is a bit like changing a head gasket without skimmimg the head, you can do it, but it is not a good idea.

RandyRos

we have told them that we were pulling out of a garage when this happened. maybe in 3rd gear, but defo accellerating. the garage we were at is 3 miles up the road from home, so we had driven 3 miles from cold engine, then stopped the engine for 5 mins, then started it and pulled away, the it broke. no way was it overheated!!! we disabused them of that idea on friday.

yes, we will keep daughters bf out of the frame, we dont want to cause anyone else trouble. the manager was shocked to hear my hubby talk about engines (he has basic knowledge).

when they phone later today to inform me of the damage and the cost, i will get them to send it to me in writing.

rev_henry

RandyRos wrote: »

he showed us the back cam cover where the hot plastic from the pulley had fallen and melted it. he said the tensioner pulley plastic cracked and fell off.

just phoned head office who put me thru to customer aftercare. they said the pulleys etc are normally only inspected, but most chev garages will replace the whole lot as "good practice"

This makes no sense. If MOST garages replace the lot, then surely its not NORMAL to NOT do so? Clutching at straws I think.

I agree with you about the loaded questions.