Broken down car soon after purchase

hazellc

Hi everyone,

Three weeks ago, I bought a secondhand car from a dealer. It came with an RAC Platinum warranty, which covered up to £300.00 a claim. It was MOT'd and oil serviced by the dealer and he assured me they'd check it over before I picked it up.

Sunday evening, as I was trying to pull off a drive, the cam belt snapped. The car is at 62,000 miles and the service schedule says to change the cam belt at 80,000 so it's a tad premature, but I know a lot of cars recommend you change them closer to 70,000 miles anyway.

AA roadside assistance came to pick it up. When the AA mechanic opened the bonnet and took the engine cover off, he could instantly see that the belt had snapped and that the bearing (I think? I maybe be remembering the wrong word!) was quite badly corroded.

The garage have had a look and confirmed the cambelt snap and are having to start taking the cylinder head off to check valves etc. The man I spoke to on the phone estimated between £300 and £800, but couldn't be more specific until they've had a chance to look properly round the engine. Obviously, if it's around the £300 - £500 mark, I'll just pay up and be glad I don't have to worry about changing my cam belt at the 80,000 mile mark.

My question is, if it's a lot more, can I ask the garage to contribute? Had they taken the engine cover (I think that's what it's called - it's literally a clip on bit of plastic under the bonnet, takes five seconds to remove) off and had a quick check, they'd have spotted the corrosion and either they or I could have sorted this before it snapped. We've used this garage several times and referred friends to them, who've all had great experiences with them.

If it's my problem because I didn't get an independent mechanic to check the car over before purchase, then I'll deal with it! I'm just wondering if anyone who knows better than me thinks it's worth going back to the garage.

Thanks!

Premier_2

hazellc wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Three weeks ago, I bought a secondhand car from a dealer. It came with an RAC Platinum warranty, which covered up to £300.00 a claim. It was MOT'd and oil serviced by the dealer and he assured me they'd check it over before I picked it up.

Sunday evening, as I was trying to pull off a drive, the cam belt snapped. The car is at 62,000 miles and the service schedule says to change the cam belt at 80,000 so it's a tad premature, but I know a lot of cars recommend you change them closer to 70,000 miles anyway.

AA roadside assistance came to pick it up. When the AA mechanic opened the bonnet and took the engine cover off, he could instantly see that the belt had snapped and that the bearing (I think? I maybe be remembering the wrong word!) was quite badly corroded.

The garage have had a look and confirmed the cambelt snap and are having to start taking the cylinder head off to check valves etc. The man I spoke to on the phone estimated between £300 and £800, but couldn't be more specific until they've had a chance to look properly round the engine. Obviously, if it's around the £300 - £500 mark, I'll just pay up and be glad I don't have to worry about changing my cam belt at the 80,000 mile mark.

My question is, if it's a lot more, can I ask the garage to contribute? Had they taken the engine cover (I think that's what it's called - it's literally a clip on bit of plastic under the bonnet, takes five seconds to remove) off and had a quick check, they'd have spotted the corrosion and either they or I could have sorted this before it snapped. We've used this garage several times and referred friends to them, who've all had great experiences with them.

If it's my problem because I didn't get an independent mechanic to check the car over before purchase, then I'll deal with it! I'm just wondering if anyone who knows better than me thinks it's worth going back to the garage.

Thanks!

Need a few more details to give valid advice:

1. What type of car was it (make/model)?
2. How old was it?
3. How much did you pay for it?

scotsbob

You haven't got anything to lose by going back to the garage and making a fuss. In fact you may well gain from doing so.

hazellc

It's a Citroen C3, six years old, and £3500.

Notmyrealname

hazellc wrote: »

It's a Citroen C3, six years old, and £3500.

So if the belt is 80,000 miles, what is the time interval? They never just say mileage - it is always something like:

80,000 miles or 7 years, whichever is soonest.

hazellc

Every ten years, or between 75,000 and 80,000 miles, according to the maintenance guide.

Premier_2

Unfortunately a cam belt is one of those items that can fail at any time.

The garage are not at fault here; they don't set the suggested replacement schedules, the manufacturer does.

As the vehicle was not due for a new cam belt by a long way, the garage was not negligent in not replacing it (nor advising you to get it replaced immediately)

Let the garage come up with a quote. Depending on the damage caused it may be cheaper to have a replacement engine fitted, But then the cam belt may snap on that any day too.

If they can fix it (not replace the engine) for £500 then it's probably worth having it fixed; any more and it's probably best to get another car. You could ask the garage if they could help you source a replacement for a really good price, especially since they would have already taken their profit on the one that has just failed.

As you appear to have given them custom in the past, and recommended others to use them, I'm sure they'll try and extend as much goodwill as possible in the circumstances.

captainawsome

I can't imagine them checking the cam belt during an oil service, even if they did the likelihood of predicting the belt was going to snap would be slim.

Mr_Ted

I would be suspicious of the mileage especially if theres corrosion also?

Always check the service history of a car for the cambelt in particular, as the service history will also give you an idea of mileage?

Would be surprised if the garage are sympathetic, limited warranties are not the best as they are not really in the buyers favour?

hazellc

They can fix it for £700+, as all the valves are bent. Premier, unfortunately there's no way on earth I can afford a new car - I just bought this one. Coming so soon after shelling out so much money, I can barely afford this repair. Is it best to get another car because the damage to the engine is likely to have knock-on effect?

I don't expect the garage to be sympathetic myself - this only came up because the mechanic at the garage fixing it was genuinely surprised they weren't doing so, and he recommended I try.

ETA: I did check the service booklet - it's been serviced every 20000 miles as recommended and has garage stamps, mileage etc recorded in there.

captainawsome

Looks like you have just been very unlucky. As said, a belt can go at any time. Still push the garage, explain the situation and request at least a contribution, I think its unlikely they will pay the bill but I don't think it's unfair to ask them to pay something towards the repair.