Constant Car Problems - Help! Who's Liable?!

noofighter

Hi all - really looking for some guidance here. 2 years ago I bought a Nissan X-Trail from a dealer under the understanding it was in perfect order with no major issues. A month later, it was discovered that both brake pads and discs were illegal and needed replacing - they gave a "goodwill gesture", but the warning signs were there. A good few months later I had issues with the air con. I took it to a Nissan dealer local to me who found nothing major wrong. Approx 2 or 3 months after this, having had a strange issue come up (went on a long journey, air con gave up, radiator was dry, filled that up, air con worked again, rinse and repeat), the head gasket gave out. Total cost of repair was over £2000 for a car that cost just over £8k a year previous. It left the repair shop again with faulty air con - all they did again was claim "nothing was wrong" and filled the gas up. Fast forward to last month and the air con wasn't working yet again. I've taken it to a specialist who has advised yet again that the head gasket is an issue so it has gone back to the Nissan dealer for repair again.

It also transpires that the car has had a turbo replaced under a previous owner (Nissan were contacted about this), though Nissan cannot divulge why this would be the case. I believe it is because the car has ALWAYS been faulty and I just happen to be the current victim.

So I've spent god knows how many hours and well over £10k on a dubious piece of machinery; what can I do?

- Can I take Nissan to small claims court for £10k as the goods are clearly rubbish and arguably always have been; can it be irrespective that I am bringing it up now? I think this is the best idea as I need to know the full history of the vehicle.
- Can I take the air con service garage to court under negligence as they missed a significant problem when checking for air con issues?
- Do I argue that the place I bought it from, 2 years ago, were at fault for supplying faulty goods?
- Do I press for the vehicle to be written off and claim the market value on insurance?

I cannot go on with this car, it is a nightmare. Any advice is hugely appreciate.

AlexisV

How old is the car?

TonyMMM

noofighter wrote: »

I took it to a Nissan dealer local to me who found nothing major wrong.

That is the answer to your question - your head gasket problems started 2 or 3 months after that, so there is no way you are going to be able to pursue the original dealer.

The small claims limit is currently £5,000.

Your insurance covers you against accident/theft etc not against breakdowns.

How old was the car when you bought it, and what checks did you make at the time to satisfy yourself it was OK ?

vax2002

Is This a DCI , if so its a Renault Engine and you can look forward to years of Renault style trouble.

noofighter

So it's a '55 plate, registration from Nov 2005.

So if the original dealer is out, and small claims is out, what would be my next steps? As there has been a precedent set out in which a previous owner had to replace a turbo do I go to Nissan and claim this is a faulty product? Or do I forget that angle and go for the garage that serviced my air con 2 months prior to the head gasket? I am struggling to understand how I'm the one footing the bill on this p.o.s. car.

In terms of checks, I discussed the car over the phone and covered the condition as per that discussion and related advert. I didn't get the AA involved as it was coming from a known car dealer. Even if I had, I'm not sure anything - excepting the brakes - would have come up, they aren't thorough enough on the checks. I paid just over £8k for a car with 52,000 miles on the clock. Yep, it's a diesel engine.

The key issue here is that there's a fault in the vehicle in terms of the radiator leaking into the engine, which in turn impacts the air con, which is - according to several mechanics - impossible. Nothing has been done to the car that would have caused this, ergo I feel Nissan have manufactured a dud.

TonyMMM

The car is 7 years old - and head gaskets do fail on older cars (on some more than others).

The fact that the car has had a turbo replacement at some point in its history means nothing other than it needed a new turbo, and now has one (which presumably is working OK ?)

If you can show the aircon garage has somehow damaged the engine and caused the head gasket to fail you may have a case for the cost of repairs, but that sounds pretty remote.

To go anywhere with this you will need a written report from an engineer detailing exactly what the faults, and the causes of the faults, are .... then you can see if there is anyone to blame, or if you have just been unlucky.

Alias_Omega

Hello OP,

Air-Con

The Air-Conditioning system and the Engine Cooling System (aka the Radiator with water in it) dont mix. The systems are seperate, they only way they touch is through the main radiator.

The Radiator is used to cool the water for the engine, whilst the "Condensor" is used for the Air-Conditioning system. The Condensor is usually hung onto the Radiator and thats about as far as they touch.

This picture shows the Condensor, its grey whilst the main Radiator is Black.




The Radiator not having any water will seriously limit the cars Air-Conditioning performance as it will fail to pass over the heat.

Loss of Water

Water is usually leaked into engine cylinders through the head gasket. The water level will drop, the car will overheat and usually you see air passing through the head gasket into the coolant system.

Additionally, water can pass down through the Piston Rings into the Engine oil. Not good.


All the best..

Alias

noofighter

Hey Alias - thanks for that, though I know it. That's what makes it so strange, no-one can tell me why the air con goes off at the same time as the radiator runs dry/leaks into the engine.

I don't doubt the mechanics know what they're talking about, but by the same token my story is true. It isn't coincidence either - on one long trip, the air con stopped working, I pulled into services and checked the radiator which had nothing but steam in it. I added water (engine overheat light was on) then the air con ALSO worked. No-one knows why. It cannot be something a mechanic has done, it has to be a Nissan fault.

noofighter

TonyMMM wrote: »

The car is 7 years old - and head gaskets do fail on older cars (on some more than others).

The fact that the car has had a turbo replacement at some point in its history means nothing other than it needed a new turbo, and now has one (which presumably is working OK ?)

If you can show the aircon garage has somehow damaged the engine and caused the head gasket to fail you may have a case for the cost of repairs, but that sounds pretty remote.

To go anywhere with this you will need a written report from an engineer detailing exactly what the faults, and the causes of the faults, are .... then you can see if there is anyone to blame, or if you have just been unlucky.

It's back with the Nissan dealer who replaced the Gasket as we speak, they are running "More tests" on Tuesday. At this point, I am going to refuse to pay (which is surely my right) for the repair and if I cannot get an admission of problems with the car, then I guess my only option is to flog it to someone.

colino

OP, time to have a nice weekend and think about this with a cooler head. If you have put the car in to a garage for diagnosis with no intention of paying, look forward to an impounded car held on lien and daily bills for storage.

noofighter

Sorry, didn't mean refuse to pay as in I'm not going to without cause - I have a 12 month warranty under the original head gasket repair, hence no payment should be necessary. Bottom line is I am a bit fed up that the law seems so against the consumer when cars are involved.

Troll?