Recent service caused additional damage - Do we have any come back?

arcon5

Also, I'm afraid the 'it was alright before it went in' 'proof' doesn't really proof much on its own.

Your aim is to find them liable by proving them to have been negligent when carrying out an inspection. For them to be liable it would have had to have been their duty to inspect this component.... So if pressure testing is not part of the service then legally or contractually they have no responsibility to tell you of it. If they damaged the cap then they have failed in their duty of care... But you would need some kind of proof they damaged the cap... For example if you have a previous report stating he cap to have been fine then this may help, so long as you could persuade a judge it hadn't been caused between events.

Had you gone to halfords first they may have offered some goodwill, even if it saved you a few hundred quid.

missile

I do hope you get some recompense and will be interested to hear the outcome.

Aldridge_Andy

Just to play "devils advocate"...

If the engine coolant thermostat failed (and they do oftern without any prior warning) then a coolant check would not have discovered this.

If the expansion tank cap had failed I would have expected the water to boil earlier due to lack of pressure and hence the instruments would have indicated a problem allowing you to pull over well before damage occurs.

In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, a faulty thermostat or Expansion Tank/Radiator Cap would have caused excessive heating of coolant eventually leading to coolant loss. But if you reacted to the dashboard warnings engine damage would be unlikely. If you ignored the warnings then thats a different story.

There is also the possibility that the head gasket simply failed (are there any reports of head gasket failure in your cars model year) this would cause coolant loss and damage reasonably quickly.

The other argument could be that you should check tyres, fuel, oil, coolant etc before any long journey, these are just basic checks. Did you check these basics before each leg of your journey (as it was your longest journey in the car so far).

... See how you go, but you should have given Halfords the chance to minimise the costs by investigating and carrying out remedial action themselves.

I hope you have your car back on the road ASAP.