Used car breakdown after 500 miles... rights?

AdrianC

bigjl wrote: »

never more than £10 of petrol in the tank from one week to the next which increases the issues of condensation in the tank and also crud getting drawn into the fuel lines and filter

Small detail - the pickup on any car always picks up from the same level at the bottom of the tank, whether it's full or empty.

funkymonkey969

So I've been doing a bit of research, turns out it's quite likely to be the fuel filter, which has an inbuilt pressure regulator on Mercs (weird setup but hey ho!), so will try that first and go from there!

I wasn't baulking so much at the cost, its more the fact of buying a car, you dont then expect it to be undrivable in just over a month.

motorguy

funkymonkey969 wrote: »

I wasn't baulking so much at the cost, its more the fact of buying a car, you dont then expect it to be undrivable in just over a month.

The way i had it explained to me was as follows "if you had bought the car new, and had driven it since then, would it be reasonable for this part to wear out at this point in the cars life?"

I think in the case of yours, the answer is yes.

That question came from Trading Standards by the way.

bigjl

AdrianC wrote: »

Small detail - the pickup on any car always picks up from the same level at the bottom of the tank, whether it's full or empty.

Yawn.

A solution with the same amount of contaminants will have a small % of contaminants when there is 10gallons of fuel present

But when there is only 3 or 4 litres or even less then in % terms there is more concentrated contamination.

To make it easer to understand

Empty a teabag in the bath, you can hardly see the leaves.

Now empty an identical teabag into a cup, the leaves are very obvious and the fluid is darkened by their presence

You need to have a bit more knowledge before posting up the same internet based assumption time and time again.

That is how internet myths get started

By those who don't understand what the subject and rely on Google rather than practical experience.

bigjl

funkymonkey969 wrote: »

So I've been doing a bit of research, turns out it's quite likely to be the fuel filter, which has an inbuilt pressure regulator on Mercs (weird setup but hey ho!), so will try that first and go from there!

I wasn't baulking so much at the cost, its more the fact of buying a car, you dont then expect it to be undrivable in just over a month.

My first suggestion

Always start with the basics

You would be well advised to give it a proper service whilst you are at it

Euro do good quality parts for you car as do German and Swedish though I have found Euro quality better in recent years.

Air filter, oil filter, oil plugs etc and perhaps one of the trade only Forte or Wynns injector cleaners that are added directly to the filter will help gets things cleaned up and ready for a few more years or motoring

The biggest killer of Mercs, BMWs and Audis of that age is neglect.

And rust in the case of Mercs

CKhalvashi

motorguy wrote: »

old car, high miles, relatively low value... could fall under "wear and tear" as its probably not unreasonable to expect that part to wear out at that age and miles.

I would say though if you pushed it under the SOGA you would be in the right, but you might have to take it to court to find out....

Fuel pump on a 'W' CL600 we had in the office lasted 116k, and a '52' SL500 (which replaced the CL) was replaced at 109k, so I believe it's fair wear and tear for the mileage. Our fleet manager had no problem with paying to have it changed, and having worked servicing Mercedes for 8 years, then Addison Lee for 4, I'd she knows Mercs better than many.

CK

Iceweasel

Fuel pumps are not designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

Most pumps are considered to be service items once they are past 100K.

So no surprises it failed.

Fit a new pump and a new fuel filter and be done with it.

Merry Xmas.

Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Ultrasonic

ukmike wrote: »

Try removing the petrol filler cap,& see if it runs,could be blocked.

How would removing the filler cap help? Is there some mechanism that might stop fuel flow relating to the filler cap that I'm missing?

AdrianC

Ultrasonic wrote: »

How would removing the filler cap help? Is there some mechanism that might stop fuel flow relating to the filler cap that I'm missing?

Many filler caps are vented, with a tiny hole preventing a vacuum building up inside the tank as the fuel is sucked out. If that blocks, it can cause either the tank to collapse or the pump to struggle to deliver sufficient fuel.

Unlikely, in this case, I suspect. Easy to diagnose - when it stops, remove the filler cap. If you get a whoosh of air, then the vent's blocked.

arcon5

motorguy wrote: »

The way i had it explained to me was as follows "if you had bought the car new, and had driven it since then, would it be reasonable for this part to wear out at this point in the cars life?"

I think in the case of yours, the answer is yes.

That question came from Trading Standards by the way.

Brilliant quote there. With all the 'do I have any rights' threads popping up around here and too many offering inaccurate legal advise, this pretty much sums it all up in one sentence.