Engine write-off

Skint_Catt

Hi guys,

My engine warning light on my 2000 petrol 1.6 Focus has started flashing and I have been told that this could be a terminal/fatal problem.

I only bought the car two months ago and have £5000 outstanding on it.

Does car insurance or my warranty cover me for 'write-off by engine failure?'

Or am I going to have £5000 loan to pay back and have to buy another car aswell?

Please help.

S_C

squeaky

Skint_Catt wrote:

Hi guys,

My engine warning light on my 2000 petrol 1.6 Focus has started flashing and I have been told that this could be a terminal/fatal problem.

I only bought the car two months ago and have £5000 outstanding on it.

Does car insurance or my warranty cover me for 'write-off by engine failure?'

Or am I going to have £5000 loan to pay back and have to buy another car aswell?

Please help.

S_C

If your insurance can't help and you have to accept the buyer beware principle and take a loss you might consider a new, or better still, reconditioned engine rather than writing off the car.

Dave_G_5

If it's the red engine oil light, stop driving immidiately and check your engine oil level!!

If it is a yellow engine management type light then it is just informing you that one of the sensors is picking up a fault in your engine. If you take it to your local garage (doesn't have to be ford) they will read the codes and clear them and give you an idea of what the fault is and how much it will cost to fix. This could be anything from just a faulty sensor, to bad petrol. Don't worry yet, just get it checked.

And no, I doubt your engine will be written off, unless it has stopped alltogether and made lots of horrible grinding noises when it did so.

VH

I've got the same car, same year, and had a similar sounding problem 3 years ago. All sorted now. Under warranty at the time, so no cost either!

Which light is it that's flashing, can you describe the colour and symbol on it? And when you say it's flashing, is it just going on and off randomly or is it blinking with a steady rhythm?

maclean2

Nobody seems to have said to check out the warranty onthe car without delay.I assume that the garage gave you at least 3 months warranty on the car.Make sure you follow the claims reporting procedure carefully as these warranties have various hoops and small print.

empfun

Hi Skint_Catt, your dealer warranty should cover it. If it doesn't then I really don't know what kind of warranty they've provided. Check with them first so you don't affect your insurance premium. All the best!

MarkyMarkD

When you say you have £5,000 outstanding on it - do you mean it's on HP? If so, your loan provider is liable for the car's failure and you won't be liable to pay for the repairs - you could just walk away and let them have the car back if they don't sort it out.

If it's a personal loan, then the loan provider isn't liable.

andy88_2

It's a warranty issue; of course it is. Any fault occurring this soon is deemed to have been latent at the time of sale, and the dealer is responsible. I'm assuming it was a dealer as you mentioned warranty; if it's a separate one you bought after a private sale it should still cover it. But as said above, perhaps it's not as bad as you fear.

Skint_Catt

Ok update!

Took the car to Ford dealership last Thursday who ran the diagnostics and told me there was no problem whatsoever - no fault messages showing up and as far as the engine was concerned the light had never been on. Told me that I had replaced a brake light wrongly and that every time I had my headlights on all three brake lights were lighting up. Was told to put the correct bulb in and it should correct all lighting probs - including the engine management light - bottom left of dash - yellowie/organe with the shape of an engine on it. (Had checked the oil first on the recommendation of a friend - no problem there.) Well that cost me £40 for half an hour (was quoted £70 for the full hour but no problem found)

Happy motoring until this morning when doing the same speed again (50mph and always about half hour into my journey) the light started flashing again (I had done 150 miles since last Thurs with no flashes) for about 10 secs, stopped then after a few miles flashed three or four times then stopped again. Had to carry on my journey as on the M5 and no further problems for the remainder 30 miles or so.

Should I take it back to the garage and pay £40 a time for no problem - if I leave it my luck is so bad it would go bang.

I bought it from a non-franchised garage who gave me 5-star RAC warranty for 12months. I have a personal loan for the car so I'm aware this doesn't come down to them. Just don't know where to turn except the nice man at Brooklyn Ford who seemed to be so helpful (but got the diagnosis wrong!).

S_C

JimArnold

I'd return to your Ford dealer and point out that despite the engine claiming never to have done so the light has come on again
It looks 90% certain to be a sensor or wiring malfunction - it is becoming increasingly common because of the numbers of sensors on modern engines. The real problem is if you ignore it how do you know if you do get a real one!

If you have only had it 2 months and you have a 12 month RAC warranty then that's where I would be looking. It is nothing to do with your insurance

I'd also suggest you need to take someone with you who knows a bit more about cars - there is no way that a £5000+ car would be written off for an engine problem - even if if the whole engine needed to be replaced.

dougk_2

It sounds like some sort of intermit.. problem. Was it wet when the light came on (water maybe getting into an electrical connector)? I would go back to the garage and say the problem is still there. The 5* RAC Warranty may cover the problem also. Read the warranty booklet they gave you (if they didn't go back to the dealer and ask!).