Broken down after just 3 weeks

Prothet_of_Doom

Kevtron wrote: »

3 weeks later,
having drove less than 800 miles in it,
my temperature went up,
oil light came on,
and the engine started losing power
and making a ticking sound.

I got off the motorway as soon as I could,

and the car stalled at the next give way sign and I couldn't restart it. Upon getting it recovered, I'm being told that I need a new engine.




am I covered by the Sale of Goods act? And if so, what would be the best way of getting it sorted. It's currently sat in a garage waiting for the go ahead from me to get repaired.
Cheers in advance

I'll start by chastising you, because I have a stereotype clio owner in my head, and I want you to tell me I'm wrong :

In the 800 miles, did you check oil level, water, tyre pressures, brake fluid, or whether it was due a service or not?
In addition, if the oil warning light came on, if the temp gauge showed in the red, if there was no power, if there was a ticking sound, would the hard shoulder not have been a sensible place to stop ?

I really feel sorry for the garage, because you are going to want your money back, and it's not ALL their fault.

As far as the SOGA goes, I think you have some rights, but I'd be saying you made the problem a lot worse by continuing to drive it.
The car is pretty much scrap now, unless a second hand engine can be found and fitted cheaply.
Please haggle hard with the garage, and maybe you can go halves?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Just to add that these warning lights are there for a reason, and if you do have an oil warning light come on permanently under power (as opposed to briefly round a corner, or intermittently at idle where you can probably take it as an indication of very low oil and might consider nursing it to a garage for a check and top up) you should stop immediately, and to drive on with symptoms of a fault is extremely dangerous, there was a reasonable chance of the engine seizing, the front wheels then locking up, power steering failing and in the brief seconds of panic as you did out of control you are unlikely to have the presence of mind to be able to manage the situation.

Unfortunately, a 12 year old car, even of the most reliable makes can have parts that may fail. I drive a 15 year old Merc. and that deposited the contents of its automatic gearbox around Shrewsbury a few years ago due to a trivial failure of a pipe to the cooling radiator. Fortunately, with a flush and some treatment, the failure did no permanent damage, and I've done about 50k since that incident.

It is very difficult to spot the potential failure, and unless there is evidence of a bodged repair, you'll have a hard time arguing it. The garage should be able to identify the reason for the sudden loss of oil, and unless it is an obvious fault such as missing bolts or tape round a leak, I'd say you are expecting to much.

motorguy

Norman_Castle wrote: »

A car that loses enough oil or water to cause engine failure in 800 miles or three weeks is not fit for purpose. Contact the garage or trading standards.

Really?

Stone chip to radiator?

Cracked hose?

Those are NOT covered under the SOGA on an 11 year old car.

Head Gasket Failure?

Oil Pump failure?

Just because the oil pressure warning light is on, doesnt mean its low on oil.

Could all be seen as wear and tear on an 11 year old car - and again not covered under the SOGA.

PLUS the damage has been done by driving on with the engine overheating and the subsequent oil pressure warning light on, NOT necessarily by the fault itself.

alastairq

When buying a cheap motor, it is as well to not take the seller's word for it...?

Once home, worth spending time checking basic fluid levels, & thoroughly looking for signs of leakages, etc.

MAybe service it yourself?

Certainly, things like tyre pressures, etc want checking too.

Not wise to 'thrash' it up a motorway [best sticking to no more than 50-60mph initially]....until you're absolutely sure everything works as you would want it to.

It is about, getting to know the car.

After all, you've just bought someone else's tale of woe, perhaps?

However, from my experience of them, modern day drivers seem to take so much for granted?

Stoke

I must admit, I'm amazed anyone buys a second hand car then fails to check the fluids when they're home. It's just common practice...

motorguy

Stoke wrote: »

I must admit, I'm amazed anyone buys a second hand car then fails to check the fluids when they're home. It's just common practice...

Unfortunately not any more its not.

The amount of cars i used to get traded in without even oil on the dipstick!

People seem to drive cars now until they can drive them no further, then either pay for the minimum or if its a big bill, get rid.

spacey2012

Perhaps he meant you had to be a good runner.
Honestly Renaults IMO are not the best cars, one that is 11 years old and only cost £6995k new is a serious bangernomics territory to be running.
On borrowed time springs to mind.
On Engine lights, Yellow light means you are advised and can make it to the nearest safe place.
A red light means stop and the red Oil can one means Emergency stop + engine off !
Not drive to the nearest exit.

The car is scrap.

Mankysteve

AdrianC wrote: »

you should have slapped the hazards on, into neutral, ignition off (but not so far as to lock the steering), and coasted to the shoulder. NOT tried to drive on.

This is very bad and dangerous advice.

Only take it out of gear if you need to. With no engine power you'll loose your power steering and servo assist on the brakes.

You should make your away to hard shoulder in a safe and controlled manor, only go into neutral if you've lost the engine altogether/all control over the engine. Move over to the shoulder quickly but safely in gear with the engine running as you would normally stop the car. Then kill the engine.

If someone doesn't see what your doing not having any engine at all is going to leave you without the ability to take proper action to avoid an accident. Sometimes its better to wreck the engine than end up in a accident.

To the OP have you tried speaking to the garage that sold you the car in the first place?

AdrianC

Mankysteve wrote: »

This is very bad and dangerous advice.

Only take it out of gear if you need to. With no engine power you'll loose your power steering and servo assist on the brakes.

You'll only lose servo assistance if the servo itself is faulty and incapable of holding vacuum for long. Even if it is, you will still have brakes - and you will still have steering. They might be a little heavier than normal, sure, but they're there.

But leave the engine being rotated by the gearbox, and you'll increase the damage if there's a genuine oil supply problem. You might as well just drive it to the next junction and accept that it's dead.

If somebody else doesn't see a vehicle with hazards on, coasting towards the shoulder, then that's their own flippin' daft fault. The situation is no different to if the engine stops running, rather than stays running but with Blackpool seafront on the dash.

londonTiger

more importantly if the breakdown was caused by oil or water problems then ususally the previous owner will not be aware of the impending doom (unles sit was caused by a leak they had knowledge of).

Cars do spontaneously break down eventually (all cars do). Just because the previous owner used the car for 4 weeks and worked fine does not mean that is a guarantee that it won't happen to you in the forseeable future.