Engine damage on a car bought 4 months ago.

Jaywood89

Thank you lottery man

That’s a point I thought of but one that makes a lot of sense as like I said we never had any signs of low oil including lights or burning smell. Which is why I thought was weird and I will be holding out on the issue.

ohreally

Jaywood, I certainly wouldn't blame you for a situation arising from a defective filter, however you should have been dipping the sump level frequently until you have a settled opinion on consumption especially given the manufacturers spec.

400 miles in 4 months, are you sure you've made a wise choice?

force_ten

please keep us informed as to how you get on with motorpoint, from your last post you say that you have done 400 miles in four months so around 25 miles a week if this is the case then you have bought the wrong car for your needs

the car may be perfect from a practicality point of view but if it is a modern diesel engine with a diesel particle filter then doing 20-25 miles a week around town and never giving the car a long run is going to cause problems with the diesel particle filter in a very short space of time

n217970

OP - Whilst I have some sympathy - I do not check levels between services, I know better but I still don't, I agree with the consensus above that the majority of liabillity lies with you. Certainly when I buy a new car - and I did in October, I keep a very watchful eye on it until I am confident it is good.

Regards the potential repair bill of 10k! and its potential to financially ruin you; may I respectfully suggest that you might want to consider the logic of spending 17k on a car that is covering just over 1000 miles a year if 10k would ruin you. I do not mean to belittle, an unepxected 10k bill would be a struggle for most people, me included, but I do not spend that kind of money on the cars I own.

Anyway, as some proactive advice I would give a couple of trusted independant garages a ring tomorrow morning and get a quote for an engine replacement using a low mileage secondhand engine. Sure there would be issues with the manufacturer warranty but the cost may drop from 10k to 3-4k depending on the engine.

Warwick_Hunt

inglorius wrote: »

That was your first mistake

Very helpful.

Jaywood89

Thanks for replies.

As for the mileage. The car has only done small amounts because of the time of year. it was bought to take our huskies and children bike jhoring and spending weekends travelling about the country. We just haven’t used it as of yet. Mainly to nature reserves etc. And we spent that kind of money so we would have a reliable car that would last us a long time and that we can rely on ( the irony).

As for getting the engine replaced myself, I won’t be taking that option until all other avenues are explored including legal ones. If the car was high mileage and 10 years old I wouldn’t be surprised by this outcome and can honestly say I would of been more concerned for the cards health but a 6 month old car should run as expected with no internal damage.

custardy

I'll be honest. I have known new cars to have 1 litre per 1000 miles as acceptable of oil usage.
However a full sump in 400 miles isnt. With that sort of mileage I likely wouldnt have checked the oil either.

System

Jaywood89 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

My argument to them if that were the case would be that we had no idea about the oil leak until the tow man came to take it away. As for not doing regular oil checks we have only had it a few months and it isn’t run every day so I wouldn’t expect to be having to do those things on a new car that’s done only a few hundred miles since it was purchased. Also yes everything is preventable but surely the fault lies with the initial damage not the customer just using their new car as you would expect?

What does the owners manual say about checking the oil? I think you'll find it says to do it a lot more than once every 4 months and as you've admitted to not checking it as per the owners manual you've kind of shot yourself in the foot. With a new car I'd be checking the oil a hell of a lot more than I would one a couple of years old because if there's been any issue with the engine when it was put together it'll be highlighted in the first couple of thousand miles and most likely exhibit itself as a coolant or oil leak.

From the Hyundai i800 owners manual:

When you stop for fuel:
• Check the engine oil level.
• Check coolant level in coolant reservoir.
• Check the windscreen washer fluid
level.
• Look for low or under-inflated tyres.

At least monthly:
• Check coolant level in the engine
coolant reservoir.
• Check the operation of all exterior
lights, including the stoplights, turn signals
and hazard warning flashers.
• Check the inflation pressures of all
tyres including the spare.

marlot

>> When you stop for fuel:
>> • Check the engine oil level.

To be fair, at 400 miles travelled the OP might not have used the first tank of fuel yet - maybe they have complied with the handbook.

I suspect the oil filter may have been leaking since day 1. If it was dripping into the undertray it may not have left any obvious oil stains on the drive/road. Unfortunately for the OP, that probably would have shown up with regular oil level checks.

Good luck OP - hopefully you can do some sort of deal with motorpoint.

jbainbridge

I’d agree ... a tank of diesel could easily have a range of 600+ miles.

I know many are pointing out that driving the car home was unwise. I’d be arguing that after the initial noise and bang ... the damage was already done. I very much doubt that topping it up with oil at that point would have saved the engine.

Given that the oil filter is buried in the engine bay it all comes back to the servicing Motorpoint performed.