Polo 1.2 - timing chain replaced to then be told the car can’t be fixed (engine block cracked)

Amy2312

Hi,

I just wanted to get some advise as this is not something I Know much about. On Monday my car broke down - it started juddering and then eventually cut out. After that it wouldn’t start. The RAC guy towed my car to the garage I usually get work done at. The next day the mechanic gave me a quote of £550-£600 and started work to fix the timing chain. Last night he called and said it was bad news. He had carried out all of the work but it still doesn’t work and then he started to talk about a crack in the engine block and said the best thing I can do now is auction the car??

First of all, is it possible he could have spotted the crack before he carried out all of the work? Do I pay him for all of the work even though the car has not been fixed? Is an engine block crack the end of the road for my car?

All advise welcome!

Thank you so much

sevenhills

If you have been given a quote of £600 to fix the car, and then its not fixed, they have not fulfilled their side of the quote.
Sounds like the car/engine is scrap value only, depending of the age/value of the car. I dont see how the garage can be asking for any where near the full quote, if any money at all, depending on the wording of the quote.

ratrace

Amy2312 wrote: »

Hi,

I just wanted to get some advise as this is not something I Know much about. On Monday my car broke down - it started juddering and then eventually cut out. After that it wouldn’t start. The RAC guy towed my car to the garage I usually get work done at. The next day the mechanic gave me a quote of £550-£600 and started work to fix the timing chain. Last night he called and said it was bad news. He had carried out all of the work but it still doesn’t work and then he started to talk about a crack in the engine block and said the best thing I can do now is auction the car??

First of all, is it possible he could have spotted the crack before he carried out all of the work? Do I pay him for all of the work even though the car has not been fixed? Is an engine block crack the end of the road for my car?

All advise welcome!

Thank you so much

Hi, I would say pretty much if there is a hole in the engine block itself that it really the engine is done. i assume you have a older model polo so it may not be even worth putting in a used engine (depends on value of car)

Depending on how they went about the repair , did they just take what the rac said in regards to the chain snapping/streching and just dive straight in, depending on where the crack is, if it is at the back of the engine block then to be very honest it would be very difficult to spot

a bit more info about the car would be nice such as year, miles/value
ive had the same engine in a fabia 1.2 htp its very important to change the oil often and keep an eye on the levels to be on the safe side

Amy2312

The polo is 2011 / around 68000 miles.

The RAC guy wasn’t sure what the problem was so just put in his notes that it was possibly the timing chain but it would need to be properly checked by the garage. So I think they just jumped in and did it.

ratrace

Amy2312 wrote: »

The polo is 2011 / around 68000 miles.

The RAC guy wasn’t sure what the problem was so just put in his notes that it was possibly the timing chain but it would need to be properly checked by the garage. So I think they just jumped in and did it.

If that was the case then that is ridiculous, what the rac say should only be taken as a guide and not gospel, further checks should always be done such as compression tests, it could have a simple fix such as coil packs failing causing the car to missfire etc... the point im amaking is that tests should be carried out to pinpoint the problem before major work can be started

overall small petrol engines are quite straight forward to work on

i think you are right to be cheesed off as you was under the impression the if you spent upto £600 then the problem whould be fixed but thats not been the case, if you have a male family member who can deal with it on your behalf that would also be good as some not all but some garages tend to fob women off if they can im not saying that is the case here but a family member has done like this before from a gargage untill we got involved


looking at values your car is worth about £3,500 ish, im not sure it would be worth putting in a used engine as the cost to buy then labour would be around £1,500 ish depending on how much the engine can be bought for



you may have to put it on ebay starting at a low price and sell it for spares or repairs if fixing it is going to cost a lot

sevenhills

ratrace wrote: »

Hi, I would say pretty much if there is a hole in the engine block itself that it really the engine is done. i assume you have a older model polo so it may not be even worth putting in a used engine (depends on value of car)

I would guess that the timing chain snapped and then made a hole in the engine block; that should have been checked before all the work was done.

tacpot12

If the mechanic gave you a quote of £500-600 to replace the timing chain, then you should really pay the bill. But if the quote was to "repair the engine", then the garage hasn't done its job, and I would suggest you don't pay. In the spirit of compromise, I would suggest that you propose to pay the materials used/wasted (the timing chain) and they cover the labour to fit it. The timing chain should be about £100.

The mechanic is entitled to keep your car if you do not pay your bill, so be ready for them to suggest this. The car, if it isn't running, is not worth very much to them, but it is taking up space in their facility so they won't really want to keep your car. However, they can fit a replacement engine more cheaply than they will charge you to replace it, so I would suggest you offer to sell them the car for £1500. They can put a replacement engine in and sell it for £3000 which will cover their labour. Or you could pay them to fit a new engine for you. In which case, I would get them to swap the good timing chain over to the new engine as part of the price.

Amy2312

I asked him to give me a quote once he had figured out the problem and this was his response....

“so i’ve done compression test and on the cylinder 2 and 3 no pressure , head needs taking out and sent for valves replace, skimming and test, with a new timing chain price will be between £550 and £600”

facade

The 3 cylinder polo is well known for burning out the exhaust valves and losing compression (due to rapid valve guide wear).


Pretty much anyone who works on engines would know that and check for this first, it reads as if he did and he wasn't clear about the work required at first.


The VW fix is to fit a new exchange cylinder head, there are engineers who will fit new valves and guides for much less than the cost of a new head, then you might as well do the timing chain at the same time.


£500-£600 is about right.

Amy2312

Yeah I’m not concerned about the quote for the work done. It sounds fair to me. Just not sure what I do now as the car isn’t fixed but he’s carried out all that work which would supposedly fix the car...

ratrace

Amy2312 wrote: »

Yeah I’m not concerned about the quote for the work done. It sounds fair to me. Just not sure what I do now as the car isn’t fixed but he’s carried out all that work which would supposedly fix the car...

you only have a few options really

1) fit a used engine in the car (it is risky as you dont know about its history)
2) carry on fixing the car as it is, as it has been half fixed but now as the engine block has a hole/crack in it,then you will need to just buy the block but im not sure people will sell them separate

3) sell the car as it is for spares and repairs and just absorb the the cost

to be fair to the garage i think they have gone about this the correct way by doing the correct tests, unfortunately they missed the hole in the engine block it self which can be very difficult to find depending on where it was


I would just sell it as spares and cut my losses, as option 1 and 2 will require more parts and labour to be paid but its upto you