Car broken down 15 minutes after car servicing

DUTR

Turners wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply.

The oil previously looked very clear. I always check my oil as each time I started my car up, it would flash “oil level low” on my dashboard but on my touch screen it would say “oil ok”. Very frequently I would get my grandad to help me ensure that my oil was fine and it had previously been to the same dealership garage a year ago to ensure there was no fault as this message has appeared since I got the car.

With so many of these types of thread….. are you going to get the car fixed or are you just going to have a battle with the garage?
You can do both, I'd rather have the car running and then do the fighting than the other way around.
But then of course some like to stretch out a battle ….

karatepet

Find a good local garage who you can trust.My garage films the work being done on the car and posts it on facebook,so you can see what parts are changed etc.

Arklight

Turners wrote: »

I took my car in for a full service which was free with my finance package. They told me everything was fine and I was good to go.

About 15 minutes later my car started juddering and eventually cut out. I called my grandad who looked at the car and said my water coolant had no water in and my oil was like ‘mayonnaise’. I rang the garage and got the car towed back. It has been in the garage 2 weeks now is to Christmas the service has been very slow. I have been given a courtesy car in the mean time.

The garage have told me that my head gasket has failed and they need to remove the head gasket to diagnose for any more damage. I have been quoted £500 so far just for the removal and diagnosis, this does not includ fixing the head gasket.

Prior to sending my car in, there were no faults or anything I had noticed. Should the garage have noticed any of these faults? Does this mean they didn’t check the oil or drain it properly? Can my water leak into my oil within 15 minutes? As a young girl I am clueless about cars and want a second opinion whether it is worth the fight or whether this is the fault of the garage.

Any advice is appreciated.

These videos explain head gasket failure and what it should look like. The Youtubers explain things very clearly. I can't see how this would cost £500. I would go elsewhere just on the basis of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7KVQq9vKA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpozuZakEoE

Turners

I have now been quoted £1,900 for it to be fixed and I’ll be paying under protest.

I have been told that once they removed the head gasket they found the core plugs had failed.

I’m no mechanic but personally I do think that they either did something wrong or didn’t carry out something in the service to contribute to the later effects of the car. After speaking with Citizens Advice I have some rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

£1,900 is a ridiculous amount for the car to be fixed.

Aylesbury_Duck

If it's a "ridiculous amount", don't pay it, scrap the car and put the money towards a replacement.

Why do you think it's ridiculous anyway? What have you compared it to? If it's the only quote you've had and it's a main dealer, you need to shop around.