Cam Belt on Used Car Just bought

Ebe_Scrooge

As AdrianC says, cambelts either work or they don't. That's one of the annoying things about them - you get no warning that they're on their way out, as you would with most other components. One day they're fine, then next minute - bang, and you're looking at a very expensive repair bill.

Cambelts are not part of a normal service as such - but they should be changed as per the manufacturer's recommendation. It always a wise move to have them replaced ( along with water pump, tensioners and all other associated gubbins ) when you buy a used car, if you're in any doubt as to when it was last changed, and if it's getting close to the recommended "change time". Obviously you'd factor the cost of this into the price you're prepared to pay for the car.

The garage has no obligation to replace it - and it almost certainly won't be covered by any warranty. The best thing you could have done would be to see if they'd have been prepared to change it for you at a discounted price, or else knock a bit of the sale price to allow you to get the work done yourself. It's one of those things that can commonly be used as a negotiation point.

So, in summary - the cambelt is your problem now (and you'd be wise to get it replaced if it's close to being due), but you certainly have a right to go back to the garage and get them to sort out the other problems.

Norman_Castle

The salesman may have been doing you a favour by pointing out the potential cam belt failure. Try contacting the previous owner, the work may have been done but not marked in the service history.

foxy-stoat

cofito wrote: »

is it legally correct that he has no responsibility to fix it?

No, he is not breaking any laws in not replacing the cambelt. He has obligations to tell the truth and not lie to you, something that he has brought to your attention.

If you cannot find out for sure if the cambelt and water pump have been changed in line with manufacturer's recommendations then get them done as soon as possible.

Get them to fix any faults first though, incase you have to return the car if they cannot fix them first time.

motorguy

Norman_Castle wrote: »

The salesman may have been doing you a favour by pointing out the potential cam belt failure. Try contacting the previous owner, the work may have been done but not marked in the service history.

May be hard to find the previous owner due to GDPR. Its not on the V5C etc.

cofito

Thanks everyone for your input

Drove down the motorway this morning and had 5 quite big power drops so turned straight around and took it to the garage.

They are changing a few parts to see if they can fix the issue on the power drops. Waiting for a call to pick it back up.

I spoke to the AA as well. They were the same in terms of cambelt did not suggest it would be to do with it, did think that it should of been changed by the garage before selling but guess thats just an opinion rather than a legal requirement.

Waiting for a call back to see what is going on

caprikid1

There is no requirement for a garage to change a cam belt or ensure it is within it's service interval.

System

cofito wrote: »

Thanks for the reply

I am only going but the sites i have googled mention

You start to find regular problems in starting the car:
and a misfire of the engine or loss of power

two things that may be the cam belt

But usually it is things like spark plugs needing changing and the car needing a service or a good thrashing if it was owned by my grandad. This is the problem with using Google when you don't know about a subject - you automatically jump to the answer that supports your pre-conception and beliefs even if its completely wrong, ignoring all the others giving far more appropriate answers.

cofito

Tarambor wrote: »

But usually it is things like spark plugs needing changing and the car needing a service or a good thrashing if it was owned by my grandad. This is the problem with using Google when you don't know about a subject - you automatically jump to the answer that supports your pre-conception and beliefs even if its completely wrong, ignoring all the others giving far more appropriate answers.

Completely agree. It was just because he mentioned the cam belt that it was put in my mind... and why wouldnt it had he not we would be in the same position but I wouldnt have been googling cam belts. Hopefully car will be back today

k6chris

Just get it changed. £300 or something like that, peace of mind and reliability of car for another 70,000 miles.



https://www.whocanfixmycar.com/services/cambelt-change

AdrianC

cofito wrote: »

Completely agree. It was just because he mentioned the cam belt that it was put in my mind... and why wouldnt it had he not we would be in the same position but I wouldnt have been googling cam belts. Hopefully car will be back today

If he hadn't mentioned the cambelt needed changing, you'd have blithely driven the car then looked surprised when the cambelt snapped. Now, you know it needs changing in the near future.