Vauxhall Meriva bottom end...or is it?

strawb_shortcake

Hi,  my car, 55 plate 81k miles went in for MOT this week passed with a couple of issues but nothing major. 
Yesterday I drove about 16 miles, filled with fuel, parked a shop and then tried to drive home. Started fine, then cut out on the roundabout, no jump just stopped slowly. Started again fine, drove 400m then it wouldn't accelerate and didn't slow down straightway but then stopped at another roundabout. 
We then pushed  it to a safe place, and RAC came out, it drove fine to manoeuvre it, he was going to follow us to a garage but on revving the car the engine cut out a couple of times and he towed us to the garage.
We thought it was the fuel filter, it was going in for a service next week, diagnostics came up with glow plug relay and fuel rail pressure. 
Garage called today and said it was terminal, bottom end gone, bearings and crankshaft are no good. 
But having looked  at the tell tale signs of this, we didn't have any of the warnings, yes it could be noisy but no oil problems, no problem starting. 
Am I really clutching at straws that they may have got it wrong?? 
Buying another car isn't a problem financially, but I really hate car shopping as it just feels like a massive gamble to me if you get a lemon or not. 
Any words of wisdom?

AdrianC

A 55 plate Meriva is worth about a shiny button, so it's almost academic what the actual issue or cause is. Lob it.

Did the oil pressure warning light come on? When did you last check the oil level?

strawb_shortcake

AdrianC said:

A 55 plate Meriva is worth about a shiny button, so it's almost academic what the actual issue or cause is. Lob it.

Did the oil pressure warning light come on? When did you last check the oil level?

I realise it's not worth much, it's just been fairly reliable. Oil is checked weekly and no issues there at all, other Vauxhall's I've had have got through huge amounts of oil so it's something we check regularly. No the oil light didn't come on. 

Ganga

Normally when the crank/big end bearings go the engine is very noisy, no offence but you did put the correct fuel in the tank when you went to the petrol station, also its possible but certainly a rarity that the fuel station has mixed up the fuels in storage

strawb_shortcake

Ganga said:

Normally when the crank/big end bearings go the engine is very noisy, no offence but you did put the correct fuel in the tank when you went to the petrol station, also its possible but certainly a rarity that the fuel station has mixed up the fuels in storage

That was my husband's first thought, we checked the receipt and it was definitely diesel, the RAC chap said he'd check but not sure if this would come up on the diagnostics?? 
The car did seem loud compared to when I drive hire cars for work, but it certainly wasn't worryingly loud. The cause just seems to have come as a surprise to everyone, my mechanic thought it was going to be the timing belt. 

AdrianC

Petrol in a diesel wouldn't take the crank and bearings out. It'd just run badly then stop.

It's entirely possible that a bearing shell could "pick up" without much warning. Unusual, but possible. I presume they've dropped the sump?

strawb_shortcake

AdrianC said:

Petrol in a diesel wouldn't take the crank and bearings out. It'd just run badly then stop.

It's entirely possible that a bearing shell could "pick up" without much warning. Unusual, but possible. I presume they've dropped the sump?

I don't know? I'm picking it up in the morning so I will ask a few more questions then. They've told us we'd be able to drive it the 1/2 mile home. 
Admittedly we don't need a car immediately as I'm working from home for the foreseeable, so I don't need to rush into buying a car, it's just one those things I really stress about doing.