Ripped off… help

voixdeville

Hi,

We have a Volkswagen campervan, it is quite old and had an engine recondition last year costing £3,500.

The mechanics who did the job were clearly incompetent, they kept us waiting around 3 months for the job to be done- when it should have taken 2 weeks. There were numerous communication problems, fobbing off, even aggression to get them to complete the job.

The van has never worked properly since, we have had endless problems with it – and we’ve been told today that the van needs a new engine again! 

I was wondering if you could advise me as to what to do about this issue – we have clearly been ripped off, but I’m not sure how to pursue this further.

Thanks

AdrianC

How old a VW Transporter are we talking about?

Did they recondition your existing engine, or swap it for a "reconditioned" one bought in from another company?

There are some shockingly bad "recon" engines around for the flat-fours, both air-cooled and especially water-cooled. For the water-cooled flat-fours, you quite literally cannot buy the parts they claim to fit for the price they charge for a "rebuilt" engine.

voixdeville

They reconditioned our existing engine. Our van is a 2006 plate T5 but has done around 300,000 miles – on the old engine /‘new engine’. 

Thanks

AdrianC

Oh, blimey, I thought you meant rear-engined... T5's new!

Far easier, cheaper, and better to source a less knackered engine from a bent van.

voixdeville

Thanks- that’s a good idea. Any recommendations on how to find a decent engine then? Thanks

Grumpy_chap

voixdeville said:

Hi,

We have a Volkswagen campervan, it is quite old and had an engine recondition last year costing £3,500.

The mechanics who did the job were clearly incompetent, they kept us waiting around 3 months for the job to be done- when it should have taken 2 weeks. There were numerous communication problems, fobbing off, even aggression to get them to complete the job.

The van has never worked properly since, we have had endless problems with it – and we’ve been told today that the van needs a new engine again! 

I was wondering if you could advise me as to what to do about this issue – we have clearly been ripped off, but I’m not sure how to pursue this further.

Thanks

Who told you that you need a new engine (again)?

Did the work last year come with any warranty?  (May be academic if the company is as bad as you describe.)

voixdeville

It was our friend (who is a mechanic) who had a brief look at it yesterday.

No, the work didn’t come with a warranty.

Thanks

marlot

I feel your pain - I had something similar happen to me some years ago.

I found the best way to get a decent engine was to buy another vehicle with a knackered body but which seemed ok mechanically.  I ran that for a month to make sure it was ok, then swapped the engine over.  I also kept/sold a few other items from the donor vehicle before it went off for scrap.

Ectophile

Sounds like a job for a good independent VW specialist to me

They should know all the problems the engine is likely to have, and where to get parts.

Ganga

voixdeville said:

Hi,

We have a Volkswagen campervan, it is quite old and had an engine recondition last year costing £3,500.

The mechanics who did the job were clearly incompetent, they kept us waiting around 3 months for the job to be done- when it should have taken 2 weeks. There were numerous communication problems, fobbing off, even aggression to get them to complete the job.

The van has never worked properly since, we have had endless problems with it – and we’ve been told today that the van needs a new engine again! 

I was wondering if you could advise me as to what to do about this issue – we have clearly been ripped off, but I’m not sure how to pursue this further.

Thanks

Have you approached the original mechanics about possible warranty claim ?