Car written off by dodgy mechanic.

Lbuk

I took my Ford SMax in to a general mechanic and they fixed something or other (not a car person).

Fast forward about 6 months and it didn’t sound right so took it into a Ford dealer who has basically said that the last time it was fixed they used a clearly incompatible part which had a knock on effect of something melting through my engine.

Its still being fully diagnosed but they have suggested that my car might very well be written off.

Its current value is about £10000.

What can I do?

Grumpy_chap

Lbuk said:

I took my Ford SMax in to a general mechanic and they fixed something or other (not a car person).

Fast forward about 6 months and it didn’t sound right so took it into a Ford dealer who has basically said that the last time it was fixed they used a clearly incompatible part which had a knock on effect of something melting through my engine.

Its still being fully diagnosed but they have suggested that my car might very well be written off.

Its current value is about £10000.

What can I do?

It is very difficult for anyone to assist with such vague descriptions of the fault. 

I appreciate you are not a car person and not mechanically minded, but what was the original reason you took the car to the first garage and can you copy off the invoice from the first repair the description of what was done?

Likewise, can you better describe "it didn't sound right" and have Ford given a quote of what is needed now?

With that information, there may be people on here that can give helpful comment around the issue, possible solutions and how the remedy might be approached in terms of holding the mechanic from 6-months ago liable if appropriate.

It may also help to have information on the age and mileage of the vehicle and which engine type it has.

I assume this is a car you have owned for some time, not a recent purchase.

JJ_Egan

As above  melting through engine does not make any sense .

NSG666

It sounds like the thingumybob has melted the widget in which case you need to sue whatsisname

Ectophile

A new or properly reconditioned engine should cost less than £10000.  So there's no reason to write the car off if it's worth that much.

But beware of cowboys, whose idea of "reconditioning" an engine is buying one from a scrapyard and giving it a jet wash.

tacpot12

You need an written report from the Ford dealer to say what the part was that was fitted and that it melted when the genuine Ford part would not have done so. For this evidence to be in any way useful or relevant, you need to be able to prove that the mechanic fitted this part. The best form of evidence will be a receipt that lists the part. 

With this evidence, you could sue the mechanic for the cost of repairing your engine. If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover, and if you do, call the legal helpline for advice on how to go about suing the mechanic.  

Without some evidence that the mechanic fitted the part, you are not going to be sue them though. 

ButterCheese

Here's what I would do:

Get a full report from the garage explaining exactly what the issue is.

Approach the garage who did the original work and get copies of the invoice and evidence of what aprts were used.

Phone another trusted garage (not a main dealer as this will be much more expensive), and ask them for a quote and if they'll even take on the work i.e. fit a new engine.

Get the car recovered towed there.  You may have to source the engine yourself from a breakers yard.

I wouldn't just accept that the original garage fitted something wrong.  If it has ended up costing you thousands due to their incompitence then I would be chasing them to resolve the problem and/or seeking compensation.  But without all the necessary work history and parts list, you may find it difficult to prove anything.