Dealer did not replace timing belt at correct interval causing engine to cut out and a large bill

Jumblebumble

born_again said:

Re above.

How would you feel if you got charges for a new belt before it was due to be changed?
Manufactures set limits for a reason. 
If OP wanted it changing they should have asked for it to be done. Especially given they knew it was due soon.

Many people would not pay main dealer prices for such work & take it to a trusted independent, when it was actually due.

I don't suppose the OP had any objection to the dealer advising what they think needs to be done
I have a Citroën and my Main Dealer does exactly that  by considering that this is part of what a service consists of.
They always ring me and get explicit  permission for any extra work as any competent garage does.
I personally  think the Main Dealer is a negligent incompetent fool.as they are charging a huge amount of labour but behaving like some sort of apprentice having apparently no concept of the issues regarding wet belts
I wonder if they even checked using a wet belt checking tool which i would very strongly suspect is  a  subject covered by a Citroen service bulletin
https://www.gsfcarparts.com/products/petrol-engine-timing-belt-checking-gauge-for-psa-10-12-belt-drive-seavse5094

Frozen_up_north

Main dealers/importers usually have a major service and a lower cost oil/filter service. Then they have options, such as brake fluid, air conditioning top up, etc.

While it is easy to assume a main dealer will be keen to include lucrative extras, you are dealing with a receptionist, not a trained technician.

In recent years I have found small independent garages far more knowledgeable as you are dealing with the people doing the work. I have had a main dealer claiming my air conditioning was faulty and wanted to charge close to £200, it was working to specification. On another occasion my main dealer couldn’t find a brake fault (seized brake cylinder and badly corroded inside of brake disc). The receptionist also said they don’t rotate wheels on a service on my 4 x 4 as it is 2 wheel drive - the service schedule required the wheels to be rotated on every service -and it is 4 wheel drive.

Bottom line, do not assume anything.

Barkin

ThisIsWeird said:

HippyAndy said:

Looking for advice...
The (wet) timing belt on my Citroen C4 Grand Picasso failed after 72,000 miles requiring the garage (Main dealer) to replace the belt and drop the sump and clean out all the rubber pieces, resulting in a bill of approx £2000. At my last service the mileage was 62,900 which is only 1100 short of the belt replacement interval of 64000 miles. I always have it serviced by the main dealer. When I questioned the aftersales manager as to why it hadn't been replaced he said they have had a change of management and he couldn't comment on why the belt hadn't been replaced at the correct interval. Is there anything I can do to recover part or all of the cost?

Blimey - some folk seem to think this is acceptable. It just cannot be.
... 
At 64k, only 1k short of the recommended cam belt change, should the dealer have said anything - recommended the belt change? Of course they should.

Agreed on both points.

Even if it wasn't mentioned when it was booked in, I'd expect a call along the lines of "are you aware it's almost due a belt change?"
It's then up to the OP whether they have it done - so no unexpected bills.

FWIW the place that I use used to send me a letter to remind me that the MOT test was due soon. They use email nowadays.

born_again

Frozen_up_north said:

While it is easy to assume a main dealer will be keen to include lucrative extras, you are dealing with a receptionist, not a trained technician.

Exactly
A friend bought a Corse E.
It failed while charging & would not start.
They rang garage & spoke to desk person. Who said you need to put petrol in. Answered with it's EV, not a Hybrid. To which they answered. Oh, Yes. Even EV's still need petrol to run🤦‍♀️🤣 

WellKnownSid

born_again said:

They rang garage & spoke to desk person. Who said you need to put petrol in. Answered with it's EV, not a Hybrid. To which they answered. Oh, Yes. Even EV's still need petrol to run🤦‍♀️🤣 

I was charged for four new spark plugs when my diesel Toyota last had a main-dealer service

I was asked if I wanted to buy a 1litre bottle of 'top up' engine oil when I had the Zoe serviced  

HippyAndy

Thanks for all your advice and comments.

In the end I had the work done and paid the money. I then received an automated text from Citroen UK, who asked me to rate the garage out of 10 I gave them a (generous, in my view) 3.

The very next day I received an email from the garage apologising for the mis-communication and offering me two free services + MOTs!

At about £400 a service, this leaves me about £1200 down, which is how much it would have cost to change the belt (without having to clean the little bits of rubber out of the engine).Hope you all have a very merry Christmas, and again, thanks.

HippyAndy

ThisIsWeird said:

HippyAndy said:

Looking for advice...
The (wet) timing belt on my Citroen C4 Grand Picasso failed after 72,000 miles requiring the garage (Main dealer) to replace the belt and drop the sump and clean out all the rubber pieces, resulting in a bill of approx £2000. At my last service the mileage was 62,900 which is only 1100 short of the belt replacement interval of 64000 miles. I always have it serviced by the main dealer. When I questioned the aftersales manager as to why it hadn't been replaced he said they have had a change of management and he couldn't comment on why the belt hadn't been replaced at the correct interval. Is there anything I can do to recover part or all of the cost?

Blimey - some folk seem to think this is acceptable. It just cannot be.
Ok, a sizeable element of this is whether the main Citroen dealer was asked to carry out a 'full' service each time? As pointed out, that means it follows the full servicing guidelines in the record book, which would include things like brake fluid changes, lub'ing of parts, pollen filter, and - absolutely - the cam belt change at the required intervals. 
So, that's the first point; was it always a 'full' service, Andy? If so, pursue this via Citroen central, as you can almost certainly oblige them to cover this repair. And I don't just mean the 'balance' of payment between the £2k and the usual cam belt swap price, but considerably more, because your car is now tainted, and has a fair chance of further issues developing as a result of these wee rubber particles in your oil delivery channels. So, £2k, or near-as.
If you haven't had 'full' servicing carried out, but only the main aspects such as the oil and filter changes, then you are on weaker ground, but still the belt should not have failed at 72k, because the oil was presumably the correct grade, and replaced at the required intervals. A sizeable aspect here, tho', is whether the dealer, as part of your 'small' services, also tended to advise you of the other significant requirements, such as brake fluid changes?
Ok, your case would be weaker in this scenario, but a main dealer surely cannot absolve themselves of any culpability here; they are the 'experts', and part of their remit should be to 'advise'. "Hmm, these wheel nuts are a bit loose - should I tell the customer? Let's see - nope, he's only asked for a small service..." Ok, I'm justing making a point. At 64k, only 1k short of the recommended cam belt change, should the dealer have said anything - recommended the belt change? Of course they should.
So, did they?
And a quite sizeable issue is whether the belt should have disintegrated and snapped at 72k miles, only 7k beyond the recommended mileage? No, it shouldn't have.
These recommended intervals have/should have sizeable safety margins built in; they should still be fully secure at the time 65k is reached, with zero visible deterioration. '65k' shouldn't be a 'gamble' - it is effectively guaranteed. But, somehow, a further 7k miles, on fresh oil, was too much?! Pah!
Andy, do you have LegPol on your insurance, car or house?
Did you always have a full service?
Did the dealer mention the cam belt?
Has the dealer mentioned things like brake fluid changes in the past?

I have owned the vehicle from new, and was not given a service schedule, so it's har to see how I could have known. I didn't ask for any particular kind of service as I have always left it to the dealer - they do a major or minor as the service schedule requires and they ask me before carrying out additional items that may be required. Actually, they are usually very good. I used them for my previous car as well, and this is the only issue I've had with them in nearly 10 years.