Land Rover engine failure

Jandy5565

Hope you guys can help here,

We bought a Land Rover Discovery through Carmoola finance on 02/11/2024 from a registered AA approved dealer of there recommendation.

We had some bugs in the first few weeks (washer bottle leaked, coolant cap broken) but on 16/03/2025 the car engine stopped at 60mph on the dual carriageway.

AA attended and said they suspect the timing chain to have snapped. We got the car dropped of at Land Rover who 2 weeks later (and £280 lighter) confirmed that the chain had snapped.

We have tried contacting the dealership but they have non responsive to emails and calls but Carmoola sent an engineer from DEKRA to confirm the issue.

He stated the same that the chain had gone and its due to the age and mileage of the vehicle. I asked if any investigation had been done i.e was the chain, sprockets, guides etc inspected and they said no.

Carmoola have now washed there hands of it and want us to do an early settlement as we are 3 payments into a 4 year finance agreement...or get the car fixed by Land Rover at a cost of £15K

The cars worth £9000, we cannot afford the £15000 repair bill but still have the finance.

WE have owned the car now for 4 months now and not been able to drive it for one of them.

Does anyone know where we stand as we have been sold faulty goods

Ayr_Rage

How old is the vehicle?

What is the current mileage and what was the mileage when you purchased it?

Has it been serviced in accordance with the LR schedule and when was the last service carried out?

Old vehicles break down and as the fault was not present when you purchased the vehicle you'll have a hard task proving you were sold a faulty vehicle.

Olinda99

you need to see how often (probably in miles) LR mandate the chain to be changed

ie has it failed prematurely?

CliveOfIndia

Jandy5565 said:

He stated the same that the chain had gone and its due to the age and mileage of the vehicle.

What age and mileage?  Chains do last a lot longer than belts, but still have a finite lifespan.  The important thing is, has the vehicle been serviced in line with manufacturer's schedule, and had the chain been changed if it was due to be changed.  In particular, oil changes at the correct interval and using the correct grade of oil are important for any car, arguably even more so for a chain-driven model.

The difficulty is going to be in proving that the car was faulty when you bought it.  A cam-chain (or, indeed, a cam-belt for that matter) is not something that can be easily inspected to see if it's on the way out - it relies on being serviced and (if applicable) changed at the specified intervals.

Jandy5565 said:

get the car fixed by Land Rover at a cost of £15K

If all else fails, it would definitely be worth getting a quote from an independent mechanic.  Land Rovers are not exactly rare, and there's nothing particularly special about their engines - any mechanic worth their salt would be able to fix it.  Obviously it depends on what damage has been caused (which is hugely variable in a scenario like this, and would need someone to take a proper look), and it may turn out that a reconditioned engine would be a slightly cheaper option.  But it's got to be worth getting a second opinion from somewhere who's not going to charge main-dealer rates.

Ayr_Rage

@CliveOfIndia, correct, plenty of LR specialists about and they are usually pretty busy as the product is so flaky.

LightFlare

Probably looking at a 66/67 or 68 plate with 100K+ for 9k

Need to check the service record and if the belt had been changes at the recommended intervals

photome

LightFlare said:

Probably looking at a 66/67 or 68 plate with 100K+ for 9k

Need to check the service record and if the belt had been changes at the recommended intervals

OP says it was a chain not a belt, does the chain have a recommended change interval ? 

m0bov

The finance company are jointly liable. Given the cost it might be worth seeking paid for advice 

born_again

m0bov said:

The finance company are jointly liable. Given the cost it might be worth seeking paid for advice 

While true. Sounds like finance co have already been involved & said no..

From OP
We have tried contacting the dealership but they have non responsive to emails and calls but Carmoola sent an engineer from DEKRA to confirm the issue.

He stated the same that the chain had gone and its due to the age and mileage of the vehicle. I asked if any investigation had been done i.e was the chain, sprockets, guides etc inspected and they said no.

OP would have to get a 3rd party report. Then argue that DEKRA are wrong. With finance co. Which is going to end up @ FOS

https://www.dekra.com/en/about-dekra/

Ergates

photome said:

LightFlare said:

Probably looking at a 66/67 or 68 plate with 100K+ for 9k

Need to check the service record and if the belt had been changes at the recommended intervals

OP says it was a chain not a belt, does the chain have a recommended change interval ? 

Yes.  It's longer than for a belt, but still there.