Faulty car

eskbanker

Have Cinch actually had the opportunity to inspect the vehicle yet?

I appreciate that there's a sense of urgency to fix faults identified by other mechanics (who you might consider to be more credible), especially in a breakdown recovery scenario, but replacing the belt, for example, denies Cinch the chance to examine the condition of the old one, which doesn't necessarily get them off the hook as such but may hinder any attempt to get them to pay for it, and the other work carried out (as above) potentially muddies the water too. Having said that, an audit trail of supporting photos may mitigate this…

GDB2222

The timing belt is a rather different issue than the other ones. For example, tyres obviously wear, and DD has done over 5000 miles in the car. DD evidently has a car where the oil needs topping up fairly frequently, yet she did not even check it, so the breakdown is her fault.

But the timing belt should last a long time. You have the evidence from the mechanic's report. Better still would be if you had the old belt or at least pictures of it. Even without that, you seem to have a reasonable case against Cinch for the cost of replacing the belt.

Ayr_Rage

@GDB2222 the wet belt, which runs in oil, was 20,000+ miles past the replacement mileage and also in an engine that was low in that vital oil as the owner wasn't topping it up.

They were lucky it only shed the bits found in the sump, didn't block oilways or fail completely resulting in catastrophic failure.

Even if it has been previously replaced, running that engine with low oil is plain daft.

I cannot see any claim unless Cinch have falsified service records.

Soarfree

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139406#Comment_82139406

here are the photos the mechanic took

GDB2222

Would the mechanic be able to provide a report saying whether, in all probability, the belt was already starting to break up at the time that the car was bought?

GDB2222

If the wet belt was 20000 miles past its replacement mileage when Cinch sold the car, surely that is a pretty big deal? I agree that running the car with insufficient oil was probably a contributing factor in the deterioration of the belt. But you seem to think that a consumer buying a second hand car from a dealer should be knowledgeable about the service interval for the timing belt. I don’t think that is reasonable.

If the belt needed changing at 60000 miles, it should have been done before the sale?

Jumblebumble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139523#Comment_82139523

We would need a few more facts.

Did the OP talk to Stellantis as they give a 10 year warranty on wet belt issues on Puretech

In the light of this my belief is the most wet belt issues are directly caused directly by people who think they know better than the manufacturer as to which specification of oil to use

Has the car always had the correct Stellantis specified oil at all its services ( this is really important as the wrong oil rots the belt and Stellantis changed the spec not so long ago)

Has the Wet belt change interval been stated by Stellantis and not others who speculate?

A Citroen main dealer lied by explicitly stating that the interval on a 2016 C1 was 80k or 6 years

(Same one that claimed a cracked spring that my MOT guy with 20 years experience said was fabricated nonsense so I was not surprised )

Would anyone like to guess what Citroen UK say the wet belt change on a 2016 C1 interval is?

Soarfree

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139506#Comment_82139506

thank you- here’s what the mechanic wrote on the existing report- I guess not explicit enough re timing belt condition.

Inspection findings & recommendations

• NSF (nearside front) tyre is bald and requires replacement before the vehicle is considered roadworthy.

• Timing-belt material/debris was found in the oil pan.

• The removed timing belt was found to be in very poor condition / severely deteriorated.

• Engine timing was checked and adjusted as required.

Work carried out

Wet timing belt replacement carried out. Full service completed. Engine timing checked and adjusted. A full

vehicle check was also carried out and the above additional condition findings were recorded.

Soarfree

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139585#Comment_82139585

no I didn’t talk to Stellantis and here is the service history for the Vauxhall corsa my daughter got from cinch- so no idea if the timing belt was changed before

QrizB

no I didn’t talk to Stellantis

Despite what sme others have said, I don't see any reason why you would speak to Stellantis - the timing belt didn't fail and has now been changed.

here is the service history for the Vauxhall corsa my daughter got from cinch

That's not "service history" as most people on this board would describe it. Service history is a record of what work was undertaken, as well as the dates it was done.

The car should have come with a service book and/or a printed record showing full details of the service history. Without those details, it's meaningless.

Among the details it would say when the timing belt was changed, if indeed it ever was. That's one of the things you'd look for as a buyer.