Bought car, head gasket blew 29 days later
greendoor665
Posts: 126 Forumite
Hi there,
My girlfriend recently passed her test and I helped her buy a car. On Saturday 6th October she purchased a used Peugeot 207 for £1600 from a used car dealer, using a debit card. I had inspected the car, looking inn and under the bonnet, and took it for a short test drive, and all seemed OK.
We left the car at the dealer overnight while we sorted insurance and tax then came and collected it the next day. Since then the car has done about 1000 miles without issue.
In the early hours of this morning, the 4th November, the battery charge warning light came on and then the car lost power and broke down while I was driving it. The car was picked up by a recovery truck and is now at my house.
Upon inspecting the car, the alternator belt is missing (presumably it snapped off shortly before the breakdown), there is a low coolant level, there is oil in the remaining coolant and oil is leaking from the underside of the engine. I believe this means the head gasket has blown, which is an expensive repair.
I phoned the dealer earlier today at 2PM and informed them that the head gasket had blown. The guy I spoke to was not the one I bought the car from , but I gave him the details and he asked me to call back tomorrow wheh they would have the paperwork together.
Given the serious nature of the faults I think it's best we get a refund and try again with a different car. I am aware of the statutory right to a refund within 30 days, but is this from when I make the dealer aware of the fault? I am wary that they will try to weasel out of it as tomorrow is 30 days after she bought the car.
What if the dealer denies the phone call today took place? How should I proceed in order to make sure she gets a full refund? I could send a letter but I'm aware letters are usually deemed to have been received 2 working days after posting which would be outside the 30 day window.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
My girlfriend recently passed her test and I helped her buy a car. On Saturday 6th October she purchased a used Peugeot 207 for £1600 from a used car dealer, using a debit card. I had inspected the car, looking inn and under the bonnet, and took it for a short test drive, and all seemed OK.
We left the car at the dealer overnight while we sorted insurance and tax then came and collected it the next day. Since then the car has done about 1000 miles without issue.
In the early hours of this morning, the 4th November, the battery charge warning light came on and then the car lost power and broke down while I was driving it. The car was picked up by a recovery truck and is now at my house.
Upon inspecting the car, the alternator belt is missing (presumably it snapped off shortly before the breakdown), there is a low coolant level, there is oil in the remaining coolant and oil is leaking from the underside of the engine. I believe this means the head gasket has blown, which is an expensive repair.
I phoned the dealer earlier today at 2PM and informed them that the head gasket had blown. The guy I spoke to was not the one I bought the car from , but I gave him the details and he asked me to call back tomorrow wheh they would have the paperwork together.
Given the serious nature of the faults I think it's best we get a refund and try again with a different car. I am aware of the statutory right to a refund within 30 days, but is this from when I make the dealer aware of the fault? I am wary that they will try to weasel out of it as tomorrow is 30 days after she bought the car.
What if the dealer denies the phone call today took place? How should I proceed in order to make sure she gets a full refund? I could send a letter but I'm aware letters are usually deemed to have been received 2 working days after posting which would be outside the 30 day window.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
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Comments
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If you want to reject then the onus is on you to prove the fault was present at the time of purchase. How old is the car and how many miles has it done?0
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greendoor665 wrote: »What if the dealer denies the phone call today took place?
Does your telephone account allow you to get a detailed list of all calls made?
If so, it would be worth getting a print out of the call made today showing the number and also an advert for the dealer showing the same number.
When was the last time that the oil and coolant levels were checked on the car?0 -
I realise this won't help but I will never understand why people spend quite large sums of money on a car and don't take a mobile mechanic with them to look at the car before handing money over.
If the alternator belt has snapped, there could be other engine problems as well as you are indicating. It could be an expensive repair.
I am writing this in the hope someone somewhere realises its sensible to pay maybe £100 to get the car checked before you hand over large sums of money.
This is a 307, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3030637
Find out if you have records of the phone call as advised. You have receipts for the recovery truck and I would advise getting the car looked at by an independent mechanic / AA/ RAC to establish the state of the engine if the car dealer is difficult. This should have been done before purchase really as I keep saying but its your only way of proving the car has serious damage if it has, and the dealer disagrees.
Google Peugot 207's and timing belt snapped to educate yourself for when you talk to the dealer.0 -
The car is 12 years old and has done 70,000 miles.
I checked the levels when we bought the car and again 2 weeks ago. The oil level is still above the minimum now but the coolant is not.
I should be able to prove the call was made and they are still advertising cars with the same number on Auto Trader.deannatrois wrote: »If the belt has snapped, its likely there is engine trouble as well. Its something to be avoided. Were there any service records showing when the belt was last replaced? It should be replaced regularly as like I said, if they snap it can mean a new engine is needed.
I think you are getting mixed up between the cambelt and the alternator belt - the alternator belt snapping doesn't destroy the engine, it just means the car doesn't generate electricity and so the battery gets worn down til it's flat.
My brother thinks that the alternator belt snapping / falling off maybe have been in part caused by the head gasket issue because it seems that oil and coolant got dumped onto the belt.0 -
if the fan belt has snapped and fallen off then that means the water pump stopped working when it happened....and you carried on driving it.
which would cause over heating and ultimate hg failure.
a fan belt can fail at any time.....i think this one is down to you, there is no way a car with a failed hg can travel 1000 miles trouble free.
but you might be lucky with the dealer.0 -
bobbymotors wrote: »if the fan belt has snapped and fallen off then that means the water pump stopped working when it happened....and you carried on driving it.
which would cause over heating and ultimate hg failure.
a fan belt can fail at any time.....i think this one is down to you, there is no way a car with a failed hg can travel 1000 miles trouble free.
but you might be lucky with the dealer.
+1
HG failure is usually a symptom of a problem, not the cause.
Aux belt snaps, water pump stops spinning, car overheats, head gasket blows.....
Not up to the dealer to sort this out IMHO0 -
deannatrois wrote: »I realise this won't help but I will never understand why people spend quite large sums of money on a car and don't take a mobile mechanic with them to look at the car before handing money over.
If the alternator belt has snapped, there could be other engine problems as well as you are indicating. It could be an expensive repair.
I am writing this in the hope someone somewhere realises its sensible to pay maybe £100 to get the car checked before you hand over large sums of money.
This is a 307, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3030637
Find out if you have records of the phone call as advised. You have receipts for the recovery truck and I would advise getting the car looked at by an independent mechanic / AA/ RAC to establish the state of the engine if the car dealer is difficult. This should have been done before purchase really as I keep saying but its your only way of proving the car has serious damage if it has, and the dealer disagrees.
Google Peugot 207's and timing belt snapped to educate yourself for when you talk to the dealer.
Aux belt = fan belt, not timing belt.0 -
Is the water pump driven by the fan belt on all cars though? I thought on some cars the pump is driven by the cambelt. The Haynes manual suggests that on this particular engine, it's not driven by the fan belt.0
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greendoor665 wrote: »Is the water pump driven by the fan belt on all cars though? I thought on some cars the pump is driven by the cambelt. The Haynes manual suggests that on this particular engine, it's not driven by the fan belt.
What engine is it?0 -
99.99% it will be driven by the fan (auxiliary) belt.
NEVER driven by the cam belt, and I cannot think of any vehicle where the water pump is driven by anything other than the fan belt/ auxiliary belt (may cars have 2 belts, one for the fan, one for the alternator / pas pump / water pump / aircon)
EDIT: I stand corrected. On more modern cars it appears the the timing belt can drive the water pump. Whether it does so on the op's car i have no idea.0
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