Who is responsible? (faulty parts)
Discussion
Long and short of it,
Bought a thermostat for my car
Fitted by a garage
Thermostat failed and set my car on fire, burnt out wiring loom in engine bay.
Part deemed as faulty
Research shows this isn't the first time this part has failed burning peoples wiring out
Bought online from a company that sells car parts for slightly less than others.
Receipt says I paid a distributor of European car parts.
People who were paid told me nothing to do with them, and to speak to the people who sell their items for less. (same company)
Contacted that company who told me I then need to contact eBay user XXYX, as nothing to do with them, but this companies eBay username is XXYX.
I need to pay the bill to have the car back on the road, thankfully my garage have been ok with this, but I am getting a bit pissed off with this now so I just need to know where I am sending the bill.
Is it the company I paid, or the company I "purchased" it from?
Bought a thermostat for my car
Fitted by a garage
Thermostat failed and set my car on fire, burnt out wiring loom in engine bay.
Part deemed as faulty
Research shows this isn't the first time this part has failed burning peoples wiring out
Bought online from a company that sells car parts for slightly less than others.
Receipt says I paid a distributor of European car parts.
People who were paid told me nothing to do with them, and to speak to the people who sell their items for less. (same company)
Contacted that company who told me I then need to contact eBay user XXYX, as nothing to do with them, but this companies eBay username is XXYX.
I need to pay the bill to have the car back on the road, thankfully my garage have been ok with this, but I am getting a bit pissed off with this now so I just need to know where I am sending the bill.
Is it the company I paid, or the company I "purchased" it from?
How can a faulty thermostat set a car on fire? The thermostat regulates the flow of coolant, and if it fails the engine may overheat, but you'd have to drive the overheating car until it practically exploded before it catches fire. You would usually notice overheating before that point.
Sorry, no internet.
The company got back to me to tell me to ring a phone number which belongs to the people that got paid.
Thermostat is Circoli I think.
As for how, on an E39 540i the thermostat has a preheater which "fools" the car into thinking it is running hotter by pulling it closed to give better fuel economy on the motorway, it appears that the cheap ones have a tendency to short out, melt and get the wiring very hot.
Here is one from an E39
My one
The company got back to me to tell me to ring a phone number which belongs to the people that got paid.
Thermostat is Circoli I think.
As for how, on an E39 540i the thermostat has a preheater which "fools" the car into thinking it is running hotter by pulling it closed to give better fuel economy on the motorway, it appears that the cheap ones have a tendency to short out, melt and get the wiring very hot.
Here is one from an E39
My one
pits said:
Long and short of it,
Bought a thermostat for my car
Fitted by a garage
Thermostat failed and set my car on fire, burnt out wiring loom in engine bay.
Part deemed as faulty
Research shows this isn't the first time this part has failed burning peoples wiring out
Bought online from a company that sells car parts for slightly less than others.
Receipt says I paid a distributor of European car parts.
People who were paid told me nothing to do with them, and to speak to the people who sell their items for less. (same company)
Contacted that company who told me I then need to contact eBay user XXYX, as nothing to do with them, but this companies eBay username is XXYX.
I need to pay the bill to have the car back on the road, thankfully my garage have been ok with this, but I am getting a bit pissed off with this now so I just need to know where I am sending the bill.
Is it the company I paid, or the company I "purchased" it from?
Your contract is with the company you purchased it from. Whether the supply was fulfilled by a different company is their problem, not yours.Bought a thermostat for my car
Fitted by a garage
Thermostat failed and set my car on fire, burnt out wiring loom in engine bay.
Part deemed as faulty
Research shows this isn't the first time this part has failed burning peoples wiring out
Bought online from a company that sells car parts for slightly less than others.
Receipt says I paid a distributor of European car parts.
People who were paid told me nothing to do with them, and to speak to the people who sell their items for less. (same company)
Contacted that company who told me I then need to contact eBay user XXYX, as nothing to do with them, but this companies eBay username is XXYX.
I need to pay the bill to have the car back on the road, thankfully my garage have been ok with this, but I am getting a bit pissed off with this now so I just need to know where I am sending the bill.
Is it the company I paid, or the company I "purchased" it from?
Taking a wild guess <rolls eyes> about the two business you're referring to, they are definitely separate legal entities, according to their Companies House registrations, although in previous threads on here there have been relationships show up on various other credit checks.
Whether you can PROVE that the damage arises solely from the part that they sold you is another question entierly.
The company that shows as being paid on the paypal invoice is a European specialist.
The people whose eBay account shows up on the paypal is a company who sell items for a bit less.
Make of that what you will
ETA: Report done on it by mechanic and wiring doesn't start somewhere in the middle and work itself down to a point, if you know what I mean as electrical fires just rip through a car.
Also the secondary company selling bits for less confirmed they are one and the same, the European specialist handles all their accounts and stock.
The people whose eBay account shows up on the paypal is a company who sell items for a bit less.
Make of that what you will
ETA: Report done on it by mechanic and wiring doesn't start somewhere in the middle and work itself down to a point, if you know what I mean as electrical fires just rip through a car.
Also the secondary company selling bits for less confirmed they are one and the same, the European specialist handles all their accounts and stock.
Edited by pits on Tuesday 23 September 10:23
pits said:
Sorry, no internet.
The company got back to me to tell me to ring a phone number which belongs to the people that got paid.
Thermostat is Circoli I think.
As for how, on an E39 540i the thermostat has a preheater which "fools" the car into thinking it is running hotter by pulling it closed to give better fuel economy on the motorway, it appears that the cheap ones have a tendency to short out, melt and get the wiring very hot.
Here is one from an E39
My one
That little burned area is what you're saying is set the car on fire". I was expecting a real mess not an area that would scrub clean with a little bit of elbow grease. The company got back to me to tell me to ring a phone number which belongs to the people that got paid.
Thermostat is Circoli I think.
As for how, on an E39 540i the thermostat has a preheater which "fools" the car into thinking it is running hotter by pulling it closed to give better fuel economy on the motorway, it appears that the cheap ones have a tendency to short out, melt and get the wiring very hot.
Here is one from an E39
My one
pits said:
As for how, on an E39 540i the thermostat has a preheater which "fools" the car into thinking it is running hotter by pulling it closed to give better fuel economy on the motorway, it appears that the cheap ones have a tendency to short out, melt and get the wiring very hot.
An object lesson for us all in the risks of buying cheap pattern parts. Unfortunately there's a lot of crap out there. Buying parts from the franchised dealer may well cost more, but at least you should get the latest variant of a part with hopefully the bugs ironed out. (Recently sorted a heater fan loom burning out issue on a 307, well known issue on the Pug forums, the latest genuine replacement loom section is different from that originally fitted)OP good luck getting it sorted.
Edited by paintman on Tuesday 23 September 20:03
TooMany2cvs said:
Which business provided the actual VAT invoice you received?
Not sure if you can see that as it appears my computer wants to save the photo and turn it into a potato, the PayPal account paid was the European one so I guess it is those?
Loon, that melted the wiring loom up into the engine it took several hours to separate and trace it all back, then rewire, the plug that came off it disintegrated in my hand
pits said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Which business provided the actual VAT invoice you received?
Not sure if you can see that as it appears my computer wants to save the photo and turn it into a potato, the PayPal account paid was the European one so I guess it is those?
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