Timing belt failure just out of warranty
Discussion
Ouroboros said:
tim0409 said:
I thought it was caveat emptor when purchasing from a private individual, unless the car was misdescribed?
yes sounds like one of those made up stories.Basically only description, there is nothing about fit for purpose etc.
Sheepshanks said:
Ouroboros said:
tim0409 said:
I thought it was caveat emptor when purchasing from a private individual, unless the car was misdescribed?
yes sounds like one of those made up stories.Basically only description, there is nothing about fit for purpose etc.
I should know as it happened to me on a fully serviced VGC car that nearly killed me & cost me 3k to fix.
Edited by Portofino on Tuesday 9th August 22:09
No ideas for a name said:
If I had to guess, I would think that the alternator belt has failed... a failure to charge then triggering the start stop inoperative message. The alternator belt has then legged-up the cam belt and then it is game over.
If the alternator wasn't charging you'd get a red battery warning within a couple of minutes at most, likely much sooner, as the battery voltage dipped.If it wrapped itself around the pulleys and interfered with the engine turning over it wouldn't start then die after a few seconds. It wouldn't be likely to turn over at all.
This sounds like tensioner failure, but why it would still run is a bit of an odd one.
Portofino said:
Sheepshanks said:
Ouroboros said:
tim0409 said:
I thought it was caveat emptor when purchasing from a private individual, unless the car was misdescribed?
yes sounds like one of those made up stories.Basically only description, there is nothing about fit for purpose etc.
I should know as it happened to me on a fully serviced VGC car that nearly killed me & cost me 3k to fix.
Edited by Portofino on Tuesday 9th August 22:09
This is why the likes of webuyanycar are doing so well.
Tensioner has failed and stripped teeth on the belt. It'll have ran initially for a little bit as the timing was out, but out enough to run.
I'm betting you'll get a healthy amount of goodwill if it's also been maintained within the Audi network.
50/50 as the whether it'll just need a belt and tensioner or a complete engine though I'm afraid.
With regards to the receptionist's advise, pretty much every service adviser or receptionist I've come across think amber light = OK, red light = bad.
No matter how many times they're told the MIL and DPF lights don't change colour!
I'm betting you'll get a healthy amount of goodwill if it's also been maintained within the Audi network.
50/50 as the whether it'll just need a belt and tensioner or a complete engine though I'm afraid.
With regards to the receptionist's advise, pretty much every service adviser or receptionist I've come across think amber light = OK, red light = bad.
No matter how many times they're told the MIL and DPF lights don't change colour!
Look up the engine type and check whether it is an "interference" engine - i.e. whether the valves may possibly ever "interfere" with the pistons or whether it is simply impossible for them to ever meet. Unfortunately quite a few if not most engines are of the interference sort. If this is the case and the belt has failed the normal scenario is a bent or broken valve or valves and indentations on the piston. Normally, new valves where required will fix this.
If it's a non interference engine, new belt is all it will need, plus anything that may have caused the belt failure, tensioners or whatever.
If it's a non interference engine, new belt is all it will need, plus anything that may have caused the belt failure, tensioners or whatever.
Limpet said:
A claim against a private seller for a mechanical failure on a 150,000 mile car would surely be laughed out of court. If true, I actually feel sorry for the seller.
This is why the likes of webuyanycar are doing so well.
Well it absolutely wasn’t laughed out of court.This is why the likes of webuyanycar are doing so well.
I won on the grounds of item not as described - per ad it said it was in good running order. When I bought it, it wasn’t.
Caveat emptor is just myth!
Obviously this came to a surprise with me also, from reading all the advice online about private sellers I thought my chances were very slim. You don’t have as many right as from a dealer but you do still have some rights.
I feel sorry for the seller too in a way, he didn’t mean to sell a dud car but one of us was going to be out of pocket by 3k here so i would rather that be him!
DanSkoda said:
pretty much every service adviser or receptionist I've come across think amber light = OK, red light = bad.
No matter how many times they're told the MIL and DPF lights don't change colour!
Ain't that the truth.No matter how many times they're told the MIL and DPF lights don't change colour!
Once you've got a light it's a good idea to find out what's wrong asap, especially if there's the remotest hint of "funny noises".
Red = Trouble, stop immediately.
Amber = Trouble, get it sorted soonest. The catch these days is many EMLs can be trivial, like fuel cap not shut.
Amber + any noises = Double-plus-trouble.
The catch with belts is that if anything seizes they can break. Water pump, A/C compressor, alternator, tensioner. I had a brand new Saab where the A/C compressor seized and snapped the belt.
Byker28i said:
littleruss said:
Official belt change is 120k / 5 years according to the dealer today, so nowhere even close.
I've just bought a 2018 Seat Leon 1.6D- same engine? Even though it was 4 years old and only done 22k miles, the main dealer changed the cambelt as part of the sale.Bobton125 said:
Limpet said:
A claim against a private seller for a mechanical failure on a 150,000 mile car would surely be laughed out of court. If true, I actually feel sorry for the seller.
This is why the likes of webuyanycar are doing so well.
Well it absolutely wasn’t laughed out of court.This is why the likes of webuyanycar are doing so well.
I won on the grounds of item not as described - per ad it said it was in good running order. When I bought it, it wasn’t.
te and then be completely off the hook once the deal is done. Stuff that's completely qualitative like 'best colour' or 'baddest Beemer in Bolton' will be dismissed as mere sales puff, but if you say that the car you are selling is in 'good running order' and it falls to bits the very next day, then it's not surprising that a judge concludes that it wasn't actually in 'good running order', that the seller is guilty of misrepresentation, and that the buyer is entitled to his money back.Edit: to actually be of some use to the OP: you bought the car from the dealer, so talk to the dealer. Make it clear that so far as you are concerned you shouldn't have to pay anything at all given the age and mileage of the car and that it's been serviced properly.
Edited by Roger Irrelevant on Wednesday 10th August 16:39
Bobton125 said:
I feel sorry for the seller too in a way, he didn’t mean to sell a dud car but one of us was going to be out of pocket by 3k here so i would rather that be him!
And people wonder why dealers won't sell their cheap old part exchanges anymore....Because people like this will only take responsibility for their own actions once backed into a corner with no other choice.
Let the dealers take a look at it.Bobton125 said:
I bought a 2011 Audi A3 with 150k privately which did the same thing the day of buying it, completely destroyed the internals of the engine and block.
Tried coming to an agreement with the seller two or three times before warning him to take it to court.
Spent £300 on court fees (as claim was under £10k) put my evidence together of the car being described for sale and the story of its breakdown.
Judge ruled in my favour as in his words even a car of that age should be expected to last longer than that mileage! Seller was ordered to pay the price of the car, court fees and interest. And to also arrange collection to take away the undriveable paperweight.
Moral of the story - anything is possible with taking the correct steps!
First step would be to try to mediate with the dealer first and let them know what you want to happen.
I’d advise to keep a record of everything! Correspondence, times of events, phonecalls, pictures as you never know how far this can go, as per my fiasco
IMO and not knowing the full story, court should have declared 50/50 on repair costs or 50% refund if car is write off. Tried coming to an agreement with the seller two or three times before warning him to take it to court.
Spent £300 on court fees (as claim was under £10k) put my evidence together of the car being described for sale and the story of its breakdown.
Judge ruled in my favour as in his words even a car of that age should be expected to last longer than that mileage! Seller was ordered to pay the price of the car, court fees and interest. And to also arrange collection to take away the undriveable paperweight.
Moral of the story - anything is possible with taking the correct steps!
First step would be to try to mediate with the dealer first and let them know what you want to happen.
I’d advise to keep a record of everything! Correspondence, times of events, phonecalls, pictures as you never know how far this can go, as per my fiasco
The car/engine could be exceptional wrt timing gear, right up until the point of failure.
Such is the nature of nature of many mechanical failures on cars… and why the RAC, AA etc, exist.
Having a belt fail is bad luck. But wow to take a used seller to court over it… that’s pretty low in my view.
Such is the nature of nature of many mechanical failures on cars… and why the RAC, AA etc, exist.
Having a belt fail is bad luck. But wow to take a used seller to court over it… that’s pretty low in my view.
A warranty cannot displace your rights under the sale of goods and service act. It is a reasonable expectation that a 3 years old car with 50,000 miles should not have the drive belt fail
If it is a major repair, you need to be aware of your rights and that taking the matter to the County Court using the small claims procedure is relatively straight forward
If you come across resistance you should prepare draft proceedings ( Claim Form N1 ) and advise that unless you reach agreement you will put the matter into court - always be seen as reasonable a fair-minded but firm
If it is a major repair, you need to be aware of your rights and that taking the matter to the County Court using the small claims procedure is relatively straight forward
If you come across resistance you should prepare draft proceedings ( Claim Form N1 ) and advise that unless you reach agreement you will put the matter into court - always be seen as reasonable a fair-minded but firm
Numpty with honours said:
A warranty cannot displace your rights under the sale of goods and service act. It is a reasonable expectation that a 3 years old car with 50,000 miles should not have the drive belt fail
If it is a major repair, you need to be aware of your rights and that taking the matter to the County Court using the small claims procedure is relatively straight forward
If you come across resistance you should prepare draft proceedings ( Claim Form N1 ) and advise that unless you reach agreement you will put the matter into court - always be seen as reasonable a fair-minded but firm
I thought the Sale of Goods Act had been replaced?If it is a major repair, you need to be aware of your rights and that taking the matter to the County Court using the small claims procedure is relatively straight forward
If you come across resistance you should prepare draft proceedings ( Claim Form N1 ) and advise that unless you reach agreement you will put the matter into court - always be seen as reasonable a fair-minded but firm
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