Anyone had a new car break down?

[Mikebentley]

Just to get the ball rolling has anyone had a new car break down on them? My brand new on 19/06/13 Fiat Panda Trekking diesel just spent a week with the dealer whilst we waited for a replacement DPF Sensor to come from Italy. It had covered 3000 miles and had all the warnings on "check engine" "start stop unavailable" and limp mode activated. Anyone got a worse story? My "off road Fiat" was.

[B3NNL]

I had one of the first Jaguar XFs. Whilst in Germany the fuel filler cap wouldnt open, after a day at a local dealer getting it fixed, I pulled into a petrol station 50m down the road and hey presto...The filler cap failed to open!

[Ozzie Osmond]

Brand new Saab 9/3 turbo coupe. Great car and we travelled many happy miles together.

But with less than 100 miles on the clock the air-conditioning compressor seized, causing the main drive belt to jump off its pulleys. Dealer collected the car swiftly on a trailer, replaced the compressor and there was never another murmur.

[woody2846]

15 miles on a Saab 9-3X and the fuel pump stopped working.

[Blib]

Many years ago, my father bought one of the first 2.4 XJ6s. It was white. A week or so after picking it up from the dealer and while waiting at a set of traffic lights, it just burst into flames. A fuel line had failed. It was totally written off.

The nice people at Jaguar replaced the car with a racing green one.

[HorneyMX5]

Brand new Alfa 155 1.8 T spark, engine let go in less than 100 miles. It was something like a loose nut in the intake or something. It was my Dad's car and I was about 14 so I can't remember the details. Brand new engine fitted and the car was brilliant for the next 2 years.

[stu67]

Loads, I worked for VW years ago up at their HQ so always had new cars.

Worst, brand new Golf V5 munched it's gearbox on the M1 going home one night, think it had about 500 miles on the car. It actually ripped itself apart, heaven only knows what happened. Other than that lots of smaller things on various new VW group products, but I'm sure any make is just as bad

[NotoriousREV]

In 2000 we bought a brand new Renault Clio 1.6 Si for MrsREV. We had the usual handover from the salesman, including how to open the electric sunroof, which she left open for the drive home (sunny day). By the time she got home, the airbag light had come on. She locked the car up and phoned the dealership who said to bring it straight back so she jumped in it to go and the sunroof now wouldn't open. I had a quick look and the fuse had blown so I changed it, opened the sunroof and closed it again and the fuse blew when it closed. Brilliant.

When we took it back to the dealers, they gave us a courtesy car and took the dashboard out of the car to get to the passenger airbag module which was showing as faulty. Renault then told them it would be a 6 week wait for the part. The dealer called us and saud they didn't want to spend time putting the car back together as they didn't get paid for labour and also, could they have their courtesy car back?

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I have a strict "no French" rule (there we other issues over the next 3 years that were as bad as this).

[Wacky Racer]

Bought a brand new 3.0S Ford Capri in March 1978, took it up to the Lake district and a valve spring snapped on top of the Hardknott pass the second day I had it...had to walk six miles in the dark to the nearest phone box...(No mobiles in those days...probably would not have got a signal anyway)...Ended up being taken back to Manchester on the back of an AA truck...





Freak incident, never had any problems afterwards....