Am I being that guy
Discussion
So I bought a used car in October from a dealer and paid top money for it. I chipped a little off I think £100 as having done a little due diligence I had a good idea of where a good one should be. Also the dealer was throwing in a 6 month warranty which I considered potentially useful.
A day or so after picking it up I noticed a knocking from the rear. So I ran it up to them and a broken spring was discovered. It was fixed pretty quickly as they were a little red faced about it. The car had a fresh MOT on it that was carried out by themselves. And as they said should have been picked up. They told me a lot of test stations were losing there license through this kind of thing so he was concerned. Anyway I was pleased with the response and went on my merry way.
Perhaps a couple weeks later swmbo calls me saying the car is going crazy and has broken down. She is stranded in the pouring rain. So being an emergency I called the garage and was basically told I had a warranty so use it. Having no choice I did just that and got it to a local garage who carried out the repairs straight away. Perhaps my first mistake as the warranty company didnt want to know. But it was an emergency and we needed the car. I called the dealer and explained all of this. Clearly I got through to somebody who seemed much more willing to help. They offered to pay the bulk of the £200 bill. And I was extremely happy with that as I really like the car and want to keep it.
Anyway that was that. Or so we thought until 2 or 3wks later the same thing happened to my poor suffering wife in the same weather conditions. Now this time I have run the fault codes and where the HT leads & spark plugs were replaced last time. In my opinion its now the coils which it may have always been. Or its the next weakest link after the other parts being renewed.
Anyway thanks for sticking with this and reading it through. But basically the question is I see it as an ongoing connected fault. And I think the dealer should resolve it. So why not claim on the warranty. Well because the warranty does not cover it. SWMBO thinks im being that guy. Generally she is better than me. Full stop. I can and have gone off half cocked more than once. I have a feeling she is probably right again but I would be genuinely interested in your opinions. My flame suit is on.
A day or so after picking it up I noticed a knocking from the rear. So I ran it up to them and a broken spring was discovered. It was fixed pretty quickly as they were a little red faced about it. The car had a fresh MOT on it that was carried out by themselves. And as they said should have been picked up. They told me a lot of test stations were losing there license through this kind of thing so he was concerned. Anyway I was pleased with the response and went on my merry way.
Perhaps a couple weeks later swmbo calls me saying the car is going crazy and has broken down. She is stranded in the pouring rain. So being an emergency I called the garage and was basically told I had a warranty so use it. Having no choice I did just that and got it to a local garage who carried out the repairs straight away. Perhaps my first mistake as the warranty company didnt want to know. But it was an emergency and we needed the car. I called the dealer and explained all of this. Clearly I got through to somebody who seemed much more willing to help. They offered to pay the bulk of the £200 bill. And I was extremely happy with that as I really like the car and want to keep it.
Anyway that was that. Or so we thought until 2 or 3wks later the same thing happened to my poor suffering wife in the same weather conditions. Now this time I have run the fault codes and where the HT leads & spark plugs were replaced last time. In my opinion its now the coils which it may have always been. Or its the next weakest link after the other parts being renewed.
Anyway thanks for sticking with this and reading it through. But basically the question is I see it as an ongoing connected fault. And I think the dealer should resolve it. So why not claim on the warranty. Well because the warranty does not cover it. SWMBO thinks im being that guy. Generally she is better than me. Full stop. I can and have gone off half cocked more than once. I have a feeling she is probably right again but I would be genuinely interested in your opinions. My flame suit is on.
I'd say you're certainly thinking in the right direction regarding the ignition.
Do you have a code reader? A Bluetooth or WiFi one to use with your phone is very cheap, and a good way to find out what the car thinks is wrong.
If it were coil on plug, you'd probably see a code for one specific cylinder misfiring, but IIRC those 1.2s are two coils each running two plugs, so it may be one or two cylinders misfiring if a coil is bad.
I believe both coils are identical, so to diagnose, I would check what code you are getting, and see if it identifies specific cylinders. If it does, I would swap the two coils around, clear the codes, and give the car a run around the block. If it is a single bad coil, you should then get a code for a misfire on the other cylinders.
However, my usual attitude would be to replace both, so if you're confident it's a coil without further investigation, I'd just do that.
Pushing it back on the dealer to fix? Depends. If they'll play ball, sure, why not, I don't think it's unreasonable, but the coils are very cheap, so on your place I'd just do it myself.
Do you have a code reader? A Bluetooth or WiFi one to use with your phone is very cheap, and a good way to find out what the car thinks is wrong.
If it were coil on plug, you'd probably see a code for one specific cylinder misfiring, but IIRC those 1.2s are two coils each running two plugs, so it may be one or two cylinders misfiring if a coil is bad.
I believe both coils are identical, so to diagnose, I would check what code you are getting, and see if it identifies specific cylinders. If it does, I would swap the two coils around, clear the codes, and give the car a run around the block. If it is a single bad coil, you should then get a code for a misfire on the other cylinders.
However, my usual attitude would be to replace both, so if you're confident it's a coil without further investigation, I'd just do that.
Pushing it back on the dealer to fix? Depends. If they'll play ball, sure, why not, I don't think it's unreasonable, but the coils are very cheap, so on your place I'd just do it myself.
InitialDave said:
I'd say you're certainly thinking in the right direction regarding the ignition.
Do you have a code reader? A Bluetooth or WiFi one to use with your phone is very cheap, and a good way to find out what the car thinks is wrong.
If it were coil on plug, you'd probably see a code for one specific cylinder misfiring, but IIRC those 1.2s are two coils each running two plugs, so it may be one or two cylinders misfiring if a coil is bad.
I believe both coils are identical, so to diagnose, I would check what code you are getting, and see if it identifies specific cylinders. If it does, I would swap the two coils around, clear the codes, and give the car a run around the block. If it is a single bad coil, you should then get a code for a misfire on the other cylinders.
However, my usual attitude would be to replace both, so if you're confident it's a coil without further investigation, I'd just do that.
Pushing it back on the dealer to fix? Depends. If they'll play ball, sure, why not, I don't think it's unreasonable, but the coils are very cheap, so on your place I'd just do it myself.
Thanks DaveDo you have a code reader? A Bluetooth or WiFi one to use with your phone is very cheap, and a good way to find out what the car thinks is wrong.
If it were coil on plug, you'd probably see a code for one specific cylinder misfiring, but IIRC those 1.2s are two coils each running two plugs, so it may be one or two cylinders misfiring if a coil is bad.
I believe both coils are identical, so to diagnose, I would check what code you are getting, and see if it identifies specific cylinders. If it does, I would swap the two coils around, clear the codes, and give the car a run around the block. If it is a single bad coil, you should then get a code for a misfire on the other cylinders.
However, my usual attitude would be to replace both, so if you're confident it's a coil without further investigation, I'd just do that.
Pushing it back on the dealer to fix? Depends. If they'll play ball, sure, why not, I don't think it's unreasonable, but the coils are very cheap, so on your place I'd just do it myself.
Yes plugged in my code reader and got the following. I agree with you I just thought I would ask them. But if the answer is no then fair enough I wont fight it. Will check Youtube to see how easy they are to replace and just do it. I would describe myself as a fairly low skill level mechanic. Otherwise I will just throw it at my local garage to get it done.
Edited by macp on Sunday 5th December 16:54
Should be on the end of the cylinder head, held on with 4 Allen headed bolts each. Easy job if the bolts come out OK.
Access may be poor due to airbox and battery.
If you have a multimeter you can test them, but as it seems to be just one that's dead, I'd usually just see if the fault follows it being swapped around.
Access may be poor due to airbox and battery.
If you have a multimeter you can test them, but as it seems to be just one that's dead, I'd usually just see if the fault follows it being swapped around.
I had a coil pack fail on a Z4. The engine would barely tick over, and sounded like a bag of nails as I limped home. I was convinced it was a dropped valve or skipped timing, it was that rough.
Quick check with the code reader showed a missfire on one cylinder. I swapped the coil pack with another cylinder, fault code followed the coil pack. Simple repair, and very cheap from Euro Car Parts.
I really couldn't believe how much one dodgy coil pack could affect a 6 cylinder engine.
Quick check with the code reader showed a missfire on one cylinder. I swapped the coil pack with another cylinder, fault code followed the coil pack. Simple repair, and very cheap from Euro Car Parts.
I really couldn't believe how much one dodgy coil pack could affect a 6 cylinder engine.
The Warranty is a red herring OP.
It's a fault that occurred in the first 30 days and that the dealer has failed to fix.
He needs to fix it or you can reject the car for a full refund.
i appreciate that some people will think that's an over reaction for a cheapy old shed like this but it's what I'd do
I reckon your good lady wife has read up on the CRA 2015 and thinks you should manfully assert your consumer rights by insisting the dealer fulfills his legal obligations to you
She has been stranded in the rain twice - it would be a brave man to risk a 3rd time
It's a fault that occurred in the first 30 days and that the dealer has failed to fix.
He needs to fix it or you can reject the car for a full refund.
i appreciate that some people will think that's an over reaction for a cheapy old shed like this but it's what I'd do
I reckon your good lady wife has read up on the CRA 2015 and thinks you should manfully assert your consumer rights by insisting the dealer fulfills his legal obligations to you
She has been stranded in the rain twice - it would be a brave man to risk a 3rd time
That sounds like a coil pack issue which these days on modern cars is considered wear & tear, the dealer has given you a warranty, you're not being that guy but I'd make a call to the dealer explain the problem & ask if they'll cover the cost of the coil pack or the labour (which ever is the most expensive) & you pay the other cost.
It seems like they've been reasonable up to now so try keeping up that rapour.
It seems like they've been reasonable up to now so try keeping up that rapour.
keasden said:
You willingly bought a 13 year old Fiat Panda. Breakdowns are going to become a way of life for you I'm afraid, get used to it.
Indeed I did but generally this is not my experience even on my old 166,000 mile VW Polo. And I only remember a coil pack failure on that car. But never left us stranded. Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff