Advise needed - am I being treated fairly?

[Suggs]

Need a bit of advise, here's the story ....

I bought a ZTT 190 with 42k on the clock from a trader, 2 weeks after purchase the car overheated whilst on the M25. Now unfortunately I was in the contraflow and had no where to pull over so crawled along until I could get over to the hard shoulder, and the car got pretty hot.

The cause of the overhearing appears to have been low coolant due to a radiator leak, and to be fair the trader took the car straight back and replaced it, but once replaced it was found there was another problem, the head gasket appeared to have blown.

The car was therefore transferred to an independant specialist for diagnosis, who has said that the car has been badly cooked. The head gasket had been damaged, it had scoring in the cylinders, and the knock sensors, cambelt cover melted etc. All in all a bill of over £2.5k to put right. (including his advise to replace the water pump and belts at the same time).

The warranty supplied with the car is refusing to pay out because overheating caused the damage, and the trader has offered a maximum of £1250 towards the repairs.

With hindsight I would have stopped in the contraflow, but I didn't, what do you think is the trader being fair, can I expect to get anymore? and this price £2.5k sounds massive to me, is this realistic?

What do you think?

[sjc]

Originally Posted by Suggs

Need a bit of advise, here's the story ....

I bought a ZTT 190 with 42k on the clock from a trader, 2 weeks after purchase the car overheated whilst on the M25. Now unfortunately I was in the contraflow and had no where to pull over so crawled along until I could get over to the hard shoulder, and the car got pretty hot.

The cause of the overhearing appears to have been low coolant due to a radiator leak, and to be fair the trader took the car straight back and replaced it, but once replaced it was found there was another problem, the head gasket appeared to have blown.

The car was therefore transferred to an independant specialist for diagnosis, who has said that the car has been badly cooked. The head gasket had been damaged, it had scoring in the cylinders, and the knock sensors, cambelt cover melted etc. All in all a bill of over £2.5k to put right. (including his advise to replace the water pump and belts at the same time).

The warranty supplied with the car is refusing to pay out because overheating caused the damage, and the trader has offered a maximum of £1250 towards the repairs.

With hindsight I would have stopped in the contraflow, but I didn't, what do you think is the trader being fair, can I expect to get anymore? and this price £2.5k sounds massive to me, is this realistic?

What do you think?

A trader has to stand by the car for 3 months. Chuck it back at him,or get a complete refund.Was there seriously nowhere to pull over, it's normally free recovery etc. How far did you go whilst hot?

[Suggs]

Originally Posted by sjc

A trader has to stand by the car for 3 months. Chuck it back at him,or get a complete refund.Was there seriously nowhere to pull over, it's normally free recovery etc. How far did you go whilst hot?

Unfortunately it wasn't as such the distance it was the fact I was in traffic, I would guess the car was driving for at least 15 minutes after the warning came on.

[sawest]

That's really bad luck, sorry to hear of your misfortune.

I'm no legal expert but I think you may have grounds for yourmoney back under the sale of goods act!

Failing that, a replacement second hand engine would be cheaper. Should be able to get one and fitted with new belts, pump etc for around £1000 - £1200 I think. If you can get the dealer to fork out a good portion of that then it's not so bad!

Best of luck.

Simon.

[Departed 32016]

Originally Posted by Suggs

Need a bit of advise, here's the story ....

I bought a ZTT 190 with 42k on the clock from a trader, 2 weeks after purchase the car overheated whilst on the M25. Now unfortunately I was in the contraflow and had no where to pull over so crawled along until I could get over to the hard shoulder, and the car got pretty hot.

The cause of the overhearing appears to have been low coolant due to a radiator leak, and to be fair the trader took the car straight back and replaced it, but once replaced it was found there was another problem, the head gasket appeared to have blown.

The car was therefore transferred to an independant specialist for diagnosis, who has said that the car has been badly cooked. The head gasket had been damaged, it had scoring in the cylinders, and the knock sensors, cambelt cover melted etc. All in all a bill of over £2.5k to put right. (including his advise to replace the water pump and belts at the same time).

The warranty supplied with the car is refusing to pay out because overheating caused the damage, and the trader has offered a maximum of £1250 towards the repairs.

With hindsight I would have stopped in the contraflow, but I didn't, what do you think is the trader being fair, can I expect to get anymore? and this price £2.5k sounds massive to me, is this realistic?

What do you think?

Seems a bit much but the term that is key here is consequential or incidental damages.

Most if not all warranties don't cover this e.g. if your rear strut went and the exhaust dragged across the ground and you needed it repaired- it wouldn't be covered, just the strut.

Similar situation here

being a 190 and needing £2500 worth of repairs- I would suggest that unless it's about an 04 or 05 model it wouldn't be worth it against what the car is valued at.

edit: ah see it is a 52 plate- as the car is only going to be worth less than £3000 , you have to ask yourself is it worth it?

[Jones_55]

Originally Posted by sjc

Was there seriously nowhere to pull over, it's normally free recovery etc. How far did you go whilst hot?

Thats a tircky situation to be in!
Obviously in hindsight, knowing the possible damage being done to the cars engine, you`d stop.
However, in a contraflow, with no available hardshoulder, or other space, it would be really difficult to stop if the car was still to all intents and purposes working. When you had all the traffic building up behind you.

On balance I would say the Traders offer is fair - although obviously still leaves you with a big bill. I wouldnt expect any more from the trader, but by all means get in touch with trading standards, and follow their advice - they are usually very helpful.

Good luck...

[GreyGhost]

The head gaskets failed due to the radiator fault causing over-heating. This can happen in the first few seconds, let alone a 15 minute interval. As I see itthe warranty company are liable. However, as stated above, the dealer is responsible in this instance and you have every right to back the car for full refund. CAB and or Trading standards will confirm this is the case. The vehicle was not of merchantable quality.

[capese21]

imho if the engine got hot enough to melt the cam belt cover it is cooked to the point of needing to be replaced.
I would locate myself a good used engine or if budget allows an Ivor Searle recon one and have that fitted.

The KV6 is alloy and lots of other damage may have been caused to the liners etc so any repairs may not last long term. Or if you can get a full refund under the sales of goods act and walk (run) away!!

Ed.

[Dave***t]

From the sounds of it you don't need to worry about the warranty. The trader should be liable to repair or replace the vehicle - any such problems within the first 6 months (note, not 3 months) would be their responsibility to prove that they didn't exist at the time of purchase, which obviously they won't be able to do.

As was recently discussed on another thread, refer to the word of the law here.

Section 5A is what you're after, particularly subsection 3.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by Dave***t

From the sounds of it you don't need to worry about the warranty. The trader should be liable to repair or replace the vehicle - any such problems within the first 6 months (note, not 3 months) would be their responsibility to prove that they didn't exist at the time of purchase, which obviously they won't be able to do.

As was recently discussed on another thread, refer to the word of the law here.

Section 5A is what you're after, particularly subsection 3.

Agree, my understanding from my heating issue when I bought mine in November is as above i.e Warranty is irrelevant. Sale Of Goods applies and it's 6 Months. Tough on the dealer but that's life.

ceb