Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

[Padmiester]

I was hoping I could get some advice to deal with an issue I have with my car. I bought a Vauxhall Signum(04 plate, 56k miles) at the end of January 2010, and two weeks ago I noticed a ticking sound coming from the engine on startup. I took it to my local garage who identified that the timing chain needed replacing, and quoted £375 for the repair. However, when they began to work on the engine, they noticed that there was no oil reaching the top of the engine, and that metal had been ground. In their opinion, this was a common fault with the 2.2L petrol engine, and advised to either contact the dealer or look at about £2.5k for a replacement engine.

Spoke to the dealer today who was very courteous, and said they would charge me the repair with parts at cost and minimum labour fee's, they are picking up the car from the other garage tomorrow.

Bearing in mind that I had the car just over 5 months and have only put 1500 miles on the clock, should I really have to pay for this repair, or should I speak to CAB or Trading standards, as the car is obviously not of satisfactory quality or did not remain so for a reasonable period of time (sales of goods act..bla bla bla)?

[Guest]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

You should not be obliged to pay for the repair at all. A car of this age and mileage should not have failed in this way.

Look here Sale of goods act. - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum and here Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[Padmiester]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

Latest update: The dealer got back to me on Monday and quoted £1200 + VAT for the engine repair (new timing chain, oil pump, valves and seals etc). I asked him what could cause such damage, and he said that I was just unlucky!!! (I hadn't at this stage said I would not be paying for the repair!). I then phoned consumer direct who was aware of the problem I had and they gave me support in writing a letter of complaint, citing Sales of Goods Act, car not of reasonable quality, or did not remain so for a reasonable period of time etc.

I phoned the dealer back and informed him I would not be paying for the vehicle repairs as it was he who was liable, as you can guess his response was expected and would not discuss the matter any further! Anyway, sent the letter by special delivery today and he has now 10 days to respond. Will post an update when I receive his response.

[Padmiester]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

Ok, latest news, Dealer wrote to me today, and sid "under further investigation" we can conclude that I allowed the engine to run with low levels of oil, thereby causing the damage. This is complete bull, as I checked the oil level on a regular basis, and at no time did I have low oil lights or errors on my dash.

Paid now for an independant assessor from the IAEA (£175) to view the engine on Tuesday 13th July...keep you posted

[Guest]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

Keep the receipt since you may add the cost of the assessment to your claim.

Unless the car was burning oil, where has it all gone in just five months and 1500 miles? Are the garage now claiming that it leaked when they sold it to you and you failed to top it up, or did they sell it with insufficient oil in it? Either way, they are not helping themselves much with such ludicrous claims.

[Padmiester]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

Well had the report back today, and have attached it to this post. Where do I go from here, still chase the dealer or the oil filter manufacturer?

[Tools]

Re: Vauxhall Signum, engine damage?

Your claim should be with the seller and is entirely seperate, it is their decision whether they then recover their losses by persuing a claim against the oil filter manufacturer.

Was the oil filter a genuine Vauxhall supplied part, a well known named brand OE equivalent (eg Fram, Mann, Delphi etc ) or other brand?