Help and Advice please!?!

Bubble

Active Member
Jun 16, 2010
13
0
Staffordshire/Cheshire Border
Hi everyone.

I own a 56 plate Altea Tdi FR. It has done 180,000 miles. (Original clutch!)
Anyhow, I had the cambelt changed 300 miles ago, mainly because I was going on a long trip and wanted security.
I had the whole kit put on plus oil and filter and water pump and thermostat.
20 miles into my trip and the engine banged and cut out (80mph ish).
AA turned up and saw that the cambelt had come off.
It looked at first that the tensioner pulley had failed as it was at an angle, visibly.
Got towed back and left the car at the garage which did the work and I hired a car for my holiday trip.
I got a call from the garage this morning who said that the engine is scrap.
He says the cause wasn't a pulley failure but that it was a bolt which had sheared off flush with the block (I think it was on the tensioner) which allowed the belt to come adrift.
Now then, the mechanic is a lovely bloke but he has said it was bad luck on both our parts, which it was, but I'm finding that a little hard to swallow.
In my mind, if the work hadn't been done and the bolt left in place then the fault wouldn't have happened.
Surely, if the part which failed had been taken out and fastened back in, which it had, isn't there a good chance that the bolt had been weakened when removing or over tightened, allowing it to fail under tension?
Please guys, can anyone give an opinion as to where I stand on this?
As it stands now, I have a knackered engine and a garage which says it's just bad luck and inferred it isn't worth repairing.
I could really do with some sense right now.
Thank you.


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verbal_kint

Active Member
Apr 15, 2010
639
31
North West Kent
The garage has already set his stall out pushing blame away from them.

But from your description a bolt should not just shear off without cause and that cause would rest with the last person to operate on it. The garage has responsibility.

He may be a nice guy but that should not be at your expense, they have a duty of care to ensure the work is performed correctly.

I would start to record all interactions you have with them and log your time spent dealing with the matter and costs associated with not having use of the car. This could form part of the overall claim.

Even a recon engine would set you back £2000 or more and is the car worth that?

I can highly recommend registering here and starting a thread in the motoring section, they have some very knowledgeable people to help you properly.

Consumer Action Group

Let us know how you get on.
 
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