[tommytwotone]

Smells like faulty / bad parts, or incorrect fitting to me - would take a lot to break a break disc in the normal course of usage surely!

[petejh]

As you've described it I'd be amazed if the garage doesn't cover the cost of rectifying that fault. If they don't then you're covered by consumer protection laws and should be clear on your rights, covered here:  -
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange/

Sound like the work they did and/or the equipment fitted wasn't 'satisfactory quality', nor did the parts last for an 'appropriate length of time'(!).

Doubt it will come to that though.

[erm, sam]

Just in case anybody had followed my tale of woe in January: Ford 1L Ecoboost engine with the wet belt faliure that caused an oil starvation event that ment I chose to get the engine rebult at great expense (£3500ish - was initially going to be £1500 but you know how it goes) as it was less than the cost of buying a new car; I have an update.
Well, after taking it back for a coolant fault, getting a new alternator (probably unrelated) and having the head gasket replaced (under warranty but in the garage for a month) I then had a probable though undiagnosed turbo failiure. I part exed it for £750 about 3 weeks ago and got a new (to me) car.
Based on that experience I will just buy a new car next time I have to choose between that and having the engine rebuilt. And I will never buy another Ford ever until my dying day. Not that they are all bad but fuck them for having a massive known problem with an engine that they just ignore.

[Paul B]

I recently bought a set of rolling tool drawers from a mobile Ford mechanic (mainly working on commercial vehicles) and we had a long chat about the EcoBoom. He was suggesting that engines produced in a certain time period were being replaced by Ford at their cost.

Your experience sounds shit and makes me very nervous about buying one in a Fiesta/Focus/Puma in the future and given the cost of the service buying one used without some very good paperwork is always going to be a gamble.

Other brands have known faults that they ignore too though. As an example my A6 (66 plate) had a gearbox ECU failure leading to a very big bill and it's rife. That gearbox is in a lot of VAG cars.

[nic mullin]

My Octavia estate (1.6 diesel, 2012) has just been written off. I’m after something similar (big boot, economical, reliable) on a budget of about 3k. Currently looking at estate octavias, golfs, passats with the 1.6 or 1.9 diesel engine. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Thanks!

[Ross Barker]

If you're okay with non-VAG options then it might be worth considering a Mondeo estate. I've got a 2L diesel and it gets over 50mpg normally, and seen over 60mpg on a motorway with the cruise set at 65.

[spidermonkey09]

I was looking for similar earlier in the year and found it quite hard going because so many of them in that price range had really high mileage. In the end I ended up with a petrol Subaru which only gets 35-40 MPG, albeit on slightly cheaper fuel, but had a good 50k less miles than the others I looked at. I did see some ok Focus estates too.

[Paul B]

Have a look at High Peak Autos on YouTube and see what he's stocked for that kind of money. You can see the common issues per brand. It's out of your budget but the grandad spec 4wd X Type Sovereign 3.0 V6 looks awesome. He also recently had a £1500 Volvo V50 that looked to be a lot of car for the money.

[sdm]

If you're okay with non-VAG options then it might be worth considering a Mondeo estate. I've got a 2L diesel and it gets over 50mpg normally, and seen over 60mpg on a motorway with the cruise set at 65.

I get about 55mpg over the long term on my Mondeo 2L. My mileage tends to be 50:50 between congested urban commuting, and motorway journeys to climbing.

I drive quite efficiently, but with less urban driving, and a gentle right foot, you could beat 55mpg.

Mine's been reliable and economical to run. Your money buys a much better spec and/or newer/lower mileage than the VAG equivalents. When I bought mine, the same money for a Superb/Passat would have meant a lower spec, 2 years older, and 50k more on the clock.

If any Titanium X spec are available in your price range, they're very comfortable for long journeys and the heated/cooled seats and heated windscreens are nice. They don't often have low mileage but a lot of them have mostly done gentle motorway miles.

Only downside is they tend to be quite hungry on tire rubber. If you can view one on a rainy day, it's worth checking the seals around the rear windscreen and the boot door on an older model, as these can get a bit leaky with age.

[nic mullin]

That’s helpful, thanks for the suggestions. Don’t know why I hadn’t looked at Mondeos, good shout. Definitely not wedded to VAG. High peak autos channel looks intriguing, and hadn’t even considered Subarus. Any other suggestions/recommendations welcome. Cheers.

[SA Chris]

I know sam has just had a shitty experience with them, but our 14 plate Focus 1.9 Diesel has been hassle free since we bought it second hand about 7 years ago. Some of the elements on the heated screen have stopped working though.

Annoyance that I will soon have to make big detours to get to the climbing wall at the beach though, as it isn't compliant with the ULEZ coming into effect in Aberdeen. Having to take a longer route to where i need to go, in the name of environmentalism. Genius.

[sxrxg]

Not sure where you live however it might be worth considering petrol options, with the different ulez zones coming into force all over the country you could well be in for additional charges with a diesel.

I wasn't looking however this came up in one of my saved searches on Auto trader only slightly over your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311194103662

[nic mullin]

Thanks everyone for the knowledge. 

The used car market seems pretty dire at the moment - the majority of private sellers seem to be on FB marketplace where every other ad is a scam, and dealer prices are crazy. Lots of options for stuff I’d like but couldn’t afford to tax, insure and put fuel in, but boring economical cars seem hard to come by. Petrol seems to attach a premium, especially for  estates.

Saw some absolute stinkers (2011 Octavia with a bust turbo, bad oil pump and bad glow plugs for £3200 was a particular highlight).

Went for a 1.6 diesel Passat in the end. Hopefully it’ll last a while. It’s not euro 6, so I see some wet bike commutes in my future when the Sheffield ULEZ expands to cover private cars.

[spidermonkey09]

Interesting that you had a similar experience to me. Estates seemed to be at a premium full stop I thought. Seemed expensive and with very high mileage generally. I've sold two cars on FB marketplace for good prices and bought one but its a really grim experience.

I went to look at Focus estate for £2kish  with full service history from a dealer. When I got there no service history was present and the car failed to start, repeatedly. 

Fingers crossed you get some good life out of the Passat until/if the ULEZ expands; is there a timeline on that?

[nic mullin]

I didn’t look at anything other than estates to be honest, but lots of miles and more money than I’d like were a common theme. Also real dearth of private sellers. I assume this is because of we buy any car etc.

Last time I looked for cars on FB marketplace (a couple of years ago) there were definitely fewer obvious scams (copy pasted text, or the same pictures appearing in multiple ads from different sellers), but lots of people selling cars that they didn’t own, for income, posing as private sellers.

I don’t think there’s any timeline for extending the Sheffield ULEZ to private vehicles, but I remember in the run up to it being introduced lots of people saying that it was a “when”, not an “if”.

[spidermonkey09]

 My mum has just bought a VW Transporter from a dealer. Last night it broke down at 1am on the A1 (coolant issues) and the RAC man said he would be concerned it was the head gasket. She didn't get home till 5am.

Understandably some trust in the vehicle, which is a significant investment for her, has been shaken. My read is that since it's within 30 days of purchase, she is entitled to a refund under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act as the fault, whatever it is, would clearly have been present when she bought it 2 weeks ago.

Is there anything else people would advise quoting at the dealer from their soapbox should she decide to go down that route?

[Fultonius]

Will try to reply later - heading out.

Suffice to say, having been through something similar a private sale (that shitty Mini I bought), and having been through court etc. I would say in the first instance:

They have the right to repair, so I would hand the car back, state that you (she) is going to reject it unless repaired to satisfactory condition (which is probably a new engine, or a major rebuild).

It's good it's a dealer - much easier if it does require further action. Right, gotta go.

[spidermonkey09]

Thanks Fultonius. If you get time that would be great. I mean dealer in the sense that they sell cars for a living, not a main VW dealer.

I don't think they do have the right to repair within 30 days though from my reading?

[Paul B]

What was the actual issue/symptom that caused the breakdown?

Coolant issues could cover a whole range of things as simple as a hose failing. Which engine is it and what did they say regarding it being the head gasket? Personally, for the cost and added information I'd be buying a sniff test kit.

I bought a car that would traditionally have had people scream head gasket issues (white gunk on the oil cap) but was often a condensation issue on those engines when run for short periods, like at a dealer during test drives. I did make them drop the oil for me.

Edit: something like this:
https://www.drheadgasket.co.uk/bt-3-combustion-leak-tester-high-accuracy-with-filter-combustion-leak-detector-block-sniff-tester-petrol-diesel-lpg

[spidermonkey09]

Don't know all the details as I wasn't there. Red coolant light came on and all the coolant had gone from the reservoir. RAC man explicitly said it wasn't a hose and did some sort of test which concluded with him saying he thought it was the head gasket but couldn't be sure. Bottom line is the vehicle isn't roadworthy I guess.

I get what you're saying and I'd prob be the same if it was mine but my mum is not mechanically minded and has lost all trust in the car (there have also been two knocking noises coming from the wheel arches which have already had to be fixed in the last 2 weeks!)

I think from my reading around its open and shut and she is entitled to a refund if she so desires under the said Act. Will be interesting to see if the dealer kicks off.

[Fultonius]

Sorry, yes, hazy memory - 30 days and it looks like full refund is the way to go.

Given your mum's position and, no doubt, lack of interest in hassle and trying to deal with something technically challenging I would just get it delivered back to the dealer and write a letter saying you want a full refund and state you are rejecting it under the relevant act.

Yes, people like Paul might have the nouse and gumption to get a deal out of a lemon, but I considered myself fairly handy with fixing vans (had a 25yr+ T4 for 11 years and didn't most of the spanner work myself), but I still got shafted on a private sale second hand mini that died on me 2 months into ownership, with issues appearing within week.

I'd say walk away and find a better one. You don't want to go anywhere near court if you can avoid it. It's a load of hassle, time and money and even if you "win" (I did), there's no guarantee you'll get a penny). I was moderately fortunate and managed to get around £800mof the £3400 he was due me via bank arrestment, but it's a total lottery.

[Paul B]

It's more that I'd want the ammunition to say categorically that I think it has a head gasket problem. It sounds as if the tech might've sniff tested it already.

Given the popularity of the Transporter I can't see the garage putting up too much of a fight (let us know). They command such unreasonable prices.

[SA Chris]

Given the popularity of the Transporter I can't see the garage putting up too much of a fight (let us know). They command such unreasonable prices.

Too right, I shit myself at every MOT that ours has a major issue, and will need replacing.

[petejh]

My mum has just bought a VW Transporter from a dealer. Last night it broke down at 1am on the A1 (coolant issues) and the RAC man said he would be concerned it was the head gasket. She didn't get home till 5am.

Understandably some trust in the vehicle, which is a significant investment for her, has been shaken. My read is that since it's within 30 days of purchase, she is entitled to a refund under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act as the fault, whatever it is, would clearly have been present when she bought it 2 weeks ago.

Is there anything else people would advise quoting at the dealer from their soapbox should she decide to go down that route?

Sounds like a pretty watertight refund or repair as it's within 30 days. But failing that, if she paid by credit card for any part of the cost of the vehicle over £100 - could be £100.01p of the total cost - then she's legally covered for a refund of the total cost from the credit card company, without needing to bother with trying to claim from the dealer. The CC company will then claim their cost from the dealer.   https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/

[spidermonkey09]

Sounds like the dealer has grumpily agreed to a refund along the lines of 'if you don't want to give me a chance to fix it then so be it'.It may well be a perfectly good car but there just seems a bit too much gone wrong with it early doors to be confident. It was 8.5k, hardly a shed! Thats good knowledge re the credit card, I'll pass that on for future purchases, cheers.