Crankshaft snapped.

[steve69]

Hi,

I bought a second hand L200 for over £7000. The vehicle had a new short engine block and a replacement head.

The crankshaft snapped on the way to work on day and the vehicle was sent to an engine rebuilder. The crankshaft was replaced and the engine rebuilt under partly under warranty and party with the garage footing the bill.

The vehicle was repaired but I found it to be leaking oil at the back of the engine and coolant from the head gasket after travelling 4,500 miles.

The engine has been back to the engine rebuilder and was pressure tested overnight. The vehicle was returned today and I rejected the repair as there was still coolant leaking from the head gasket and it is not evident the oil leak had been sorted out.

I took pictures of the area where the coolant was leaking before and after the repair so it is obvious there is still coolant leaking from the engine, and the pictures show this.

I don't believe the repair to be of reasonalable quality (I don't think engines should leak oil and coolant after being rebuilt), and the vehicle had done less than 4,500miles after being rebuilt.

I don't belive I can reject the vehicle as I've had it for over 5 months, although one month of that was spent at the engine builders and the car was there for another month. What should I do?

Suggestions appreciated....

Steve.

 

[ALewis]

No I don't really think you can reject, even 2 months out of your hands, it would still be 3 months on, which implies that you've accepted the vehicle.

Who are you looking to claim off?
The trader (If it is a trader?) or the garage for the dodgy repair?

I need to know as there are 2 different contracts running here.

 

[steve69]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not looking to reject the vehicle, or look for any claims, even though the repair has not been effective as yet. I'm happy for the engine rebuilder to have another go at rectifying the problem, as this would be the best outcome for everyone.

However, the engine rebuilder/garage might decide they have worked/had enough on the engine and decide not to honour their warranty. My 6 months warranty from the garage will expire at the end of this month but the engine rebuild warranty is covered till 29th April.

I'm just trying to ascertain my consumer rights in this situation.

Steve.

 

[ALewis]

Hi,
Yes that's what claiming is
Right so you want the garage to rectify the problem.
Regardless of warranties, you still have your statutory rights.
You have a contract with the garage covered by Part II of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 for the pure service of the rebuild.
There is an implied term under Section 12 that all work must be performed with 'reasonable care & skill' which is comparable to other worksmen in this field.
As it is an implied term, it can never be excluded from a contract.

If you feel there is a breach of Section 12, you should get in contact with the garage through a durable means (as proof), a letter is best - just keep a copy of the letter and send the letter by a recorded means so you can check if they received it.
Notify them of the remedy you would like - a repair / rebuild and state that you feel they are in breach of Section 12 of SOGSA and provide a time frame for reply.

If however time is of the essence you can just tell them all this in person, however remember that you have no proof of the conversation, so if later on they deny the conversation ever happened, you're back to writing a letter.

If you need any further help, just let me know.