I own a five year old Renault Scenic with 36,000 miles on the clock. I've owned it from new and had it fully serviced by the same dealer. It has covered 36,000 miles. A few weeks ago the car, with no prior warning signs, the car refused to start. The problem was eventually diagnosed as failure of the timing belt. The remedy was a new engine at a cost of around £5000.

The dealer suggested the manufacturer would probably make a significant contribution. Further contact with Renault (up to Managing Director level) resulted in them offering to pay 60% of the cost, and no more, with us paying the remaining 40% ie £2000.

We feel unhappy with this given the circumstances – loyal customer, extremely unusual event (we are told), relatively low mileage, car fully serviced by main dealer. What do you think, is the 60% reasonable, or should we be looking for more? And if so, how do we go about it?