Second hand car warranty - oil leak

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 23 Mar 2021 13:43
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - John Fesolly

I purchased a used car from a dealer. I had to buy remotely, so asked him to confirm that car had no issues - which he did.

3 weeks in, I gave car for a service and to change cambelt.

Mechanic called to say that there is a 'big' leak of oil. Turns out was from the rocker cover. He said would fix for £100 as already all opened up.

Car was sold with 6 month engine and gearbox warranty, so I contacted seller. His response is that this isn't covered by his warranty because it is wear and tear....

Is this reasonable of him?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 13:51
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - _

If the mechanic had seen it before he started the work,, you could have taken it back to the dealer for him to repair, and no, it is not wear and tear.

BUT, how much did you pay for the car, how old and what was it.

Never trust a used car sales dealer.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 14:09
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - John Fesolly

Paid over 9k.

2007 Toyota Estima 60k miles

Mechanic called me when car was already deep in work. He was finding oil. I thought seller would be delighted to have sorted for £100. At sale he kept saying that he is not the usual car dealer and I shouldn't worry... I know....

Dealer isn't local to me, so would've been a pain to take to him all the same.

Is this definitive that rocker head gasket isn't wear and tear?

I assumed for the price paid it would be basic decency to look after customer for leak that was clearly there at sale..

Edited by John Fesolly on 23/03/2021 at 14:09

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 14:23
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - daveyjp

Even 14 year old Toyotas get oil leaks from old gaskets.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 23:09
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - focussed

No they don't if the mechanic who last removed the valve cover was remotely interested in doing his job properly instead of of goofing off, more interested in discussing the football, the cricket, the latest facebook scandal or just plain lazy.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 23:12
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - focussed

No they don't if the mechanic who last removed the valve cover was remotely interested in doing his job properly instead of of goofing off, more interested in discussing the football, the cricket, the latest facebook scandal or just plain lazy.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 14:27
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Andrew-T

Paid over 9k. 2007 Toyota Estima 60k miles

Is this definitive that rocker head gasket isn't wear and tear?

Don't know anything about this model, but £9k seems a lot for a 13-year-old car to me. Rocker covers don't usually 'wear-&-tear', but they often don't last the life of an engine without leaking - and I'm pretty sure that a dealer warranty on a car of that age wouldn't cover the repair cost of one.

The part can't be expensive (can it?) and neither should be its replacement. I'm now wondering about 'rocker head gasket' - does that mean 'head gasket' (a big deal) or just a 'rocker cover gasket' (not much) ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 15:10
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - chris87
Over £9000 for a 14 year old car? That would cover 32 payments on my brand new Mazda... Even if you gave it back after 3 years, you’d have a brand new car with absolutely no costs for its entire ownership period.

But to answer your question, no, it’s not wear and year. Unless there’s a problem, engines don’t leak oil, regardless of age.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 15:30
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Ethan Edwards
, engines don’t leak oil, .

How times change. Old British cars leak like a sieve.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 15:56
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - nellyjak

Frankly..£9k for a 2007 Estima is ordinarily way too much..and I say that as an Estima owner for 5 years (the V6)

For £100 I'd let your garage do it and forget the "unusual dealer"...I doubt you'll get anywhere with him tbh.

Edited by nellyjak on 23/03/2021 at 15:56

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 18:24
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Rerepo

Warranty doesn't come into it. Consumer Rights Act would cover you because the leak would have been there at time of sale. £9k is far too much for the car and £100 is too much to replace a rocker cover gasket. They cost about £10 and take about 20 minutes to replace.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 18:31
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Andrew-T

Thinking about this again, at the price you paid the car should have been serviced, AND had the cambelt changed if that was due. You should certainly not have gone back soon afterwards for that - for £9k the car should have been in showroom condition for its age.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 18:52
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - chris87
On top of that, you should’ve received another car for free, to make ot worth the £9k...
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 19:08
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Terry W

It should not leak - it is not normal wear and tear. The fault would almost certainly apparent when you bought the car.- but you can now no longer prove it.

Buying online from a remote dealer is a risk - possibly understandable during a pandemic but otherwise to be avoided. You probably just need to pay the £100 for gasket replacement (although that is a little excessive) and just hope no other faults appear!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 20:32
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Galaxy

Buy a car from a used car dealer and then go back to them a few weeks later with a problem?

You won't think you're talking to the same bloke!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 23:04
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - pd

Bit swings and roundabouts on this. A rocker cover leak on a 14 year old car is hardly unusual and I think a good argument could be made for wear and tear.

A 14 year old car will have thins wrong with it and things will go wrong. It just will. As will a 4 and 8 year old one on various sliding scales.

That said it isn't cheap so would have been nice of dealer to cover it but no real comeback I think now.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 12:21
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Gibbo_Wirral

But to answer your question, no, it’s not wear and year. Unless there’s a problem, engines don’t leak oil, regardless of age.

Rubbish. All gaskets have a finite life and will eventually let oil through.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 23 Mar 2021 23:14
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - focussed

"Mechanic called to say that there is a 'big' leak of oil. Turns out was from the rocker cover. He said would fix for £100 as already all opened up"

A hundred quid to sort out a valve cover leak?

Find another mechanic - but an honest one this time!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 07:58
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - catsdad

The last time I had a rocker gasket replaced was a couple of years ago on a Corsa and I was surprised how much it was. I can’t recall the exact sum but I know the labour rate at my indie was £50 an hour. So for me to be surprised it must have been booked at more than 20 mins.

The world had clearly moved on since I changed one myself on an original Mini when it was indeed a quick job. Online car service sites now quote £75 upwards. I guess it depends how much other gubbins has to be moved to get the rocker cover off.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 09:13
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Andrew-T

The world had clearly moved on since I changed one myself on an original Mini when it was indeed a quick job. Online car service sites now quote £75 upwards. I guess it depends how much other gubbins has to be moved to get the rocker cover off.

Just been quoted 'about £90' to fit a new CV gaiter to get my 207 through its MoT. Similar kind of job I should think ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 10:45
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - mcb100
I’d pay that to avoid working on the floor trying to undo a hugely tight driveshaft nut, removing the driveshaft, fitting the boot and reassembling.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 11:45
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Andrew-T
I’d pay that to avoid working on the floor trying to undo a hugely tight driveshaft nut, removing the driveshaft, fitting the boot and reassembling.

I would guess it will be one of the easy-fit split variety, but time will tell (tomorrow).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Mar 2021 11:47
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - pd

I had the rocker cover - which also includes the inlet manifold - done on my current "smoker" in January and it booked at 8 hours labour! That was just for one side as well.

Edited by pd on 24/03/2021 at 11:47

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Mar 2021 09:13
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - Andrew-T
I’d pay that to avoid working on the floor trying to undo a hugely tight driveshaft nut, removing the driveshaft, fitting the boot and reassembling.

I would guess it will be one of the easy-fit split variety, but time will tell (tomorrow).

Actually, no it wasn't. CV gaiter kit £18, 1 hour labour @ £50, all-in about £82. Happy with that.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Mar 2021 09:48
Second hand car warranty - oil leak - John F

How 'big' is the leak? If it makes a puddle more than 7.5cm diameter after 5 minutes, it will fail the MoT. A bit of oozing from a rocker cover is acceptable. One could argue it might help with arresting underbody corrosion if it spreads around! But it sounds as though you are being taken for a ride by the garage. If they have already 'opened it up' , it should not cost an extra £100 to replace an item costing around a tenner if no extra labour is needed.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link