VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome

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Thu 4 Apr 2024 22:23
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Peter Sims

Hi,

I'll try to keep a very long story short. You will clearly see I am not in the slightest mechanically minded!

We bought a VW Polo Automatic 2012 plate (£9500) as our Son's first car from a second hand car dealer. Within 3 months it suffered catastrophic engine failure. The rods pushed a hole in the side of the engine.

The AA transported the vehicle back to the dealer on my instruction. After initial inspection by the garage owner blaming water intake, over revving or lack of oil he said 'I guess we will never know' and wanted me to pay for a new engine. After citing Consumer Protection that the onus is on him to prove it didn't already have a fault or wear already in the engine things got a little heated and we left with him stating 'It's the end of the week, lets leave it there, nothing will happen till next week now'

The following day, which was a Saturday, we got a call at 5pm stating 'Everyone had gone home so I've taken the engine cover off (this was the first time the cover had been off which is crucial as you will see) and found the problem' 'It's the oil sensor, he has hit something in the road and the car lost all its oil'

I know nothing about cars but I am not stupid. I'd seen the underside of the car and oil had not leaked out while driving as the underside would be coated from the airflow of a moving vehicle. Also the journey that this happened on from start to breakdown was 1 minute 40 seconds.

I went to the garage the following week to view the 'damage' and it just didn't look/feel right

I told the owner I would arrange for an independent inspection which I have paid for.

The report has now come back and contamination from flood water some weeks previous was the (very basic version) cause. So the garage owner was never to blame.

However the report showed that the damage to the oil sensor and surrounding area was caused 'by an instrument like a hammer and caused after the event in order to manufacture a reason for engine failure'. 'The engine cover had no signs of impact and the damage caused could only have happened with the engine cover removed'

Basically Criminal Damage by the garage owner and, I believe, Fraud (?)

I will be meeting with him next week sometime. He hasn't seen the report yet. I do not want the car or anything else to do with him. Certainly do not want him offering to fix anything if he is that type of person. I would not be comfortable letting my teenage son drive a car this man has 'fixed'. Best case scenario for me is some if not all monies back.

Your thoughts, observations, advice on handling the situation would really be appreciated.

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Fri 5 Apr 2024 09:21
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - elekie&a/c doctor
If the car has been subjected to previous water damage, I’m surprised it ran for 3 months. The oil sensor sits right at the bottom of the engine , if that had been hit while driving, there would be a massive oil slick underneath. Under the CRA , the dealer has to give a minimum 6 month warranty. The best result would be a refund on the car , but it’s more likely the dealer will fit a second hand engine .
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Fri 5 Apr 2024 13:37
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Adampr

I presume the water ingestion happened whilst you owned the car?

If so, the actions of the dealer are irrelevant (although criminal). You need to make an insurance claim. They will probably write the car off and you will get some of your money back. I doubt you will get the whole lot back as it appears you bought the car for really rather a lot.

The temptation is of course to hold the dealer to account, but you need to protect yourself first.

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Sat 6 Apr 2024 10:56
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Peter Sims

I presume the water ingestion happened whilst you owned the car?

If so, the actions of the dealer are irrelevant (although criminal). You need to make an insurance claim. They will probably write the car off and you will get some of your money back. I doubt you will get the whole lot back as it appears you bought the car for really rather a lot.

The temptation is of course to hold the dealer to account, but you need to protect yourself first.

Yes the water ingestion happened whilst we owned the car but didn't present the final situation for 5 weeks (basically a ticking time bomb)

If the dealer had left the car alone and let the independent report run its course he would have been completely in the clear. However doing what he did gives me, I believe, some 'leverage' to salvage something from the situation.

I did explore claiming on the insurance route but making a claim would make our 17 and a half year old son almost uninsurable from a future cost prospective.

Depending on the final outcome the dealer will most definitely be held to account for his actions.

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Sat 6 Apr 2024 11:27
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - skidpan

Yes the water ingestion happened whilst we owned the car but didn't present the final situation for 5 weeks (basically a ticking time bomb)If the dealer had left the car alone and let the independent report run its course he would have been completely in the clear. However doing what he did gives me, I believe, some 'leverage' to salvage something from the situation.I did explore claiming on the insurance route but making a claim would make our 17 and a half year old son almost uninsurable from a future cost prospective.Depending on the final outcome the dealer will most definitely be held to account for his actions.

o you know it was your fault but you are trying to find a way to blame another party.

That would be fraud and worse for your son than expensive insurance.

Edited by skidpan on 06/04/2024 at 11:28

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Sat 6 Apr 2024 13:12
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - elekie&a/c doctor
If you had come clean with the dealer and told him the full story, he may have been more sympathetic and helpful. Looks like you’re going to be paying for a replacement engine .
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Sat 6 Apr 2024 14:18
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Peter Sims
If you had come clean with the dealer and told him the full story, he may have been more sympathetic and helpful. Looks like you’re going to be paying for a replacement engine .

For further clarification as I was trying to keep a long story short.

Five weeks previous to the engine failing my son caught caught in a storm and drove through flood water on the way home. He got home ok but next morning engine light was on. He took it in to the dealer and said what happened. It got hooked up to diagnostics and was told it had misfired but the light was now out but bring it back if any more problems.

No more problems until five weeks when the engine failed. I had googled probable causes and everything I read said if water was ingested it would fail almost instantaneously so I discounted that theory.

If I believed I/we were to blame I would have held my hands up, but we, at the time, believed we were not to blame so I hired an independent inspector at my own cost to find the cause.

Now we have the report I am most definitely holding up my hands but what kind of business owner deliberately causes that kind of damage to someone else's property to try to fraudulently manufacture a situation.

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Sat 6 Apr 2024 14:20
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Peter Sims

Yes the water ingestion happened whilst we owned the car but didn't present the final situation for 5 weeks (basically a ticking time bomb)If the dealer had left the car alone and let the independent report run its course he would have been completely in the clear. However doing what he did gives me, I believe, some 'leverage' to salvage something from the situation.I did explore claiming on the insurance route but making a claim would make our 17 and a half year old son almost uninsurable from a future cost prospective.Depending on the final outcome the dealer will most definitely be held to account for his actions.

o you know it was your fault but you are trying to find a way to blame another party.

That would be fraud and worse for your son than expensive insurance.

Please see response to another post for further clarification.

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Sat 6 Apr 2024 17:02
VW Polo - Advice Needed For The Best Possible Outcome - Xileno

If sufficient water is sucked into the engine then it will hydrolock. If a small amount gets into the engine (but not enough to hydrolock) then maybe there would be sufficient oil contamination by the water to cause lubrication problems a few months later.

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