Wife's cousin has a Vauxhall Corsa that was three years old in August. Car was bought second hand six months ago. Full Vauxhall service history & she had it serviced at the Vauxhall garage in August (along with the first MoT). She took it back two weeks ago saying the engine was making a funny noise, but they said they hadn't time to look at it properly & she'd have to come back in a few weeks time. Last week the cam shaft snapped & wrecked the engine. They want over £2500 for a new engine.
The car is just out of Vauxhall warranty.
It has full Vauxhal S/H.
Its done just over 30K miles.
She has a computer print-out showing she asked them to investigate the noise & that they didn't have time.
The service manager isn't entertaining any sort of "compensation" which to me stinks, considering all of the above.
Any advice on how to approach this? Is there any chance of getting them to foot some of the bill?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 23/10/2007 at 15:09
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fm
Why did the cam snap; they don't do it for fun, there will be an underlying reason.
That may give you a better chance; as you've got little hope as it is.
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No idea why it snapped. I've suggested that she tell them that she will pay to have the broken camshaft analysed by a metalurgy lab' to see if there was a fault with the material.
I've also just been told that camshafts are a known weakness on Corsas......
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Corsas? We don't even know what engine or fuel type this one is?
Broken cams don't make a noise; they snap and it's over.
Timing chains on the other hand.....
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It's petrol (1.4 I THINK) & its a 2004.
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Then it's down to engine code; Z14XE is belt-driven - Z14XEP is a chain-drive that's noted for problems......
Both engines are 90hp and were fitted from '03 onwards.
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Funnily enough I bought a 1.4 Corsa C 3 months ago, it has just over 60k on the clock with full service history annddddd guess what has happened today ? Cam snapped ! Now after having a little root around I have found this has been caused by a bolt snapping in the cap that holds the camshaft down. Now one would assume a cam just straight snaps but now with hind sight the cam has been noisy since buying the car but only when cold, now I just put that down to it taking a second to circulate oil but with the knowledge I have now what Infact it was is the cam rattling around under the cap with said broken bolt. The cap only having one functioning bolt holding it down allows the cam to move enough to make noise but not enough to cause suspicion over it as the symptoms are only very minor mine had almost undetectable misfire and rattle on start up, so you only know that there is a major issue when the other bolt in said cap vibrates loose and the cam snaps.
If there’s anyone that has seen this also let ,me know, it is the front bolt on the furthest right cap (gearbox side) on the exhaust cam and the cam breaks right between the valves on cylinder 3
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If she had made an appointment to look at the noise, they should have allocated some time to diagnose at least where it is coming from.
Quite likely what has happened is they have spent longer than anticipated on a job.
This can happen quite often and I' ve seen garages pay mechanics to work into the evenings to catch up on the list. In which case you'd be offered an appointment the next day. Sounds like this garage has time management issues.
Maybe worth ringing Customer services as when a major part goes so soon after warranty, sometimes the maker will give a contribution towards repair. Especially if the cause of the breakage turns outto be due to a common fault.
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>>Wife's cousin has a Vauxhall Corsa that was three years old in August. Car was bought >>second hand six months ago.
Was the car bought froma Vauxhall Garage under NetworkQ warranty?
NetworkQ warranty (IIRC) lasts 12 months from date of Purchase and not limited to the 3 yr Vauxhall New Car Warranty
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Had it run low or out of oil & the noise was the tappets before the camshaft siezed & snapped?. If its run out of oil that is down to driver /owner to check weekly as per handbook so need to check oil situation first Warranty may be irrelevent if that was the case. On the other hand the pump could of been failing! needs investigation
Doc
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I would say she doesn't stand a hope of any compensation with this at all. If she was so concerned about the noise why didnt she take it to another garage or stop driving it altogether until it was sorted??
If she had a puncture and one rapid fit couldnt fix it would she keep driving till the tyre came off the rim, wrecked the wheel then go back to the rapid fit and try and tell them it was their fault?
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Rather than wasting time with your dealer who isn't listening to you, try contacting Vauxhall instead. It's not been unknown for them to listen - especially if the car is only just out of warranty.
www.vauxhall.co.uk/vx/contact/loadonlineenquiry.do...y
www.vauxhall.co.uk/vx/morefromvauxhall/companyinfo...t
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>>>>>>>>>She took it back two weeks ago saying the engine was making a funny noise, but they said they hadn't time to look at it properly & she'd have to come back in a few weeks time.
I've just re-read this thread.
What garage would say come back in a few WEEKS time?
Are we getting the REAL story here I wonder?
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I'm going with that as well, why on earth drive it with a problem. Why didn't they get another opinion as it couldn't be the only garage. If you have a burst pipe in the house you don't wait 2 weeks for a plumber. I wonder if the garage were busy & they didn't have time to leave it!. I have always found customers couldn't do without there wheels even for an hour!
Doc
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Thanks for the replies folks, I've passed them on.
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If she had a puncture and one rapid fit couldnt fix it would she keep driving till the tyre came off the rim, wrecked the wheel then go back to the rapid fit and try and tell them it was their fault?
ANOTHER dodgy tyre analogy? Very popular this morning
This is about a snapping camshaft. Camshafts are not normally regarded as consumables, nor are they easily visually checked by an unqualified owner.
You are probably right about the prognosis though.
Which sucks.
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This morning? You mean more than ten years ago!
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It was this morning when I wrote it.
Like its this morning, this morning.
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Hi - My car is a Vauxhall Corsa 2005 (55 plate) just out of warranty by weeks, got 20k miles on the clock.
Loads of error codes coming up relating to EGR valve and Cyl 4 failure. Took it to independent garage and found the camshaft had broken in 2. Guy said there was no evidence as to why this had happened and suggested i contact Vaux even though out of warranty.
I was told to take it in to the garage i explained this wzs impossible as it was in pieces, i sent photo's to my local dealer and he agreed over the phone to do it for free. Its currently in the garage now having the part replaced under warranty. To be fair I think i got very lucky on this as the Service Manager seemed understanding and a senior engineer/Manager for vauxhall happened to be on site whilst this was going on.
The problem is yours seems to have progressed to more than a broken cam to actually an engine failure. Keep putting the pressure on, iv been lucky enough not to follow standard vauxhall warranty proceedure. Maybe keep trying and put some pressure on.
Best of luck.
Matt
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Matt
What exact engine is this?
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Hi, the car is a 1.2 SXI,(petrol).
You need any further information?
Matt
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Well done Vauxhall for fixing it, and apparently wiithout making a huge drama out of it.
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i am seing alot of these at the moment (one last week) cams snap because the chains are stretching (vauxhall are aware) normal thing is to replace cam and see if any valve damage has occured if not then its needs a new chain guides etc if damaged then head off job pls a chain replace valves etc vauxhall have been known to be sympathetic if you have a full service history out of warranty but only just
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If the chain stretches, the tensioner is designed to take up the slack, up to a point. Presumably if the tensioner goes US, the chain tends to slap and snatch (technical limit being reached here!), so giving the camshaft a very hard time. Sounds like early Honda bikes: tensioner sticks and knackers engine. Design fault. Actionable if mfr is not honourable. Honda were honourable, I believe, but that doesn't stop dealers seeing an opportunity:)
Edited by nortones2 on 20/10/2008 at 20:59
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Hi folks, on 2nd Dec it happened to me, I have just had the same problem on my 1.2 sxi - 2005 plate as of aug this year 26000 miles - cam shaft snapped whilst on the motorway. Bought is second hand with full service history in March.
Vauxhall have refused to contribute anything, say they don't know why it has snapped although the service manager admitted it should'nt be going yet, also said maybe the timing chain had slipped. they are going to charge £800.
I don'tunderstand how they can pay to fix some and not others........there is obviously something dodgy going on here
Regards
P
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If vx don't pay out the £2500 for a new engine is not required.
You can have the original repaired there is plenty of parts still in that engine that will be servicable and far far cheaper than a new unit.
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Was it purchased under 6 months ago? Was it purchased from a dealer?
IIRC Under the Sale of Goods Act, any fault found in the first 6 months of ownership is deemed to have been present at the time of sale, unless the dealer can prove otherwise.
Might be another angle worth exploring.
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I've had my corsa c from brand new and I had the exhaust cam snap on mine, only prolem was that it was at the time ofthe bad floods and they told me I had water in the 3rd cylinder... needless to say I told Perrys and master fit where to go - fitted another like for like engine myself and "touchwood" been ok since.
The cams do appear to be inferior...not exactly what else can be done with them tho...
I dont think people do replacement standard cams, only modified ones which cost a fair bit, plus its a cam chain not a belt so a pain in the rear to play with (compared to a belt)
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This is something me and my girlfriend are persuing as her Cam shaft went after purchasing it 4 months ago from a second hand dealer. Its a 1.2 Corsa SXI with only 33K on the clock. After a new Cam Shaft, head gasket, timing chain & two new valves the radiator has now gone. Absolute joke!!
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You'll see a lot more recent discussion on this subject in the Motoring discussion section - and a few happy endings. If you can't see it on the first page, go to page 2 - the thread was last posted on 10 April.
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