Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working

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Fri 6 Jul 2012 11:48
Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working - robotcat

Hi, I bought a second hand Vauxhall Zafira 3 months ago. Driving home 3 weeks ago, the car came to a complete standstill, seems the engine had packed in. I accepted that I wasn't likely to get the people I bought the car from to pay for repairs/ replacement as I couldn't prove it was their fault so bit the bullet and decided to put a replacement engine in the car. Garage have just phoned me saying that having put the engine in (and put new timing belt, oil etc) the engine is not working, no compression on chamber 1 (does that make sense?). The engine came with 3 months warranty but it states on the company website that they will not compensate for the cost of installation, only for the cost of the part. I just wanted to know if this statement was a legal one or if there was a case for claiming they pay for the cost of intalling the engine since they supplied a substandard engine. Obviously, this is not the fault of the gfarage that put the engine in and I will pay them for their work, just wondered if I could claim this money back. Thanks for your help.

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Fri 6 Jul 2012 16:19
Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working - Cris_on_the_gas

Sounds like they have made their terms of business quite clear. Seems like you have been unlucky twice. Regarding original sale was it a dealer and if you can prove the fault was present at time of purchase they might be liable

Regarding the engine supplier I would have thought a reasonable place would have done a basic compression test before sale. Only need to connect starter motor to engine and give it a wiz round. What does it say on their website about any pre sale testing that is done, or do they just yank out of one vehicle and sell it on.

I would not have much confidence in them giving you another engine. Does the warranty mention money back ?

Personally I would consider getting one that has been re conditioned rather than just recovered from a donor vehicle. Might be more expensive outlay but got to be cheaper than gambling with another donor engine. Try someone who is a member of the Federation of Engine Remanufacturers

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Fri 6 Jul 2012 17:12
Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working - Armitage Shanks {p}

These people have ceased trading but they gave the replacement engine business a very bad name. Hope they haven't come back to life and messed you up!

http://news.sky.com/story/850154/sky-probe-garage-accused-of-fraud-and-threats

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Sat 7 Jul 2012 12:44
Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working - Talking Hoarse
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Edited by Talking Hoarse on 07/07/2012 at 12:45

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Thu 12 Jul 2012 12:38
Vauxhall Zafira A - Replacement engine not working - robotcat

Hi, thanks for your replies. Wishing I had gone down the refurb'd engine route now. Decided not to originally as the car isn't that new and it seemed like a lot of money to spend. No, it wasn't that company that sold me the engine, thanfully. The engine supplier is now only willing to refund me the full amount I paid if I return the engine to them (thereby incurring more garage costs for taking the engine out) otherwise the are only willing to refund value of the engine minus thier original carriage costs of £60, which considering their failiure to provide an engine that was fit for purpose, seems a little bit tight! Plus they will presumably have to pay further carriage costs to get the engine back to them.

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