Garage not fixing car

[Hungrydoug]

Bought a second hand car two months ago. Less than a week after I picked it up it started overheating, took it back and had a new radiator hose fitted. Didn't have the car for four days while this was being done and the first day I picked it up it started overheating again. Took it back in and it had the water pump replaced.

 

Got the car back another week later and three days later the engine management warning light came on. Took the car back in and the guy told me that it was because they'd replaced water pump so he reset the light. I wasn't convinced because it was ticking over at about 1200rpm instead of he usual 800 and there was a fair amount of steam coming out the exhaust.

 

Took the car back in and was told that because I'd left the oil filler cap off, that the problem was sorted? Now the engine management light doesn't come on at all. (There were a number of fingerprints on the glass in front of the instruments, leading me to think they'd just disconnected the light rather than fixing the problem!

 

I've called and they said they would have another look, is there anything I need to do to ensure this gets fixed? Can I take the car somewhere else to get fixed properly and charge the first garage?

 

Thanks in advance.

[sailor sam]

You can take the car to have it looked at by another garage (which I would suggest to be a franchised dealership of what ever the make of car it is) and ask them to diagnose the problem(s). Obviously you may have to pay for this initially. You would have to report anything that they come up with back to the selling garage and give them the oppotunity to rectify or agree to pay to have the repairs done yourself. You cannot just go ahead to have any work done and expect to claim back the cost first.

 

A few questions spring to mind; 1. How was the car advertised? (i.e. good condition, low mileage ect) 2. How old is it? 3. What make/model is it? 4. How did you pay for it? (i.e. cash out right/finance) 5. Did it come with any warranty? 6. have you got a record of when you first reported the problem(s).

[Hungrydoug]

You can take the car to have it looked at by another garage (which I would suggest to be a franchised dealership of what ever the make of car it is) and ask them to diagnose the problem(s). Obviously you may have to pay for this initially. You would have to report anything that they come up with back to the selling garage and give them the oppotunity to rectify or agree to pay to have the repairs done yourself. You cannot just go ahead to have any work done and expect to claim back the cost first.

 

A few questions spring to mind; 1. How was the car advertised? (i.e. good condition, low mileage ect) 2. How old is it? 3. What make/model is it? 4. How did you pay for it? (i.e. cash out right/finance) 5. Did it come with any warranty? 6. have you got a record of when you first reported the problem(s).

 

Thanks Sam.

 

The car was advertised on the car dealer’s website and there was nothing misleading in the advert, the mileage was correct and the condition was correctly described. It a 52 plate Audi A6 that I bought on finance and it came with a 1 month warranty for mechanical and gearbox problems. The dealer has been excellent in so much as he’s looked at all the problems I’ve reported, even after the month was up, so I have nothing bad to say in that respect. I’d just like him to fix the problem that it obviously has.

 

And yes to your final question, I’ve got dates of all the times the problems appeared, were reported and the dates the car went into and came out of the garage.

[Conniff]

As nice as the selling garage seems, you must remember that they look after themselves first. If you suspect that the dash light has been disconnected, you mustn't be afraid to say so, tell them it doesn't come on at all now even with just the ignition on.

 

If it doesn't come back this time to your satisfaction, you should take it elsewhere for a check as Sam says, especially for a pressure/compression check because of the steam from the exhaust.

[robby71]

Don't all used cars have a minimum 3 months warranty by law?

When you turn the key without starting the engine and all the lights come on does the EML light come on?

lots of steam from exhaust and overheating could be the head gasket or even the head (pourus heads are common on pre 2006 Audi A3s), does the coolant level need topping up?

[Hungrydoug]

Thanks for all the responses. Picked the car up yesterday, the engine management light comes on, but is a lot fainter than the rest of the lights and much fainter than it used to be.

 

They haven't addressed the steam issue either.

 

Robby: This was the problem, the EML light didn't come on before starting then go off as usual when the engine was started, however it does now, albeit a lot fainter. The coolant and oil levels are staying the same (I've been checking them daily)

 

So is my next course of action to take it to the Audi dealer and have them check it?

 

Mechanical Engineer friend of mine thinks it might me a mass air flow sensor causing it to run a bit rich, but I'll wait and see if he earns the pint I've bet him

[robby71]

Well the light should either be on or off - there isn't a fainter option so it sounds as though they've been fiddling with the instrument cluster to try and hide the light.

A faulty MAF wouldn't alter the idle speed by 300rpm, only the ECU can adjust that. To test the MAF simply unplug the connector and have a drive, if it feels better then the MAF can be faulty, if it's the same then that's not the problem.

Usually a faulty MAF wouldn't bring the EML light on and only by using VAGCOM (VW AUDI diagnostic program - used by connecting computer to diagnostic port on car) can reading be taken of the airflow, etc can this be diagnosed.

The steam issue if it's comming out of the exhaust is nothing to do with the MAF, steam and overheating will more than likely be head gasket or cylinder head problems, water leaking into cylinder bores, gets hot then steam has to exit via exhaust. The way to test this is by having a test done by a garage (usually overnight)

 

Where abouts are you based as i know a couple of VAG specialists in West yorkshire (much cheaper than Audi - £120ph)

[Hungrydoug]

Thanks Robby but I'm a bit far away (Dundee) I think they may have wired the EM light up to the ECU light that comes on at the same time!

[robby71]

This is a great forum where you can ask for advice - Audi-Sport.net there are members on there who have their own VAG-COM software and if you're local they'll usually help out. They can read your fault codes and scan the system to see what's wrong

[craig8661]

to me it sounds like we will fix the fault take the bulb out.

oh we have been sused conect it to anouther light that comes on for a few seconds.

my advice is follow what you have been told abouve.

it could be the head gasket or anything going and by keep running it you could be doing alot more damage.

when you get independant advice post the findings on here for the next steps.