Out of warranty claim for Vauxhall Corsa camshaft

[Cornish Rose]

UPDATE - To anyone with a broken camshaft problem.

 

I complained to Vauxhall via my garage and after several weeks of providing them with evidence that my car was not a 'one off problem' and refusing offers that started as low as 30% my car was fixed and I didn't have to pay a thing. They fixed the engine completely free.

 

A couple of days after getting my car back from the garage I received a VAUXHALL CUSTOMER REFIT NOTICE detailing the possible problem with camshafts on some models and asking me to take my car to be checked!

 

Vauxhall have a new camshaft bolt package that is now made to a higher spec so it is possible that anyone who has had theirs fixed before this new spec kit came out may get the problem again.

[Hobbage]

Our camshaft snapped back in August - luckily only doing about 30mph but I was glad I was with my husband as it was 1am and I am pregnant. Paid to get it repaired and then saw so many threads like this one all over the internet. Needless to say with a baby on the way we don't have that kind of money to spend - especially since we bought a newer car in the hope that it would last us and we wouldn't be constantly paying out to get it fixed. Had to hire a car while it was being fixed too just to be able to get to work.

 

I have been so stressed and upset over this. Vauxhall know this is a problem and should be thoroughly ashamed for continuing to try and get away with low offers. It's disgusting.

[drpatel]

Hi Max,

 

I would like some further investigations done on my 2005 1.2 sxi Corsa, which has done a mere 30,000. It has had annual servicing. Was driving it on the motor way started making odd noises and cut out whilst i was going 70mph! AA took it to a local garage it turns out that the cam shaft is broken. Reading all of the information on the internet i think it would be prudent for vx to look into this. Especially as you expect a fully serviced car to last longer than 5 years and 30k. Can you please call me on 07903903854 with how i can take this matter forward. Also does anyone know which solicitors were involved with the case in the daily record?

Many thanks

[philipaylen]

hi spanner16

 

please forgive me but i am new to these web forums,

i have just recieved a recall notice from VX to have my cam shaft bearing bolts checked for tightness on my 05 corsa.

last year at 53267 miles my inlet cam shaft broke, there was no warning it just started to run very rough,

after reading your posts and exchanges with max i was wondering if you know VX are now recalling certain cars for checks,

i was told by the VX dealer that repaired my car that they had repaired 2 or 3 cars all ready.

i am now going back to them to see if i can get my money back, £432.17

 

phil

[welshiron]

It's great to find this thread after the day I've had arguing with Vauxhall Customer Service, it's a pity VX_Max Vauxhall Company Rep doesn't seem to have been active on the forum since 19th January as I could do with his help right now.

 

My son's 2005 1.2sxi Corsa with just 30,100 miles suffered a camshaft failure last Saturday. Following the advice of a local mechanic, I called Vauxhall Customer Service on Monday and explained that there was a rattle in the top end and that I understood it may be something relating to a recall for loose camshaft bolts on the Z12EXP engine. I was given a case number and told there was no such recall, but there was a customer satisfaction programme relating to camshaft bearing bolts not being tightened to specification - not the same thing apparently.

Coincidentally, today my son received the CSP letter asking him to take his car to a dealer to be checked – a week too late in his case!

 

I was told that the car was one of those that may require the bolts to be tightened and that I should get the car to the local Vx dealer. I had to pay £60 to get the car towed in. Yesterday the dealer explained that the camshaft had broken and would need replacing, he said that he would need the service book before contacting Vx to see if they would cover some or all of the repair cost, he was aware of the problem as this was the third sxi to come in with a broken camshaft in the last few weeks. The car has had a Vx dealer service in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 but not 2008 for some reason.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is after much debate, Vx customer service say they can't offer any help with the cost as the car doesn't have a full service history. I tried to argue that a service every 6 months wouldn't have made the slightest difference in this case but it fell on deaf ears. They don't accept that the issue relating to loose camshaft bearing bolts has anything to do with the camshaft breaking on my son's car and they say they only guarantee a camshaft to last 12 months! They also claim that there is no known issue with failed camshafts only loose bolts. I pointed out that they had been sending the CSP letters out since last October and had we been advised back then, we wouldn't be looking at £1000 repair bill now. Not true apparently, as the two issues are in no way connected. The customer services rep did say she would see if 'one of the top Vauxhall bosses' (her words), could do anything, but it may take a while to get hold of him - I suspect this is just a tactic to get rid of me in the hope that I will pay for the repair and let it go. I ended the call by telling them that I felt the car left the factory with a fault and was therefore not fit for purpose and for that reason I will go to court to recover our costs.

 

I have asked the dealer to go ahead with the repair and intend to go through the small claims court to recover all of our costs, but would be really grateful to hear from anyone who has managed to get their bill fully reimbursed without having to issue court proceedings.

 

Apologies for the long first post (rant), but I’m infuriated by Vauxhall’s couldn’t care less attitude and think it’s outrageous that not only are they refusing to do the right thing, but are actually profiting from every replaced camshaft and/or head.

 

Any comments appreciated.

[philipaylen]

Hi

 

i have just read the letter from welshiron and are having simular problem with VX, because we do not have a complete service.

Our camshaft broke last june and was called in for it 'Customer satisfaction' check Tuesday this week,

if we do not get a full refund i would like to take the matter futher, can anyone suggest what would the ideal next step would be.

[Sarah_G]

Hi i am having the exact same problem with my tigra which broke down on sunday. I only recieved a letter to recall it a few days before even though they are suppose to have known about this problem for sometime. If i had got a letter even a few weeks sooner i could have had it repaired and this would not have escalated to the problem it is now.... they are refusing to cover the bill and i am refusing to pay..... the have sed 400pnd for camshaft without vat, then labour costs and that might not solve it fully as injectors might be broke which will up the bill even more...!!!!! Vx do not care about customers at all and constantly pass you from pillar to post saying they will be in touch and then they dont. Never by a Vx ......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[philipaylen]

hi sarah G

 

i am still trying to get my costs paid by VX, which they are looking in to at the monent (i am not holding my breath) my car was repaired by a local VX dealer and the cost of the camshaft was £216, with the total bill coming to just over £400. a lot cheaper than your garage!!!

[stepp]

Well after paying out for the repairs ourselves, we had to get a friend of the family to undertake the repairs, the cost of us going to a garage would of been out of our depth having bought a new house, garages wanted over 1400 pounds for the repairs theres no way we could afford that.

 

We thought that buying a small corsa with low mileage would be not only economical but also reliable, how wrong we were!

 

Vauxhall seem not to care, so now we are over 800 pounds out of pocket for the repairs, my girlfriend nearly lost her life on the motorway and now to rub salt into the wounds Vauxhall decide to send us a recall letter.

 

Also there is another recall on the car apparently, something to do with the ABS.

 

Vauxhall i will NEVER ever buy any of your cars again and i will urge everyone i know to do this also.

 

I am now going to spend the next few hours pasting the link to this site onto every car forum i can find .

 

After all if you cant and wont help your customers then ill fight back and hit your corporation where it hurts, SALES!

 

Everyone that has been effected by this SPREAD THE WORD, these big companies CANNOT continue to be allowed to ingnore the safety of the people driving their so called reliable cars!

 

BYE!

[bluesilver1]

I too had a letter from Vauxhall in January which came too late as I spent nearly £1400 last December when the very problem mentioned re the camshaft bolts happened. I thought how great Vauxhall were until I was aware they had been aware of this issue for some time and the letter could have been sent sooner to myself and others. I sent off my bills and service history to customer service and recently had a telephone call from Customer Services asking me to accept a small good will offer over the phone. During the call I asked for the offer to be put in writing with a reason for the low figure. To date I have not received this.

 

I am refusing this small good will offer. Not only have I been financially inconvenienced but it was a potentially dangerous incident. My husband was driving on a 70mph road in the rush hour when the fault occurred. The car went into limp mode and restricted his speed to 30mph causing other cars to have to take evasive action. It is lucky that he and others were not hurt. A letter sent sooner could have prevented this incident.

 

I am grateful to the users of these forums for making me aware of what is going on. From this I believe this is a manufacturing fault and that if the car was not fit for purpose I should not be losing out financially. I am strongly considering seeking legal advice as others are doing with a view to taking legal action to recover the full costs of the repair.

 

What would be most useful is some pointers to any news reports on this and other sound information relating to the fault. I bought the car second hand and have spent more on it since I had it than I paid with one thing and another. Disappointed with the car and Vauxhall to say the least.

[sailor sam]

It seems that 'Max' has gone very quiet and the problems seem to be many. Moral in the story me thinks... spend your money elswhere!

[Sazzle89]

My case is the same. My camshaft broke leaving me with a £1100 bill to take care of. Vauxhall Customer Services have know be "reviewing" my case for nearly 2 weeks and no progress has been made. I am now starting to get annoyed with the same response every time I phone. Is anyone else having trouble with their case being looked at.

 

I have been jumping through hoops for weeks now. The first problem was that my Corsa didnt have a full service history claiming that my 55 plate needed a service in 2006 and 2007. However my manual states "every 2 years or 20,000 miles" When my camshaft broke I was 2 days away from my 30,000 service. They then had a problem as my car was fixed at a local garage and not a Vauxhall garage - they claimed that my car hadnt had a Vauxhall camshaft put in, even through the garage brought it from a Vauxhall garage.

 

I feel like I am bashing my head on a wall. I just want to know that I am not alone in Vauxhall saying anything to review my case properly

 

Many Thanks

 

Sarah Stockings

[bluesilver1]

Whatever Vauxhall say, if the car left the factory with this fault, service history, & parts have nothing to do with it. The fault was there from the outset. Someone I spoke to at a garage say they tend to look at Camshaft Bolts if asked but most garages don't make this part of a regular check. The chap at the garage felt it should be though.

[bluesilver1]

Vauxhall have offered us 70% of costs today. Fair offer? What do others feel?

[sailor sam]

Vauxhall have offered us 70% of costs today. Fair offer? What do others feel?

 

I suggest you take legal advice first. I think VX may go further as there is obviously a known problem here and they won't want to go to court simply because if they loose 1 case, then others will follow.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[bluesilver1]

Would a judge pay out full costs though anyway? A judge may consider that 70% was quite a reasonable offer for a car with a 2005 registration and a number of miles on the clock. They have not put anything in writing but are making this a "good will gesture."

[sailor sam]

Would a judge pay out full costs though anyway? A judge may consider that 70% was quite a reasonable offer for a car with a 2005 registration and a number of miles on the clock. They have not put anything in writing but are making this a "good will gesture."

 

This is why i suggest you take legal advice. IMHO I don't think VX will want this to go to court so they may go further than this.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

[heliosuk]

Would a judge pay out full costs though anyway? A judge may consider that 70% was quite a reasonable offer for a car with a 2005 registration and a number of miles on the clock. They have not put anything in writing but are making this a "good will gesture."

 

Take the money and run whilst it's on offer and I'm pretty sure any solicitor will advise the same. Believe me, for what's going on at the moment take it as soon it will stop.

You could go the legal route and hang out for a few years and end up with nothing and in no way will a judge award the full amount.

 

VX wouldn't give a monkeys if this went to court as I know for a fact they would win. Better off taking the money now and letting other people take advantage of what appears to be on offer at the moment. If VX get a number of claims against them through the court then they will apply for a class action case and that will scupper any available funds for other people. Taking VX to court over this will not benefit the consumers who own the cars at the moment.

[philipaylen]

i have just recieved a reply from vauxhall after waiting since 12th feb, they are going to refund my full costs, i was lucky that it only cost me £400ish. i have to wait six weeks for the money to come through. there was no question asked about the lack of service history.

[sailor sam]

i have just recieved a reply from vauxhall after waiting since 12th feb, they are going to refund my full costs, i was lucky that it only cost me £400ish. i have to wait six weeks for the money to come through. there was no question asked about the lack of service history.

 

Bluesilver may like to take note.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[charlieh]

Hi, I'm a Corsa owner in Ireland (Republic). Bought my 05 car in 08 from an independent dealer. Had it serviced a couple of times by a friend - cash, no receipts. Camshaft snapped in oct 2010 - ended up with an 1700 euro (about 1400 Stg) repair bill - ouch.

Got the letter from Opel Ireland (as Vauxhall are branded here) in Jan 2011 recommending me to bring the car in to get the camshaft bolts tightened\replaced.

 

So, I started an email dialogue with Opel regarding what sort of goodwill gesture I could expect. I was told I was not entitled to anything as I did not have a service history. I explained that a regular service would not have found this problem, and that this was a known issue going back to early 2010 (i.e there were reports in various papers and webforums).

 

I then asked for the MD and company address of Opel Ireland so I could start proceedings in the Small Claims court.

 

I got a reply from Opel a couple of days later stating that they would be paying my repair bill in full. I received my refund yesterday. Happy days. Moral of the story is to stick to your guns, and don't take no for an answer. Consumer law is pretty similar between the Irish Republic and the UK so I think my experience could also apply to the UK.

[bluesilver1]

I excepted 70% good will gesture in the end. Money received and cleared now. Just took Vauxhall a little while to send the cheque. I think we did the right thing for us in the end. I'm happy.

[IainHL]

I excepted 70% good will gesture in the end. Money received and cleared now. Just took Vauxhall a little while to send the cheque. I think we did the right thing for us in the end. I'm happy.

Hello bluesilver. Can I ask you just how long it took from you accepting the 70% to you receiving the cheque? I didn't accept the 70%, but instead pushed them to the full 100% of repair costs, but altough I got a voicemail on 31st March telling me I would have my cheque in "7-14 days" I have yet to receive it. I phoned Vauxhall Customer Care earlier today, and after some time on hold the Customer Service Assistant said she would have to go and investigate further and get back to me.

[philipaylen]

hi all

 

have just recieved my chegue from vauxhall, full payment.

 

phil

[bluesilver1]

(Hello bluesilver. Can I ask you just how long it took from you accepting the 70% to you receiving the cheque? I didn't accept the 70%, but instead pushed them to the full 100% of repair costs, but altough I got a voicemail on 31st March telling me I would have my cheque in "7-14 days" I have yet to receive it. I phoned Vauxhall Customer Care earlier today, and after some time on hold the Customer Service Assistant said she would have to go and investigate further and get back to me.)

 

 

 

Iain HL - Glad to hear you are getting 100%. I was told 14 days but it was more like 21 -28. We did get a phone call after about 14 days to say it would be on the way soon.

Edited April 19, 2011 by bluesilver1
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