Polo Engine Replacement???

[shiv21]

Hi there

 

I recent bought a VW Polo 1.2 (S) at 39,400k (56 plate 2007) from a reputable Birmingham dealer with a 3 Month 5 star warranty in Late September 2012

 

The polo has VW service history from VW in 2007(first inspection), 2009, 2010, 2011 and in September 2012 the birmingham dealer i bought it from

 

I drove it back to London and at the traffic lights when completely stationery the car was jerking, I thought nothing of it as it was a 1.2

 

Then 3 weeks later the Exhaust Emissions light came on and took it to the dealer branch just south of London.l

 

The diagnostic showed a misfire in cyclinder 1 hence the coil pack was changed.

 

I took it back and literally drove it for 3 days days and the exhaust emissions light came on again so took it back

 

So the London garage did a compression test and it showed cylinder 1 was 120, cylinder 2 and 3 were between 190-230 (3 cylinder engine

 

So they believe that the piston, piston rings or cylinder liner damaged.... is this true? And because VW dont do these parts individually the engine replaced.

 

The london garage contacted the warranty company and they said this was a common problem in VW polos and has been regarded as wear and tear!!!

 

The London garage then told me to contact the Birmingham garage and they said they will look at the case and talk to the warranty company.

 

The London garage told me to contact the local VW garage to ask for looking at it and fixing it on goodwill. They said they will charge £144 for investigation work!!

 

So what shall I do? A VW which has just done 40,000 miles and is 5 years old shouldnt have problems with the engine and cylinders

 

Please help

 

Many Thanks

[afcwben]

Take a look round this forum SOGA is your best approach for this

[shiv21]

Thank I see, but what I can I do logistically. Who to contact ? The dealer, the warranty company or VW?

[Yukiko]

Thank I see, but what I can I do logistically. Who to contact ? The dealer, the warranty company or VW?

 

The warranty is a thing that really doesn't fall into the equation.

 

VW's 3cyl engines are failing left, right and centre and as such, they get Part Exchanged or palmed off to independant dealers such as this one.

 

The Sale Of Goods Act states that you can return the vehicle to the dealer for Repair, Replacement or Refund. The pair of you have to come to this decision together, however, repair is usually the best bet.

 

The mileage and age suggests to me that this dealer should foot the bill for the repairs, as I guess it wasn't a cheap car to buy.

 

Someone will be along shortly to advise you what to write, but your quibble is with the dealer, or finance company/credit/debit card company may help too.

 

Hope this helps.

[shiv21]

Can I also contact VW as this is an apparent design fault with the engine and ask them to repair or replace the parts out of goodwill?

[afcwben]

Contact the dealer they will have to deal with it. There will be no cost to you under SOGA. The dealer may approach VW but that is down to them

[ashmk]

Your contract is with the dealer so you must deal with them, if you go to VW direct you will confuse things and it may give the dealer an excuse not to help.

Only they should go to VW, not you.

 

 

 

 

 

Totally and utterly off topic, AFCWBen.... Are you looking forward to December 2nd 2012, 12.30pm?

Edited November 21, 2012 by ashmk

[afcwben]

I am going to kingsmeadow on the day. Not looking forward to that day but there was always a certain inevitability about it

[ashmk]

Yer, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Should be an interesting game. I am going to the stadium.

[shiv21]

I have tried to contact the dealer and the head office of the dealer but having trouble getting through to them.

 

So how does the Sales of Good act work and how can I enforce this to the dealer???

[MaisyMouse]

I almost bought one, but my fiance found this link

 

http://www.autoinsider.co.uk/problems/show.php?problem=10093

[ashmk]

Write to them Shiv, tell them the issue and what you want doing to resolve it and send it recorded. They should take note of that.

[tiredTraveller]

I had one, and all the dealer in Twickenham would tell me after keeping it for 2 days was 'It is behaving in the same way as all cars of this particular age and model do'. Sadly I get the feeling he was telling the truth, but wasn't a great help and oddly enough at this point I realised during the course of the conversation he'd steered me outside into the used car sales area.

 

I traded mine in - and not for a Volkswagen group car either

[heliosuk]

There are two major issues with this engine, one was excessive oil burning which was subject to a VW quality campaignso it is unlikely to be that, the other is premature valve seat wear. Once repaired though the cars are good as gold!

 

The issue you have is liability due to the time you have owned it. If the selling dealer is a VW dealer then it should be pretty straight forward though you might need to guide them and there will potentially be some expense involved. You will also have to expect a £500 contribution I reckon.

 

If the selling dealer was not VW then the game changes. The key is to get the dealer on side and support rather than try to shaft them with SOGA . Help them resolve the issue via a VW dealer as that is the only way it will get fixed. A non franchised dealer cannot fix this problem unless they take all of the cost and that just isn't going to happen. To keep costs down then it needs to go to a VW dealer to be repaired.

 

Whatever happens, do not accept a repaired head. It will not and just doesn't work, the tolerances are too tight for any garage to work to and the skill level is not there anymore.

 

Have a search through this forum for the same said problem and read the process etc. It will be time consuming but if you are using this car in a city, when repaired believe me it will be great. A wonderful little car for city work though I wouldn't use it for long distance.

[shiv21]

There are two major issues with this engine, one was excessive oil burning which was subject to a VW quality campaignso it is unlikely to be that, the other is premature valve seat wear. Once repaired though the cars are good as gold!

 

The issue you have is liability due to the time you have owned it. If the selling dealer is a VW dealer then it should be pretty straight forward though you might need to guide them and there will potentially be some expense involved. You will also have to expect a £500 contribution I reckon.

 

If the selling dealer was not VW then the game changes. The key is to get the dealer on side and support rather than try to shaft them with SOGA . Help them resolve the issue via a VW dealer as that is the only way it will get fixed. A non franchised dealer cannot fix this problem unless they take all of the cost and that just isn't going to happen. To keep costs down then it needs to go to a VW dealer to be repaired.

 

Whatever happens, do not accept a repaired head. It will not and just doesn't work, the tolerances are too tight for any garage to work to and the skill level is not there anymore.

 

Have a search through this forum for the same said problem and read the process etc. It will be time consuming but if you are using this car in a city, when repaired believe me it will be great. A wonderful little car for city work though I wouldn't use it for long distance.

 

I have chased up the dealer who has a large chain or network but are non VW.

 

He has spoken to the local VW dealer in Birmingham who informed him that as the car is over 5 Years they cannot repair it out of good will. is this true?

 

Therefore the dealer in Birmingham has said it is best to go down using the warranty route.

 

The car is with the dealer in South London branch, who is part of Honda and they have informed me that under the warranty all they can do is order a reconditioned engine from VW from Germany as they do not supply the seperate parts.

 

Is this true? Would a reconditioned engine be a good thing? will this solve the problem and be good long term??

 

The South London branch of the dealer is happy to put in the reconditioned engine providing they get the Go-Ahead from warranty company to provide for the cost of the engine and labour

 

The Birmingham dealer has said the warranty company will provide cover for the claim however the South London dealer has yet to get authorisation from the warranty company or any kind of green light yet!

 

What should I do next?

[ashmk]

Good way for a dealer to make money, sell dodgy motors then try and charge the warranty company to do the repair work. Smells a bit fishy to me.

[shiv21]

Well the Warranty company havent budged yet. They want the exact problem with the engine. They want to know whether it is the Piston, Piston ring, Cylinder liner, Cylinder Head or valves/valves seats.

 

In order to do that the engine needs to be striped. For the engine to be striped it needs authorisation from the dealer/area manager from warranty company so I dont need to foot the bill to strip the engine.

 

The dealer has said if the warranty company do not cover the claim or party cover the claim, the dealer would do so out of good will (though nothing in writing yet!)

 

Would the engine need to be replaced if any of the following is damaged : Piston, Piston ring, Cylinder liner, Cylinder Head or valves/valves seats???

[shiv21]

What happens if the valves or valve seats are damaged?