Engine died on motorway in foreign country

[Karla Parussel]

Hi all!

Sorry if it's bad netiquette or I am asking in the wrong place, but we're in a bit of a spot of bother and need some advice from people far more knowledgeable than us.

First off as an introduction, I loved my first Micra, a K11, but had to sell it when I emigrated from the UK to Germany. I was extremely sad to see her go but she was going to a good home. We called her Nessie (the Nissan). Three years later I found myself moving back to Britain for work and decided to buy another car. Obviously I wanted a Micra again but this time I went for a K12. We bought a 53 plate from a professional dealer, not a private seller. It had a about 55K on the clock but a full service history but a timing chain had been fitted the previous week and a full year's MOT. We're now faced with the prospect of the car engine needing to be replaced.

We drove it around the highlands of Scotland to see how it fared. A lovely little runner. Then we decided to drive it to Germany to bring some more of our stuff over stuck in storage. Two days ago my husband drove it from Edinburgh down to the south coast of England to my parent's house. When he parked it there the oil light flashed. So yesterday he filled up the oil again while I flew down to join him.

Today we drove from England to Germany. Except we never made Germany. We made Eindhoven in the Netherlands where we are now in a hotel room wondering what tomorrow brings.

We decided to stop at the motorway services. As we slowed down and I turned the radio down I noticed the sound of the engine was very odd. Far noisier, especially when the engine was idling. We weren't really sure what to do. We figured that if we could get to Germany then at least I would have some language skills to carry me through. We made it a few miles down the road.

We were on the motorway when the engine cut out. My husband restarted the engine while we were cruising along and we manage to get just up the hill of a slip road before the engine died for good. Turning the ignition on we what sounds like a starter motor going but the main engine wasn't starting.

A while later we managed to get the local recovery vehicle out to have a look. The guy shook his head to say that it looked like the engine was completely dead (he had some English but we weren't sure we understood him correctly). He checked the oil and there was absolutely none left, which took us by surprise as we had filled it the night before and there was no evidence of a leak.

We're going to take it to a garage first thing tomorrow morning. What should we be asking him to look for? Why didn't the oil light give us a warning about the lack of oil? (I noticed this morning that the right reverse light didn't come on). Surely this should have been checked in the MOT? The insurance has told us that they don't cover us for mechanical failure. Could this have been an accident with hitting debris on the road from Edinburgh to the south coast of England?

It's looking like we either pursue the insurance with the claim that it was an accident with debris, or we pursue the company that sold us the car three weeks ago with a full year's MOT because it wasn't working properly. I haven't even being trying to pay off the loan on this car and it's probably dead already. Any advice you can give me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[garfield721]

Karla,

I feel for you. The engine has likely been destroyed in a number of ways. The internals will have been running without lubrication and caused it to seize and destroy its bearings and seals. It has also likely overheated and destroyed its piston rings, camshafts, crankshaft and likely a warped head. This was all likely caused by head gasket failure or something worse. The engine will have burned off its oil and destroyed itself.

In the unlikely event that something has damaged the underside causing the engine to leak oil, you would not be covered on your warranty.

The garage should be liable and pay for a replacement engine. You should have at least 3 months mandatory warranty. Ring the garage as soon as possible and explain the story.

If all that fails you should be able to pick up a second hand engine for less than a few hundred pounds and the labour shouldn't be too crazy on a small car.

I hope you get sorted soon.

Regards,

 

[karlj]

Really sorry to hear of your bad luck

As garfield has said you only option is to pursue the garage that sold you the car, unfortunately you'll have a fight on your hands with them as they'll do anything to get out of paying for a replacement engine

 

[plmval]

Duff Car Consumer Rights

You have limited protection applicable to an 12-year-old vehicle purchased under UK consumer sale of goods act fit for purpose law.

The onus is on you to substantiate and prove your case via independent motor engineer’s inspection report and quote to supply and fit replacement engine, to enforce legal redress.

You must negotiate with and give the supplying car dealer the opportunity to rectify the vehicles problems in a rational and economically viable manner with due regard to its present location and value.

They do not have open-ended blank cheque legal liability to pay for repairs in Eindhoven or to transport it back to the Scottish Highlands, which you may initiate at your cost. The dealer may find it more economical to offer an equivalent replacement vehicle at marginal cost?

May I suggest you do your own research on car sales consumer rights and case law and to get you started, follow the reference links?

Your Legal Rights if You Bought a Lemon From A Car Dealer ! The Sale of Goods Act.
The dealer is legally required to collect the car, remedy the faults and return it at no cost to you or you can reject the car & claim a full refund. Claim your legal rights as follows, no luck required, just your rights.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Frequently Asked Questions
Home » Ask Honest John » Frequently Asked Questions

Q


CONSUMER RIGHTS. How do I reject a duff car or get compensation for problems with a car I have bought from a dealer?

A


You have to invoke the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Part II Section 14, as modified by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, subsequently modified by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994, contending that the supplier is in breach of contract to you for supplying a car which was not "of satisfactory quality", or did not remain so for a reasonable period of time. Appeal Court Case law (Bernstein v Palmerston Motors 1987) has held that the supplier must be given three chances to rectify the fault for which the goods are rejected and must have failed to do so. The goods must be returned to the supplier together with all keys and paperwork. (Scott and Scott v Blade Motor Company 1997.) And the supplier (in the case of a car the dealer principal of the dealership) must be sent a letter by recorded delivery detailing why the car has been rejected as not "of satisfactory quality". Case law (Rogers v Parrish 1987) has put a limit of 6 months on the time you can successfully reject a car and obtain a full refund, though lesser refunds, taking account of mileage covered, may be obtained outside that period. The price you pay compared to market value will be taken into account. So if you buy a cheap car on trade terms you cannot reject it under the Act. And if you buy a cheap car (under £2,000) on retail terms from a trader, you cannot reasonably expect it to be perfect.
The Supreme Court verdict in Clegg v Olle Anderson (trading as Nordic Marine) 11-3-2003 has caused some confusion which some believe to have overruled Bernstein v Palmerston Motors 1987. In this case a yacht was supplied with an overweight keel in breach of its specification which formed part of the original contract. It was held that Clegg could reject the yacht at more than 6 months from date of purchase even though Mr Anderson had offered to make modifications to try to correct the fault. Basically, because the yacht had originally been supplied "of unsatisfactory quality" and this was admitted, Mr Clegg retained the right to reject it. For Clegg v Olle Anderson to apply to other cases, it must be proven that the fault existed on the date of sale and constituted a breach of the original purchase contract. Clegg v Olle Anderson cannot apply where a fault develops at some time after purchase. In those cases, Bernstein v Palmerston Motors 1987 still applies and the dealer has to be given three clear chances to rectify the problem.

The Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, is derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003. This reverses the burden of proof so that if goods go faulty within six months after purchase it is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the trader has the onus of proving that the item is not defective due to a manufacturing defect.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) contains a general prohibition against unfair commercial practices and, in particular prohibitions against misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices. The Regulations are enforceable through the civil and criminal courts.
www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/buying-selling/sale-supply/sale-of-good-act/page8600.html , www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20023045.htm and http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
This creates an offence of misleading omissions which would not previously have been an offence if the consumer had not asked the right questions. So if a salesman knows a car has, for example, been badly damaged and repaired and does not tell the customer, he could later be held liable if the customer subsequently discovered that the car had been damaged and repaired. As far as I know this has yet to be tested in court and there are no case precedents. As soon as there are and I am made aware I will include them
during the first six months:

The consumer returns the goods in the first six months from the date of sale and requests a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In that case, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale. This comes from Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003
See more on your complete consumer rights on the HJ website, http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Good luck and let us know how it pans out?

 

[Karla Parussel]

Thanks for all the wonderful information, it is all extremely helpful. And thank you for your kind words. I have emailed the dealer but he hasn't responded yet. Working out the dates we've had the car less than 4 weeks.

We've managed to arrange for someone to tow it back to the south east of England to my parent's house for 400 euros but that will be the end of next week and we're wondering what to do in the meantime. Hiring a car is proving rather difficult over the Easter weekend so we might take what we can by train.

The local garage looked at it and said that there had clearly been some work on the engine around the oil sump in the past. A previous mechanic had sealed some older part to it. We managed to take some photos but this one really shows it well. I don't have photoshop on this laptop to bring out the colours and exposure.