PCP engine blown. Are we about to get royally shafted?

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0800Dinosaur
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Post by 0800Dinosaur »

Long story short, the missus is on her fourth year of a four year PCP deal on a fiat 500. The warranty was three years.

(Yeah, any PCP deal which leaves you sans warranty is a terrible idea, particularly on a fiat. Unfortunately we'd not met when she took the deal)

Last week she had a breakdown, blown head gasket as a result of a faulty coolant sensor and the car having been run without coolant with no check engine light.

£800 repair, which stings as the PCP finishes in 4 months and we intend to return the car.

Today we've been asked to come into the garage to "look at the pistons" which invariably means we're going to get some terribad news.

Any advice from anyone been through similar? If this turns out to be an engine rebuild, we're obviously not very keen to throw huge amounts of money at a car we want to return in a few months. On the other hand, if we have a non-running car towed to Fiat and try to return it, I can't imagine they'd be very impressed lol. Would they be in their rights to bill us for the repair?

To complicate matters the dealership went bust.

Will be making calls to the finance and insurance companies after we've seen the car, trying to fact find first.

Thanks all

cj10jeeper
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Post by cj10jeeper »

I feel your pain, but a clear lesson of a car out of warranty that you carry the risk.

You will absolutely have to return the car is fully functional condition with only acceptable wear and tear and that's down to chips on wheels, dents, interior and for sure a fully functional engine with no warning lights. Failure to do so and they will charge to repair and if required sue you. It will just be a much larger bill than if you do it

I would not call the finance company or insurers as all you will do is alert them to the fact the engine is damaged and then more test, need to see invoices, etc. if the lease company finds out. You have no claim on either anyway

My view would be to see the damage and get the cheapest repair to put it back together and sadly at cost to you
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mickjaguar
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Post by mickjaguar »

If the GMFV to option to buy the car has some equity in it, you might be able to sell it for more and claw some of the money back,

I've heard a few similar situations recently, A friend at work had a 5 year old, 40,000 mile Audi A1 where the DFP light came on. As the handbook described, she took it for a drive above 50mph for 30 minutes. During the journey the car began billowing smoke and lurched to a halt (fire brigade called etc). Ended up with a £4500 bill for a new turbo, injectors pistons and bent con-rods. Complained to Audi and received a £1200 contribution for the injectors. Another has an A5, which at 4 years old started using a litre of oil every 300 miles. Fortunately, Audi picked up the cost of new pistons and rings on that one.

I think I'm going to be taking out the Jag extended warranty when mine gets to 3 years old soon!

(Not having a go at Audi here. I'm not sure that any particular brand of car is bomb proof. it's probably down to luck as to when/if something fails and what the knock on damage is. e,g, my Fiat 500 has done 105000 miles with only a new radiator at 80k).
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chicb
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Post by chicb »

When your lease is up, they will send someone to pick it up & they will go over it with a fine tooth comb, listing any faults. They have a bit of leeway but not a lot. With my last S class Mercedes, the check lasted about 30 mins which meant they were being thorough. The guy told me that there was a small mark on a door which a smart repair would fix. I had noticed this but you had to look hard to see it & at an angle. Also the white drivers seat needed cleaning. This also was hardly noticeable. He said there would be no charge to me as it fell within acceptable parameters. So your engine has no chance of being acceptable & if you leave it to Fiat, you will be looking at a lot more than if you had it fixed. I would doubt very much if a Fiat has any equity on it. The problem with leasing is that the majority of people think that you can treat the car any way & just hand it back, but that is far from the case. Mercedes actually sends you a list of things to check before returning the car & tells you that you may be liable to pay for things to be put right. I am sure all manufacturers will do this.
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cj10jeeper
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Post by cj10jeeper »

Actually your reference to Mercedes reminds me I negotiated and purchased a €50m book of Mercedes business in France last year. Not my normal business of houses, land and developments but interesting

It arose almost entirely from remedial work on cars handed in. It’s all run from one office in Germany and a network across Europe and is huge business and costs for the company. Varied from €1k to €20k debts (one case of €60k for a dumped and stripped car) where owners returned cars damaged and refused to pay, bankrupt companies, etc.
No negotiation except small discount to it if they leased a new model - pay it else no new lease car offered and info shared with others (like a credit bureau).. My client collected direct, court or seized assets.
Fiat is sure to be simar to this so beware of ‘dump and run’ approach to it.
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0800Dinosaur
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Post by 0800Dinosaur »

Thanks for the replies all.

So the good news, is that the damage wasn't as bad as feared. The piston heads 1 and 4 are looking rather unhappy, visible gouges and marks on the surface and some somewhat less obvious marks inside the cylinders. Interestingly where the gasket has allowed water in, the valves are super shiny clean.

Given the situation (returning it in 4 months), the mechanic seems relatively sure that with the head skimmed and tested, it should run at least long enough for us to return this ticking timebomb to fiat.

There is of course a risk here that a piston ring or two has died. And for the sake of not replacing them (and all the labour involved) we might be about to double up our badness.

Obviously I've been avoiding making the missus feel bad about her life decisions (I did just buy an f-type so..), however she seems very receptive to the idea of getting a kia/hyundai (5/7 years warranty) next ;)

Fingers crossed gents
TimG
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Post by TimG »

I pity the person, who in all likelihood cannot afford an F-Type, and will get Royally shafted having purchased your ex-car!
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0800Dinosaur
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Post by 0800Dinosaur »

TimG wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:38 am I pity the person, who in all likelihood cannot afford an F-Type, and will get Royally shafted having purchased your ex-car!

Ahh mate.. This has been playing on my mind a lot.

Particularly after the rather brutal paternal dressing down I got; If I'd been a good boy and checked her coolant regularly this may have been avoided and the pistons wouldn't be trashed.

Next sucker should get a 1 year warranty..... right?
chicb
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Post by chicb »

Doubt if the next "sucker" will get a years warranty on a 4 year old Fiat 500. How would you like to be the next sucker?. The valves are clean due to the fact that the water coming into the combustion chamber turns to steam & removes the carbon
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PhilB
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Post by PhilB »

I think it's time to call a halt on this one.
Asking for advice is fine but posting about intending to pass a vehicle off as fully functioning when it needs further repairs isn't.
No more please.
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