Renault Scenic - Car died as I was driving it!!!

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Wed 30 Jun 2010 10:59
Renault Scenic - Car died as I was driving it!!! - crazyfool1409
Hi ya,

Was just wondering if anyone could help me pls?

We bought a renault scenic on 8th may, on the 10th june the car completely died on me as I was driving my daughter to nursery, and so I got towed by the aa to the garage we bought it from.

The garage said they would fix the car at no cost to us, so we thought great! A few hrs later we get a phone call from them and they say they won't fix it because debris has hit the drive belt causing it to shred and then b***** up the whole engine. (pls excuse my terms as i'm certainly no expert).

Anyway, they tell us it's an insurance claim because it was basically my fault and that debris caused the whole engine to fail.

So we phone the insurance company, they pick up the car, carry out their assessment and over 2 weeks later tell us there is no evidence of debris hitting anything and the cam belt has snapped causing the car to fail.

Now...we asked the garage on several occasions to tell us the condition of the cam belt and tell us whether it had ever been done, as we bought the car at just over 80,000 miles. They failed to tell us anyway.

And they did tell us that if the cam belt snapped, it was our problem, which I am guessing is the case, but just wanted to ask others who have more of an idea than me, lol.

So basically, where do we stand with this pls? Oh and we have a 3 mth warranty on the car.

My partner has rang the garage to tell them the insurance companies not paying out, and the bloke who sold us the car is supposedly ringing us back today.

Cheers, Karen
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Wed 30 Jun 2010 21:40
Renault Scenic - Car died as I was driving it!!! - bonzo dog

Hi Karen, sorry to hear of your predicament.

Clearly a case were the dealer is liable under Sale Of Goods 6 month rule - basically if the goods fail to perform as they are supposed to within 6 months of purchase then the seller is responsible for proving the fault was not present at purchase (if the fault is present at purchase then the seller is responsible for a repair, replacement or refund).

Cam belt snaps after 33 days, the seller cannot demonstrate that the belt was in good working order, unless he has replaced it just prior to sale.

So it's not your problem .... well it is of course because you have to get him to accept this!

Ask him nicely to fix it or give you your money back. If the warranty is a 3rd party one, tell him you are not bothered whether he pays or the warranty but you will leave it up to him to make a claim if he wants to (the warranty company won't accept the claim though).

If he decline then go to trading standards

Good luck & let us know how you get on

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