I have no idea why people go outside the official dealer network since there is very little, if any, cost saving.

It may simply be down to distance if the dealer is a fair bit away. TBH the i10 does have a very good reputation in general, so the OP probably thought they were safe enough.

Yes, in theory, you can have the car serviced by another garage without invalidating the warranty. But in practice, it will be very very difficult to get Hyundai to honour it. This is why SLO (amongst others) always emphasizes how important it is, if buying a used (but still under warranty) Hyundai or Kia, that it has full dealer service history. This is the only way to be sure that long warranty is still worth the paper its written on.

Fingers crossed that you get the outcome you want, but i'm doubtful. I think the best option is the one skidpan put forward, that being to get your local garage to source a 2nd hand engine. A look on Ebay shows both 1.0 and 1.2 engines for the car available from about £600 (+delivery).

Edited by badbusdriver on 25/07/2019 at 19:12

As the engine is already *shot* according to the garage what else would you advise. Do you seriously think that a large percentage of car owners are concerned what oil goes in their motor once it reaches an age?

If it is not knocking or banging or smoking and you cannot afford an engine try a thicker grade oil and keep an eye on the level.

Do not try that.

Ask yourself, who knows more The manufacturer, a bloke in the pub or a faceless person on the internet.

Answers on the back of a postage stamp please.

Depends on the faceless person on the internet.

If they are saying stuff like ":thinner but better lubricating oil" I'd have reservations, but potentially that's probably the best bet.

The bloke in the pub is probably drunk, and the manufacturer can't be trusted.

If it is not knocking or banging or smoking and you cannot afford an engine try a thicker grade oil and keep an eye on the level.

Do not try that.

Engines are designed to run on a certain grade that varies with climate to some degree. Put in a thicker grade and not only will that put extra stresses on ageing components such as the oil pump but it will also take longer to circulate to the top of the engine accelerating wear to components such as cams and followers.

Its a bodge that may have worked in the 60's with old clockwork engines but the OP's engine is a modern unit that is designed for modern thinner but better lubricating oils.

Ask yourself, who knows more The manufacturer, a bloke in the pub or a faceless person on the internet.

Answers on the back of a postage stamp please.

OP, just in case you take the above seriously, be aware that its a lubrication legend and has essentially no visible means of support.

In general, thin oils are specified for fuel economy, and the overall balance of the evidence is that thin oils cause slightly higher wear.

This is a compromise, and for most owners, most of the time, and entirely reasonable one, since most cars are scrapped with lots of engine life left.

However, compromise doesn't make good advertising copy so you won't find it explicitly acknowledged by manufacturers.

We don't know if thicker oil will help you, but if you use it the dire consequences foretold above are rather unlikely

I'm afraid this engine sounds like another victim of no one regularly checking the oil level, to get down so low the oil light was coming on means its been running low on oil level for some time,

Agreed. But some questions for the OP - is it driveable? If so, how much oil per 1000 miles is it using? The garage which advised a new engine might be looking for work. If the engine runs OK and burns less than a litre of oil every 1000 miles she might as well continue to use it - and it might even pass the MoT emissions test. Engines have seized after the service mechanic failed to replace the oil - or were run experimentally with no oil in a scrap car by the curious - and were still serviceable when refilled.

Checking the engine oil level on a flat surface should be done at least once a fortnight, at least once a week if you cover a fair mileage, and coolant levels should be checked..

Distance, not time. Even with over 100,000 on the clock you should not need to check the oil more frequently than every 1000 miles unless it's a known oil burner. E.g. our 140,000 mile 1.6 Focus does over 3000 miles per litre.

Why, that has been my experience of Kia (Hyundai's sister brand) and other brands as well.

The two Hyundai dealers nearest me were both a lot more expensive than any of the independent garages and much less convenient to get to as well. I did claim on the Hyundai warranty for a power steering failure without an issue.

The other reason people use independent garages is that they don't trust the main dealers.

Where I stay, the huge dealerships have taken over virtually all the franchises (Arnold Clark, Evans Halshaw etc). I think you get better service from the smaller family owned dealerships. The only dealership locally that isn't owned by own of the big chains is the Ford one.

As manufacturing tolerances have shrunk over the decades, the recommended oil has reduced from 50 > 40 > 30 and at the same time the cold W rating has reduced to 0W

I think you are confusing "tolerance" and "clearance"

Tolerances and clearances are linked.

As the manufacturing tolerances have reduced it has reduced the clearances on the engines that are built to the maximum tolerances.

A blueprinted engine built today using "perfect" components is probably no better than one built 60 years ago except of course materials have improved.

But lets not forget that oils have improved massively since the early 80's. You needed thicker oils back then because a thin one would never have held together at higher temps. Now with synthetic oils a thinner one will hold together and will lubricate far better than its much thicker ancestor. The advantages of the thinner oil have resulted in less pumping loss which means more power/better economy.