Catastrophic engine failure on Volvo V40

Purchased a Volvo V40 1.8i 4 months ago - it was running beautifully but on the motorway it made a horrible noise, the temp gauge shot up and it lost all power (within 2 minutes). No prior warnings.

The water hose was hanging underneath the car, contents spilling out and water at the back of the engine. Head gasket, pistons etc ruined. Need a new engine. Garage said the engine had no oil in it - not even on the end of the dipstick. There was no oil underneath the car where I park it and the oil light has never come on. The car came with a lot of annual service history and was sold to me with a lub service. What could have caused this to happen? What assurances do I have as this occurred within 4 months of purchase?

Asked on 2 November 2011 by unlucky or not

Answered by Honest John

If you purchased the car from a garage then the garage could be liable. if you bought privately, the private vendor certainly isn't. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Tags: technical issues legal issues breakdown

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