Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement

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Sat 3 Oct 2020 20:55
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - Austin fenn

Hi there I’m looking for some guidance on what to do next? I had my Volvo engine replaced in January by a company in Essex claiming on their website to be the “UK’s number 1 engine and gearbox replacement company”. Shows a pretty impressive website on first viewing and being in a desperate need for the vehicle to be back on the road and promised a 2 year warranty I put my trust in them. During the early part of lockdown and having driven no more than 1000 miles I noticed that the coolant level was low which had been a problem before. I called them and followed up with a text to the only member of staff I have ever had contact with Jack. He informed me via text they were closed due to lockdown and he would let me know when they were open. On the 26th of June the vehicle stopped running while I was on the M4. I called jack who said get it here and we will take a look. 7 hours later I arrived at the office address ( not the workshop) on the breakdown truck and left the car and keys as directed in one of their spaces. I have not seen the vehicle since, and have been told various different stories as to why it’s not ready yet. I’ve emailed the address advertised, no response, I’ve rung the office number no answer, email address bounces back now. Jack has maintained contact though and usually calls back if he misses my call, sometimes he rings me with an update! However it’s been 14 weeks now and my patience is running thin. On further investigation it appears the same grammatical errors appear in several of the reviews on the company website. No address has ever been given to me other than the office address not the workshop. The only contact is by telephone and when I tried to record the conversation via another phone the calls cut off three times. It gets even more interesting though as I responded on another forum to a guy asking about them. When we spoke on the phone it turns out they have had his car since June 1st and he is in Belfast! He has had exactly the same experience and has been told the same story over the past two weeks about ECU problems and now a blood clot on the brain of jacks daughter. So with only one phone number, one contact, no address other than the office and 14 weeks without the car with only a “next week” promise I want to ask... what can I do legally!!

Edited by Avant on 03/10/2020 at 23:08

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Sat 3 Oct 2020 22:48
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - SLO76
Five minutes checking the firms details at companies house shows that it’s obvious Dodgy as hell, one to avoid. Sadly all too common in the used engine and gearbox trade unfortunately.

I am curious (for obvious reasons) as to what caused the engine failure and what age and mileage the car had covered beforehand? Did it have a full service history? Was the timing belt changed on time? Etc etc.

Edited by SLO76 on 03/10/2020 at 22:48

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Sat 3 Oct 2020 23:12
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - Avant

Sorry - I sympathise greatly but have had to delete the name of the garage. For further explanation please see the sticky thread on naming and shaming.

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Sun 4 Oct 2020 12:12
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - KB.

Just spent an interesting half hour looking up engine rebuilding specialists in Essex.

And it fills me with dread. .... companies with different names trading from the same (or adjacent) industrial units in areas that you wouldn't want to spend too much time in.

And, obviously enough, the online documents publishing their company accounts are always informative, as is the fascinating use of the English language when it comes to describing the magnificence of their work.

Yes, I know people on here say you shouldn't buy brand new cars - that such people are mugs and are chucking their money down the drain, but at least if you DO buy new and have, say, a 5 year manufacturers warranty, you know, despite the shortcomings of manufacturer's customer service departments, that you don't have to deal with the sort of people that the OP is currently having to deal with.

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Sun 4 Oct 2020 12:53
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - nellyjak

Yes, I know people on here say you shouldn't buy brand new cars - that such people are mugs and are chucking their money down the drain,

?...I don't think that's true at all....As SLO says, it's simply that so many used engine/gearbox so called specialists are notoriously dodgy..and thankfully most right minded peeps have no need/reason to avail themselves of their dubious services.

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Sun 4 Oct 2020 14:14
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - SLO76
I shouldn’t tempt fate but I’ve been fortunate enough never to suffer engine or gearbox failure on any car I’ve owned or sold.
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Sun 4 Oct 2020 13:03
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - gordonbennet

Haven't, touch wood, needed a replacement engine for any of my considerably old cars since around 1986, when i reconditioned the 2.5 litre Diesel lump in our Granada.

Yes now and again i've needed specialist work on various components including engine parts.

It's regular quality maintenance (giving so called extended service intervals a good ignoring) and mechanical sympathy that keeps engines going for years on end.

The one thing that stands out from the OP (and no reflection on him because i almost got caught out similarly) is the ''impressive website''. I had, unsurprisingly, a lot of trouble with the according to rumour bomproof hewn from granite Mercedes 124s, namely ecu troubles though there were enough other troubles to be going on with too.

I shall regale this tale again because like the OP found, an impressive website should be ignored completely, reliable and truthful as a politicians word.

The first ecu failure i found an repair shop on the Isle of Wight, they fixed the problem with a reliable permanent repair, but at a price i thought was steep...little did i know.

Upon the next ecu failure i thought i'd be a clever clogs, found a place with a website promising the earth for probably half the cost and sent the ecu away, they couldn't find a fault and returned the part, diagnostics charge of some £40 or so.

Another more down to earth but in depth website from the opposite side of the country, waxing lyrical about how honest reliable he was etc, duly sent him the item, sure enough received a message back saying the ecu was 'scrap' and should he bother me with the cost of returning it...smelly rat time because parts for these ecu's were getting rare, so i insisted on the return and paid probably £50 diagnostics charge...i should add these ecu's were getting on for £1500 from the dealer.

So finally, much wiser and £90+ lighter for nothing i contacted the Isle of Wight repair shop, and in due course they fixed the issue with no bother and the repaired part is still working well on the car currently sitting on our driveway well over a decade later.

I wish our OP the best of luck in getting his car back, how he goes about this i haven't a clue.

.

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Sun 4 Oct 2020 17:44
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - Senexdriver

Many years ago I contacted a mobile mechanic to recondition the engine in a mk4 Cortina estate which, soon after I got it home, I realised was a pup. The guy came along to my house and promised the earth. He even said that if I paid him in advance for the parts, he would be able to get them at trade price and pass the saving on to me. Now I should say that I was 30 years younger and less wise than I am now. I was also less well off than I am now and at the time we were in the midst of a family incident, so I just wanted him to fix the engine while we concentrated on more important matters. He removed the engine and said he would be in touch to let me know when it would be ready to replace.

Long story short, many weeks and many excuses went by with no reconditioned engine so I contacted my local trading standards office. They were aware of this guy and I was one of several people he had conned. So under the TSO’s guidance we laid a trap that he walked straight into and they took him to court. Over a period of several months I got back the money I had paid him in dribs and drabs. It’s too long ago to remember whether I got it all back, but I also got the satisfaction of seeing his dishonest practice ended. Lesson learnt and my in-laws lent me the money to have my engine reconditioned and rebuilt at a local independent garage.

I suspect you’d need to contact the TSO local to where you took your car, but it might be worth a try. More recently we had the engine replaced in a Corsa that was the family runabout. After 105,000 miles it gave up the ghost on the M25 (of all places) while my son was driving it. We’d always had the car serviced at a local independent garage so when they recommended a new engine, we let them suggest a supplier, which they did and fitted it when they had sourced it. The car was good for a further 40,000 miles or so before that last rites were performed on it for other reasons.

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Sun 4 Oct 2020 18:41
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - barney100

I had a similar experience with a 240 a few years ago. Cut a long story short it was a disaster, the firm merely got engines from scrap cars and fitted them. I had to write the money off.

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Tue 6 Oct 2020 17:44
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - Galaxy

There's a place in Rainham and one near a London Airport.

Both as dodgy as hell and have been on "Watchdog" and similar programmes on many different occasions!

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Tue 6 Oct 2020 20:09
Volvo XC60 60 - Engine replacement - Will deBeast

Sorry to hear your news - what a nightmare. Hope you get your car and money back.

When I ran bangers in my 20s, I discovered the best way to get a replacement engine was to buy another car with a good engine/bad body. Run it for a few weeks to be sure it was OK, then swap the engine over. The cars were simpler in those days, and I had access to an engine hoist/was happy to do the work myself, which kept the cost down.

Edited by Will deBeast on 06/10/2020 at 20:11

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