does anyone here have a motor media/press list, to whom I can report about this case?

et voila, after my email to Palmers Motor Company threatening them with calling the police (actually I was on the phone waiting for the connection to Hertfordshire Police) got an email from Palmers saying that "We have never said that you can not collect your vehicle, and I am not sure where you got that idea from. The vehicle is dismantled for inspection, & will require moving by transporter. If you care to arrange transport, we will assist the driver in loading the vehicle & parts."

So now it seems I can take the car out to be delivered to the dealer...

Not your problem. If necessary, call the Police on the non-emergency number. Tell Palmers that is what you intend to do.

The Police don't usually get involved in garage disputes where a car is being held until payment is made, but your case is different, as any claim cannot be held against you (or your car).

You need to make it clear to the Police that...

You are not in dispute with Palmers.

You have no contract with Palmers to do the work.

You did not ask them to do the work.

You did not agree to pay for the work.

Skoda UK contracted Palmers to do the work.

I assume the above is correct

This is purely a civil matter and not one for the police, don't be upset when your told there is nothing they can do.

As i said to you on the facebook page i would be contacting the garage that fitted the cambelt as its failed within the the 2 year warranty & get them to rectify it f.o.c,they should have replaced the belt,pulleys & tensioner & maybe the water pump,if any of these have failed early then its not your fault so should be replaced & any damage done to the engine recified f.o.c,if it is the water pump thats seized & stripped the teeth off the belt & hasnt been replaced at the time of the belt then sadly its going to be your problem to fix the car.

Oh & you said on facebook that the car was in for a mot when the belt failed,is yours a petrol or diesel? on a diesel the mot tester will rev the engine to is maximum revs as part of the smoke test.

Mikey, it is a petrol one. I am now getting a transporter to take the car from Palmers Motor Company to the dealer I bought the car from (Progress Skoda), as requested by the dealer so that they can look at the car.

Best of luck mate Skoda UK will wash there hands of this as usual they seem interested at first then all of a sudden walk away,

Email [email protected]

Make a fuss if you can, mention Mr Reid had issues with his skoda, haha he will soon change his tune.

I can genuinely seeing Skoda not helping at all mate :( they have your money

Best of luck mate Skoda UK will wash there hands of this as usual they seem interested at first then all of a sudden walk away,

Email [email protected]

Make a fuss if you can, mention Mr Reid had issues with his skoda, haha he will soon change his tune.

I can genuinely seeing Skoda not helping at all mate :( they have your money

You are totally right here... they initially said they would take care of everything and now they are running away, once they found out the level of the damages... still, I believe it is their responsibility (Skoda UK/Progress Skoda) and I will not rest until this case is solved satisfactorily...

Who is Mark Fox and what is his position in Skoda? I did also raise a case with Motorcodes and Citizens Advice Bureau about this whole thing...

Also, perhaps you can email me privately ([email protected]) or mention it here if you prefer, what happened to you and what was the outcome?

Edited 22 June, 201214 yr by aredorange

Best of luck mate anything i can do let me know, currently writing you an email just now

What rotten luck and huge sympathy to the owner of this car. Worth passing this on to 'Honest John' (Saturday Telegraph) a huge database of technical info; if this has happened to others - he will probably know.

The odd thing is the stripped teeth on the belt and I'm reminded of a well known problem that plagued the straight 6 petrol engines (2300 or 2600?) on the Rover SD 1's years ago. The problem described in this post clearly has more elements than just a straightforward belt failure.

Going back to the old SD 1's, these were well known to break cam belts and although everyone blamed the cam belt, that was not the root cause. They invariably failed in the same circumstance - after a fast run, the driver would slow down for a roundabout or similar and then boot it. Big bang, no go and loads of damage and a snapped belt.

What happened was actually this:- the oil feed to the cam was not too clever. Fast run and everything a bit on the limit as regards oil feed to camshaft and engine hot. Then slow down; oil pressure drops off to cam. Boot engine up again, oil feed not sufficient, CAMSHAFT SEIZES and belt strips, snaps and big bang. Valves hit pistons and well you know the rest. The point I'm making about this is that the belt snapping was an effect - not the cause.

I don't know if this is any help to you - I am thinking because of the stripped teeth on the belt, something along these lines has happened and that the snapped belt is the effect and not the cause. I'm actually wondering if the water pump has seized? I presume it's toothed drive? I recall reading a similar circumstance on the 'Honest John' website on a VW.

I really hope that Skoda will be constructively helpful to you on this one.

See what the dealer says when they inspect the car,if it was my car & id only had it a year & had bought it from the dealer who replaced the cambelt id be wanting it repaired f.o.c & a loan car whilst its getting repaired. Let us know what they say.

What rotten luck and huge sympathy to the owner of this car. Worth passing this on to 'Honest John' (Saturday Telegraph) a huge database of technical info; if this has happened to others - he will probably know.

The odd thing is the stripped teeth on the belt and I'm reminded of a well known problem that plagued the straight 6 petrol engines (2300 or 2600?) on the Rover SD 1's years ago. The problem described in this post clearly has more elements than just a straightforward belt failure.

Going back to the old SD 1's, these were well known to break cam belts and although everyone blamed the cam belt, that was not the root cause. They invariably failed in the same circumstance - after a fast run, the driver would slow down for a roundabout or similar and then boot it. Big bang, no go and loads of damage and a snapped belt.

What happened was actually this:- the oil feed to the cam was not too clever. Fast run and everything a bit on the limit as regards oil feed to camshaft and engine hot. Then slow down; oil pressure drops off to cam. Boot engine up again, oil feed not sufficient, CAMSHAFT SEIZES and belt strips, snaps and big bang. Valves hit pistons and well you know the rest. The point I'm making about this is that the belt snapping was an effect - not the cause.

I don't know if this is any help to you - I am thinking because of the stripped teeth on the belt, something along these lines has happened and that the snapped belt is the effect and not the cause. I'm actually wondering if the water pump has seized? I presume it's toothed drive? I recall reading a similar circumstance on the 'Honest John' website on a VW.

I really hope that Skoda will be constructively helpful to you on this one.

Thanks for this most welcome contribution. I find it very valid and it may be the case indeed that the belt is an effect, not the cause, due to the 18 teethes stripped... I have just asked AA to take the car and parts from Palmers Motor Company to Progress Skoda Letchworth and will see what they say... I hope this discussion here will contribute to collective knowledge regarding similar si****ions... and I hope Skoda UK or Progress Skoda do positively help in this case... I spent all my saving buying this car so I am naturally gutted with the outcome after one year...

This is purely a civil matter and not one for the police, don't be upset when your told there is nothing they can do.

Usually it would be, but in this case OP is not in dispute with Palmers - Palmers are in dispute with Skoda UK.

Belts can lose teeth without breaking. I saw a 2001 TDI with a block of four teeth missing and it was still running. The crank was still in contact with enough teeth to avoid a skip.

The crank sprocket is in contact with the fewest teeth (17 or 18), so it will strip the teeth if there is a jam or the belt has already lost teeth.

A picture of the belt would be good.

just to say I just got a call from customer relations manager at Skoda UK. It was a very positive conversation. He said they are keen to help, so let's see how it progresses.

trying to upload some pictures but it fails, for some reason...

I supose if the water pump wasnt changed and it started to leak causing the belt to break you wouldnt have a leg to stand on as Skoda recomend the pump is changed with the belt although it is down to the customer to pay the extra.

But the water pump change isn't actually stated in any of the service schedules, unless this has been updated on newer models?

On my 2004 Octavia and my current 2005 Superb, there is no mention of a water pump change in the service schedules, only the toothed belt. The only reason I knew to replace the water pump during my Octavia's belt change, was by being a member on here. Maybe someone else can correct me.

However, we don't even know if it was a water pump failure. But if the Skoda UK garage has examined the belt and the car is in bits, he should have been able to assess the water pump, but he hasn't mentioned it?

Have you been in touch with the garage that did the MOT if that's the time the engine blew?

I hope you get this sorted because it sounds like you're being treated horrendously

Here's what I wold do, take your complaint to What Car magazine and ask them to investigate, but...

is the car still under warranty from the retailer that sold you the vehicle?

Did the same retailer fit the cambelt before or after you bought it (sorry I have read through most of the posts, but fairly quickly)

There is no legal obligation on behalf of SUK to pay for anything, unless it's an SUK warranty claim. You need to figure out who your claim is against, which would have to be with whomever you contracted to either supply the car, or the replacement work. I suspect SUK swiftly "took over" as you contacted them on facebook, assuming it was a public and not a private message of course. Your initial complaint should have been against the workshop that carried out the work, or the retailer that sold you the vehicle on the basis that the work had been done.

Of course, if it really is a case that something else has failed that has caused the belt to fail, and it's not covered by any warranty; then I'm afraid you are probably liable in full, and can only appeal to SUK or the retailers generosity / desire to avoid bad PR etc to compensate you in some way.

Good luck, but as I said, if I were you I'd call Haymarket (What Car) and maybe Autoexpress who are also more "consumer rights" orientated.

Usually it would be, but in this case OP is not in dispute with Palmers - Palmers are in dispute with Skoda UK.

No crime has been committed, Palmers are under no obligation to release the car until payment has been made, whether from the OP or Skoda UK. The OP is in dispute with Skoda UK, Palmers are a third party. I'm surprised they have released the car with a bill outstanding on it.

Here's what I wold do, take your complaint to What Car magazine and ask them to investigate, but...

is the car still under warranty from the retailer that sold you the vehicle?

Did the same retailer fit the cambelt before or after you bought it (sorry I have read through most of the posts, but fairly quickly)

There is no legal obligation on behalf of SUK to pay for anything, unless it's an SUK warranty claim. You need to figure out who your claim is against, which would have to be with whomever you contracted to either supply the car, or the replacement work. I suspect SUK swiftly "took over" as you contacted them on facebook, assuming it was a public and not a private message of course. Your initial complaint should have been against the workshop that carried out the work, or the retailer that sold you the vehicle on the basis that the work had been done.

Of course, if it really is a case that something else has failed that has caused the belt to fail, and it's not covered by any warranty; then I'm afraid you are probably liable in full, and can only appeal to SUK or the retailers generosity / desire to avoid bad PR etc to compensate you in some way.

Good luck, but as I said, if I were you I'd call Haymarket (What Car) and maybe Autoexpress who are also more "consumer rights" orientated.

I dont think you are aware of the sales of goods act then???

18 teeth stripped on a belt that snapped, sounds like a waterpump or pully that siezed and stripped the belt before it snapped.

I dont think you are aware of the sales of goods act then???

Skoda UK didn't sell the car, the dealer did.

The dealer is not part of skoda UK, they just got a franchise off them.

As such you would go after whoever you purchased your car from, as they are the ones you have a contract with.

You don't have a contract with skoda UK, so on what basis can you sue them?

Edited 22 June, 201214 yr by cheezemonkhai

Water pump change is 'good practice'. Sound to me like it has seized causing the belt to skip teeth and destroy the engine. I've seen this on a few VAG engines, especially the ones with the crap plastic impellers on the water pumps. When they changed them on the 1.8T 20v the water pump was replaced with a alloy impeller.

I dont think you are aware of the sales of goods act then???

In this case I don't think the sale of goods act causes skoda any liability here. The manufacturer has provided a car which ran well for nigh on six years and now has broken down due to what may or may not turn out to be a faulty replacement part, general wear and tear to another part, poor maintenance by the previous owner, anything really.

A lot of people are too quick to cite the sale of goods act - its helpful but doesn't automatically mean a seller or manufacturer are indefinitely responsible for goods supplied in good faith.

In fact, if the damage turns out to have been caused by another part failing due to wear and tear, then I think even the dealer will have a decent chance of claiming that he supplied a car of 'satisfactory quality' and is therefore not liable under the sale of goods act either.

I will refrain from making further comments for the time being, as Skoda UK customer relations manager did show good intentions today in solving this si****ion amicably... but for the ones who doubt about any legal responsibilities on this case, I can tell you that I did consult with 3 different legal advisers and all 3 said there was a case here... and that's it from me, until I hear again from Skoda UK and/or Progress Skoda early next week... have a good weekend everyone and be careful with your vehicles...

IIRC 1.8 engines have a vvt ( variable valve timing) mech which on early engines had a problem with the vvtt short chain drive between camshafts. They used to fail and seize the camshafts. maybe it was something like this led to cambelt stripping. IIRC there was a recall..

I dont think it was cambelt failure that was the root cause.