I am writing my 2nd and final post and thanking all who have unknowingly contributed to my problems simply by having already posted on here.

Sadly my one and only foray into the VAG market has ended as just that, a one and only foray.

 

Having spent £7000 in 2011 on a 2007 skoda fabia 1.4 tdi pd it is now sitting in front of my house worth about £180 scrap with 75000 miles on the clock..

I was well pleased with when I got it, £30 a year road tax for a nippy diesel can't be bad. Granted it wasn't the most comfortable car I've driven but it is a small car which is why we bought the estate.

What I didn't expect was the dreaded oil pump failure and resulting engine seizure. This is where the forum came into it's own, having huge threads on skodas reluctance to admit an engine design fault.

The AA mechanic who towed me back home said it was a common fault on this type of engine and this forum also confirmed it. 

 

I expressed my displeasure, via email, to Skoda uk who did ring me back the very next day to say they couldn't do anything because I did not have the skoda full service history ( but you already knew this ). They also said the fuel pump failure wasn't a known problem and when I said I'd had a quote of £1500 for a replacement engine, he said " that's cheap, they're usually about £3500 ". Not a known problem then. !!!!

Now, I know most cars have some sort of known problem, but they don't usually end up so catastrophic. As I said in my email to Skoda uk, why can't they state that the oil pump chains be checked or replaced at a specified mileage, then if you don't do it it's your own fault, but to just deny it's a design fault is disgraceful.

 

Anyway, since the car is only worth about £2200 in full working order and I can't even get an engine from a salvage yard for less than £1000 I've decided to stick it on ebay for spares or repair.

With the £1000 I had to replace the engine, I've bought a 2002 astra 1.6 with full service history for £800. It's in excellent condition but the £225 a year road tax is a killer.

 

Sorry for babbling on but it's been both a pleasure and informative looking at this forum and I wish you all problem free motoring.

 

Thanks again

Rotten luck, hard to know quite what lessons to learn from this - as Donald Rumsfeld famously but unhelpfully said "Stuff Happens".

 

Really sorry for you :(

Better luck next time

Sorry to hear that. I have been changing my oil every 6000 miles, I wonder if this will make a difference to my chain !

Bad luck.To pay £7k for an economy car and have it be worthless in 3 years in not what you expect.

Bad luck.To pay £7k for an economy car and have it be worthless in 3 years in not what you expect.

P.S.

A friend is currently considering paying £10 k for a 7 year old VW Phaeton.....now that IS taking a risk !!

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. My bosses son had a 57 reg Audi A4 with the 2.0 TDI that had the pil pump driven by the gears (what they swapped from the chain) and the shaft that goes from the balancer shafts to the oil pump rounded off and wasn't providing drive to the pump, so he ended up getting a new turbo, and then they just turned the shaft round so it worked as a bodge job and sold the car. I feel sorry for whoever owns it now!