Snapped Cambelt!!

[Leem0212]

I have a 2014 Octavia VRS TDI with 88000 miles and Full service history. It isn't due another service for 8000 miles and the cambelt has just snapped. I don't know what engine damage has been caused as the mechanic is reluctant to start stripping down before Skoda are contacted. The manufacturer recommendation for cambelt replacement is at 140000 miles or 5 years, or whichever comes soonest. So I am 1 year,1month and 52000 miles short of this recommendation. I've contacted my local Skoda dealer and they have advised me to contact Skoda UK which I have done. The dealer says that this is unheard of. I have asked Skoda UK to cover the costs of the repair etc.. due to keeping to their recommendations. I'm aware that if they don't this could cost me £1000s.

Has this happened to anyone else out there?

Is there any advice anyone can give me in relation to dealing with manufacturer etc...

Many thanks Lee

[Rustynuts]

Possibly been clocked. Like the guy in this thread.

 

 

[Leem0212]

Definitely hasn’t. I bought it from an Aston Martin dealer and it was there managers car. I fully hpid it and checked the mileage against MOT/DVLA history etc....

[SuperbTWM]

I would say you will be doing well if you get anything much out of Skoda, but good luck in trying.

 

When did you buy the car and what was mileage then?

[Leem0212]

May 2017 and it was on 79k

[Cm11]

It still could be clocked, I remember hearing about people who went over the allocated millage with lease or pcp and clock them back so they don’t have to pay the excess mileage charge. 

 

To be honest it’s probably a one off, your car hasn’t been clocked and  you’ve been very unlucky 

[nidza]

Clocking is always possible, even if the car has perfect service history. 
 

What are they doing, every second service they do on black market place and clock it back, then to a regular service. What do you get is 150.000km car with full service history which in reality has 300.000k. If you check in the manufacturers database everything is perfect.

 

Best practice is to do a complete service upon buying. Usually people do this upon import of the used car in Serbia. You don't take chances of 1-2000€ because of 200-300 which you will spent anyway soon enough, if you keep the car for a few more years. Advice for every new used car owner is to do so, unless you really know this particular car and its owner.

[Gabbo]

How many miles have you done since the last service?

Usually the service should include a visual inspection of the cam belt so you can ask for the condition from the last service.

 

After they've inpsected the vehicle to see the source of failure depending on the cause you can perhaps persue a contribution from Skoda.

[Falmouthboy]

Assuming it’s a dealer service history you should be able to insist on a good will payment, however, Skoda will want to inspect the car so if you have taken it to a non dealer, don’t let them touch it, otherwise Skoda UK will wipe their hands.  Before agreeing to anything, Skoda will wish to satisfy themselves that the car hasn’t been mapped in the past.

[Jigger72]

Is it really 140,000 miles between cambelt changes? Wow. It used to be about 80,000 or 4 years. What happened?

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, Jigger72 said:

Is it really 140,000 miles between cambelt changes? Wow. It used to be about 80,000 or 4 years. What happened?

 

There's lots of conflicting info out there - it really depends on on what engine / what belt was fitted to your particular car. Normally you'd find such info in the car handbook.

 

Time used to be 4 years, then VW changed it to 5 years - I believe around 2010  (you'd have to check with manufacturer). But distance 140,000 sounds excessive. Again it used to be 60,000 miles but that figure seems all over the place now - it's defo a grey area. Normally such things are stated in the owners manual but just having checked mine...  I couldn't tell you what mileage my belt is due renewal. What I have read on websites is "belts should be changed every 5 years or sooner for higher mileage drivers". Define a higher mileage driver? I couldn't tell you what it means.

 

Personally I would not have gone over 80,000.  If serviced properly, never really heard of belts snapping prior to a cambelt service. Timing chains? well that's a different matter... it's a well known problem on older cars.

 

Regarding the car being 'clocked'. Whether it was clocked or not - that's for Skoda to prove. And if they did reject the claim because it's been clocked, I wouldn't be wasting much time approaching the previous owner.

 

Sorry can't be of any assistance other than check with Skoda dealer what mileage the belt should be changed at. More importantly, check where this info is available. If you have a full Skoda service history, I can't see any reason why they would not make a hefty contribution to a replacement engine.

Edited 13 March, 2018 by Guest

[Ootohere]

Tell us about bought from Aston Martin Dealers where it was a 'Managers car'. 

 

Is that a Manager of an Aston Martin Dealership?,  or a manager of something else?

 

Anyway, never raced or rallied, and never fitted with one of the infamous 'Tuning Boxes' that are undetectable

in its first 79,000 miles.

 

Lets hope not still Remapped either, having come from the previous one registered keeper, but no idea how many drivers.

Edited 13 March, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[Ursicles]

OK ... ill bite and ask the question.

 

Why did an aston martin dealership manager drive a skoda and not an aston martin?

[Russ77]

26 minutes ago, Ursicles said:

OK ... ill bite and ask the question.

 

Why did an aston martin dealership manager drive a skoda and not an aston martin?

Skodas are more reliable

[Ootohere]

"The dealer says this is unheard of."    Well that is the VW Group way, Deaf Dumb & Blind. 

 

 Never heard of it before  or

they all do that.

First lesson at the NVQ of Sales.

 

Management cars.   ie Lease / Fleet / Hire / Courtesy cars.

Managed by a Fleet manager,

driven by those on PAYE or Self Employed at any level / grade that needs to cover miles in a diesel.

Edited 13 March, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[Leem0212]

Update!!! Claim has been made with Skoda UK and local approved dealer has assisted me with this. They have confirmed the official mileage for cam belt change is 140000. Skoda UK have refused to assist in any way or make any goodwill payment. Their reasons are that it is 11 months out of warranty and the cam belt is only covered during the warranty period. So even though the servicing schedule has been adhered to and the cambelt doesn’t officially need changing for another 52000 miles they have refused to assist a loyal customer! My wife and I have been loyal Skoda customers for nearly 15 years. We have purchased 2 new Skodas and 3 used cars from them. Our cars have been also serviced by Skoda. I will never buy Skoda again and now face costs of £1000s to rebuild or replace the engine because I have adhered to Skoda manufacturers guidelines!

[CWARD]

That is ****. I only had one taste of Skoda and it was enough to put me off. I hope there is no internal damage and the repair is cheap as possible. 

[Ootohere]

'Guidelines / Guidance'.  

?

Did you even know the Schedule / Guidelines before it broke?  Had you checked?

 

This is the issue, VW Group have the Fleet / Lease buyer as their main priority.

They have different Guidelines in different World Regions, and the miles / km / Years go up as the Warranty Claims do not come in.

Buy used and you have no idea how the vehicle was abused.

 

Sadly you always need to budget for a Major Service a Proper Inspection Service, & preventative Maintenance, 

Belts etc.  Or it is fingers crossed.

[ahenners]

Wow that's poor treatment from Skoda UK, but that seems to be a common theme amongst an increasing number owners facing repair bills for early failure of components  

 

Good luck and hope you manage to resolve without too much hassle/cost.

[bouff34]

Small claims court?

[Rustynuts]

31 minutes ago, bouff34 said:

Small claims court?

 

Who? The people who sold you the car, the dealer, or Skoda UK?

[wyx087]

Sorry to hear your mistreatment. It's shocking such a new car is treated like a banger by Skoda.

 

I was treated similarly and this is to be my last and only VAG car. I had complete failure of my waterpump at 74k miles stranded my pregnant wife and myself 150 miles from home (luckily was at my parents home). 1 year earlier than timing belt was due (1 year out of warranty, full Skoda service history). Engine coolant was free flowing from the pump. Dealer insisted it is supposed to be changed at 80k miles, Skoda UK only made a few calls, and will not make any good-will gesture.

 

I got the pump back, told SkodaUK that when I get a chance in the future, I'll have the pump inspected by an independent for manufacturing defect and if proven, send them the bill. You can certainly try to do the same by get the snapped belt back and spend a bit more to try to prove manufacturing defect.

[andyasjl]

Very sorry to hear this, hope it can be repaired economically. 

A lesson to us all then, maybe we should all be changing the belt around 80k if it’s out of warranty, and not listen to VAG advice, 

As an insurance, even if the car will be sold on within a year or two, you will hopefully have an invoice to prove to new buyer it’s been changed making the car worth that little bit extra.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Leem0212 said:

Update!!! Claim has been made with Skoda UK and local approved dealer has assisted me with this. They have confirmed the official mileage for cam belt change is 140000. Skoda UK have refused to assist in any way or make any goodwill payment. Their reasons are that it is 11 months out of warranty and the cam belt is only covered during the warranty period.

'

It's tough to accept but forget the 'loyal customer' etc line - the hard truth is it counts for nothing.

 

However I think it's worth taking legal advice. The manufacturer states the car should be serviced according to the manufacturer's recommendation? When the car is serviced you'll either have a log book or the services are logged on Skoda's system. Does the car a full Skoda service history?

 

If the cambelt was faulty, that should have been picked up at the previous service. Contact the garage who previously serviced the car. Was there any note of wear on the cambelt? Was there any advisory it should have been changed?

 

So far you've done nothing wrong as the car has adhered to Skoda's recommendations. Change the cambelt at 5yr or 140k - whichever comes first - well you've adhered to that as well.

 

The reason I suggest you take legal advice is because Skoda's 'out of warranty' suggestion is irrelevent. Under the consumers rights act (2015) consumers are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund within 6yr ( it's only 5yr in Scotland). If the fault occurs after 6 mths of buying the product from new, the onus is on the customer to prove the fault was down to faulty manufacture as opposed to wear and tear or misuse.  If the car was serviced as recommended, if the main dealer garage who serviced the car found no wear and tear, and the belt was well within the manufacturers limits before being changed, then you may well have a case. You'll need to get an independent report which states the belt failed due to faulty manufacture and not wear and tear.

 

However as suggested by Rustynuts above, your issue shouldn't be directed at Skoda, it should be directed at the dealership you purchased the car from. If the car was bought with a faulty cambelt then they are the people who should be repairing the damage. Leave it up to them to contact Skoda.

 

Just wondering tho - did the dealership you purchase the car from not provide you with a warranty?

 

[Ootohere]

There is no Inspection of a Cam belt @ 20,000, 40,000, 60,000, 80,000 or 100,000.

Which really is the crux of the matter, if you want a Cam Belt inspected you will be paying extra over and above Major Service charges.