New cambelt snapped, will skoda fix my engine?

[octaviavrs4]

Sorry i’m reading this but it doesn’t sound believable. Sorry to say this. 
 

which is this official Skoda garage has shut that you say did the work? 

[xman]

It might be worth getting a national daily involved.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/aug/11/engine-failure-left-vw-owners-picking-up-a-surprise-6700-bill

[Ootohere]

@Amin01

?

Which Dealership & authorised Skoda Repairer was it that did the work on your car.

Is the business in Administration?

 

The owners / directors / workshop manager / master tech etc can not have disappeared off the face of the earth and Skoda UK know who and where they are?

[Amin01]

18 hours ago, octaviavrs4 said:

Sorry i’m reading this but it doesn’t sound believable. Sorry to say this. 
 

which is this official Skoda garage has shut that you say did the work? 

 

7 minutes ago, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

@Amin01

?

Which Dealership & authorised Skoda Repairer was it that did the work on your car.

Is the business in Administration?

 

The owners / directors / workshop manager / master tech etc can not have disappeared off the face of the earth and Skoda UK know who and where they are?

 

They are called Euro Skoda in Brighton, google is still showing them as open but they have permanently shut down and not reopening.

[Ootohere]

Their parent company have not shut down have they?

Same Brand Director for the Group.

 

http://thejcbgroup.co.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/

 

 

 

Edited 11 June, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[Amin01]

6 minutes ago, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

Their parent company have not shut down have they?

Same Brand Director for the Group.

 

 

I spoke to the other group branches, there seems to be word play happening saying its a seperate company. Can't find them on companies house though so dont know if it is seperate limited company?

[Amin01]

My new plan, i'm thinking if Skoda UK does not agree to repair all damages within a week I will pay for the repairs my self as I need the car.

Then will begin the Motor Ombudsman inquiry and start causing them a PR headache on here and on social media. I will put up the cambelt receipts, pictures of damage and mileage pictures as proof of how long the new belt lasted.

[Ootohere]

@Amin01

No idea why you have any contact at present with Skoda UK and not with the Parent Company of the Dealership that did the work for you, sourced the parts and fitted them.

 

[Amin01]

Just now, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

@Amin01

No idea why you have any contact at present with Skoda UK and not with the Parent Company of the Dealership that did the work for you, sourced the parts and fitted them.

 

I have spoken to managers at the other skoda branches in the JCB group, and the picture I am getting is that Euro Skoda is a seperate ltd company (this hasn't been confirmed yet).

 

I have spoken to C-A-B and the ombudsman, and they both agree because main skoda uk get a fee from every repair they are also responsible for the damage to my car.

[Ootohere]

I just called them after trying a online chat and i did not get that impression.

 

The fitting of Original parts has a 2 year parts and labour warranty.

Edited 11 June, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[Amin01]

which one you get through to? what they say?

 

The problem isn' t fixing the cambelt / waterpump as yes that has parts labour warranty on it. My biggest problem is fixing the valve / piston damage caused. Am told they only responsible for the parts they fitted (cambelt, cambelt kit, pump and tensioner)

.

[Ootohere]

Have you got that in writing having asked in writing?

 

'They' will be responsible for the damage caused if an employee did incompetent work that caused the damage to a customers car.

They have insurance and if the company is still trading that is who you need to deal with after you have a Engineers report.

A solicitor can deal with it if CAB are not going to get involved, or if you have no cover like being a RAC member / Have Breakdown Cover or insurance with them.

[AGFalco]

Company details:-

 

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03597175/more

 

 

Thanks AG Falco

[MarkyG82]

I would avoid paying for the work yourself if at all possible. You are obviously having a hard time getting the company to pay for the damage so trying to claim it back will be even harder.

[jeffgoodby]

I had a very similar issue with a VW Passat. Had cam-belt changed as routine and it snapped on the M5 bricking the engine. it was just 6 weeks after the work had been done. Had to argue strongly with the independent garage who claimed the part failed, not their fitting of said part. Eventually they replaced the whole engine and claimed for the costs from the part manufacturer/supplier. Never really sure if the garage did a good job on the original fitting but it got sorted, just was tense and frustrating at times.

 

As others have said, know your rights, be polite and persistent.     

[Rodge]

Stories like this don't exactly fill me with confidence for the unnecessary cambelt change my low mileage 5yo car is due this summer.

[Guest]

On 09/06/2020 at 17:20, Amin01 said:

Scott there are a few problems here, I am interested to know what you would do in my situation? I gave Skoda my car at 66k miles to do the cambelt, kit and pump replacement, It was a tad early but I prefer to be safe than sorry as this is my work car. Without it I cannot make money.

Two separate mechanics have looked at the car and said there is a problem with the cambelt. The AA who came to tow the car believes the belt has snapped or jumped a tooth. Since its been less than 5 months & 6k miles put on the new belt clearly something has been done wrong when fitting the belt/pump/tensioner. Even Skoda mechanics looking at it atm are saying they never seen this before and believe original installation must have been done wrong. Since I am now losing money and the original service I paid for looks like it was done wrong, what would you suggest I should do? Why should I lose money for doing nothing wrong?

 

As for C-A-B, I have not spoken to them yet, but I have dealt with civil claims before. They take a long time so if Skoda do not agree to repairs I will start by logging a report with the motor Ombudsman then proceed with ADR with the final step being a small claims court. But this is getting ahead of ourselves at this point.

 

Admin01 -  you quoted my reply to another person and then responded to it? It's a tad confusing. 

 

What would I do in your situation? Well first of all the garage is part of the Skoda franchise and the parts are warranted by Skoda UK so I'd be contacting Skoda. 

 

But I'm very confused. What I would do is get written evidence the fault was caused by poor workmanship or faulty parts and use that as the basis of my claim. Now you seem to have done better than that, you've got 'Skoda mechanics' looking at it. All they have to do is relay that information back to Skoda UK / Skoda warranty and Bob's your uncle.

 

Now if you are saying Skoda will not pay for the damage caused by their faulty part/workmanship, then although it's a pain-in-the-arse, the law is very straightforward. I'd write to whoever said they will they will not pay for the damage, and state that if they do not return the car to it's original condition, then I'll have the work carried out by a 3rd party and recover the full cost from Skoda via the small claims court. ( send letter via registered post ). I'd also want it in writing from the Skoda approved mechanic, that it is in his/her professional opinion that the damage is a result of a faulty new cambelt / faulty workmanship.

 

If everything you've said is accurate, there is no way Skoda can get away with just paying for the cambelt. I may also consider writing to their UK customer services stating that you believe their actions to be unlawful and as a result will be contacting your local trading standards office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 15 June, 2020 by Guest

[PetrolDave]

8 hours ago, Rodge said:

Stories like this don't exactly fill me with confidence for the unnecessary cambelt change my low mileage 5yo car is due this summer.

I'm holding off the cam belt change on my 1.4TSI because I had a ba experience when a Vauxhall garage did a cambelt change on a 1.6 Corsa GSi I owned - 1 week after the change the cam belt jumped because they hadn't replaced the idler pulley and it's bering failed. Result - bent valves requiring new head, fortunately paid for under extended warranty.

[Guest]

I suspect the OP is refering to the following  ( this is taken direct from the extended cover warranty )

 

We will not cover damage to components not covered by yourExtended Warranty cover even if the damage is caused by a component that is covered.

 

I read that as 3rd party items an owner may have changed, thats to say perhaps they upgraded certain components to more expensive non OEM. They're saying the manufacturer will not pay out extra money.  But if for instance a faulty cambelt caused a valve to disintegrate, then because that valve is covered by the warranty, then they'll repair/replace it.

 

All sounding to me like OP has been speaking to some clueless jobsworth.

Edited 15 June, 2020 by Guest

[MarkyG82]

You really would expect any damage caused by a failure (part or fitment) to be covered by the garage.  It is then their responsability to prove the part to be at fault (I imagine).

 

What would have happened if the belt snapped and you came off the road causing damage to others property or worse?  You would expect the insurance company to get the money back from the garage or part supplier shirley?

[cheezemonkhai]

On 10/06/2020 at 23:22, octaviavrs4 said:

Sorry i’m reading this but it doesn’t sound believable. Sorry to say this. 
 

which is this official Skoda garage has shut that you say did the work? 

 

There have been people who don't set tensioners correctly, potentially overtension them. These can either let go/cause the belt to fail prematurely or if insufficiently tensioned skip later down the line.

 

It is possible and I have heard it in the past from a dealer, but I couldn't say what's going on in this case?

[Axle_of_weasels]

I think that the OP should - this may have been done already -  get information from Skoda UK on their stance on providing a hire/loan car. A  car may be forthcoming as part of some other insurance that the OP has, but the time periods tend to be quite short, and it is quite often the case that these cars are of a lower spec. than the original vehicle. Whether this is adequate, given that the vehicle has a business role is an open question.

 

Given the messy legal situation, with the involved dealership potentially being no longer a legal entity, which can be sued, a further discussion with Citizen's advice seems called for.  

[Axle_of_weasels]

22 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

I'm holding off the cam belt change on my 1.4TSI because I had a ba experience when a Vauxhall garage did a cambelt change on a 1.6 Corsa GSi I owned - 1 week after the change the cam belt jumped because they hadn't replaced the idler pulley and it's bering failed. Result - bent valves requiring new head, fortunately paid for under extended warranty.

 

Isn't the 1.4 a chain?

[PetrolDave]

2 hours ago, Axle_of_weasels said:

Isn't the 1.4 a chain?

No, the EA211 on the Octavia III is a belt - the previous 1.4 was a chain but that's never been fitted to the Octavia III.

[Axle_of_weasels]

5 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

No, the EA211 on the Octavia III is a belt - the previous 1.4 was a chain but that's never been fitted to the Octavia III.

Ah, by then I thought the 1.4 had been replaced by the 1.5. Pardon my confusion.