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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU ... they should pay?

94 replies

Camperqueen · 06/08/2018 15:28

Have recently namechanged but not for this as it’s pretty mundane!

My car broke down this morning on the M25 heading to my very first day of work at a new job.

Less than 2 weeks ago I recently had a full service carried out to the tune of nearly £300. I also had it MOT’d early. All fine.

The reason I had it MOT’d and the extensive service was so that I knew that my older but normally pretty dependable car was up to the long journey.

Long story short but I’ve had to buy a new car as I must absolutely have a dependable car for my work. . THey will only give me £500 part ex for my old car in driveable condition, and £250 if I don’t get it fixed (which I’m not as it will cost more than £250).

AIBU to ask the Major Name service provider to refund the £300 cost of my service and my MOT, plus the cost of the recovery (£200) plus ...possibly the day’s wage that I lost (I am a contractor)? I am so angry and embarrassed!!

Anyone successfully argued damages like this in a similar situation????

Heading up there shortly but it would be good to know whether I’m wasting my breath- or what to do / say !!

OP posts:

Thatsfuckingshit · 06/08/2018 19:47

TedAndLola a water pump is not a fuel pump. The fuel pump damage could have been caused during the service, from them checking replacing other parts.

Original poster

Camperqueen · 06/08/2018 19:52

@barbaro - not entirely and totally sure it was the water pump but the tow mechanic and the garage guy looked at it for me briefly and we all saw the fluid dripping off. They both agreed that most likely it was the water pump but they wouldn’t be able to tell until they took it apart. The belt was making an awful noise too but they said it was the fluid all over it.

I chose to walk next door to the dealership and eye up the cars while I waited for my lift, and decided to buy and part ex the car. The fact they were next door they could do a valuation there and then. So I took the keys back from Halfords and they haven’t had it apart to identify the problem as I didn’t want to spend any money on a repair. So I took a lower part ex valuation in return.

Frankly I never knew about water pumps until today....I’ve bought a new car so hopefully my days of worrying (and posting about) about water pumps ever again are in the distant future....but now I know they exist I’ll be sure to remember to sort it before I am stranded again!

OP posts:

Bagofworries · 06/08/2018 19:59

I had an old car that had done 130k when the water pump went.
My car was due it's MOT, but was pissing out water!!
I didn't want to pay out for a replacement water pump and cam belt, if it was just going to fail it's MOT.
My mechanic advised taking it for its MOT first, with water pissing out and associated noises!!
Apparently, a knackered water pump is not a MOT fail or advisory.
First I'd ever heard of that. I admit I was surprised that a car that was making as much noise as mine was, and leaking water severely, could still pass it's MOT.

Thatsfuckingshit · 06/08/2018 19:59

Please don't think a new car won't have problems. We had one from new had a massive malfunction, just out of warranty.

when you get it serviced or get MOT ask them about things that may need replacing due to miles.

Or use Google and get clued up on the car you have bought.

I hope you enjoy your new car.

Twillow · 06/08/2018 20:03

No YABU (but understandable to be annoyed) -things break on cars and it cannot always be foreseen, the same way you can't tell if a lightbulb is going to blow tomorrow.

AnnaMagnani · 06/08/2018 20:17

I would never take my old car to Halfords nor a dealership - you are handing over money for nothing.

A reliable independent garage will do exactly the same things for less money. Money which is wisely spent on AA or RAC cover.

However there are some things that are just sheer bad luck, as was your water pump. Sadly you have no guarantee your new car will be reliable or a trouble magnet. Such is the way of cars.

MissConductUS · 06/08/2018 21:22

We had one from new had a massive malfunction, just out of warranty.

I generally get the extended warranty when buying new. Subaru recently replaced the transmission on my Impreza at 85,000 miles for free because it was sending an error code to the computer.

Thatsfuckingshit · 06/08/2018 21:35

I generally get the extended warranty when buying new.

Definitely worth it and I would do if I bought brand new again.

Original poster

Camperqueen · 06/08/2018 21:57

I’ve totally got the extended warranty, call out & service plan!

@thatsfuckingshit I completely get it- the new car I bought is the same make as our other car, which is just a different model. It gives me a bit of comfort but of course you never know.

I’m excited to have a lovely new car which frankly is much more suitable for my new commute but kind of sad I had to part with my quirky older car which I loved.

OP posts:

londonrach · 06/08/2018 22:10

Yabu. Mot Only shows the Car is safe to drive at that moment. It might fail the next day, break down as you drive away. Not the garage fault. Dont waste your time and money on this.

JustAnotherPoster00 · 06/08/2018 22:11

My mechanic advised taking it for its MOT first, with water pissing out and associated noises!!
Apparently, a knackered water pump is not a MOT fail or advisory.

Not sure if that's still the case after the new MOT rules they introduced this year

BackforGood · 06/08/2018 22:23

But I cannot imagine I’m the only person who relies on paying professional people to care for a car at regular intervals rather than innately know the potential failure schedule of hundreds of obscure moving engine parts.

Well, that's exactly the point - there are hundreds of parts which potentially could go wrong / break / fail. Some of which will never 'go' and others that might 'go' at any point. All the 'expected life spans' of any part will be different on different cars. Then, even if comparing 2 Ford Fiestas constructed in the same ear, one could have then had a very different "life" from the other.

The MOT checks things on a set list, to check the car is roadworthy on the day of the test. An 'Advisory' is given for something that is predictable - for example that the tread on your tyres is currently legal, but can be seen that it is starting to wear. An 'advisory' doesn't tell you the odds on anyone of the hundreds of parts in an engine, going wrong in the next month or so - that is just luck.

Barbaro · 07/08/2018 06:05

Check when the timing belt needs done on your new car and always get the water pump changed at the same time as the belt, even if it looks fine. An old water pump can't handle the pressure of a new belt and will break eventually. I like to change the timing belt before it's due as well, just because I'm paranoid about it breaking the engine earlier than predicted.

prh47bridge · 07/08/2018 16:24

Not sure if that's still the case after the new MOT rules they introduced this year

Even under the new rules, leaks of engine coolant are not relevant for an MOT.

LakieLady · 07/08/2018 16:42

I expected that my car was deemed roadworthy and any parts which could go wrong would have been replaced

The list of parts that could go wrong would be all of them! Just because something is fine today is not a guarantee that it won't go wrong tomorrow.

MissConductUS · 07/08/2018 16:48

Just because something is fine today is not a guarantee that it won't go wrong tomorrow.

Just this ^ . In the US it's customary to have an engineer inspect a house shortly before completing the purchase. We had this done, and one of the things he did was start the dishwasher to make sure it ran, which it did.

We move in, and two days later I go to start the dishwasher. Huge grinding noise from a failed water pump (darn those water pumps!). Nothing to be done about it, we got a new and much nicer dishwasher installed the following week.

To find the fault the engineer would have had to disassemble the dishwasher and inspect the condition of the water pump, then put it all back together. No way would I have paid him to do that.

LakieLady · 07/08/2018 16:52

Many years ago, I took my car into a garage for something to be done and when I picked it up, they told me that I needed a new water pump.
I knew it was an easy job to do (1983 Escort, almost everything on that car was easy) so said I'd sort it myself.

When I lifted the bonnet, the cheeky fuckers had undone the jubilee clips that hold the hoses in place and left the hoses hanging! I reconnected them, filled it with water and anti-freeze and drove it for another 6 years without having a water pump problem.

I reckon they saw a youngish blonde woman and thought they could milk some money out of me.

Thelastredwinegum · 07/08/2018 20:22

Your new car will have a service book with it, read it and learn about the recommended service intervals.

KoolAidPickle · 07/08/2018 20:27

and any parts which could go wrong would have been replaced- this is the comfort I took in paying extra for the major service.

Any part can go wrong at any time, you would have to have every single part replaced with every service to guarantee nothing would go wrong.

As for 200 quid for recovery....why would you not have AA cover or similar? It's crazy not to. 200 quid would get you 2 years platinum cover.

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