To think a car 2 months outside warranty shouldn't need £5k+ repairs

[Idontwanttotalk]

Our car was registered new in March 2016. We bought it on 25 Apr 2016 from Arnold Clark with 9 miles on the clock.

On Friday evening my DH was driving home from work when it went into 'limp mode'. It went to the Mazda garage today. First DH was told £95 + vat to diagnose what's wrong. They then phoned a little later and said that was inconclusive as the engine was loud and further tests were needed so it would cost £330 (not sure if incl or excl vat).

They phoned not long ago telling my DH that the oil pump chain has snapped causing scoring and the guide for the chain has broken. This has caused big end bearing scarring. We need a short engine and gaskets and it will take 24 hours labour which will cost £5,533.47.

I know it is just out of warranty but the garage said even if they phone Mazda that is all they will say. He also said Mazda won't cover it as they haven't done all the services (they have either been done by Mazda or Arnold Clark and we have receipts and service records).

We just don't know what to do. Are there any circumstances where car manufacturers do pay for work just outside the warranty? Anyone know our legal position?
Surely there must have been something wrong with the chain before the 3 years/60,000 miles warranty expired? (We have 64,000 miles on the clock).

Any advice? - we're totally shell-shocked.

Ford have been paying for the out of warranty cars so the advice you are getting on this thread is incorrect. They know the car is not fit for purpose and so are paying out. I know your car is not a Ford but it's a similar situation).

It doesn't matter if 64k miles is a lot for the age of your car if you state the warranty says it's covered up to 60k. It's just a little over.

They can't force you to have your car serviced at a franchised dealers' garage in order to maintain the warranty, it can be serviced by any registered garage or mechanic but the schedule does have to be adhered to and any parts have to be manufacturer parts not pattern ones

That’s all very true but completely irrelevant to the OP’s issue.

Because most manufacturers recommend around that mileage?

No manufacturer would recommend a timing chain replacement at 40k miles.

My husband drove Mazdas for years, for the most part they were beasts he drove into the ground. Apart from the diesel one, had to change that after 18 months, it cost a fortune to maintain because something different went every couple of months. It was cheaper to change it than to keep firefighting.
I believe there is a known issue with Mazda diesel cars. Nothing is ever under warranty and parts are prohibitively expensive.

Ford have been paying for the out of warranty cars so the advice you are getting on this thread is incorrect.

Very unlikely that they’d fix an out of warranty car that doesn’t have a full Ford history unless part of a recall.

I work for a notoriously unreliable car manufacturers and get this scenario all the time.
Why should Mazda pay for the repair? you've shown no loyalty to them, you didn't buy it from them and not got full service history with them. You have also done excessive mileage in the car.
Why didn't you look into extending the warranty before it came to an end?
Sorry to sound harsh but it's all factors the manufacture take into consideration in these cases

You should definitely try the dealer. As long as the service schedule has been stuck to it doesn't matter who did it, could have been Fred in the Shed as long as the book is stamped. However if the chain has snapped then the engine would not run, when your DH was with the car did it stop completely or just go into limp mode?

As long as the service schedule has been stuck to it doesn't matter who did it, could have been Fred in the Shed as long as the book is stamped.

It’s no longer under warranty, so yes, it does matter. And for reference, Fred in the shed needs to to VAT registered, using OE quality parts and following the service schedule to the letter.

Diesel Mazda engines do seem to have some issues:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/114518/mazda-diesels-have

I’d have a dig around the reported problems.

@kalopali
It's a Mazda 6 Sports Nav. With the mileage it's got it's probably worth around £13k £14k. Might be a little more has has stone leather seats which some find more appealing and Mazda rubber boot liner etc

@coconuttelegraph

"That is very high mileage, an average car would have been well over 5 years old by the time it had done that mileage and I don't think you would be linking it to the warranty period in those circumstances."
Our warranty was for 3 years or 60,000 miles.

We only found out about it at 5.45 p.m so not had time to do anything yet. I think our plan atm is:

1. Contact Mazda UK as CurcubitaPepo suggested in the morning.
2. If no luck with that we may make a legal claim anyway.
3. Also if no luck, ask cost of the Mazda garage just changing the broken oil pump chain and guide. We need to find out if, by getting oil through to the big end bearings and crankshaft, that would suffice. Does it matter if there is scarring? (I suppose it depends on the level of scarring).
4. Maybe remove it from the Mazda garage so they see the thought of their £5.5k slip away. Get a recommended independent garage (or a couple) to quote for it.

I can't help but think that, although the staff at the garage are nice and do things like drop you at the railway station (or today one guy dropped my DH home) that we don't know if it needs to have all if that work done.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm calming down a bit now. I was quite tearful and panicky on finding out.

We need to find out if, by getting oil through to the big end bearings and crankshaft, that would suffice. Does it matter if there is scarring? (I suppose it depends on the level of scarring)

That’s pretty terminal by the sounds of it. Once you’ve got bearing damage it’s FUBAR.

@kalopali I was referring to services done inside the warranty period. And actually no, they don't have to use OE parts. You would expect that the service is followed to the letter as that is what you are paying them for.

I work for a main dealer. My DH is a tech for a main dealer also.

The chain should do the life of the car.

IME you would need to go to Mazda UK customer services. It may be out of warranty on age and mileage but there is also room for the manufacture to do goodwill.

PM me if you need x

I was referring to services done inside the warranty period. And actually no, they don't have to use OE parts. You would expect that the service is followed to the letter as that is what you are paying them for.

But that’s irrelevant as it’s no longer in warranty. I’m aware they don’t have to use OE parts but I did say they have to be OE quality. Most independent garages will not be carrying out the full list of works as specified in the manufacture’s service schedule, it’s therefore essential to ensure that a) they do and b) you can prove it.

@JustLikeJasper
"I work for a notoriously unreliable car manufacturers and get this scenario all the time.
Why should Mazda pay for the repair?you've shown no loyalty to them, you didn't buy it from them and not got full service history with them. You have also done excessive mileage in the car.
Why didn't you look into extending the warranty before it came to an end?
Sorry to sound harsh but it's all factors the manufacture take into consideration in these cases"
Fair comment. We haven't been contacted about an extended warranty though and tbh, because of our past history with our previous Mazda, we probably would have expected it to be the fantastic car that was.

Thanks for that Cailinnua and thanks to Continuity error for the links. I'll have a look.

My mum had something very similar with a VW golf a few years ago. Something like a £5k new engine needed on a new car within a year of the warranty expiring. She bought it new, low mileage (~5k/yr) and only had it serviced by them. They refused as out of warranty. She paid up for engine at the time but later took them to small claims court and won. I think she argued it was her statutory right to buy something and expect it still to work with

Did you have as many services as required for your mileage? You might have needed more frequent servicing. I used to work for a main dealer in service and my advice to you would be to push and push your complaint - even if you don't get a repair fully funded, they might give you the majority of it under the guise of "goodwill". If the branch doesn't help you to escalate then take to twitter; they'll have a dedicated social media team looking for complaints and this usually helps with escalation and cover under goodwill.

Good luck, op.

Definitely try Mazda directly. My air conditioning condenser failed on my Volvo when it was 3 years past the end of it's warranty, turns out it was a known weakness and they repaired it for free without much more than asking nicely.

@Singlebutmarried

"Were you not advised to get the chain changed at 40k miles?"
It's not the cam chain. It's the oil pump chain.

Yeah we recommend timing belt changes at 100,000 miles or 10 years (different car brand though)
It doesn't seem right, my car is 5 years and 40,000 miles and has had nothing apart from a new window motor, one set of brake pads and one new tyre

What has the timing belt got to do with it?

We had similar happen with our Nissan. We exhausted their complaints procedure and they still insisted we paid up.

Hence I now lease cars.

@Moses92

"However if the chain has snapped then the engine would not run, when your DH was with the car did it stop completely or just go into limp mode?"
It didn't stop. The warning light came on and the engine went into limp mode. It's the oil pump chain that's supposedly snapped (along with the chain guide). Are you referring to the same chain or are you thinking of the cam belt?

More oil pump issues:

www.cars.com/amp/articles/2012-16-mazda-oil-pump-issue-1420690401027/

It’s a US link but worth checking to see if the same problem occurs in UK cars? Could something have jammed in the oil pump and caused the chain to break for instance?

@Itellpeopletogoogleit

"Did you have as many services as required for your mileage? You might have needed more frequent servicing."
Yes and we have all receipts bar one which is okay because that was a Mazda dealer so it is online. (The Mazda dealer checked that today).

"I used to work for a main dealer in service and my advice to you would be to push and push your complaint - even if you don't get a repair fully funded, they might give you the majority of it under the guise of "goodwill". If the branch doesn't help you to escalate then take to twitter; they'll have a dedicated social media team looking for complaints and this usually helps with escalation and cover under goodwill."
We plan to speak to Mazda UK in the morning and our nearest Mazda dealership where our car is atm have said that, if we want, they can put in a Post-warranty claim on our behalf.
However we're a bit confused as we actually bought it from an Arnold Clark dealership (who actually sell a number of different car makes) rather than the Mazda dealership. Should we go back to them or let the Mazda dealership persue it. We are planning on telling them that if Mazda UK don't do it out of goodwill and the fact they seem to have problems with their diesel engines, that we will be taking it to an independent company to repair as we cannot afford their prices.
I think I would be prepared to go to small claims court then as well if others have similar/same problems.

Thanks for your advice. I'm not on twitter but maybe I should be.

"CintinuityErrir"

More oil pump issues:

www.cars.com/amp/articles/2012-16-mazda-oil-pump-issue-1420690401027/

It’s a US link but worth checking to see if the same problem occurs in UK cars? Could something have jammed in the oil pump and caused the chain to break for instance?
Great minds. We are just looking at that link. In the other one for www.honestjohn.co.uk, although it is for a Mazda CX5 rather than a 6, that was a complete engine failure on a skyactive diesel engine. There could be a problem with their diesel engines then.