Grandson's car has 'blown up'

[wink1970]

Hi, your advice would be most gratefully received.

We bought Grandson a car in between Christmas & NY, paid £3500 for a Focus which looked in good condition, the selling garage serviced and MOT-d it.

Last night he had some problems so we dropped it into our local garage ..... who have advised it needs a whole new engine.

I'm not sure what to do, I know we're within the 6 months (just) that the Consumer Rights Act references, but this is a 2nd hand dealership not a big brand. Not to be too pathetic but DH chose that car and he recently died, so I want to repair it not scrap it if possible: he also dealt with the garage though I guess Grandson is the legal owner so they should talk to him (??).

Is it reasonable to suggest they repair, or go halves on a new engine?

thank you.

What exactly is the issue with the engine? Was it an existing fault or is it down to user error such as not topping up the oil or putting the wrong fuel in?

As you bought the car from a dealer, it must be in reasonable condition given its age, mileage and cost.

As your grandson has had the car less than 6 months, the fault is assumed to have been there when you bought the car. If the dealer wants to claim otherwise, they have to show that your grandson has misused the car and this has caused the damage.

You can insist that the dealer repairs or replaces the car. It is their choice which to go for. If the repair or replacement fails, you then have the right to reject the car and receive a full refund less an amount for the use your grandson has had of the car.

Do not suggest they repair it and don't go halves on a new engine. Insist that they repair it and do not offer to contribute. Unless your grandson has misused the car, they should fix the problem free of charge.

How old, how many miles etc?

While what @prh47bridge says is at least in part true reality is that expectation on a ten year old car at £3500 and a nearly new one at £35,000 will be different.

Hence my first sentence about being in reasonable condition given age, mileage and cost.

A petrol engine generally lasts 11-14 years or 200,000 miles. A diesel engine generally manages 30 years or 1,000,000 miles. If it was close to these limits when purchased, it may be reasonable for the engine to give up the ghost this quickly.

Thanks for your advice. He's been checking the oil / water weekly with his Dad as part of learning to 'be an adult'.
We're going to call the garage today and tell them to pick it up, it will be interesting to see how it goes!

Is it an ecoboost engine? If so, Google it. Many, many engine issues and replaced engines. There is a Facebook support group for advice.

Don’t be surprised if they put up a fight. Obviously it depends on what exactly failed as to whether it’s easy to prove it wasn’t present at the time of sale. If they dig their heels in you’ll have to go down the small claims route and even if you win it’s notoriously difficult extracting payment from a lot of these small dealers, they just phoenix the company.

OP I appreciate the emotional aspect of this specific car but know your DH would want a safe car, and he helped chose the car thinking it was sound. I’m sure he would much prefer your grandson has something with less hassle 💓

Second hand cars are highly priced these days and £3.5 is not a lot to pay for a car unfortunately.
I wish you luck. How much does a new engine cost? Similar to what you paid?

You might just have been unlucky.

Is it a 1l eco boost ? They have a wet belt that needs replacing at 10 years or 150k of miles . If you don’t replace on time and it goes , it can take out the whole engine . It’s a basic service issue , expensive at around £900 ish , but not as expensive as leaving it to take the whole engine out.
If that’s what has happened then I would factor in whether the garage should have changed it prior to sale if it was overdue . It is probably the most well known issue with these cars .