Is it worth trying to claim against the AA?

[seeker]

On Saturday night my car overheated suddenly and dramatically. The AA came, topped up the coolant, and, after following me while I did a test drive told me to keep an eye on the coolant levels for the next few days. So I did - it needed topping up a bit but nothing dramatic. The report sheet thingy he wrote out had no advice or restrictions or anything.

Then on Monday the same thing happened only more so. I called the AA out again. This time the man did a few more checks, expressed surprise that the previous guy hadn't done the same, and said I probably had a cracked cylinder head gasket, and I shouldn't drive it at all, and I am now looking at a £1000 bill. I don't know if I caused any more damage driving it round for the weekend, but it can't have done it any good.

Is it worth trying to get any money out of the AA? Has anyone else ever done this?

Bump just in case.........

tbh I wouldn't bother. although it sounds as if the first AA man should have done some more checks, he didn't actually cause the problem to the car, so what will you be claiming for exactly?

nope, its not their fault.

I know they didn't cause the damage, but the garage says the if I hadn't driven the car over the weekend there would have been significantly less damage.

I'm not sure the garage can be that sure about the extra mileage causing significantly more damage. If they are that sure, would they be prepared to supply an engineer's report to that effect? If not, then it is doubtful you could prove that the first chap's failure to spot the problem caused you any loss that you wouldn't otherwise have incurred.

I would speak to the AA and see what they say though, as they either need to ensure their mechanics know what they are doing or be aware that they may be subject to claims for negligence.

coolant levels needing topped up - even if not dramatic- means there is something wrong withthe car and you should have gotten it checked out. Depends on what type of AA cover you have - but if its only roadside recovery or something then they wouldn't have been responsible for fixing your car. I don't think you'd get far with a claim

But if your cylinder head gasket has a crack then you need a new one regardless of how big the crack is. I drove about (knowlingly) for over a year with a cracked cylinder head gaset once before it finally stopped woring.