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Advice needed!!Im being scammed!!

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  • 31-07-2008 6:48pm
    #1
    4Sheets
    Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭


    Ok well I bought a great deal or so I thought ,,,it was cheaper than others and low mileage..looked great as well and all seemed fine.. two days later the engine light is on and the engine gets real hot quickly.I have a quarantee on engine+gearbox but labour was'nt included.I also found out the NCT was out for 9 mnths despite being it being posted as July 2009 on a car website and described as having fresh NCT..I not great with cars and I never asked about the NCT..I assumed it was in-date (stupid I know)He has assured me that he will get it through the NCT in the next couple of weeks.
    So now not knowing why the engine light is on hes got a mechanic running diagnostics tomorrow.
    When I did a test drive there was'nt much fuel so I did'nt go far in it??this was obviously done on purpose)
    Well am I scammed for paying for a head gasket or what???
    So whats it likely to cost and have I any comeback at all?
    Thanks for any advice!!


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    #2
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,195 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    how long ago did you buy it? was it from an established car dealer?, what kind of car is it? What do you know about head gaskets?


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    #3
    chris85
    Registered Users Posts: 4,502 ✭✭✭chris85


    4Sheets wrote: »
    Ok well I bought a great deal or so I thought ,,,it was cheaper than others and low mileage..looked great as well and all seemed fine.. two days later the engine light is on and the engine gets real hot quickly.I have a quarantee on engine+gearbox but labour was'nt included.I also found out the NCT was out for 9 mnths despite being it being posted as July 2009 on a car website and described as having fresh NCT..I not great with cars and I never asked about the NCT..I assumed it was in-date (stupid I know)He has assured me that he will get it through the NCT in the next couple of weeks.
    So now not knowing why the engine light is on hes got a mechanic running diagnostics tomorrow.
    When I did a test drive there was'nt much fuel so I did'nt go far in it??this was obviously done on purpose)
    Well am I scammed for paying for a head gasket or what???
    So whats it likely to cost and have I any comeback at all?
    Thanks for any advice!!


    Did you buy an punto as common problem with them. The girlfriend got one last year and we brought it back as gearbox needed changing which they done in a few days while giving us one of their cars, the gasket then went a month later and no problem it was fixed while courtesy car given to us. No major problems since. Depends on the garage really


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    #4
    4Sheets
    Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭4Sheets


    drunkmonkey wrote: »
    how long ago did you buy it? was it from an established car dealer?, what kind of car is it? What do you know about head gaskets?

    Well it a small dealer i Know adam about them..they seemed helpful when I brought the car back..orgainising NCT and booking mechanics...but I still feel something fishy is going on...bought few days ago and its 2002 Vectra...
    Hope Im not jumping the gun jumping to conclusions..it could be a simple fault maybe..I know head gasket is a cheap part but can cost alot in labour..if it needs to reskimming or whatever due to warping etc...I dont know the symptons of this fault..overheating?
    Im expecting the worst


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    #5
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,362 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    It could be very minor also. Is the engine cooling fan coming on?


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    #6
    4Sheets
    Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭4Sheets


    mickdw wrote: »
    It could be very minor also. Is the engine cooling fan coming on?
    Yeah Ive seen them coming on at times...all coolants are topped up..no leaks..


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    #7
    Captain Slow IRL
    Registered Users Posts: 3,651 ✭✭✭Captain Slow IRL


    4Sheets wrote: »
    the engine gets real hot quickly.

    Is it overheating or is it getting up to operating temperature quickly? If the latter, don't worry about it - the quicker a car gets up to O.T., the better.

    Wait til the faults are read off - could be generated if the car was standing up for a while without being driven or having been jump started.


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    #8
    4Sheets
    Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭4Sheets


    Captain Slow IRL wrote: »
    Is it overheating or is it getting up to operating temperature quickly? If the latter, don't worry about it - the quicker a car gets up to O.T., the better.

    Wait til the faults are read off - could be generated if the car was standing up for a while without being driven or having been jump started.

    Thanks for your optisim but the nature of the quarentee( Is it standard not to include labour) and the nct lasped for 9months i.e. someone decided somewhere it was'nt worth the cost of the work for the nct..
    Its gets very hot very fast after a few km..the engine light came on and even cold it comes on now


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    #9
    Damien360
    Registered Users Posts: 6,495 ✭✭✭Damien360


    Simple thing to check is your coolant level. May not be coolant in the radiator and someone may have put too much water in the mix so although the level looks ok it will not work very well.

    Could be as simple as a hose on to the radiator loose. Check to see if all the clips are tight. If you have to refill the coolant resevoir, check for leaks from any hose around the rad.

    I had this on a Mondeo and all it turned out to be was mechanic forgot to tighten the hose after service.

    just read your post about no leaks and levels ok. Still, might not be coolant. Mondeo one had a blueish colour to it so worth a look


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    #10
    Nonoperational
    Registered Users Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭Nonoperational


    If you only have it a short time they have to fix it. They cant just say labour is not included. Thats nonsense. The parts (mostly) are the cheap part of car repair.


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    #11
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users Posts: 73,456 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    is the temp gauge needle actually going to the top of the scale, or is it just heating up quickly?


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    #12
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    Remove the cover on the expansion bottle / radiator cover when the engine is cold. if you see bubbles rising smell a rat, also if the dipstick shows milky gray sludge, I.e. water mixed with oil, common when water gets into the block I.E head gasket. A garage trying to pull a fast one might put fresh oil in to try and hide this, If the oil is very fresh smell a rat.

    If you were lied to about the NCT and you have it in writing you are entitled to have all your money back. My advice is if this guy gets any way messy get straight on to a good solicitor.


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    #13
    4Sheets
    Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭4Sheets


    Run_to_da_hills wrote: »
    Remove the cover on the expansion bottle / radiator cover when the engine is cold. if you see bubbles rising smell a rat, also if the dipstick shows milky gray sludge, I.e. water mixed with oil, common when water gets into the block I.E head gasket. A garage trying to pull a fast one might put fresh oil in to try and hide this, If the oil is very fresh smell a rat.

    If you were lied to about the NCT and you have it in writing you are entitled to have all your money back. My advice is if this guy gets any way messy get straight on to a good solicitor.

    Thats just the advice I needed thanks!!


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    #14
    S.I.R
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,837 ✭✭✭S.I.R


    this vectra, what engine is it ?


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