Car taking on water after service

AvonEnniskerry

Hi, so I got into my car today (Saturday), valued at €10,000 after collecting it from the garage (main dealer) after having €5000 worth of work done on the car to find there is a huge amount of water sloshing around beneath the carpet. The footwells are soaked through. The car was fogging up on departure from the garage but the reason as to why was unclear.
My main concern is rust, damp in the carpets, etc and the electrics that all run beneath the car. The car highly relies on electrics to function.
I have rang the garage to which they have told me nothing can be done until Tuesday as it's a bank holiday weekend and this will only be a phone call to book the car in at a later stage. I have had to call the aa to come and look at the issue but I am not sure they'll be able to resolve it on my doorstep.
What am I entitled to from the main dealer upon return. A lot of money has been invested in this car and the repair needs to be long term ie just drying out the car won't solve the issue of having water around the electronics for so long.

I haven't driven it for the past few days which might be why the build up is only apparent now.

Any help much appreciated.

emeldc

Are you assuming that the garage are responsible for the car taking in water. What kind of 'service' did you get for €5k.

AvonEnniskerry

I'm saying that the gearbox, rear diff and engine were all removed from the car. It was getting work done not just a service. The car had not been crashed previously it was just maintenance due to mileage.
The garage have been great at responding as on a Saturday they have agreed to take in the car and provide a replacement. The car is having to go down on the back of a truck as it is not driveable with the amount of water taken in.

emeldc

At least they met you head on which is a good start and provided a replacement car for the weekend. No point in speculating what the problem might be until they get back to you.

AvonEnniskerry

Yes I have to say. I was pleased with that. Question was posted before I took action but my concerns now return to the electronics. Aa didn't want to touch the vehicle as the garage was at it so recently.
So instead aa are bringing it to the garage for me as it cannot be driven with the amount of water taken in.
But any electrics below the carpet have now been thoroughly soaked through. The brand is known to take on water if not Thoroughly cleaned out and maintained. However we have the issue that it has just been released from the garage. Though I'll admit their customer service seems to be very. Good and reasonable

emeldc

TBH I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. The loom under the carpet is generally all in one piece. There are some connections for electric seat adjusters, air bag sensors and the like but these are all replaceable if affected. As a matter of interest, did it drive home ok, any warning lights on the dash?

AvonEnniskerry

I only noticed it today taking it out for the day, it felt like a swimming pool beneath my feet. Was advised not to drive it but no lights on dash which is a good sign. Didn't think of that actually, was too busy panicking

emeldc

I'd say it will be ok. It's probably just a door seal which is a common failure on most cars at some stage and lets face it, you will only know it's gone when it starts to rain. We've had such a dry spell for the last few months you wouldn't have noticed a leak.

Edit; Ignore that, I think I'm speculating : )

AvonEnniskerry

My understanding is that there's a place beneath the bonnet in front of the windscreen, water usually drains through this and out . However in this occasion there appears to be a blockage which is causing a build up of water. Due to the rain as of late it has found a means of getting into the vehicle instead of draining away. However I am unsure whether this would have been seen or checked while the vehicle was dismantled.

sandin

5k repairs on a car with a value of under 10k?? Buying as new car with 5k deposit and rest on finance would work out a lot cheaper in long run.

As for the issue, unless you tell the garage about an issue they will not know about it and its not for them to check every possible scenario.

It does simply seem to be water getting into the floor of the car - not too much to worry about and probably easily fixed. Rust would only be an issue if it the problem was left unattended for a few months.

slimjimmc

sandin wrote: »

5k repairs on a car with a value of under 10k?? Buying as new car with 5k deposit and rest on finance would work out a lot cheaper in long run.

As for the issue, unless you tell the garage about an issue they will not know about it and its not for them to check every possible scenario.

It does simply seem to be water getting into the floor of the car - not too much to worry about and probably easily fixed. Rust would only be an issue if it the problem was left unattended for a few months.

Doesn't the VW Passat have ECUs in the floor which can get ruined by water, and certain models are somewhat prone to flooding as leaves can block the drains around the scuttle panel?

AvonEnniskerry

sandin wrote: »

5k repairs on a car with a value of under 10k?? Buying as new car with 5k deposit and rest on finance would work out a lot cheaper in long run.

As for the issue, unless you tell the garage about an issue they will not know about it and its not for them to check every possible scenario.

It does simply seem to be water getting into the floor of the car - not too much to worry about and probably easily fixed. Rust would only be an issue if it the problem was left unattended for a few months.

I own a car to the value of 10k. Yes I could have sold it rather than do the repairs but I chose to invest in it. I love the car and bought it to keep rather than to sell. This is my personal choice and the work is already done. I am not questioning whether it would be worth doing it.

The garage know about the issue as the car was bought down on the back of a truck yesterday. It is currently in motion if as previously said in the thread.

The water running under the floor could cause rust if not thouraghly dried out and my worry is the electronics that also run under it also previously said.



Slimjimmc, yes you are close as my car would be vag. And yes it would be this that is blocked however it did not appear to be blocked before going into the garage. No fogging inside the car etc, however upon leaving the garage we noticed that it was fogging but was manageable with the air conditioning. The car is kept outside all year around so would have been noticeable with other rains and is not kept in an area where leaves would build up. However with the bad rain of late , the car is completely flooded, rear and front footwells.

AvonEnniskerry

It occurred to me that I never actually gave you any answers in relation to this thread. When they had the car in for maintenence the whole front of the car was off as one of the jobs was getting the timing chain replaced. It is my understanding that while they were back this far they removed the fuse box and upon replacing didn't re seal it. So when I got the car back home the heavy rain drained straight off the windshield and in through the fuse box. Thus resulting in it gathering under the car.
The car was drained and thoraghly dried out. At this point all electrics were checked and appeared fine.
The garage accepted responsibility.
Thanks for everyone's help.

somebody_else

Wow

You kept us on the edge of the seat for almost two years !!

Tom

goz83

Better late than never