Head gasket and cylinder head advise needed please

I am hoping somebody can advise please, I’d be very grateful. I paid a garage for a car repair of head gasket and cylinder head. They took 34 days to complete this and messed me about the whole time, it was awful. Quoted me £1200 then tried to charge me £2500. They also repaired the coolant fan as advised on the phone but this isn’t on the invoice so I can’t prove it. 4 days later I went back to advise the engine over heating warning lights had come on and the engine was making a ticking clunking sound. The mechanic looked under the bonnet and simple drove it around the block for 2 mins and said the issue was due to low coolant. Didn’t investigate why there was no coolant after just 4 days of leaving the garage. He filled up the coolant and sent me away (Sadly no documents to evidence this but I can evidence I went there). A week later I had to go back, now there’s a hole in the coolant pipe which wasn’t there before, coolant leaking, engine over heating sign. They replace the coolant pipe and charge for this. A week later, engine warning lights again, coolant still leaking. Took the car in. They advised this is due to the fan cutting out intermittently and said the fan's resistor had corroded over time which caused damage to the relay, and the wiring loom was also burnt out. (attempting to charge me £411 for this saying no further works have been linked to the original repair of the head gasket and cylinder head). A week later, the car won’t start. Due to ongoing issues with the car, I no longer trust this garage and go to a new garage who advise the head gasket and cylinder head are blown. The first garage are refusing to refund me, stating that the head gasket and cylinder head has blown again due to the engine over heating following all issues since picking up the car. Can somebody please advise me on this matter and if I have any argument for a case against the garage. If the head gasket and cylinder head weren’t properly repaired the first time, could this have caused the ongoing issues that eventually led to another blown gasket? Should they have investigated when I went back 4 days later advising there were ticking sounds and engine warning lights? Throughout all the issues, should they have picked up on the ongoing car issues? Any advice would be very much appreciated. I can’t afford another head gasket repair and I rely on a car for work. This has been going on for 2 months. Do I have any hope for a case with the motoring ombudsman? They claim the ongoing issues caused the head gasket to blow again but I wonder if it’s also the case that failings on their end could have caused all the ongoing issues

Reply 1

Muttly

How old is your car and what was its value? What is its mileage, and how long have you owned it?

Check on Govt.UK - Check my MOT history and enter your Reg number. Check the mileage on the MOT history tallies with the reading on the speedo/odometer and also look at its history (your car's previous MOT failures) to get an idea of its pedigree. A garage can check with a fault code meter to see if the mileage shown on your purchase tallies with any faults or services recorded into the computer memory in its engine brain. If there is a wild discrepancy you may have been sold a 'lemon' - get in touch with trading standards if it is a garage that sold you the car.

What were the noises, warning lights and problems with the car that made you decide to take it to a garage? How long had these noises being going on for? How badly did it overheat and how often? When did you last check the coolant level? Was the damage caused by bad maintenance? What was the history of these faults developing? Why did you choose this garage for the repairs? What was agreed at the garage for an estimate for the costs of the repairs versus the cost of the car?

Have you paid a large amount of money - compared to the value of your car? 34 days is a long time to repair a head gasket. Usually the head can be removed and 'skimmed' at a refurb specialist centre, given a new gasket and put back together again in a few days, maybe a week. The coolant fan is a straightforward swap of new for old (& you could have saved money with a breakers part) There may have been a delay on parts delivery. The coolant and pipe system should have been checked at the first sign of overheating.

What do you want? Presumably a refund. Your only official recourse is to get a specialist engineer (try via RAC or Hoopers or ACE or IAEA) to compile a technical report for you (costs of £250 upwards) and to list what repairs have been carried out and to what standard. If the garage have carried out a sub standard repair you will be looking for them to refund you. If you have a shady garage you will struggle here. If it is a Ltd company it can go out of business over night (and set up again the next day under a different trading name) and you will be left with all the expense, of what you have paid and everything on top and gain possibly nothing. If you go via a small claims against a self employed sole proprietor and they don't pay (and your RAC engineers case is proven) you may be able to take them via civil claims court and employ debt collectors via the High Court (more expense) to recoup your losses.

You would usually have to inform the repair garage you are seeking an independent engineers report. You have already given them an opportunity to repair the car for a second time. I wouldn't go back. Dependent on the engineers report you may decide to notify your local Trading Standards. Research your garage and see if anyone else has had similar issues.

So either put up and shut up and put the whole episode down to experience. You could try to go back to the garage - make a noise, make a placard and let the whole world know what has happened. It may embarrass them enough to pay you off. Fill in reviews so others know what has happened. But make sure you are honest and reasonable (we only have your side of the issues raised). Was your car a rust bucket which was beyond help or repair? Was your car an old knacker to start with? Then sell your car and get another 'runner' - but take someone with you to buy another car next time. Get an AA or RAC report on your next proposed purchase. Research your garages carefully. Use word of mouth, reviews online can be fixed.
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Go in all guns blazing and pay for an engineers report etc then take them to small claims against a risk that if they are negligent they won't pay up. That is high risk and it is likely that may fail. Get some legal advice from any source - see if your car insurance covers it, or your house insurance, or any other legal expenses advice policy, union membership benefits, professional body benefits, student union membership benefits? Cast your net far and wide.

That is about it really. Not a good place for you to be in, and if you use your car knowing it is more than likely to break down it could leave you liable for road traffic offences if it causes an accident.