"You're lucky if you can drive a second-hand car away!"

[Brownman]

I bought the car in December 2010 and the garage assured me that the timing belt was going to be changed before I took the car home. On the day I went to pick it up, the woman in the office was filling in the service records book that the timing belt had been changed and then stamped it with the garage's signature.

Last week, on the way home I was coming over a roundabout and changed back into fourth when I lost all engine power and a message on the dashboard flagged up 'Please check engine' I pulled over at the side of the road and tried to start it but it just kept spinning. I put the hazzard lights on and got out of the car whilst planning what I would do. Just as I was about to ring the AA, a Police traffic car pulled up behind me with its flashing blue lights; "sh#t!" They asked what had happened so I told them the events and they said they would have to help me put the car on the pavement at the side of the dual carriageway. They pushed and I steered and asked if I had a mobile phone, so I said yes and I was just about to ring the AA so I thanked them for their help and they went on their way.

I rang the AA and a mate of mine to come and keep me company. The AA came roughly about a half an hour after I rang them which I was very pleased with however I did still need the loo and I was starting to get a bit nippy! The AA bloke arrived and diagnosed the problem straight away - a snapped timing belt! I was furious after being lied to by the garge that sold me the car! I got towed to my local garage where my MOT's and minor repairs are carried out and left the car, going back on the Saturday to check progress etc. The owner of the garage confirmed that it was in fact the standard timing belt which was on the car and it had not been changed at all! This caused all of the 16 valves to be bent! Bast*rds! He said that the cylinder head was sent away and should be returning on Monday morning.

Today, Wednesday 11th January, I received a text from my dad telling me it was fixed, with a new cam belt, pulleys, new water pump and oil and filter changed! My dad went down to the Citizen's Advice Bureau and they referred him to the Trading Standards, who we have a meeting with next week! A close mate of mine is also studying Law at Leeds University so we were able to get a lot of brilliant advice from him too - what a guy! Hopefully we will be able to claim repair costs back, because this is something they said they had changed, wrote it in the log book and then signed it off with their company name, they shouldn't have a leg to stand on!

Anyway, the car drives brilliantly, smooth and silky engine, running like a Swiss watch! They even washed my car at the garage! Top blokes!

Hats off to the AA who are a cracking service and Stan's Autos for sorting me out as quickly as possible and even throwing in a courtesy car wash! - Cheers guys!

Hopefully I will be trouble free for quite a while now!

Hope this has been an entertaining read for you all, and if I've bored you, apologies!

Tom

[Rapidshed]

hi bud its simply a case for small claims court, if you can proce using evidence that the belt was never changed then yes the cost of damage etc would be recouped, however to actually prove this is in fact very hard, also a belt it rubber and can never be 100% all of the time,

its bad that they've done this, i also have had a similar experience but through private buying where the guy assured me it'd been done, i drove 100 miles to collect only for him to have lost the reciept but had a slip from garage to confirm its change date, i brought the car being trusting and phoned garage the next week to check there records, however the old boy on the phone although, vouched for it being done just didn't fill me with confidence when they told me he keeps no records of works carried out!

so checked the belt myself its indeed the original but tip top and cars only on 67k so will change at 70.