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Recently our car (VW touran 2012) broke down so we had it towed to a mechanic. They "fixed" the issue supposedly with the gear box and gave the car a service quote $800 (paid). 30 minutes of driving and car broken down again (it was running terribly). No responsibility taken by the mechanics. New diagnosis is a problem with an engine belt quote $3800 (invoice outstanding) to repair. Repair completed. Mechanic says car still not working. New diagnostic engine compression issue upward of $2000. This last work has not been carried out yet because we have maxed out our funds and also wondering are we liable to pay ALL of the above. We don't want to pay for the last fix because it takes us up to the value of the car itself!!! It's a right off. What legal rights do we have. Are we responsible for the misdiagnosis of these issues?!
Hi there,
I guess the first thing to establish is if the first and second issues, symptoms are pointing to the same thing as an engine and transmission issue are quite separate.
So what was the symptoms that made the car break down, and was it the exact same thing when you collected it (the engine running rough?)
If this is the case and there was absolutely no change- then you could put it to the mechanic as to what pointed him to the transmission the first time.
Does the engine have a chain drive or belt? These engines and the same used in the VW Golf are notorious for stretching timing chains (I've had 3 Golf's I bought cheap with similar issues). One I replaced the chain and it was fixed, the other was too far gone and required a complete engine to fix it. However there are two types of these engines, and I've heard that compression issues plagued some models, so this is also a common possibility. It can be a bit difficult to diagnose the low compression issue at first, because if the engine has a stretched timing chain it might exhibit low compression anyway if the valves are not closing. It's a difficult situation to be in for both parties to be in as to where you draw the line.