Land Rover Discovery TD5 Cylinder Head

[DorsetJasper]

Im absolutely gutted, Ive just spent £375 on 3 new Scorpion tyres & £235 on a new starter motor last week only to find on the way home to find the head gasket has blown

The cooling fan wouldnt turn off after the ignition was turned off, i left it for 30 minutes then took the coolant lid off to witness an explosion of grey sludge from the expansion tank.

I have only had it 2 weeks and covered no more than 500 miles

I have just found out that the warranty will only cover the gasket not the cylinder head

My 2001 TD5 was written off by an **** and now the replacement is nothing but a headache

Does anyone know where i can get a new cylinder head sub £500 with a waranty if possible?

[PhilR]

Blimey mate I feel for you as I'm a new TD5 owner too.

 

I'm not 100% up on trading law but I think if you bought it from a trader there's something about them being liable for 6 months from date of purchase for something going wrong that was a defect at the time of purchase. I think both head gasket and starter motor would come within that category. Trading Standards or Citizens Advice Bureau or even t'internet might help.

 

Phil

[jinxy72]

might be cheaper to get urs recon'd if poss

[DorsetJasper]

What makes it worse is my 51 plate that was written off had no problems what so ever and was a dream to own

I will try the having the head reconditioned but from what i have seen on the internet the TD5 cylinder head cant be skimmed

Has any one fitted a reconditioned TD5 cylinder head?

[silpig5]

rhe words you are looking for are " fit for purpose "

clearly it wasnt , and most warrenties should cover head but not the gasket .

double check with garage that sold it then trading standards as a last resort .

[DorsetJasper]

I spoke to the dealer i purchased the car from and he advised that the warranty would only cover the gasket

Ive told the mechanic i use that when he takes the head off to have a good look for foul play and any repair that could have been a temporary fix to hide the head gasket.

Ive only had it 2 weeks tommorow so could i still go for the "fit for purpose"?

[silpig5]

in that short period of time as a ex dealer i would say yes , a full fix to your satisfaction or simply your money back .

check with trading standards , it doesnt sound right , the engine has failed , and they should honour that fact .

[DorsetJasper]

Thanks Silpig5

Should i contact trading standards first?

[Paul223]

must be fit for purpose for 30 days, contact trading standards

[DorsetJasper]

Thanks Paul223

Would it make any difference that its a 2000 with above average mileage?

[Paul223]

nope, i'm taking for granted that you bought it from a dealer

[silpig5]

the old rule of thumb used to be

if its over a grand its a 30 day warrenty

under a grand its sold as scrap

the invoice must have clearly written

no warrenty implied or given

and be signed by both partys if you dont want to stand by it for 30 days .

 

but that was a few years ago , the law protects the buyer more these days , so defo try trading standards .

[DorsetJasper]

Thanks for all your help

Im looking at the consumer website and the sale of goods act at the moment so i will have a bit of ammo before i ring trading standards and the dealer

Thanks again

[PhilR]

Thanks Paul223

Would it make any difference that its a 2000 with above average mileage?

 

I don't think so. Provided you didn't buy it with 'sold as seen' on the invoice the comeback is to the dealer. Get advice from Trading Standards, CAB before getting anyone to attempt to repair it on your behalf.

[Paul223]

30 days, i have a car trader as a business neighbor good god he sells some ****, some people come back and bash him with the 30 day rule and or trading standards , other don't :blink: :blink:

[davecooper1]

Mate after 2 weeks, and the trouble you been through, I would take it back tell him to fix it, if not then tell him you want your money back, and that your going to take action to get your money back, there is no way that I would let it drop.

[Paul223]

if they are in the habit of selling unfit cars then trading standards will already be aware of them, just give trading standards a ring and speak to them first

[DorsetJasper]

Thanks for all the advice, Im just sending an email to the dealer now quoting the sale of goods act etc. The TD5 goes into the garage tommorow but they wont be able to have a look at it til next week.

I forgot to add the starter motor failed on the return journey after picking it up

I was 3/4 of the way home so the AA got it going so i just continued home, im starting to wish i hadnt now

Thanks again

[DorsetJasper]

I have sent the trader an email detailing the faults and sale of goods act etc so i will await his response.

Again many thanks for all the help

[al4x]

don't let your mechanic near it. Get it back to the dealer and dump it on his fourcourt. If its sludged up he knew about it say repair or refund. Get onto trading standards and find out if you can reject it. Good luck and if things get sticky its worth a pm to mungler

[Cookiemonsterandmerlin.]

I feel sorry for you I cant see why dealers are so bad I would and I do strive to provide quality service/goods in first place.

 

Old TD5s are becoming a nightmare to own more so if they have had lots of uncaring owners .

 

But they are still being snapped up by the lower quality dealers as they sell well,more so in the current weather.

 

Good luck with the whole situ .

 

Cheers OTH

[silpig5]

STOP YOUR MAN LOOKING AT IT !!!!!!!

 

any interferance with it would void your claim .

i know its a pain but leave it well alone till you have somthing sorted .

dont offer to have the work done and he pay you , it will end in tears , trust me .

[Paul223]

I agree, stop your fella doing any work to it, tampering can possibly void your claim

 

get it touch with TS take advice from them before speaking to the car sales

 

the car sales will have to sort you out with a loan car, ideally a 4x4, thats why you bought one, cos you need it

 

find the receipt for the starter and see if ya can get part of that paid off too

Edited December 3, 2010 by Paul223

[PhilR]

Here's some consumer rights info from the Daily Telegraph's Honest John motoring columnist's website.

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights

[DorsetJasper]

Well after a day of phoning god knows how many people the update is as follows!

Phoned Consumer Direct, as it is what they deem as a distance sale i have cover under the sale of goods act for 3 months

Managed to get hold of the dealer after 2 hours and he is refusing to do anything until he has a report from the waranty

companies assessor

The warranty company have instructed my mechanic to investigate the problem but they will only cover the Head Gasket

not the cylinder head

Warranty company will not send an assessor out but dealer is refusing to do anything until he has the assessors report

It has now been left that the dealer will contact the warranty company on Monday and demand a report that they wont do

I can see that this will take a considerable amount of time to get the desired outcome but i will carry on fighting

Thanks again Pigeon Watch for all the advice