Am I being ripped off?

roady rhodes

Hi
So my timing belt jumped on my Peugeot partner van, got it towed to a garage and mechanic proceded to replace timing belt kit including water pump. Then I found out that when it jumped it damaged all the valves and rockers in engine.
I gave him the go ahead to fix it.
Next he tells me that the DPF was showing a fault and after trying to clean it he recommends getting a new one.
So he installs a new one and then tells me it still has a fault in it that he can’t figure out how to fix and he will need to send van to the main Peugeot garage in Dublin . Peugeot spend 10 hours examining van and decide that the camshaft is twisted. The bill for this is around 3,400 with 400 of that to go to Peugeot.
Should my mechanic have noticed the twisted camshaft when stripping the engine originally ?
Do you think the price is reasonable considering the van is worth about 4,500?

Any feedback welcome thanks

crosstownk

What year is the Partner and what mileage is on it?

roady rhodes

crosstownk wrote: »

What year is the Partner and what mileage is on it?

2013

140k miles

crosstownk

roady rhodes wrote: »

2013

140k miles

Hmmm. 140k miles is probably above the replacement interval for the belt. Was the belt changed at the recommended interval?

I assume the contribution from Peugeot is just towards the DPF/FAP and that they're having nothing to do with the belt and consequential damage....?

roady rhodes

crosstownk wrote: »

Hmmm. 140k miles is probably above the replacement interval for the belt. Was the belt changed at the recommended interval?

I assume the contribution from Peugeot is just towards the DPF/FAP and that they're having nothing to do with the belt and consequential damage....?

Sorry I meant 140k kilometres
Yes Peugeot just dealing with the DPF issue and local mechanic with the rest.
Do you think he should have noticed the twisted camshaft when stripping down the engine and do you think price is reasonable ?
Van has been in garage going on 4 weeks now

crosstownk

roady rhodes wrote: »

Sorry I meant 140k kilometres
Yes Peugeot just dealing with the DPF issue and local mechanic with the rest.
Do you think he should have noticed the twisted camshaft when stripping down the engine and do you think price is reasonable ?
Van has been in garage going on 4 weeks now

The camshaft lobes do 'twist' on those engines sometimes when the timing belt fails. It's something I reckon anyone familiar with those engines should look for when inspecting for consequential damage. I suppose it depends on how familiar your mechanic is with those engines. They are a quite popular engine.

If 140,000km is below the replacement interval then you may have a case for premature wear but it would probably need to go through a main dealer for that.

The price depends on what your mechanics labour rate is, what parts are involved and where he is sourcing the parts from but €3k would probably be in the upper end of the price range.

JimmyMcGill

When you say you gave him the go ahead was there ever a mention of potential costs by either of you? If not he did ad he was obliged to imo.

Toyotafanboi

I don't think you're being ripped off. You're mechanic doesn't sound too competent though.

I'd pay him for his work doing the timing belt and head rebuild as you needed that regardless, then get it to the main dealer or someone familiar with Peugeots yourself and cut him out as the middle man.

roady rhodes

If 140,000km is below the replacement interval then you may have a case for premature wear but it would probably need to go through a main dealer for that.

I think the interval is 180k km,i have a full service history,but as you said i didn't go through main dealer.

My issue is if my mechanic should have noticed the camshaft damage before sending it to Peugeot therefore costing me more time and money.

roady rhodes

My mechanic also fitted the new DPF, do you think i should pay him for that even though it didn't fix the problem?

crosstownk

roady rhodes wrote: »

My issue is if my mechanic should have noticed the camshaft damage before sending it to Peugeot therefore costing me more time and money.

If it the lobes on the camshaft were twisted then it's a tough one as there isn't any physical damage to see - the lobes are just orientated incorrectly. Like I say, it depends on how familiar he is with that engine. I'd expect a Peugeot main dealer to check for it.

EDIT: If your mechanic made a genuine mistake by not spotting the additional problem with the camshaft and said as much then fair enough. While you may have to pay for a new camshaft, you should not be paying for any additional labour for him to strip and rebuild as a result of his error.

roady rhodes

crosstownk wrote: »

If it the lobes on the camshaft were twisted then it's a tough one as there isn't any physical damage to see - the lobes are just in orientated incorrectly. Like I say, it depends on how familiar he is with that engine. I'd expect a Peugeot main dealer to check for it.

Thanks a million for the information,much appreciated.

crosstownk

roady rhodes wrote: »

Thanks a million for the information,much appreciated.

See the edit in my last post - I was editing it as you were replying so you may have missed it.

roady rhodes

crosstownk wrote: »

See the edit in my last post - I was editing it as you were replying so you may have missed it.

Just noticed that ,i will see what he says about that.
Also i never told him to bring van to peugeot to fix the DPF problem.
Do you think i would have an argument whether i should pay for that too?
Thanks a lot for your advice, im not too savvy with this type of stuff.

crosstownk

What you should really have an issue with is that your mechanic is doing work (spending your money) without first agreeing it with you.

George Dalton

crosstownk wrote: »

The camshaft lobes do 'twist' on those engines sometimes when the timing belt fails. It's something I reckon anyone familiar with those engines should look for when inspecting for consequential damage.

How do you suggest that someone would identify if the camshaft is damaged in this way?

George Dalton

crosstownk wrote: »

What you should really have an issue with is that your mechanic is doing work (spending your money) without first agreeing it with you.

What is the alternative in this situation? Should the mechanic just bill the OP and give them back a non running car?

crosstownk

George Dalton wrote: »

How do you suggest that someone would identify if the camshaft is damaged in this way?

That's a fair point. It's not possible to visually determine if the lobes have moved. I suppose the best scenario is for the mechanic to explain the possibility of a damaged cam to a customer and warn that the additional work may be required - but that would depend on how well the mechanic knew the engine. It's a better approach than simply telling someone that it now needs this and that and the price has now gone up by €xxxx.

George Dalton wrote: »

What is the alternative in this situation? Should the mechanic just bill the OP and give them back a non running car?

No, but it's important to keep the customer informed of additional costs and allowing the them to make an informed decision. No point in spending money that someone can't afford - that's of no benefit to either party. The OP may have had no option but to make the choice of taking back a non running car or possibly delaying repairs for few weeks. In the OPs case the cost of repair is approaching the worth of the van.

I also understand that with the best will in the world, additional work can be discovered that wasn't anticipated and can add considerably to costs but how it's handled with a customer is important.

bucketybuck

I have four camshafts from some 6 cylinder engines in my office right now, old parts replaced under warranty. The lobes had moved on two of them and I'll say this, put all four together and I'd be damn hard pressed to tell you which ones.

roady rhodes

Great advice lads,thanks very much for all your help.Guess il just have to suck it up.