So my car needs a new engine..

So just so i know Im not being a dick.. it IS reasonable to ask them to fix it?

I've always found that treating people with a bit of respect will get you further than not doing so. Besides, if I went in ranting and raving, even if I got to the same place I'm at at the moment, I'd be on here calling them pricks, and they'd be calling me everything under the sun out there too. No point in having needless hostility.


So I rang them yesterday evening (when I left the car with them; they asked me to give them a ring before the end of the week). They said they changed the BSM/BCM (engine bay fusebox) but that the car was still the same, and nothing had changed.

So they said they sent it up to an auto electrician in Blanchardstown that has done work for them before, and who has 'never failed' them. Apparently this chap has a background in Citroen. So they asked me to give a ring Monday afternoon to keep on them.

I told them I needed the car for Wednesday, but to be honest, I'd have no real issue leaving it there for the week and living with the mild inconvenience, if it meant I had a properly functioning car. I don't want to rush them if they're starting to make some progress (I kinda need the car this week, but could work around it).


That said, in two weeks time, the car is back on the road again for work, so it'll be needed for 7-10 days of solid driving, and unfortunately I can't have the engine running all the time, and constantly jumping it won't realistically be an option. So I'm hopeful that it'll be back on the road and 100% by then.

So I came home this evening in a VW Golf (2002, hatchback, petrol). Looks like this will be my chariot for the next week of lengthy driving. Dunno if I'm happy or sad about it.

There wasn't a drop of petrol in it. They threw me €20 to put some in it, but i gave the money back. In fairness, it's not their fault I need it. If it was still getting engine work done, I'd be angry with them, and i'd be throwing the 'im entitled' attitude at them, but at this stage, the car is off to a third party auto-electrician, and they can't do much about it. They've been excellent to deal with so far in every capacity. Despite my few issues, I'd still use them again and again and recommend them to anyone. Customer service means a lot to me, and a company that are willing to help out every step of the way is a rare thing.

(That said, I'll see what happens when they get billed by the auto-electrician though..! I don't mind throwing a few euro at it but i wouldn't be anticipating having to pay the whole lot myself. I think that'd be unfair).


I had to go to my car the other day (wednesday) to get a sat nav and a few other bits that were in it. When I opened it to take the nav out, the glovebox was pulled out, there was a big fuse board on the seat (that looked too big to go in behind the glove box so not sure what it was), and there were a few wires pulled out here and there. So at least I know it's actually getting looked at.


The Golf is actually not as dreadful as I had anticipated. My brother has an 03 Megane, and the 02 Golf interior is very poor in comparison (probably nicer to drive, albeit not a lot in the difference). I've no doubt it's a paddy-spec golf with nothing of any spec level in it, but jesus it doesn't shout 'premium brand' when i sat in it. For a long time i spun around in a 00 Focus hatch, and a 01 Focus estate, and they both also seemed a little nicer inside than the golf. I don't get it.

The Golf has much better cup holders, I'll admit (they're hidden in the dash and you've to push them and they spring out.. I think it's still used in the back seat of the current day Passat). Same as the current Peugeot 508. Sensible design and should be on most cars.

Other than that, though, it's going well. It's been on the road for about 20 hours or so at this stage, over thursday and friday and it's not given any trouble, which is obviously good. Just have to get through a long day in Dublin tomorrow, and around the country on Monday and Tuesday and I can hopefully hand it back and sit into my own one.


Makes you really appreciate the C5. I know Citroen aren't marketed or touted as a high end, premium brand, but the C5 is miles ahead of pretty much anything I'e sat in (mind you, the C5's pricing was never 'competitive' either, so maybe they were trying to take a swing at the A4 / 5 series, etc? It's just such a solid car (I know that sounds silly, considering the thread is called 'my car needs a new engine', but you know what I mean.. the general build quality, etc.)



On the plus side.. my car has had some major trouble recently, engine and electrical issues, but at least when I get it back, it'll be as good as new. It'll have had an extensive look at by an auto-electrician, and the engine, clutch, gearbox etc. are all good as new and running great.

Now I just have to get the front bumper fixed, get it through the NCT and hope it lives another 4-5 years.

Well I've had the car back since Thursday evening.

I've still no reverse lights, but that's minor enough.

They re-progammed the car i believe with the new fusebox etc. in it so now i get some lovely new error messages. They are 'Parking Assistance System Faulty' and 'Anti Theft System Faulty'. Predictably they relate to the rear parking sensors and the alarm.

The car has no rear parking sensors, as whoever first purchased it obviously decided against them, but the wiring etc. is usually still in the car for them (i believe when they're making the car in the factory, it's cheaper to just put the wiring and such in, and just deactivate them at a later stage.. an example being that my car had no DRLs, but it only took citroen about 5 minutes to activate them, as the wiring, bulbs, etc. were all fitted to the car, but the option to use them was just removed from the menu.. i'm assuming something similar here) . So I need to either get an auto electrician to put in sensors, or get the message turned off (ie; tell the car there are no sensors). And the alarm I'm not sure about. It's just not working, for whatever reason.. It did work in the past. Again i assume it's just a case of turning it on with a computer connected to the car?


The other issue is that my spare key won't start the car now, or lock it, so i have to ring them in the morning and see can i drop out to them to get that synced up too (Im hoping that's a 2 minute job.. i tried to DIY it from a google tutorial but didnt work).


I'm not gonna go through the engine crowd anymore as I reckon they've done all they can at this stage, really, and i think this stuff is fairly simple. Perhaps I'm wrong, but i think that turning on and off those error messages is as simple as connecting their computer to the car and ticking boxes? (my car looks like it has parking sensors, as the holes are there for them, but they just have plain plastic in place of the sensors, so I'm presuming whoever was programming the car glanced at the rear bumper and just assumed they were actual sensors).


Yer man in the engine place said that my battery was useless as it had been drained. It was getting too hard a time with the lights staying on and constantly draining it, and it was old, so it wasn't holding a charge, meaning the car needed to be jumped all the time. So he changed out the battery too. All in all, all he charged me for was the battery itself, which he said was €100 ex vat (so €113.50) and I'd well believe that as these cars do seem to take big batteries.

So I can't really complain about that, to be honest. Considering Citroen wanted €800 to do the same job the auto-electricians did, and I'd have still needed a new battery anyway, I think i got off lightly, although I don't know how much the auto-electricians actually charged the engine crowd, so im not sure if i feel guilty about not contributing to that.


The car has it's NCT on friday morning, and it'll fail, I know. I need to try and get a new front bumper onto it this week, too. That'll be another pain in the ass. The horn also hasn't worked for the best part of a year now, either. I'm not sure if that's a mechanical or electrical issue though.


So it's all fun and games so far, anyway.


The gist of it is that I would highly recommend Dan Daly Engines though. I know I've had a lot of issues, all of which were probably caused by one person doing something simple out of place, and was probably a very easy mistake to make, but in fairness to them, they have made an effort to help every step of the way. They've really done more than I expected and have been a pleasure to deal with all the way.


I'm on the road to a clean bill of health! Off to partfinder I go! :P

Zane Stocky Skit wrote: »

I can guarantee you one thing with modern cars, the electrics are most definitely not an easy fix and might not be fixable at all mate with a replacement engine and it will not be cheap.

It shouldn't need a once over by a mechanic, they should have done that

I mean once-over by mechanic in terms of NCT prep. I am missing a few bulbs and such, and want to make sure the rest of the car is alright, though I'm confident it is.

My biggest concern to be honest, is just the bumper. I'd say getting a replacement will be a nuisance.