Helpdesk

Answering all your motoring queries

VW diesel trouble ‘highly unusal’

FOLLOWING a letter featured in Helpdesk on May 18th from a reader who had experienced an engine failure in his 2007 Volkswagen Passat TDi, we received additional letters from readers with similar experiences from Volkswagen models.

One reader had a 2008 VW Passat 2.0-litre TDi, which had been imported from the North with 48,000 miles. The oil pump and turbo failed and the engine was damaged as a result. A new engine was needed costing €8,000 in parts and labour. The car was out of warranty and has an incomplete service history.

A second reader with a 2006 Volkswagen Touran, also imported from the UK, suffered a broken con rod. This would have cost in excess of €8,000 to put right as a new engine would also have to be fitted.

The readers were obviously very upset by these and expressed concerns about the diesel engines.

Paddy Comyn, who dealt with the original query, writes: “We spoke to several independent experts who said this is a rare occurrence and is usually caused by the car entering floodwater or from extended use of poor quality diesel. Although there is no evidence to suggest that this occurred to these vehicles.

“We checked across Europe and the problems encountered by these owners did not appear as a regular issue and we also spoke to a representative from UK used car experts Parkers Guide, who said that they had not come across this in the UK market.

“We put the cases to VW Ireland and they came back to us with this response: ‘Volkswagen has reviewed both customer cases and whilst not being able to assist in one case due to an incomplete service history, Volkswagen have assisted the other customer (the Volkswagen Touran) after reviewing the case details.

“‘Volkswagen can assure customers that both customer cases were highly unusual and could possibly be linked to external factors. In line with Volkswagen’s strategy to deliver customer satisfaction levels through initiatives like the newly launched ‘service promise’ which will offer all customers better service and better value and which is supported by comprehensive warranty and goodwill policies.’”

From RE: I’m trying to get a used car – 1990s reg – as a starter for my son who’s learning to drive but the scrappage scheme seems to have taken a lot of older cars out of the system. So it seems that when I’m watching the pennies, the Government is penalising me. This is the unreported result of the scheme.

I’m surprised that you are having difficulty in locating an old used car as there seems to be still quite a few on the market. The scrappage scheme will have taken roughly 20,000 off the road. That’s substantial, but a drop in the ocean when you consider that in 2000 alone, 230,000 new cars were sold, all now 10 years old.

Like your son, most of us learn in an old banger. However I would suggest that an inexperienced driver should avail of more safety equipment, not less. In the last 10 years the level of standard safety systems has improved dramatically. Put simply, these features save lives.

Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin 2, or motorshelp@irishtimes.com