m4rkw

If you read that thread in full the consensus is that driving through water had nothing to do with the engine failure.

New cars already depreciate heavily. I wouldn't buy one for this reason alone, and as well as this new cars are also packed full of expensive technology. Any of those computers failing is a huge repair bill. If I were to ever buy a new car it would be as close to the base model as possible, fewer things to break and cost me money. But in all likelyhood I will stick with older cars built around 2006 before everything started getting crazy.

These guys are ok: https://www.car-keys-online.com/search.html?phrase=IS250 I got a spare key for my RX from them. They can cut the blade to a photo too.

"Sealed for life" just means they tried to keep the on-paper maintenance costs low at the point of sale. It *does not* mean the transmission will run forever without any servicing. Sealed for life means exactly what it says - sealed until the fluid's burned up and that's the end of its life!

An OEM oil filter is around £12, there's really no reason to use anything else unless you're running a car on a shoestring budget. Sure there may be aftermarket filters that are as good or even better, but how are you going to know when the company gets sold and the new owner suddenly starts cutting costs by having all the parts made as cheaply as possible? The OEM filter may not be the "best filter" but it probably is the best chance you have of consistently *not* getting a bad filter. Anyway that's a side discussion, it's more about looking at the overall picture and those things are clues as to how the car has been treated. If they're all brands you recognise or can find good information about - great. If they have no branding or are the cheapest stuff available online, mismatched budget tyres and a dodgy-looking battery, I'd walk away from that car.

Look at the brand of the tyres, battery and oil filter. If you see cheap no-name stuff that's a red flag.

Even on a 3k car I would have a PPI done. Then at least you know what you're getting into.

Run it up to temperature then remove the pan, let the fluid drain out, replace the filter assembly and refill with the correct fluid. Ideally should be done every 50k or so but manufacturers like to claim their units are "sealed for life". This is technically true, because when the fluid's all burned up that's the end of its life 🙂 but most people would prefer the life was as long as possible. A transmission *flush* is not the same thing, they typically don't remove the pan or replace the filter assembly.

At that mileage I'd be looking for evidence of a proper transmission service (not a flush).

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/298 How high up is the transmission vent?

I checked the transmission fluid and it doesn’t look milky so hopefully i’m ok.

The other day I was running an errand through Croydon and there were some flooded roads, I'd guess maybe 4-5 inches of water or so in some places. I didn't have much choice but to drive through it slowly. I can live with the wheel bearings going out at some point but how severe is the risk of transmission damage? I'm hoping that an RX is high enough that the risk is minimal.

Depends what you're having done. Their £3 bulb change has been a bargain for me many times when I couldn't figure out how to do it myself.

Sounds like a good result, congrats.

The bank transaction won't have a time recorded against it, just a date. So might be hard to defend when you can't easily prove that the money was sent before they sent that other email.

@jpower Congrats! I would also push to a written apology for them setting out the facts of what occurred. Beware of agreeing to anything containing the words "full and final settlement" or similar. I know it's unlikely that the compressor may fail as a result, but you want to make sure you've not given your rights away if it happens.

Fair enough, and good on you. Might be worth pointing Halfords at this thread and asking them if they want it permanently etched into the internet record that they did this and refused to resolve it. I would write a formal complaint letter to their head office rather than trying to get it resolved in the store.

@jpower Since the dealer had the work done on your behalf you may have better luck just making it their problem, tell them you want it sorted properly with paperwork to prove it was done or you'll reject the car. I suspect if you go down this path what will end up happening is they'll take the hit of you rejecting the car and then simply sell it on to someone else without telling them the AC system has been contaminated. Not great for whoever ends up buying it but at least you'll get your money back.

Just wow. Effectively vandalised a car under the pretence of work and now disclaiming any responsibility. I think I'm going to stop shopping at Halfords, discount or no discount.

How? How will this £7 spray help this guy determine whether his entire AC system needs to be replaced or in fact doesn't? Please enlighten us.

I wouldn't drive it. Have it towed to the place that will do the work, add that to Halfords bill.

FWIW if the quote is for the same piece of work I would trust an independent specialist with a good reputation more than any dealership.

@jpower how long have you had the car? If it's less than 30 days it might be easier to just give it back to the dealer and demand a refund and leave them to deal with it. Even if it's after 30 days you may still be able to do this - https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-advice/your-new-car-rights

Is it possible to know with certainty whether it's been damaged or not? If not I would argue with Halfords that they should replace it.

That doesn't sound too bad as a solution. Is he saying the compressor is probably not damaged then, presumably given that you caught it early?