406oc.co.uk

How unhappy am I? Just got a 406 Hdi to replace my 406 family 1.8. The Hdi on an 02 plate with 75,000 on the clock was showing the radiator warning light, so before I got the car, my father had put it into a peugeot dealer (it was his car!). They said it was just a sensor in the expansion tank, and replaced it.
I drive it home to Ipswich from Glasgow, send it to my independent Peugeot specialist, and they find the head gasket has gone. A nice £1200 bill including service and bits. My question, is it worthwile getting in contact with the incompetent garage ( motorway Peugeot in Coatbridge ) to ask them to contribute to the repair cost due to their mistake?????

Did it sound any different or was it just the warning light?

I doubt the other garage will do anything, they will just say it was ok when it left us and it must have gone on route to your home.

For that price you could have got a reconditioned engine.

No engine noise, only the warning light. The radiator was losing water, but the Peugeot dealer ignored this fact!!! At no stage was the raditor allowed to run dry. There was no gunk in the expansion tank to suggest head gasket!
The car was put into peugeot with the request - find out what the fault is. They diagnosed the sensor, which it clearly wasn't. I agree with you that they will probably do nowt!, but it does seem unfair that they still get paid for doing things wrong!

are you sure its not your local garage thats trying to pull a fast one?

Not the garage, as I've used them for years. (they used to be a peugeot franchise)
Have now e-mailed the dealer and Peugeot UK with my complaint. Will keep you updated!

which garage in ipswich is it?

It was Howlett of Lavenham (near Sudbury). They were a dealership years ago, and the showroom still has the old Peugeot livery outside. The cost of servicing and cambelt change on my old 406 was always fine. The problem has now been fixed by what they did, not half measured like before.