My VW Caravelle engine failed at 66,621 miles

[Alster]

Having just read this I would be very suspicious of your current repairer. As previously advised you need to get the van to either a good independent specialist (who would have access to odis) or a vw van centre. Whilst I know vw are far from perfect I don’t think many manufacturers would be that helpful talking to a 3rd party repairer fitting 2nd hand parts. Technically you haven’t given loads of money to vw to fix the van without success but to your current repairer.

 

[Lubrown]

Having just read this I would be very suspicious of your current repairer. As previously advised you need to get the van to either a good independent specialist (who would have access to odis) or a vw van centre. Whilst I know vw are far from perfect I don’t think many manufacturers would be that helpful talking to a 3rd party repairer fitting 2nd hand parts. Technically you haven’t given loads of money to vw to fix the van without success but to your current repairer.

This is my concern too.

Let’s be honest no vehicle manufacturer talks to repair garages outside their main dealer network and even this is via a representative arm (VW commercial vehicles UK for instance) to an approved franchisee main dealer (Listers, Marshalls, whoever). The main dealer are not usually ‘VW’ per se (or any other manufacturer they represent) although have that link in via the franchise.

As far as I know (I’m not a mechanic though) independent repair shops can sometimes buy access to a manufacturers computer processes to an extent (ODIS for example) via a licence and/or credits. If they use this to mess about and try stuff they shouldn’t, if they don’t pay the fees, if they try workarounds to skip paying for credits then the manufacturer has every right to withdraw their licence. That doesn’t mean just because one garage has been denied access for whatever reason all others will be. If they were we’d soon find out.

OP has been charged a heck of a lot of money for what? The van doesn’t move. If I had spent tens of thousands and could not use my vehicle I’d be looking at legal action and to do that I’d want a second opinion on the van - see what has been done exactly (not just take anyone’s word for it), see if that were charged fairly, see what still needs doing and what was tried but failed- and on this last point who is to blame for the failure. I can’t spend so much and just keep accepting failure. I’d want answers by now. I certainly wouldn’t be wasting time talking about a car I had decades ago.

 

[JOG]

Sound advice has been provided already regarding independent assessments and proper legal guidance.

The continued “Fred in his shed” and “bloke on t’internet said” approach is tiring now. Next stop will be the obligatory “sad face” pic in the Daily Fail.

I’m nearly an OAP and I’m bored now!!!