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akum036

Hi,

A year ago I bought an imported VW Golf Variant (2009) and have done 10,000Km in it, it's currently sitting at 88,000Km.

A week after a major service (at the 1 year mark) the timing chain has stretched and slipped causing engine damage and very costly repairs. It seems as though the 1.4TSi engine has had this problem quite a lot and VW in Germany has been helping with repairs.

Is VW NZ required to help fix an issue like this because of such low Km's and a known issue? Is the dealer that sold me the vehicle in any way liable?

Anon

Hi there,
If you get any help from the manufacturer, it will be as a good will. The car is well and truely
out of warranty, and the km's are not that low. You may be able to obtain help from the dealer who sold you the vehicle, under the consumer guarantees act, It states the vehicle must be fit for purpose and last for a reasonable amount of time. One year may not be considered reasonable and engine faliure is quite a large fault. However in order to do this you would need follow some steps.
http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-consumers/motor-vehicles/got-a-problem/faulty-or-defective-vehicles

akum036

Thanks for the quick reply. Will see where I get to with CGA and let you know.

R34.Skizza

Hi akum036

Just curious if you got your issue sorted?. I have a similar problem where I have a 2nd hand golf gt 1.4 tsi, with stretched timing chain, my mechanical insurance wont cover replacement. So I was going to approach the dealer I purchased from to remedy the issue as vehicle has only done 63000km and only 3000km since I have owned. Did your dealer sort it out or did you need to go through the legal process and apply the CGA?

SAMBUFTON

Hi akum036,

I am also curious if you got this sorted too. Back in June the timing chain on my 2009 Golf 1.4TSi skipped teeth and it resulted in catastrophic engine failure I have been quoted an $8000+ repair bill. I had no indication of this as it just happened out of the blue one morning when starting my car before work. I had purchased the car about 18 months prior from a dealer.
I am trying to work with the dealer as with engine failure such as this causing excessive repair costs it is quite hard to justify paying for the repairs when it is a seemingly common issue with the timing chains i have since found out. Especially with early MK6 models.