Ducato engine/gearbox given up in France.

[Jackd]

The other thing that I would have thought as “crucial” in this case, would be a full engineers report on the failed engine as to the root cause of the catastrophic failure. I don’t think the mechanics view would be entertained in court.
Is the engine still available for evaluation?

I’m not convinced with the theory that it was mis-timed originally and then corrected. Had this been the case, it would have run like a bag of nails, if at all, with bent valves and you would have noticed immediately after collection from the garage.

I do hope you get to the bottom of this, as it turned your trip into an absolute nightmare. Not to mention the substantial financial cost.

 

[chaser]

The other thing that I would have thought as “crucial” in this case, would be a full engineers report on the failed engine as to the root cause of the catastrophic failure. I don’t think the mechanics view would be entertained in court.
Is the engine still available for evaluation?

I’m not convinced with the theory that it was mis-timed originally and then corrected. Had this been the case, it would have run like a bag of nails, if at all, with bent valves and you would have noticed immediately after collection from the garage.

I do hope you get to the bottom of this, as it turned your trip into an absolute nightmare. Not to mention the substantial financial cost.

Fully agree, this is what I was trying to say but don't have the words.
And I can't see a garage rolling over after a thousand miles or whatever it was and saying yes we will pay for it.
There would be no end of folks coming forward saying yeah our motor has blown up it must be something you did a month ago.
I have every sympathy with the op and wish them well, 11 grand would clean me out but you have to look at the other side.

 

[Mixyblob]

Final (I think) update.
Unfortunately our endeavours to contact the original owner of our van have been unsuccessful.
We need statements from both previous owners to verify that no work was carried (other than scheduled servicing) prior to the cam belt change.
Without this, the garage can quite rightly claim the damage could have been caused before they worked on it.
We have no paperwork to help, other than the first 2 service stamps from a garage in Carlisle and they have no records going back to 2018, so can't (and probably wouldn't due to data security) help.
Its very annoying, knowing (but, unfortunately not being able to prove it) that our local garage can get away with what they have done, not to mention the €12000 we've had to fork out in the process?
On the bright side, we have a new engine and its running very well.

 

[Wildbill]

Final (I think) update.
Unfortunately our endeavours to contact the original owner of our van have been unsuccessful.
We need statements from both previous owners to verify that no work was carried (other than scheduled servicing) prior to the cam belt change.
Without this, the garage can quite rightly claim the damage could have been caused before they worked on it.
We have no paperwork to help, other than the first 2 service stamps from a garage in Carlisle and they have no records going back to 2018, so can't (and probably wouldn't due to data security) help.
Its very annoying, knowing (but, unfortunately not being able to prove it) that our local garage can get away with what they have done, not to mention the €12000 we've had to fork out in the process?
On the bright side, we have a new engine and its running very well.

I wish you all the best and a happy motorhome Experian from this verry unfortunate incident good luck and happy travels
Bill

 

[Phill D]

Sounds like it would get really messy, protracted and very difficult,.
Whatever comes next it's important that you are comfortable with the outcome and enjoy your future travelling.

Take care and good luck.

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[gus-lopez]

You can apply to the dvla in the event of legal action for previous owners details.

 

[Mixyblob]

You can apply to the dvla in the event of legal action for previous owners details.

The V888 only deals with current keepers as far as we are aware. Can't find a way to find previous keepers.