Car went Boom! in the Mechanic's shop!

ollygreengiant · Post by **ollygreengiant** » 16 Sep 2008, 21:00

I just bought an 94 850 Volvo turbo with 156 km in good shape 8 months ago. I've been having problems with the car burning too rich, and the antifreeze has been leaking. so i took it into a Creditable volvo specialist in town today. Later on they called saying that the car blew up! (this is what my girl friend told me over the phone after she talked to one of the mechanics) They have told me that the head gasket it blown and that radiator is done, plus the computer is hooped, which means they can't figure out what wrong. They said it was inevitable what happened, and that the cars is a write off. they also told me that i was lucky because no one was around to get hurt. Could this be a mechanic's error? the car had little anti freeze in the reserve and it was a hot hot day. I'm really bumped out, earlier this week (3days ago) i had a van t-bone my truck in a intersection. so I'm now car less and a student! any advice would be appreciated, cheers!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 16 Sep 2008, 21:17

Wow, I really hate this for you.
I've never heard of a Volvo blowing up, so this is very suspicious to me.
Ask them not to touch it any further and take a mechanic with you to go look at it. Have the place that worked on your car to show you and tell you EXACTLY what happened and make a record of all of this. I don't know if you have any recourse or not (or if it is even their fault), but if you don't get some records, you surely won't.

ollygreengiant · Post by **ollygreengiant** » 16 Sep 2008, 22:15

Thank you for responding! documenting what happened is a good idea and taking a mechanic along? Do you think i should contact the Better Business Bureau? or wait to see what they have to say? what a drag

Post by **Maxbaby** » 17 Sep 2008, 08:29

One step at a time... start with the shop and get the detailed information. Then you can (if justified) discuss who's actually responsible and negotiate from there... Somewhere in there move it to another mechanic for another inspection if necessary... if that fails, then you'd call the BBB.

+1 for MIJ... these cars don't blow up, at least not unless someone was doing an Italian tune up.

ollygreengiant · Post by **ollygreengiant** » 17 Sep 2008, 19:30

Thanks for the advice, yesterday i was in brainstorm mode, running around trying to fix the problems that i'm facing, all the while crying shighlently inside. Kinda funny (like a laugh that hurts) So today I talked to the Mechanics shop's manager today, while sympathizing, he told me that they filled up the coolant levels and noticed that the oil was low to, which is odd, because im careful with oil changes/ filters and top-ups. The manager said that they filled up the oil ,and then started to diagnose my fuel problem and 15 mins into the diagnoses the radiator cap failed to blow, in turn blowing a hole in the radiator, he then said that the explosion was caused by the head gasket leaking, in combination the fan malfunctioned by not turning on. He then told me that they had the computer hooked up and it failed to read the proper temperature. He has quoted me a rough price of $2000 with tax for the head gasket and the Radiator replacement, yet he said that there computer isn't reading the car now, so he not sure thats even going to fix the original problem. anyones thoughts? they are always welcome!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Sep 2008, 19:47

That's not really a car blowing up... the head gasket is bad, so he says...and the expansion tank (radiator over-flow) cap blew...not really unusual especially if it's the old style and a hole in the radiator...seems strange there's a hole there as the pressure relief was with the expansion tank cap. I would get a second opinion. Also, ECU is inoperative? Very strange progression of events to say the least. Did they say which fluids they put in the car?

ollygreengiant · Post by **ollygreengiant** » 17 Sep 2008, 20:09

Ya, they told me they put in oil and antifreeze into the car. I would think that the lid of the expansion tank would have blown off before the pressure blew a hole in the radiator. I'm going to see the car tomorrow, but you'd take it to get another opinion?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Sep 2008, 20:20

Yes I would, or take a good mechanic with you who knows what to look for. Things just aren't adding up on this one.

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 17 Sep 2008, 21:03

ollygreengiant wrote:Thanks for the advice, yesterday i was in brainstorm mode, running around trying to fix the problems that i'm facing, all the while crying shighlently inside. Kinda funny (like a laugh that hurts) So today I talked to the Mechanics shop's manager today, while sympathizing, he told me that they filled up the coolant levels and noticed that the oil was low to, which is odd, because im careful with oil changes/ filters and top-ups. The manager said that they filled up the oil ,and then started to diagnose my fuel problem and 15 mins into the diagnoses the radiator cap failed to blow, in turn blowing a hole in the radiator, he then said that the explosion was caused by the head gasket leaking, in combination the fan malfunctioned by not turning on. He then told me that they had the computer hooked up and it failed to read the proper temperature. He has quoted me a rough price of $2000 with tax for the head gasket and the Radiator replacement, yet he said that there computer isn't reading the car now, so he not sure thats even going to fix the original problem. anyones thoughts? they are always welcome!

This sounds like BS to me. If the cap blew there would be no pressure to blow the radiator. If the radiator blew, there again would be no pressure to blow the head gasket. And if they were paying attention they should have noticed that the fan didn't come on and fixed that before the rest of it blew up. What did they do, start it and just walk away for 15 minutes, then come back when they heard something blow up? If so, they are totally incompetent.

I'd get the car out of there asap and to a mechanic who knows what he's doing.

Post by **matthew1** » 18 Sep 2008, 18:55

OGG, let us know what happens. This is interesting.