drove car into garage and towed it back out !

Hello,

Just looking for some advice here.

Sounds like it hinges on whether the garage discovered the problem or caused the problem. You might need a Automotive Engineer to establish this. You could call the AA for advice, as AFAIK they have an Engineers Service. Regarding the problems after purchase, did you have a warranty? Most garages give some kind of limited warranty of 3-6 months.

How many miles had you driven in the two years since the last service?

Horusd, I cannot remember what the warranty was, but they would not take the timing chain under their wing.

Niceoneted - I reckon I do about 15k a year, so about 30k in 2 years.

That's a lot of mileage between services. I reckon you should have had it serviced annually. Also afaik the timing belt on some cars needs changing at specific milestones. It would be worth checking that out.

this is a stickey 1 for several reasons.

wonder if you spoke to the garage involved would they replace the belt for you labour free if you supplyed the parts? they might just go for this to save any long drawn out hassel.

at what milage was the 1st t-belt done? was it at 10k in total or 10k after you bought it? there is no way a t-belt should go at 10k in total. i think its due around every 60k but this is different for every car, you would want to check with VW.

If the garage went for my first option it might be the easy way out for both involved

Surely the issue is whether the garage caused the damage? It seems odd that the OP drives a car into a garage, and in the course of a service, something breaks. This is not to say that it was the garage's fault, but it must be a suspicion that the OP may want to establish?

Seem to me the OP has three options:

1. Forget about it and stump up.

2. Get an Engineers report/ask about it, and get advice about what it might reveal.

3. Tell the Garage they will be getting a report, contacting SIMI/AA and ask what they are prepared to do.

Are you talking about a timing chain or timing belt. There would have to be serious wear and a lot of chain noise before a timing chain could jump, it would have to jump over the sprocket. All of the cars years ago were timing chain and personally I have never hear of this in 40 years of driving and maintenance.
Timing belts are relatively recent.

alexandra123 said:

It also costs around 100 euro for a new timing chain kit - so the garage is doing me no favours by charging me 500 euro for labour !

Click to expand...

The kit is the least part of the job.
Replacing a timing belt or chain is a big job that can take hours and may involve a new water pump also (good practise to do this).

However, I too have never heard of a timing chain 'jumping'. It must've been seriously worn, maybe due to a lack of oil at some point caused excessive wear.
The timing chain is not really expected to be replaced at all. I had an old 1991 BMW with one and after 14 years, 120k miles and plenty of 'spirited' driving, was still in tip top condition, with just a tensioner needing replacement.
Is there a tensioner on Polos ? If it was removed, the chain 'could' theoretically jump I suppose....

Another point, if the chain jumped, and the engine started, there could be serious problems caused to valves, cam and possibly pistons as things are not in precisely the correct position and thing can collide. The timing chain ensures that the cam rotates at the correct time and therefore the valves open at the correct time and do not hit the rapidly approaching piston.
Any alteration in this timing can have serious consequences.

Did the garage start the car with no oil in it?