AN INFLUENCER was stung with a massive bill and had to replace her car’s engine after she says the salesman failed to tell her about major faults.
Chloe Blackwell, 22, was left with a £6,000 bill soon after purchasing her Audi A1, which she had thought was working fine.
But, she soon discovered it had a coolant leak and a damaged head gasket.
Blackwell said she first thought something was wrong when the coolant light turned on a week after she had refilled it.
“It turned out that the car had a coolant leak, which ultimately traced back to a damaged head gasket,” she told the Express.
“This head gasket issue led to a catastrophic engine failure, with the mechanic telling me I needed either a complete engine replacement or a costly engine rebuild that could cost up to £4,000 alone.”
She added: “I absolutely loved the car and to have it go wrong so soon after purchasing was upsetting and frustrating, not to mention expensive.
“I wasted a lot of money trying to fix it.”
Chloe described how she was “upset” and “disappointed” following the incident.
It also left her with a distrust in the second-hand car market.
However, she now avoids expensive trips to the dealership with a new diagnostic scanner called Carly.
This allows car enthusiasts to perform advanced diagnostics, battery health checks and, depending on the user’s car make and model, code certain car features and check for mileage manipulation.
Carly is not much bigger than a box of matches and it works by connecting to your car’s OBD2 port.
This port is usually located under the dash of your car and you just push the Carly scanner into the port, start your car and then open the Carly app on your smartphone.
Chloe used the device on her next car.
It comes after a motors expert shared their top tips to make sure your car starts quickly on chilly winter mornings.
Meanwhile, a motorcycle expert has revealed how you are probably riding your bike all wrong – and it could be hitting you in the pocket.