2005 Vauxhall Corsa Sheered camshaft

Engine Mechanical problem
2005 Vauxhall Corsa Front Wheel Drive Manual 31000 miles

Last October one of the camshafts sheered. I had this replaced at an independent garage for £840, only to be followed by the engine management light coming on. I returned the car to the garage several times to resolve this. Though helpful, I was eventually told they had exhausted all their avenues of investigation and that a Vauxhall garage may be able to help further.

I took the car to the Vauxhall garage on 21st December, for my car to be returned on 10th February. During this time they could not identify the cause of the problem, though this resulted in the o2 sensor going off with inappropriate emission levels. They cleaned parts and completed tests. Having asked about the recent work on the camshaft, the head technician made a phone call to the independent garage to find out further details. It was suggested that replacing the ECU may remedy the problem.

The light eventually switched off and the emissions went back to normal levels. Though they were unsure of how this had happened, I was happy to finally commute independently.
I took my car back and drove it for the next 4 weeks for approximately 1,000 miles.

Then on 9th March my car broke down again. I took it back to the same Vauxhall garage, for them to identify the problem as a sheered camshaft – the same one as before! They claim that the bolts fixing the camshaft in position were loosely by the independent garage. Therefore the camshaft is not within warranty. If this is true, shouldn’t the Vauxhall garage have picked up on this when they had my car for 8 weeks? They knew of the previous issues and made a phone call direct to the independent garage. Surely it would be sensible to check the camshaft that had led to the problems with the engine management light?

I would be grateful for any advice.