u/freddiethecalathea

**Apologies for the long post, but trying very hard to not spiral by focussing on the worst case scenario!!!!!**

I'm a little concerned about something my local garage has just discovered with my newly purchased Vivaro (68 plate) and I'm looking for any insight to tell me how worried I should be.

I bought this van from a dealer with a very good reputation. I am very risk averse when it comes to big purchases like this, and this is my first van so I spent a lot of time ensuring the dealership I was buying from was trustworthy.

The van came with a full and excellent service and MOT history. All minor faults addressed immediately and, on paper, clearly well looked after with frequent maintenance.

Straight away I noticed the van said AdBlue level 0%. I topped it up and did some reading and concluded that it may have just run empty in the past and just needed the sensor resetting or something - no major problem.

I then had one episode where the ignition was a bit sluggish to start, which Google indicated was likely a glow plug issue.

Finally, veeeery slowly a fault light crept in. I saw it on day 1 but it was so faint I honestly thought it was light from the other illuminated panel displays (like the speedometer) leaking over into the fault and ESC parts. It wasn't until I felt it be a little looser to control on the motorway and the light started becoming more pronounced that I realised it was an accurate fault warning.

I spoke to the dealer I bought it from and they said 'yep, no problem, get it booked into your local garage and send us the quote and we'll see about getting it fixed under your warranty'. Wonderful. Very reassuring response!

Well! I dropped the van off today and have just received a phone call that I don't like the sound of at all. I'm trying very hard to not panic and stay calm, but given how long I spent finding this van and how terrified I was of spending thousands on a write off, I'm desperately seeking some input!!!

The garage has said that when they plug in their diagnostic computer thing, the van shows no faults. Well that's obviously not right as I filled the AdBlue tank myself and the ESC fault light is clearly on now and the van handles like the ESC function has turned off. When they try to go into the AdBlue module(?) itself, they immediately get shut out of the system; there's no communication from the AdBlue module whatsoever. With the rest of the modules the van says everything's working exactly as it should be, no problems at all!

The Worrier in me is trying very hard to not jump to the conclusion that this is absolutely a suspicious and sinister discovery. For example, someone tampering with the wiring to cover up a number of faults, etc. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer but the Vauxhall garage I called immediately said they can't say what the problem might be without inspecting it themselves. They've said it could be something as simple as a disconnected wire, but they can't rule out tampering / conman sales technique without seeing it.

I don't know what I'm hoping to get from this post!! It would be lovely if 100 people came forward and told me that they had the same problem and every single one was found to be a loose wire and it's not possible to tamper with a van in this way!!! But I'm very aware I likely will not get that answer. Please can someone tell me anything ??!!! Like I said, this is my first van so I am in no way an expert, so any and all input from anyone who knows more than me is appreciated. Even if it is bad news (like telling me this is a common conman trick), it'll help prepare me for what to expect and whether or not I need to go in hard and fast to get my money back safely.

Thank you.