Is there a way of finding which car an engine came from?

[N9THX]

Not wanting to start up any old arguments, just a straightforward question.
The supplier refuses to give the plate of the car and the dvla are non responsive.
I feel the engine is a ropey old unit and the sales pitch was "good low mileage unit with 40,000km and 30,000miles"
Supplier said he sent all data with engine, fitter says never received anything but business card.
This is now going to court soon so i was hoping to get some impartial advise without mentioning any names so as not to offend any sponsors/affiliates etc etc.

Before anyone says, "Not this again", i'm just after some straightforward advise. The case is open and shut as far as the reason for the engine failure, just want some concrete info as to why someone would refuse to give simple info with the sale of an engine.

Since fitting a 3rd engine my Tubby has been A1 (with my turbo still fitted after inspection). Almost fell out of love with it but the last week of good weather was fun

[klimite]

if he said it's done so many miles and you need proof then he should supply, otherwise it'd be false advertisement ..

But then again...I'm no lawyer...

[N9THX]

The supplier is now saying the engine is only sold with a "Start up warranty only"

Has anyone heard of this type of warranty before? Surely there's a 3 month statutory warranty under The Sale of Goods Act?

[splashnatz]

did a google, and a start up only warranty seems quite common in USA at least . Makes sense in a way, especially if the engine supplier doesn't do the installation. I've heard of start up only over here too, but don't know if anyones actually tested the validity of them.

[N9THX]

I've now had a report produced which was supposed to have been done before the engine was shipped.
It has no date, no engine number and no engine type, no company name, no company logo, no reference number, could be for anything. Looks like it was just typed up on a pc.
Below is EVERYTHING that the seller is saying was supplied with the engine, the fitter says only a business card was sent with the engine pallet.
...............................................................................

ENGINE WARRANTY AND CONDITION OF SALE

This engine is sold with a start up warranty only.

We warrant all our test results, and accordingly our engines are sold as good tested units.

Once you install the engine you should verify the result below & contact us immediately to discuss any concerns.

We have no control over the state of tune (boost pressure, ignition timing & fuel octane type) that this force induction engine will be subject to, therefore we will not accept any liability should the engine develop a mechanical fault in the future.

Results:

Start up test & road test, no smoke, no excessive noise.
Compression test (PSI) 190/191/194/195

Leak test: 22% 25% 22% 23%

Oil pressure at idle: 55PSI
Oil pressure at 3000rpm:69PSI

Again it's just a piece of paper with no engine number, type or date, kind of useless especially as it's only been seen for the first time 5 months after supposed testing :-/