Advice Please - Car Dealership/Warranty - Potential Debacle
Discussion
Afternoon All,
I require some advice and thoughts with regard to a potential problem viewing with a dealership and an issue with the car I purchased
Here is the situation:
22nd August - Pickup car from dealership. All seems well. Car is signed over. Warranty policy 'approved used select warranty' is showing incorrect details (Name, and car reg), so it not finalized and signed on the day - a new policy is to be posted out to me (have not yet signed this). Drive car home - cover approx 45 miles.
23rd August - Take car to supermarket and home, approx. 10 miles.
24th August - Take car out in the morning, and notice a noise when changing up gears - a metallic knock. Now the noise is heard - I am listening out for it, and it creates an uneasy feeling. The gearbox and engine feel smooth, but when engaging the gears, it does not sound too healthy. This is especially noticeable in quite areas, and areas with low road noise. Family member also notices the noise as a passenger with window down. I now find myself concentrating on every gear change, and something does not feel right at all. I stop using the car after approx 15 miles.
27th August AM - Email and phone contact made with dealer (Bank holiday weekend meant the car sat and did not move all weekend - very disappointing
). Sales exec seems fairly pleasant and accepting. I explain I would not like to pursue a warranty claim after 3 days, it does not seem appropriate. I am assured warranty is the way to go, and it is explained that the warranty is administered by 'AutoProtect' and is fully comprehensive and I will be covered. I explain I will go down the warranty route if its felt this is best, but I will not be dealing with the company, and feel the dealership should deal with this due to the early issue/fault, and the fact I have covered less than 80 miles in the car.
27th August PM – Car is booked in to VW for investigation by myself, am told I need to contact warranty company to confirm this by dealer. Contact is made – not the most pleasant experience, and a mileage error on the car needs correcting on their documentation (which the dealership have admitted). Warranty company say they will determine if the problem is covered after speaking to VW.
So, apologies for all the detail, but I have a few thoughts.
1) I am still not convinced I should be using the warranty supplied by the dealer for this. I have had the car less than 4 days and covered only 80 miles. Surely there is not dispute as to what is covered at this early stage? To get technical – I have not signed the corrected warranty policy as of yet.
2) Apparently Halfords autocentres offer a good labour rate and service (recommended by warranty company). Personally, I beg to differ, and the car will be going to VW.
3) I hope this does not go pear shaped – but it would not surprise me if the warranty company come up with an excellent excuse as to why the fault, once identified, is not covered e.g, you used the car in the rain when the temperature was 22 degrees outside, and you had ¾ of a tank of fuel. If this starts getting silly – can I return the car and request a refund?
The car is from a fairly large dealership and has 12 months warranty (adminsistered by Autoprotect).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice – I just thought it would be best to get as much information as possible now, so I am fully prepared for what may be around the corner
I require some advice and thoughts with regard to a potential problem viewing with a dealership and an issue with the car I purchased
Here is the situation:
22nd August - Pickup car from dealership. All seems well. Car is signed over. Warranty policy 'approved used select warranty' is showing incorrect details (Name, and car reg), so it not finalized and signed on the day - a new policy is to be posted out to me (have not yet signed this). Drive car home - cover approx 45 miles.
23rd August - Take car to supermarket and home, approx. 10 miles.
24th August - Take car out in the morning, and notice a noise when changing up gears - a metallic knock. Now the noise is heard - I am listening out for it, and it creates an uneasy feeling. The gearbox and engine feel smooth, but when engaging the gears, it does not sound too healthy. This is especially noticeable in quite areas, and areas with low road noise. Family member also notices the noise as a passenger with window down. I now find myself concentrating on every gear change, and something does not feel right at all. I stop using the car after approx 15 miles.
27th August AM - Email and phone contact made with dealer (Bank holiday weekend meant the car sat and did not move all weekend - very disappointing
). Sales exec seems fairly pleasant and accepting. I explain I would not like to pursue a warranty claim after 3 days, it does not seem appropriate. I am assured warranty is the way to go, and it is explained that the warranty is administered by 'AutoProtect' and is fully comprehensive and I will be covered. I explain I will go down the warranty route if its felt this is best, but I will not be dealing with the company, and feel the dealership should deal with this due to the early issue/fault, and the fact I have covered less than 80 miles in the car. 27th August PM – Car is booked in to VW for investigation by myself, am told I need to contact warranty company to confirm this by dealer. Contact is made – not the most pleasant experience, and a mileage error on the car needs correcting on their documentation (which the dealership have admitted). Warranty company say they will determine if the problem is covered after speaking to VW.
So, apologies for all the detail, but I have a few thoughts.
1) I am still not convinced I should be using the warranty supplied by the dealer for this. I have had the car less than 4 days and covered only 80 miles. Surely there is not dispute as to what is covered at this early stage? To get technical – I have not signed the corrected warranty policy as of yet.
2) Apparently Halfords autocentres offer a good labour rate and service (recommended by warranty company). Personally, I beg to differ, and the car will be going to VW.
3) I hope this does not go pear shaped – but it would not surprise me if the warranty company come up with an excellent excuse as to why the fault, once identified, is not covered e.g, you used the car in the rain when the temperature was 22 degrees outside, and you had ¾ of a tank of fuel. If this starts getting silly – can I return the car and request a refund?
The car is from a fairly large dealership and has 12 months warranty (adminsistered by Autoprotect).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice – I just thought it would be best to get as much information as possible now, so I am fully prepared for what may be around the corner
Ahh welcome to the world of aftermarket warranties, many of which aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Situations that have happened to me in the past:
1. Warranty company only offering to pay £60 per hour if I insisted on using a main dealer, I had to meet the difference
2. Warranty company did not want to use new parts, only reconditioned parts could be used in a repair
3. When reconditioned parts were unavailable, the part (ECU) had to be sent for reconditioning, took two weeks, car was out of action for that time
4. Whole claim was ultimately rejected because 1 'new' part was used during the repair, a bracket to hold the ECU in place.
That was despite having the warranty companies super dooper gold plated top level warranty, as provided by the garage I bought the car from.
I hope you have a better experience than me.
Situations that have happened to me in the past:
1. Warranty company only offering to pay £60 per hour if I insisted on using a main dealer, I had to meet the difference
2. Warranty company did not want to use new parts, only reconditioned parts could be used in a repair
3. When reconditioned parts were unavailable, the part (ECU) had to be sent for reconditioning, took two weeks, car was out of action for that time
4. Whole claim was ultimately rejected because 1 'new' part was used during the repair, a bracket to hold the ECU in place.
That was despite having the warranty companies super dooper gold plated top level warranty, as provided by the garage I bought the car from.
I hope you have a better experience than me.
Dr Interceptor said:
Ahh welcome to the world of aftermarket warranties, many of which aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Situations that have happened to me in the past:
1. Warranty company only offering to pay £60 per hour if I insisted on using a main dealer, I had to meet the difference
2. Warranty company did not want to use new parts, only reconditioned parts could be used in a repair
3. When reconditioned parts were unavailable, the part (ECU) had to be sent for reconditioning, took two weeks, car was out of action for that time
4. Whole claim was ultimately rejected because 1 'new' part was used during the repair, a bracket to hold the ECU in place.
That was despite having the warranty companies super dooper gold plated top level warranty, as provided by the garage I bought the car from.
I hope you have a better experience than me.
They are rubbish, I knew someone who had the dreaded swirl flap failure on a 330d, warranty company would only pay for a replacement swirl flap as that is the only part that 'broke' despite the fact it took out the engine and needed a new block.Situations that have happened to me in the past:
1. Warranty company only offering to pay £60 per hour if I insisted on using a main dealer, I had to meet the difference
2. Warranty company did not want to use new parts, only reconditioned parts could be used in a repair
3. When reconditioned parts were unavailable, the part (ECU) had to be sent for reconditioning, took two weeks, car was out of action for that time
4. Whole claim was ultimately rejected because 1 'new' part was used during the repair, a bracket to hold the ECU in place.
That was despite having the warranty companies super dooper gold plated top level warranty, as provided by the garage I bought the car from.
I hope you have a better experience than me.
Thanks Both.
I reported the fault today, so thats less than 5 days after taking delivery.
My thought was - there was not point in bothering with warranty after such a short time and mileage, but, I will try it. If it fails, or becomes ridiculous, I will be returning the car and asking for a refund. They are not a small dealership and should pick up the cost for this fault regardless.
I reported the fault today, so thats less than 5 days after taking delivery.
My thought was - there was not point in bothering with warranty after such a short time and mileage, but, I will try it. If it fails, or becomes ridiculous, I will be returning the car and asking for a refund. They are not a small dealership and should pick up the cost for this fault regardless.
Marc p said:
They are rubbish, I knew someone who had the dreaded swirl flap failure on a 330d, warranty company would only pay for a replacement swirl flap as that is the only part that 'broke' despite the fact it took out the engine and needed a new block.
Yep, the old "consequential loss" clause.Warranty small print: We will only pay for the part that's failed (swirl flap) and not the consequences of that failure ( trashed engine).
Fell foul of that myself (different car with a different issue) but the same outcome.
Often these aftermarket warranties are only fit for use as loo roll.
Ozzie Osmond said:
No, you aren't. You need to give the seller an opportunity to fix the problem.
Thanks.So in the instance the excellent warranty company does not pay out, and the dealer offers an unsatisfactory resoulution (does not pick up the cost), I can indeed return the car.
After using the car 3 times, and covering less than 80 miles, I do not think they have much of a case
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