Suspension bush under warranty?

[McWigglebum4th]

The wifes little panda gets thrashed up and down a dirt track on a daily basis

The rear shocks have destroyed the rubber at the top bush and it is knocking like a skeleton have a wk in a tin cupboard.

It is still just under warranty


Now i have 2 choices

Choice 1

Lose the will to live trying to talk to the garage and get moved from pillar to post from one moron to another. Book it in 8 times for them to work out something i have already told them for them only to tell me they haven't got the part in stock and i will have to book it in a further 4 times before they find someone who knows what a shock absorber is.


Choice 2

Buy some new ones and spend 15 minutes fitting them


Now how likely is Fiat to replace 2 shock absorbers on a 3 year old panda that has spent 3 years pretending to be a rallycar/landrover and has an underside covered in mud, dents and pigst.

If unlikely i might save myself a great deal of stress and go straight to option 2

[Gavin0478]

No harm in asking the dealer, as i'm sure that in some countries their roads would resemble a dirt track anyway.

[WinstonWolf]

1. GoTo 2:

[mini1380cc]

If it really takes 15 minutes to do them then that is what I would do.

[996TT02]

DIY now, gives you practice for the next time round.

[McWigglebum4th]

Gavin0478 said:

No harm in asking the dealer, as i'm sure that in some countries their roads would resemble a dirt track anyway.

I'll give you the phone number and registration number

You can phone the buggers

[Ozone]

McWigglebum4th said:

The rear shocks have destroyed the rubber at the top bush and it is knocking like a skeleton have a wk in a tin cupboard.

It is still just under warranty


Lose the will to live trying to talk to the garage and get moved from pillar to post from one moron to another. Book it in 8 times for them to work out something i have already told them for them only to tell me they haven't got the part in stock and i will have to book it in a further 4 times before they find someone who knows what a shock absorber is.

I had a chuckle reading that but it's fairly close to the truth. I booked a work Focus in for some suspension work that they said was needed after the last service. The car was delivered to the dealer for the work to be done, and after 3 hours they called to say that they had ordered the wrong parts and so we have to go through this again. This is on a 2.5 year old Focus, surely a main dealer would know from the VIN what are the correct parts

[kambites]

I guess it probably depends whether they're classed as "consumables". They probably are and hence are not covered.

[aka_kerrly]

kambites said:

I guess it probably depends whether they're classed as "consumables". They probably are and hence are not covered.

Of course a suspension bush is a consumable , most people only replace them when the MOT inspector fails them but rubber deteriorates at quite a rate and most suspension components ought to be replaced far more often than people expect.

In the OP'c case when there is a bit of dirt tracking taking place the suspension has taken quite the pounding.

[TheInternet]

kambites said:

I guess it probably depends whether they're classed as "consumables". They probably are and hence are not covered.

A slight difference in this case is that the bushing is integral to the shock absorber.

[Debaser]

Of course bushes are covered by warranty. Try speaking to the dealer.

[Monkeylegend]

Mercedes replaced both my rear shocks due to very slight wear in the top bush on one side which caused a slight knock over bumps, car had done 150k miles but was still in warranty. Their policy is to replace in pairs if they have done more than 60k miles.

You have nothing to lose by asking the question.

[Milli94]

I guess it depends on the local main dealer. I know our main dealer would change them without question as long as it was with mileage etc.

It is easy to see in certain areas how the local dealer supports/maintains their customers as to the number of their vehicles on the road!

[McWigglebum4th]

Debaser said:

Of course bushes are covered by warranty. Try speaking to the dealer.

I have

I got more sense out of one of our chickens

[TheRealFingers99]

Talk to the dealer -- they are called "dampers" BTW.

You've not got a hope in hell of doing it in 15 minutes.

Konis are a widely chosen alternative. Softer, more progressive damping.

If the car is being abused that much, you could effect a temporary cure with Sikaflex.

Anyone with a lathe and a freezer would buy in some polyurethane bar and turn some up...................

[psychoR1]

Nissan recalled all of the early qashqais because the lower rear shock bushes failed - so try it!

[McWigglebum4th]

TheRealFingers99 said:

Talk to the dealer -- they are called "dampers" BTW.

You've not got a hope in hell of doing it in 15 minutes.

You are right no chance of talking to a dealer in under 15 minutes,

It take them ten minutes to answer the phone on the 4th attempt

As to changing the dampers


Jack up car, air gun wheel off, change socket, air gun off bottom mount, air gun off top mount, change shock, air gun top mount, air gun bottom mount, refit wheel, air gun up nuts

I think it is doable

Oh hang on

It has wheel trims

Yep you are right no chance of doing it in that time frame

TheRealFingers99 said:

Anyone with a lathe and a freezer would buy in some polyurethane bar and turn some up...................

Where would one buy this polyurethane bar?

[McWigglebum4th]

Milli94 said:

I guess it depends on the local main dealer. I know our main dealer would change them without question as long as it was with mileage etc.

It is easy to see in certain areas how the local dealer supports/maintains their customers as to the number of their vehicles on the road!

Arnold Sharks

Need i say any more

[Dracoro]

Ozone said:

This is on a 2.5 year old Focus, surely a main dealer would know from the VIN what are the correct parts

In all likelihood, they do know what are the correct parts but they didn't get around to sorting your car (other work/overbooked, forgot to order parts, mechanic off sick etc.) so they feed you the "wrong parts" line.

[Debaser]

McWigglebum4th said:

Debaser said:

Of course bushes are covered by warranty. Try speaking to the dealer.

I have

I got more sense out of one of our chickens

Sadly that doesn't surprise me.