rejected VW warranty claim
Discussion
So I bought a VW Golf Gti in may , used from a major dealership. 14 plate, full service history, great condition. Just what I wanted. Came with 12 month vertu warrenty.
Has since had that well known problem of the dreaded heater matrix becoming blocked after the 'tea bag' breaks and loses the beads into the system. Been quoted nearly a grand to fix it by local VW specialist. Warranty people say that the issues was caused by the fact of the bag containing the silicone granules splitting and therefore breaking the heater matrix.. apparently this part is not covered in the warranty as its not suppose to last the life of the car.
As i am not a mechanic I've no idea if they just trying to get out of paying, not sure where this leaves me as I don't have a grand spare right before Christmas..
guess I could shop around?? leave it ?? would that cause any other issues other then me been cold for a month or 2 ( doesn't get much use TBF)
And for ref the car has full service history ( at VW garage) , hasn't been messed with and has been looked after.
and by the way am not saying i shouldnt have to pay , am just checking they aint taking the mick , thanks guys
Has since had that well known problem of the dreaded heater matrix becoming blocked after the 'tea bag' breaks and loses the beads into the system. Been quoted nearly a grand to fix it by local VW specialist. Warranty people say that the issues was caused by the fact of the bag containing the silicone granules splitting and therefore breaking the heater matrix.. apparently this part is not covered in the warranty as its not suppose to last the life of the car.
As i am not a mechanic I've no idea if they just trying to get out of paying, not sure where this leaves me as I don't have a grand spare right before Christmas..
guess I could shop around?? leave it ?? would that cause any other issues other then me been cold for a month or 2 ( doesn't get much use TBF)
And for ref the car has full service history ( at VW garage) , hasn't been messed with and has been looked after.
and by the way am not saying i shouldnt have to pay , am just checking they aint taking the mick , thanks guys
I'd ask VW what the service schedule on the silica bag is and send that over to your warranty provider. If you can prove it's not overdue being changed then they'll have to find another way to wriggle out of the claim.
A grand sounds a bit much for the repair like but I suppose it's dash out for these modern cars. Would a reverse matrix flush not solve the heater matrix, and a coolant flush on the engine/radiator?
A grand sounds a bit much for the repair like but I suppose it's dash out for these modern cars. Would a reverse matrix flush not solve the heater matrix, and a coolant flush on the engine/radiator?
Sorry to hear this. How long after purchasing did the problem occur?
If it's less than 30 days you could look at rejection under Consumer Rights act 2015.
Unfortunately these 3rd party warranties seam to weasel out of paying for a myriad of reasons, e.g it's not covered if it's raining or othe such BS.
Hope you can find a satisfactory solution.
If it's less than 30 days you could look at rejection under Consumer Rights act 2015.
Unfortunately these 3rd party warranties seam to weasel out of paying for a myriad of reasons, e.g it's not covered if it's raining or othe such BS.
Hope you can find a satisfactory solution.
RazerSauber said:
I'd ask VW what the service schedule on the silica bag is and send that over to your warranty provider. If you can prove it's not overdue being changed then they'll have to find another way to wriggle out of the claim.
That’s a good shout - I would ask the warranty company to provide proof of it “not being designed to last the life of the car”.However, if it’s a ‘named component cover’ only warranty, which I reckon it may well be given the age of the car, without it listed in the policy schedule you’re pretty stuffed unfortunately.
These aftermarket warranties are rarely worth the paper they’re written on.
Chris340gti said:
Has since had that well known problem of the dreaded heater matrix becoming blocked after the 'tea bag' breaks and loses the beads into the system. Been quoted nearly a grand to fix it by local VW specialist. Warranty people say that the issues was caused by the fact of the bag containing the silicone granules splitting and therefore breaking the heater matrix.. apparently this part is not covered in the warranty as its not suppose to last the life of the car.
Hang on, hang on, let me get this straight. There's a bag of silica granules in the heating system that is "not supposed to last the life of the car" and when it breaks, it damages the heater matrix, which costs a grand to replace?Seriously?! What a shockingly s
t piece of design!Not having a go at you, OP - its a disgrace and i hope you get yours sorted with minimal outlay.
I had a similar situation with a "named part policy" paid £500 for the years cover (I know I know never again) and the headlight adjusters broke (BMW xenon headlights), got the job done as needed doing at local indy and duly sent in claim, I was told its not covered as its not the "actual headlight" broken, I argued it controls the headlights though and they said yes it does and the "adjusters" aren't named.
I could have sent the invoice to the dealer that sold me the car as it was within 3 months but thought for £300 I couldn't be bothered with the backwards and forwards arguing with them, I doubt he would have known so sucked it up. It was my first and last time I'll buy a warranty though especially on an older car.
Similar to you my sister has a 2014 BMW Mini she got with a 12 month Sytner warranty, gear knob fell off the other week, salesman said take it into local Sytner, went into them who said its a "trim" so not covered. Waster of space to be honest.
I could have sent the invoice to the dealer that sold me the car as it was within 3 months but thought for £300 I couldn't be bothered with the backwards and forwards arguing with them, I doubt he would have known so sucked it up. It was my first and last time I'll buy a warranty though especially on an older car.
Similar to you my sister has a 2014 BMW Mini she got with a 12 month Sytner warranty, gear knob fell off the other week, salesman said take it into local Sytner, went into them who said its a "trim" so not covered. Waster of space to be honest.
Deranged Rover said:
Hang on, hang on, let me get this straight. There's a bag of silica granules in the heating system that is "not supposed to last the life of the car" and when it breaks, it damages the heater matrix, which costs a grand to replace?
Seriously?! What a shockingly st piece of design!
Not having a go at you, OP - its a disgrace and i hope you get yours sorted with minimal outlay.
I didn't believe it until the glorified traveller across the road financed a 66-reg Golf GTD, had exactly this issue after 2 months - oh, what a shame... Surprised people are shocked to hear about VW designing something like this tbh. Seriously?! What a shockingly s
t piece of design!Not having a go at you, OP - its a disgrace and i hope you get yours sorted with minimal outlay.
ok guys , thank you , especially for the post re asking for proof that the bag of silicon balls should/nt last life of engine. Its so hard to know what to do when you're not a mechanic.. guess ill have to call the warranty comp again but that will mean talking to the women who picks the phone up and her attitude is something else , ill let you know what happens
I've actually just received a VM from the guy that sold me the car. I rang them yesterday as was unable to get through to my warranty company.
He contacted them on my behalf to find out the full reason the claim was declined. He said the heater matrix itself is covered but because its been damaged by a 'wearable part' ( which isnt covered) that was the reason for the claim been rejected..
interesting to say the least, think ill be contacting VW.
He contacted them on my behalf to find out the full reason the claim was declined. He said the heater matrix itself is covered but because its been damaged by a 'wearable part' ( which isnt covered) that was the reason for the claim been rejected..
interesting to say the least, think ill be contacting VW.
georgeyboy12345 said:
You won’t get anywhere contacting VW and, as you have found out, WARRANTIES are not worth the paper they are written on. I’d just swallow the grand hit and get it fixed.
You would be surprised, it is a well documented failure on VAG cars, they may offer a goodwill contribution WPA said:
georgeyboy12345 said:
You won’t get anywhere contacting VW and, as you have found out, WARRANTIES are not worth the paper they are written on. I’d just swallow the grand hit and get it fixed.
You would be surprised, it is a well documented failure on VAG cars, they may offer a goodwill contribution Chris340gti said:
He contacted them on my behalf to find out the full reason the claim was declined. He said the heater matrix itself is covered but because its been damaged by a 'wearable part' ( which isnt covered) that was the reason for the claim been rejected..
Sounds about normal. I was looking at a BMW at an independent dealership back in March and was looking at the different warranty products from BMW that I could purchase for it, to get its cover as close as possible to that of an "Approved Used BMW". I concluded that anything other than the comprehensive warranty wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on. For the "named component" cover it would only actually cover the named component if it failed all on its own. If a covered component failed as a consequence of the failure of a non-covered component, the covered component wouldn't be covered. If a covered component failed and took a non-covered component with it, only the covered component would be covered. So, in the case of BMW only a comprehensive warranty bought from BMW would be worth bothering with. In the case of VW I won't know what their products are like or whether they'd be available on a car of that age. Aftermarket warranties... just forget them altogether!I had this silly bag in my previous car, ripped it out first chance I got.
As stated above, get a timeline of when the silica bag was meant to be changed and if they cant find it then its bullschlassa.
I've never had a good outcome with VAG, had an absolute cooked clutch on a Showroom new Golf R in 2014, clear evidence of foreign substance on the plate when taken apart, refused to change it and said I'd played with the car without so much as a shred of evidence or proof. It wasn't at that time either.
Id say push the claim but pay the fee at a local VAG indie, shop around on price. Keep the receipts and claim back through courts if it leads that way.
Best of luck with it
As stated above, get a timeline of when the silica bag was meant to be changed and if they cant find it then its bullschlassa.
I've never had a good outcome with VAG, had an absolute cooked clutch on a Showroom new Golf R in 2014, clear evidence of foreign substance on the plate when taken apart, refused to change it and said I'd played with the car without so much as a shred of evidence or proof. It wasn't at that time either.
Id say push the claim but pay the fee at a local VAG indie, shop around on price. Keep the receipts and claim back through courts if it leads that way.
Best of luck with it
georgeyboy12345 said:
You won’t get anywhere contacting VW and, as you have found out, WARRANTIES are not worth the paper they are written on. I’d just swallow the grand hit and get it fixed.
I’ve had an extended ŠKODA Warranty since year 4 ( car now 8 years old ) and so far I’m about 3.5k up on claims from my extended warranty so your blanket statement is a load of rubbish. We had this on my wifes golf, started last year and we got the garage to try flusing it out, this did improve from non-functional to luke warm.
Roll round to this year totally cold again, issue is not just being cold, for us it was the steamed up windows not clearing which obviously a safety issue.
Our local VW specialist tried giving it one last flush then just replaced it. £1k does seem steep for a non-main dealer.
We paid around £600 all in, the matrix is around £200 i think from memory. Ours is a MY13 early mk7, so one matrix per 10 years not bad all things considered.
ETA: Despite all the stories online of the silicon balls leaking out that wasn't the case with ours, and the mechanic said of all the matrices he's replaced (a lot) only 4 or 5 had the actual bag split.
Roll round to this year totally cold again, issue is not just being cold, for us it was the steamed up windows not clearing which obviously a safety issue.
Our local VW specialist tried giving it one last flush then just replaced it. £1k does seem steep for a non-main dealer.
We paid around £600 all in, the matrix is around £200 i think from memory. Ours is a MY13 early mk7, so one matrix per 10 years not bad all things considered.
ETA: Despite all the stories online of the silicon balls leaking out that wasn't the case with ours, and the mechanic said of all the matrices he's replaced (a lot) only 4 or 5 had the actual bag split.
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