Dealer supplied warranty doesnt cover faults

[jesst83]

At the start of January I purchased a used sports car (£20k+) from a dealer some 300miles away from me. The car came with a 12 month third party warranty. The dealer just has a showroom and no onsite workshop.

Two days after the purchase I noticed a fault and informed the dealer who said get it done on the warranty. The warranty has a month cooling off period so im unable to claim for at least another week, however reading about the fault, it looks like the warranty will not cover the fault. 10 more days later, I have discovered another fault, which again ive been told to go through the warranty.

I've had a quote for the first fix which is £400 + vat.

If the dealer was local to me I would have dropped the car off the day the first fault was found and told him to get it sorted as the fault would have been there when the car was sold to me and would have been obvious to him and who ever serviced the car the day prior to the sale.

IF the warranty does not cover the 2 faults then does the dealer by law have to fix my car?

Thanks in advance Jess

[interloper]

I take it you bought the car used from a dealer? Normally the one month cooling off period means that the dealer pays for the repair rather than the warranty company, its not normally mentioned to the customer because its an internal dealer issue.

As far as I'm aware they shouldn't have any right to mess you around.

[MondeoMan1981]

Car back to dealer case. You may have a warranty however under SoGA I'm sure the dealer has to fix?

[aaronc]

If the car was sold with the fault at time of sale then as I understand whether its new or 2nd hand you would have at least 14 days to either take the car back for a repair, exchange or a refund.

Even if this time has passed the fact you logged the fault with them should be enough.

[tubbystu]

Are these warranties generally not just a costly bundle of exclusions and clauses ?

With almost unfathomable procedures that need to be followed to the letter. Effectively an insurance policy that almost never pays out ?

Sorry

[Deva Link]

jesst83 said:

At the start of January I purchased a used sports car (£20k+) from a dealer some 300miles away from me.

That was a really bad idea.

jesst83 said:

Two days after the purchase I noticed a fault and informed the dealer who said get it done on the warranty. The warranty has a month cooling off period so im unable to claim for at least another week, however reading about the fault, it looks like the warranty will not cover the fault. 10 more days later, I have discovered another fault, which again ive been told to go through the warranty.

What are the faults?

[saaby93]

No prizes for working out that most faults are discovered within the first month
The warranty co will be expecting you to sort it out with the dealer under sale of goods

[jesst83]

Deva Link said:

jesst83 said:

Two days after the purchase I noticed a fault and informed the dealer who said get it done on the warranty. The warranty has a month cooling off period so im unable to claim for at least another week, however reading about the fault, it looks like the warranty will not cover the fault. 10 more days later, I have discovered another fault, which again ive been told to go through the warranty.

What are the faults?

Oil leak and an electrical problem. The oil leak can lead to a much bigger and expensive problem to fix though.

The dealer has been informed of these problems via email on the day they occurred, both within 14days of ownership. So is it possible for the dealer to wriggle out of getting them fixed if the warranty co doesn't cover the problem?

Edited by jesst83 on Saturday 22 January 11:24

[aaronc]

Dealers will always try and wriggle but the bottom line is the car was sold with two faults which they have to either repair (if you want to keep it) exchange or refund.

[saaby93]

If it's an oil leak it's probbaly a seal
Seals arent generally covered by warranties unless they have to be replaced while replacing a mechanical failure
Same for electrical - if it's an intermittent connection you're not covered. If it's a failed device you are.
Less wear and tear, trade prices, reasonable labour rates etc
For engine electrical try Home Tune (if theyre still going) or similar in yellow pages

[confused_buyer]

The degree to which the dealer is liable depends on the age and mileage. If it's a £20k car which was £80k new then some faults are usually deemed to be acceptable and the car only needs to be 1/4 as good as a new one. If it's a £20k car which was £28k new then obviously your expectations should be higher.

Either way, under law, if the dealer is considered responsible then it is up to you to get the car back to them and leave it with them.

Most dealers would, however, probably try to come to a sensible resolution.

[Magic919]

I'd be tempted to get someone who knows these cars to give it a thorough check. Two obvious faults suggest it probably just had a wash and polish before getting on the forecourt.

[Buzz word]

Just been through similar. Look on the trading standards site. The car should be of satisfactory quality for age, mileage and price. The warranty I had was junk and barely worth the paper it was written on. I wrote a letter to the dealer with all the SOGA bits on it they decided to fix it. It's the dealer who has a responsibility to provide a car that is suitable. They supply these warranties to reduce their liability or palm people off. If the warranty wont cover it write to the dealer it is their problem no matter what they try to tell you.

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/before_you_buy/th...

Mine is hopefully fixed now but I have to put some miles on it to be sure. It did take a good few trips there though so at a 600 mile round trip it could be painful.