Advice welcome: Clutch failure on test drive
Discussion
Hi everyone
I'm new to Pistonheads so go easy!
Ok, so I think I know the answer to this already but just wanted some advice.
I've only ever driven brand new lease cars through work, and have only been driving for 6 years. I have been looking for a used car, my family have had a few VW Polos so I've been looking at those.
I found a 2011 Polo, 49,000 miles for £5200. It was the colour and spec I was looking for and was around £500 cheaper than similar cars I'd seen.
The dealership I went to was a main Peugeot dealer, but also part X used cars which is why they were selling the Polo. They did a service and MOT last week and everything passed. I did x2 HPI checks, all fine. Full service history and MOT all tally up.
There was very little fuel in the tank yesterday and I wanted to do my route to work as it has urban driving, hill starts, a 50mph road and 1 junction of motorway so the perfect test route. I had to come back today as not enough fuel.
As I was driving today, I noticed the clutch was REALLY high and it felt really revvy. Once it was driving it was ok. Once we got out of the 30mph urban driving it really started to struggle and on the 50mph road we could smell that tale tell clutch smell and I managed to pull over just as it gave up.
The chap from the dealer was super apologetic, we were stuck out of phone signal and it took us walking into a retirement village to use their phone to be rescued. The other chap who picked us up was also super apologetic and said it would be sorted asap and I could test drive it again next week. I asked if there would be any compensation for the fact we were stranded for 2 hours and they offered an extended warranty.
So my question is, should I walk away now? Should this have been picked up at the service and MOT? When I asked them this they said it had only been driven around the block once to get fuel and it's city centre so lucky to get out of 2nd.
I feel like it's a bad sign BUT the dealership have been really good about it and I don't want to miss out on using this as leverage to secure a good deal. Ultimately there are loads of these used Polos around so not an issue to find another really. It's just handy as the dealer is a 10 minute walk from my house so handy for the 24 month warranty.
MOT history shows no issues with the clutch, only replacement brake pads. So is this the right sort of time for a clutch to be replaced?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
I'm new to Pistonheads so go easy!
Ok, so I think I know the answer to this already but just wanted some advice.
I've only ever driven brand new lease cars through work, and have only been driving for 6 years. I have been looking for a used car, my family have had a few VW Polos so I've been looking at those.
I found a 2011 Polo, 49,000 miles for £5200. It was the colour and spec I was looking for and was around £500 cheaper than similar cars I'd seen.
The dealership I went to was a main Peugeot dealer, but also part X used cars which is why they were selling the Polo. They did a service and MOT last week and everything passed. I did x2 HPI checks, all fine. Full service history and MOT all tally up.
There was very little fuel in the tank yesterday and I wanted to do my route to work as it has urban driving, hill starts, a 50mph road and 1 junction of motorway so the perfect test route. I had to come back today as not enough fuel.
As I was driving today, I noticed the clutch was REALLY high and it felt really revvy. Once it was driving it was ok. Once we got out of the 30mph urban driving it really started to struggle and on the 50mph road we could smell that tale tell clutch smell and I managed to pull over just as it gave up.
The chap from the dealer was super apologetic, we were stuck out of phone signal and it took us walking into a retirement village to use their phone to be rescued. The other chap who picked us up was also super apologetic and said it would be sorted asap and I could test drive it again next week. I asked if there would be any compensation for the fact we were stranded for 2 hours and they offered an extended warranty.
So my question is, should I walk away now? Should this have been picked up at the service and MOT? When I asked them this they said it had only been driven around the block once to get fuel and it's city centre so lucky to get out of 2nd.
I feel like it's a bad sign BUT the dealership have been really good about it and I don't want to miss out on using this as leverage to secure a good deal. Ultimately there are loads of these used Polos around so not an issue to find another really. It's just handy as the dealer is a 10 minute walk from my house so handy for the 24 month warranty.
MOT history shows no issues with the clutch, only replacement brake pads. So is this the right sort of time for a clutch to be replaced?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Edited by AnnaBananaLovesDisco on Friday 7th September 19:22
I'd still go ahead if they're throwing in more warranty & some more money off then why wouldn't you buy it, if the car was previously used a lot around town 50k isn't an excessive number for the clutch to need replacing.
I'd see it as a bonus that you're getting what would normally be considered a wear & tear item by most warranties replaced so you start out with a fresh one that will last you years.
I'd see it as a bonus that you're getting what would normally be considered a wear & tear item by most warranties replaced so you start out with a fresh one that will last you years.
carreauchompeur said:
Why would you get compensation?!
Exactly. WTF is going on with this world. OP, Clearly you were happy paying the price for a Polo with a used clutch but now by waiting a couple of days you are getting one with a new clutch & warranty - isn't that enough!!!!!!????
t, compensation? 
Pica-Pica said:
On any decent car a clutch should last beyond 100,000 miles. My last two cars I sold on with 149,000 and 142,000 miles, each still with the original clutch.
There must be plenty of other cars out there, it’s a buyer’s market.
Clutch plate as I'm sure you are aware is a wearing item. How soon or not it requires replacing is a measure of how the car has been used rather than a reflection on the quality of the car itself.There must be plenty of other cars out there, it’s a buyer’s market.
Congratulations that you managed to be so skilled and careful but I don't see how that helps the OP.
Nor do I see how the OP can assess when looking at another car whether the clutch that is in it will last another 50000 miles or another 10000 miles?
Best is surely to start with a car with a brand new clutch just fitted. They are rare though- good luck finding one!
Wooda80 said:
Pica-Pica said:
On any decent car a clutch should last beyond 100,000 miles. My last two cars I sold on with 149,000 and 142,000 miles, each still with the original clutch.
There must be plenty of other cars out there, it’s a buyer’s market.
Clutch plate as I'm sure you are aware is a wearing item. How soon or not it requires replacing is a measure of how the car has been used rather than a reflection on the quality of the car itself.There must be plenty of other cars out there, it’s a buyer’s market.
Congratulations that you managed to be so skilled and careful but I don't see how that helps the OP.
Nor do I see how the OP can assess when looking at another car whether the clutch that is in it will last another 50000 miles or another 10000 miles?
Best is surely to start with a car with a brand new clutch just fitted. They are rare though- good luck finding one!
Pica-Pica said:
I still think clutch failure at 50k miles is an indication of how the car has been used so far. I still believe modern car clutches should last well beyond 100k miles.
I agree with you on your first point. However, that the clutch is worn is no indicator that other parts of the car must have suffered premature wear. Undeniably with the clutch replaced there is considerable betterment.I agree that modern car clutches CAN last well beyond 100k miles but I would wager that most don't. Especially on a car likely to be used for mainly urban driving. It would therefore be unreasonable to expect that the clutch on a random used car is LIKELY to last to 100000 miles without replacement.
Jesus, some people are really hung up on the compensation thing.
A) As I’ve repeatedly said, this is my first used car buying experience. I’ve never been in this situation before. Breaking down on a test drive is uncommon. I wanted to know if this was a fault that should have been picked up in the very recent service and MOT (due to my inexperience.) I wasn’t sure if I should ask for compensation, clearly I shouldn’t have so thanks for the advice. I didn’t mean to be a total a$$hole.
B) When you go for what should be a 20 min test drive, you don’t expect to be stranded on the side of a remote country road next to a woodland area with no phone signal with a man you’ve just met. As a young woman, it’s not an ideal situation. Nor is having to walk for a mile to use a phone.
C) I think anyone would be a bit miffed almost 3 hours of their day had been taken up by this. These things happen, clearly no-one was to blame and not the end of the world but it meant I missed a Dr’s appointment and I couldn’t cancel as no phone signal. Getting Drs appointments in where I live are like gold dust!
A) As I’ve repeatedly said, this is my first used car buying experience. I’ve never been in this situation before. Breaking down on a test drive is uncommon. I wanted to know if this was a fault that should have been picked up in the very recent service and MOT (due to my inexperience.) I wasn’t sure if I should ask for compensation, clearly I shouldn’t have so thanks for the advice. I didn’t mean to be a total a$$hole.
B) When you go for what should be a 20 min test drive, you don’t expect to be stranded on the side of a remote country road next to a woodland area with no phone signal with a man you’ve just met. As a young woman, it’s not an ideal situation. Nor is having to walk for a mile to use a phone.
C) I think anyone would be a bit miffed almost 3 hours of their day had been taken up by this. These things happen, clearly no-one was to blame and not the end of the world but it meant I missed a Dr’s appointment and I couldn’t cancel as no phone signal. Getting Drs appointments in where I live are like gold dust!
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