Car Warranty Help

Author
Discussion

Viperz888

Original Poster:

560 posts

172 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Hoping you chaps can check my rationale, never been in this situation before (not used to cars with warranty!)

Bought a 2020 VW Touran November last year for Swmbo from a private dealer (not OEM). It came with 3 months/3k miles warranty.

Last few days the DSG has started making a squealing from the transmission in 1st gear, started occasionally but now is very common. Reading up, this could be a costly job (clutch/flywheel), but of course it hasn’t been properly diagnosed yet.

Today I have tried all day to speak to the after sales team at the dealer, but never been able to get through. Have left a message, emailed them, and been promised the aftersales manager will phone me back. Now that I’ve checked the paperwork thoroughly, the warranty ends on Sunday, so feeling a little worried at the lack of response and time running out.

If I have notified them of the problem prior to the warranty ending, does that still cover me? And if I don’t get through to them, should I have the car diagnosed and repaired at my cost and then try to do a money claim on them?

Heathwood

2,841 posts

216 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Is the warranty actually with the supplying dealer or a third party warranty? If the latter, you may need to contact them. Why does the paperwork say to do in respect of a potential claim?

2 sMoKiN bArReLs

31,100 posts

249 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Viperz888 said:
Hoping you chaps can check my rationale, never been in this situation before (not used to cars with warranty!)

Bought a 2020 VW Touran November last year for Swmbo from a private dealer (not OEM). It came with 3 months/3k miles warranty.

Last few days the DSG has started making a squealing from the transmission in 1st gear, started occasionally but now is very common. Reading up, this could be a costly job (clutch/flywheel), but of course it hasn’t been properly diagnosed yet.

Today I have tried all day to speak to the after sales team at the dealer, but never been able to get through. Have left a message, emailed them, and been promised the aftersales manager will phone me back. Now that I’ve checked the paperwork thoroughly, the warranty ends on Sunday, so feeling a little worried at the lack of response and time running out.

If I have notified them of the problem prior to the warranty ending, does that still cover me? And if I don’t get through to them, should I have the car diagnosed and repaired at my cost and then try to do a money claim on them?
If the dealer isn't a million miles away I'd pop in. Face to face is a good start.

Kuwahara

1,227 posts

32 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Who are the warranty providers some are better that others and some are no more than a paper exercise because traders have to provide 3 months warranty.

I would keep trying to get a contact or speak to someone but I would be reluctant to get the repair done and try to claim ad hoc as I’m sure the T and C’s state that you need prior approval and payment is not made retrospectively,annoying for you in this instance.

stevemcs

9,408 posts

107 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Not sure a warranty will cover it as it hasn't failed yet.

darreni

4,193 posts

284 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
stevemcs said:
Not sure a warranty will cover it as it hasn't failed yet.
This.

Aftermarket warranties generally cover component failure, not components prior to actual failure.

Ham_and_Jam

3,069 posts

111 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
darreni said:
This.

Aftermarket warranties generally cover component failure, not components prior to actual failure.
And not components that fail over a period of time, which they consider wear and tear.

Viperz888

Original Poster:

560 posts

172 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Thanks all, few points;
  • They are 3 hours away, so face to face may be feasible, but a last resort.
  • The warranty is direct with them, not with a third party warranty ’company’

trickywoo

12,899 posts

244 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Unless the dealer is unusually decent I think you’ll be out of luck on this occasion for the reasons already mentioned.

mcpoot

948 posts

121 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
OP, do yourself a favour and google Consumer Rights Act 2015. No need to wait for the gearbox to fail.

You obviously bought the car within the last 6 months so to give you a heads up the following applies:

Right to repair or replacement
Faults identified between 30 days and 6 months allow you to request a repair or replacement. Dealers are only given one attempt to fix the issue or must provide a refund.

Nickp82

3,573 posts

107 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
mcpoot said:
OP, do yourself a favour and google Consumer Rights Act 2015. No need to wait for the gearbox to fail.

You obviously bought the car within the last 6 months so to give you a heads up the following applies:

Right to repair or replacement
Faults identified between 30 days and 6 months allow you to request a repair or replacement. Dealers are only given one attempt to fix the issue or must provide a refund.
This would be applicable to faults that were present or believed to have been present at the time of sale though I believe (happy to be corrected).
The OP has said himself that the issue only started a few days ago.

muscatdxb

287 posts

18 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Having a similar problem with a third party warranty company called Autoguard.

By the time the part has failed and been diagnosed and replaced you are bumping up against the end of the warranty.

Not helped by the fact that they are absolute shysters, trying everything they can to run down the clock so it expires.

Edited by muscatdxb on Thursday 6th February 22:07

Jurassic pork

244 posts

186 months

Thursday 6th February
quotequote all
Kuwahara said:
Who are the warranty providers some are better that others and some are no more than a paper exercise because traders have to provide 3 months warranty
Incorrect, dealers are not required to give any warranty whatsoever.

Sir Bagalot

6,760 posts

195 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Read up on CRA 2015

Send them a next day delivery letter to advise of issue.

How did you pay for car?

Kuwahara

1,227 posts

32 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Jurassic pork said:
Incorrect, dealers are not required to give any warranty whatsoever.
Everyday is a school day , genuinely thought it was law as I’ve sometimes looked to buy a car and drop the warranty to knock off a few quid , you would think they would be all over this if they didn’t have to.

Hugo Stiglitz

39,296 posts

225 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Sir Bagalot said:
Read up on CRA 2015

Send them a next day delivery letter to advise of issue.

How did you pay for car?
Sunday is two days away.

OP, if they are open before drive there. It's clearly failing/faulty.




paul_c123

708 posts

7 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Warranty, Guarantee, CRA2015, its just different wording for more/less the same thing.

"Warranty" is normally a finance product that is purchased to cover certain items for a certain time (eg, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year). Typically there's a ton of exclusions so IMHO they are a waste of money. Often a dealer will add a warranty from a warranty company (and add in the cost to the deal) so CERTAIN items are covered by it.

CRA2015 gives VERY GOOD coverage "out of the box", and in theory should create a level playing field for all car dealers - but lots of people don't understand its there, and the degree of coverage. Put simply, and minor item or misdescription means you have a short term right to reject (30 days). Then 30 days - 6 months, any major fault which occurs on the car is assumed to have been pre-existing unless the dealer can prove otherwise - and the dealer has ONE chance to fix it (or replace, or refund). After 6 months, the onus is on the customer to prove it was present when they bought the car.

paul_c123

708 posts

7 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Viperz888 said:
Hoping you chaps can check my rationale, never been in this situation before (not used to cars with warranty!)

Bought a 2020 VW Touran November last year for Swmbo from a private dealer (not OEM). It came with 3 months/3k miles warranty.

Last few days the DSG has started making a squealing from the transmission in 1st gear, started occasionally but now is very common. Reading up, this could be a costly job (clutch/flywheel), but of course it hasn’t been properly diagnosed yet.

Today I have tried all day to speak to the after sales team at the dealer, but never been able to get through. Have left a message, emailed them, and been promised the aftersales manager will phone me back. Now that I’ve checked the paperwork thoroughly, the warranty ends on Sunday, so feeling a little worried at the lack of response and time running out.

If I have notified them of the problem prior to the warranty ending, does that still cover me? And if I don’t get through to them, should I have the car diagnosed and repaired at my cost and then try to do a money claim on them?
Did you test drive the car before purchase? Accompanied? And during that test drive, did it make the squealing or was it okay?

MustangGT

13,077 posts

294 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
Kuwahara said:
Jurassic pork said:
Incorrect, dealers are not required to give any warranty whatsoever.
Everyday is a school day , genuinely thought it was law as I’ve sometimes looked to buy a car and drop the warranty to knock off a few quid , you would think they would be all over this if they didn’t have to.
They provide a third party warranty to minimise risk in the event of a post-sale failure.

papa3

1,485 posts

201 months

Friday 7th February
quotequote all
paul_c123 said:
Warranty, Guarantee, CRA2015, its just different wording for more/less the same thing.
It really isn't. Warranty and Guarantee are often used as interchangeable terms. Specifically a warranty, as usually provided for vehicle sales, will have specific t's & C's of what is covered, excluded and what must be done to maintain the cover. There is no obligation for a seller to offer a warranty.

CRA/SOGA et al are statutory rights which cannot be superseded or dismissed by the vendor.

paul_c123 said:
"Warranty" is normally a finance product that is purchased to cover certain items for a certain time (eg, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year). Typically there's a ton of exclusions so IMHO they are a waste of money. Often a dealer will add a warranty from a warranty company (and add in the cost to the deal) so CERTAIN items are covered by it.


Warranties can be good or bad, like most things, the devil is in the detail. Kia's "Direct" warranty is one of the best products I have ever used. The big risk in vehicles is undefined "Self underwritten" warranties, normally a small dealer trait. No clear definitions of cover or exclusions so no enforceability.

paul_c123 said:
CRA2015 gives VERY GOOD coverage "out of the box", and in theory should create a level playing field for all car dealers - but lots of people don't understand its there, and the degree of coverage. Put simply, and minor item or misdescription means you have a short term right to reject (30 days). Then 30 days - 6 months, any major fault which occurs on the car is assumed to have been pre-existing unless the dealer can prove otherwise - and the dealer has ONE chance to fix it (or replace, or refund). After 6 months, the onus is on the customer to prove it was present when they bought the car.
Agreed, but the biggest issue is a lack of understanding of the qualifications of CRA. Fit for purpose, as described and of Satisfactory quality are the key points of CRA. People tend to forget that these are subjective definitions. The application of CRA will be far easier on a brand new car than a 20 year old clunker. The same "Law" applies, but the outcomes will be very different.