Warranty Question

Bluefoam · 21-07-2009 1:45pm #1

I bought a second hand car in May last year with a one year warranty. After about 6 months of ownership I began to get warnings on the dash - abs failure; ecb failure; vdc failure etc... they have taken the car in on numerous occasions to rectify the problem - with little success. Then just before the warranty was due to elapse they replaced the ABS ECU (computer). The problem went away, but last week it started again (car is now out of warranty) - only this time the car shut down & I lost control of the brakes and steering when moving. The car is in the garage again and they have no problem with looking after me, but it has gone on too long at this stage - at one point I worked out that the car had been in the garage for 10% of the time I owned it.

My question is: do I have any entitlement to have the car replaced - I am happy for them to fix it, but it is really causing me too much hassle - as much as I love the car... I don't want to engage my solicitor on this as I will have other options open to me - but would like to know what is normal under these circumstances. Thanks..

Anan1 · 21-07-2009 3:04pm

I would have thought a reasonable solution would be that they take your car in, give you a replacement, and only return your car when it's 100%. Are they a main dealer for the marque in question?

Bluefoam · 21-07-2009 3:17pm

They are a main dealer. They do give me a loan car & do try to return the car fixed - however the problem seems to keep appearing.

In fairness to them they have been working closely with the car manufacturer to solve the problem & have even been able to pinpoint aniother car in Germany which has suffered from the same problem & are using it as a case study to see if their solutions work on mine. But I'm just getting very frustrated...

robtri · 21-07-2009 3:22pm

best advice I can give you is to contact the National Consumer agency and find out exactly what your rights are.

its never good when something like this happens, sorry to hear about it

Bluefoam · 21-07-2009 3:38pm

I rang the National Consumer Agency & they suggested that I was entitled to a refund or replacement.

Thanks for the advice. I am going to get the car back & if the problem reoccurs I will look for a replacement...

Henry Ford III · 21-07-2009 3:40pm

Keep records of any garage visits/repairs.

Anan1 · 21-07-2009 3:47pm

Bluefoam wrote: »

They are a main dealer. They do give me a loan car & do try to return the car fixed - however the problem seems to keep appearing.

In fairness to them they have been working closely with the car manufacturer to solve the problem & have even been able to pinpoint aniother car in Germany which has suffered from the same problem & are using it as a case study to see if their solutions work on mine. But I'm just getting very frustrated...

I do understand your frustration, but you do seem to have a fair bit of goodwill going on here too. Do you think the car's a lemon, or do you think it's simply a problem that they haven't yet been able to find?

Bluefoam · 21-07-2009 3:57pm

Anan1 wrote: »

o you think the car's a lemon, or do you think it's simply a problem that they haven't yet been able to find?

It is definitely a problem they have not been able to pinpoint and resolve. They have been relatively good in terms of trying to sort the problem. However - this leaves me for long periods of time without the car I purchased... I am not going to make demands on them that are unreasonable - hence taking the car back again this time - but I do need a car which I feel safe driving & this problem has been persistent for 8 months now with no solution.

Mr Benevolent · 21-07-2009 4:36pm

Out of interest what car is it? Sounds like the dealer is trying their best in the circumstances.

mickdw · 21-07-2009 5:04pm

I was sure you were going to say car is now out of warranty and garage told me to F. off. They do seem to be doing everything possible so give them alittle more time. Get an equivalent standard temporary car from them and let them keep it for long enough until its fixed & tested to be sure.

Bluefoam · 21-07-2009 5:20pm

mickdw wrote: »

I was sure you were going to say car is now out of warranty and garage told me to F. off. They do seem to be doing everything possible so give them alittle more time. Get an equivalent standard temporary car from them and let them keep it for long enough until its fixed & tested to be sure.

I do appreciate the service they have given me - on the temporary car issue - they have been lending me cars that are usually far below the standard/quality of the car I bought - not that it bothers me generally, but it can be difficult as I do quite a few long journeys, plus it can be a little embarrassing arriving at client meetings in some of the smaller cars - not that I have anything against them, but I do need to portray a certain image...

Plus I wonder why they keep giving me cars that piss me off to drive - I would have thought that they would lend me a car that I might aspire to, something bigger with a bigger engine might mean that I'd come back for my next car.

mickdw · 21-07-2009 6:17pm

Given the situation, put your case to them and im sure they will provide you with a suitable car.
I was in a similar situation although my car was brand new and I requested a car of equivalent standard on the second occasion that my car had to go in. They gave me a very respectable A4 for the duration.

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