Repair work not covered under warranty

whowantstwoknow

Hi all,

Looking for people's opinion on this. I have an imported UK car, that has an issue which I've asked the local dealer to investigate. The car is under 2 years of age. Its been with the same dealer on two separate occassions for the same issue. Anyhow the dealer has informed me the Ireland distributor are not covering the work carried out, as under the UK warranty its an issue which isnt covered outside of the UK past 12 months, though the irsh distributor said it wouldnt have been a problem if I had attended a NI dealer.

I though it would be the same pan EU coverage etc and an no time until all the works has been done did the dealer indicate I would be liable to the repair charge.

Briefly spoken to the dealer who was also unaware that the ireland distributor wouldnt cover costs, but I've argued with the dealer they should have been aware of the different country warranties and at least given me the option of proceeding with the works on that basis.

I'll check with the consumer agency etc on monday but would like people views on how to proceed with the dealer. I'll be out of pocket quiet a bit so to me its not a small sum.

Thanks

W.

whippet

to be fair you probably should have checked this out prior to getting any work done on it.

The reality is you will have to pay for the work done (as the dealer won't be getting paid by the disty) and take up the issue with the local disty afterwards.

Anan1

So the Irish dealer did the work and then told you that it wasn't covered under warranty but that it would have been had you brought the car to an NI dealer? I wouldn't pay on the basis that you never authorised chargeable work. If the dealer has a problem with this, the small claims court is simple and inexpensive.

kildare.17hmr

Anan1 wrote: »

So the Irish dealer did the work and then told you that it wasn't covered under warranty but that it would have been had you brought the car to an NI dealer? I wouldn't pay on the basis that you never authorised chargeable work. If the dealer has a problem with this, the small claims court is simple and inexpensive.

I agree with Anan1 on this1, i had a problem with an 07 peugeot last yr that i imported and sold, the customer came back with A/C problem, the car had 3 yrs warranty up north but peugeot irl only give 2 so could not get authorisation to do the work, long story short took it back up north and prob solved.

1 thing i will say to you is main dealers should not go ahead with warranty untill they get the go ahead from distributor or head office. i would argue Anons point all the way and if they still insist on you paying tell them to undo their work, remove any new parts and head back up north.

What car is it by the way?

kildare.17hmr

whippet wrote: »

to be fair you probably should have checked this out prior to getting any work done on it.

The reality is you will have to pay for the work done (as the dealer won't be getting paid by the disty) and take up the issue with the local disty afterwards.

to be fair whippet it was warranty work and he was under the impression it would be free, only after the work was done he was told he had to pay! did you even read what he wrote?:D

djimi

Did you not check with the dealer before they carried out the work if it was covered by warranty? Never assume anything when it comes to this kind of thing...

glic71rods46t0

I had a warranty issue with Hyundai. Bought the wifes tuscon in the UK. It had 5 year warranty from UK.Hyundai Ireland only offer(ed?) 2 years.
Brought it in for a service and dealer said it needed a clutch master cylinder (4 years old). I said it was still under warranty. Dealer contacted Hyundai Ireland. It took a few days but Hyundai honoured UK warranty - apparently the warranty is valid throughout europe.

Think about it, if it was a uk owner with the car, in Ireland on holidays - the warranty would cover it.

What make and model are we talking about?

Del2005

Anan1 wrote: »

So the Irish dealer did the work and then told you that it wasn't covered under warranty but that it would have been had you brought the car to an NI dealer? I wouldn't pay on the basis that you never authorised chargeable work. If the dealer has a problem with this, the small claims court is simple and inexpensive.

Businesses can't use the SCC it's only for consumers.

glic71rods46t0

Del2005 wrote: »

Businesses can't use the SCC it's only for consumers.

The poster was suggesting the SCC for the OP not for the garage - you read his post all wrong

whowantstwoknow

Its a ford focus

My main issue was that I didnt agree to chargeable work, I brought the car in, assuming it was covered under warranty, They too assumed it to be under warranty too. So whos the real wrong doer?, this is their main line of business, I'd expect them to cover themselves in such circumstances. As stated it was in the garage on 2 separate ocassions , with a gap of at least 2-3 months between each visit, surely their warranty process should have highlighted the inconsistant warranty such that on the second visit, they at least would have been prepared to indicate its chargeable work? They are taking the hit on the first visit and want me to pay the rest its over €500+

basically they did work twice without checking fully wrt to warranty?

As I'll need the car for work will I need to pay the costs upfront and then start the SCC process? Still might not get my money back either..

W.

glic71rods46t0

whowantstwoknow wrote: »

Its a ford focus

My main issue was that I didnt agree to chargeable work, I brought the car in, assuming it was covered under warranty, They too assumed it to be under warranty too. So whos the real wrong doer?, this is their main line of business, I'd expect them to cover themselves in such circumstances. As stated it was in the garage on 2 separate ocassions , with a gap of at least 2-3 months between each visit, surely their warranty process should have highlighted the inconsistant warranty such that on the second visit, they at least would have been prepared to indicate its chargeable work? They are taking the hit on the first visit and want me to pay the rest its over €500+

basically they did work twice without checking fully wrt to warranty?

As I'll need the car for work will I need to pay the costs upfront and then start the SCC process? Still might not get my money back either..

W.

Ok, what you need to do is:
1. Get a copy of the original UK warranty
2. Check to see if it has EU wide cover (it should do)
3. Check their procedure for claiming warranty work in another EU state - will probably state that you pay for the work and then send receipts to Ford UK for reimbursement OR it will say that you get the warranty work done for free through an authorised service centre.
4. If you have to pay and reclaim, then do exactly that but keep PHOTOCOPIES of EVERYTHING
5. If it says that the warranty work can be done without payment then you need your Ford garage to get authorisation for the work from Ford Ireland who will, in turn, seek the authorisation from Ford UK - all they need is your chassis number to validate this.
6. If you have any issues with the above then its the ECC (European Consumer Centre) you need to consult. They are an EU consumer rights organisation which specialise in warranties and guarantees on consumer goods between EU states - exactly what you need!

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

mickdw

As far as I was aware, all cars have full warranty for 2 years EU wide & so should be looked after free of charge in any main dealer throughout europe. It is only in the 3rd year that the issue of reclaiming from the uk distributor would apply.

I think the dealer is having you on. Possibly they are getting a pretty crap rate for the warranty work & are chancing their arm to see if you will pay.
It must be covered 100% within 2 years.

Hellrazer

mickdw wrote: »

As far as I was aware, all cars have full warranty for 2 years EU wide & so should be looked after free of charge in any main dealer throughout europe. It is only in the 3rd year that the issue of reclaiming from the uk distributor would apply.

I think the dealer is having you on. Possibly they are getting a pretty crap rate for the warranty work & are chancing their arm to see if you will pay.
It must be covered 100% within 2 years.

Thats what most of the franchises I worked for did.Hyundai usually gave 3 years EU wide.Mistubishi the same.
Honda was either 2/3 years Europe wide--cant remember we did that little warranty work on Hondas
Ford is 2 years Europe wide.
Volvo is 2 years Europe wide with the 3rd year covered by Volvo Ireland--They wont honour a 3rd year on a UK car but they will on an Irish one and only with a full Volvo service history.

It seems that 2 years is the EU wide standard with the distributor covering the subsequent years--Hence they wont cover imports since they didnt "distribute" them.

I also think the dealer is trying it on with the OP.

Any chance you could tell us what make it is OP?

mickdw

OP said its a Ford Focus.
It must surely be covered 100% unless its clutch work really and given that the irish dealer assumed it would be covered, I feel its not clutch work or any other user damaged component

Hellrazer

mickdw wrote: »

OP said its a Ford Focus.
It must surely be covered 100% unless its clutch work really and given that the irish dealer assumed it would be covered, I feel its not clutch work or any other user damaged component

Must have missed that.But if its anything other than wear and tear it should really be covered.

Think we need more info from the OP.

whowantstwoknow

The issue is a water leak, and due to its nature was hard to find and thus the elapsed time.....

W.

Padraig Mor

To echo other comments, this should definitely be covered under the EU-wide 2 year warranty. I've heard of others having trouble with getting Ford to do warranty work on UK-bought cars - I think Stevie Dakota here had issues.

whowantstwoknow

I'll check with the ECC but from what ford ireland has said, the warranty is based on the car origin and in the case of the UK, its only bumper to bumper for the first 12 months and then the remaining 2 years its whats called "ford protect" consisting of additional inclusions/exclusions (where leaks are excluded).

Looks like the main fault was with the dealer not confirming the issue wasnt covered by warranty. So either get them to accept liability or try my hand with the SCC?

W.

alexmcred

Did you ring Ford uk to see what their take on the situation was? TBH it sounds like Ford Ireland are trying to feed you a line

whowantstwoknow

Rang a UK/NI ford dealer and got the same line, leaks only covered for the first 12 months.

W.