Replaced under warranty, broke again out of warranty, dealer being a pain!

I've a 2008 1.4 Ibiza sport (old type) In December my drivers side window packed in and stopped working, just wouldnt budge, and then dropped on the way to work one day and I was left with a window stuck open. Took it to the dealers and they replaced the whole motor mechanism no problem under warranty.
Now just 6 months later the window has packed in again, same thing only it's yet to drop (thankfully). I rang the dealers today to see what the deal was as I am just a few months out of my warranty. They are telling me that that even though the new motor was only put in 6 months ago under warranty, as I am now out of my warranty that parts warranty runs out with it and I have to pay full. Surely a new part should come with some sort of its own warranty, regardless of wether it was replaced intially under the cars warranty or not??

I do incredibly low mileage (less than 13k in 3 years...) so it's not as if the window is getting heavy usage, so surely it's not expecting too much for a new motor to last more than 6 months and for them to accept that there's a fault with it which they should fix?

Where do I stand here guys? Any advice appreciated...

ltdslipdiff

OP are you sure its not a Megane you're driving??:D

I would expect at least 12 months warranty to be given on OE replacement parts, this is why you pay more for them than spurious ones !

mlumley

Contact consumer advice. Repairs are ment to be permenant, not just a temp fix.

ltdslipdiff

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

OP are you sure its not a Megane you're driving??:D

I would expect at least 12 months warranty to be given on OE replacement parts, this is why you pay more for them than spurious ones !

I'm beginning to wonder that myself :rolleyes: My folks had a Megane once and they had better luck with their windows than I'm having!

See I didn't "buy" the part seems to be the angle they're working here, replaced for free last time therefore I'm apparently out of luck. Just doesn't seem right to me. They were supposed to get someone else to ring me back about it but never bothered, which is grand by me because it gives me time to gather up some ammo before I ring them again tomorrow

I've always stuck with them for all my services and funnily enough I got my service reminder in a few weeks ago as I'm due one now, so if they really want to be a b*tch with this and refuse to fix it for free they'll be losing a nice wee sum from me for it and I'll be going elsewhere!

I have been told by a few people I know that they have a bit of a reputation for being really quite awkward with things like this. Being awkward is one thing, but it sounds ridiculous to me that I am expected to pay for fixing something which they replaced not so long ago and has developed a fault after minimal usage!

R.O.R

Warranty doesn't re-start when a new part is put in unfortunately. I'd try to talk to SEAT and explain the issue to them, see if that will get you anywhere.

gs300

Hi have a 08 Leon myself, I had a problem with the light switch in the car got it replaced under warranty was fine, then the issue returned out of warranty this time and went back to them got On well with the service manager so was getting all the info he was, turns out if the fault is the same as was under warranty the dealer can put in a good will request to seat this us kind of on the lines of, car has been kept in good condition serviced with a seat garage and problem fix before so they will look over the request and make a decision on if they will look after it as a gesture of "good will".

Was also told that there is only a couple of lads who look after the requests and they cover seat, Audi , and VW. so it can take a little while bit you could be lucky.

You could give this a try via the dealer.

R.O.R

R.O.R wrote: »

Warranty doesn't re-start when a new part is put in unfortunately. I'd try to talk to SEAT and explain the issue to them, see if that will get you anywhere.

I would still expect a new part to last more than 6 months before failing, and for it to fail within a short period of time with minute usage compared to your average mileage driver I would expect them to accept that it is a fault with a part they supplied and to pick up the bill here. Or at the absolute very least come to some sort of agreement with me over it as a goodwill gesture to a loyal customer which will be lost if they stick to their guns with this :P

If I get nowhere with the dealers again tomorrow I'll get a cust services number or something from them and see if I get can get anywhere. Must just remind myself to go softly softly and polite first, and only give them hell as a last resort

crosstownk

The part was replaced under the new vehicle warranty. That warranty has now expired. You don't get a new warranty on the replaced part as you didn't 'buy' anything.

gs300

gs300 wrote: »

Hi have a 08 Leon myself, I had a problem with the light switch in the car got it replaced under warranty was fine, then the issue returned out of warranty this time and went back to them got On well with the service manager so was getting all the info he was, turns out if the fault is the same as was under warranty the dealer can put in a good will request to seat this us kind of on the lines of, car has been kept in good condition serviced with a seat garage and problem fix before so they will look over the request and make a decision on if they will look after it as a gesture of "good will".

Was also told that there is only a couple of lads who look after the requests and they cover seat, Audi , and VW. so it can take a little while bit you could be lucky.

You could give this a try via the dealer.

Cheers for that! Will definately give this a try tomorrow if I've still no luck as I have always had my services done with them, all on time, car always kept in as immaculate and tip top condition as possible, and same problem as last time (only I'm half expecting them to try and tell me it's a different fault this time somehow)
Just checked there too, turns out I'm little over a month out of warranty, typical! :rolleyes:

Did it take long for you to get sorted with them? I take it you had to wait untill they made the decision before you got it fixed?
I don't really want to be waiting too long to get this fixed 1- for fear of the window randomly dropping again, and 2- I have never needed to use my drivers window so much as I have done these past few days! It's becoming a right pain!!

Welease

crosstownk wrote: »

The part was replaced under the new vehicle warranty. That warranty has now expired. You don't get a new warranty on the replaced part as you didn't 'buy' anything.

Warranty periods do not remove protection provided by the Sales of Good act. There is a reasonable expectation that a motor will last more than 6 months, and previous repairs must be permanent (within normal product life expectations)..

If the dealer is refusing to remedy the situation, it would only take €15 to test their resolve in the Small Claims Court.

Cuddlesworth

R.O.R wrote: »

Warranty doesn't re-start when a new part is put in unfortunately. I'd try to talk to SEAT and explain the issue to them, see if that will get you anywhere.

Ehh, in every other product sold in Ireland it does. What makes cars so special?

mickdw

You really have to fight them on this. If the manufacturer replaced the part originally and it has now failed again in 6 months, there is obviously a known issue with it without a shadow of doubt IMO. With a known issue, they really should be looking after you even though I agree that there might not be a specific warranty on the part as it was replaced free before.
I guess you should expect that a known issue would be resolved with an updated part. If you didnt get an updated part and you can confirm that its a known issue, you should really fight hard.

gs300

I dint remember it being too long I know the first time it was with in 2 hours but I say that because it was still under warranty, the second time I think it was a day but like I say already there is only 2 lads I think looking after the 3 or so makes so I might have caught them on a good day.

I did have to wait given they had to order the parts, he also told me that some parts can take longer coming from their base in Spain as alot of the requests if not all gave to go threw their HQ

Best of luck and I hope you get it sorted soon.

mickdw

mickdw wrote: »

You really have to fight them on this. If the manufacturer replaced the part originally and it has now failed again in 6 months, there is obviously a known issue with it without a shadow of doubt IMO. With a known issue, they really should be looking after you even though I agree that there might not be a specific warranty on the part as it was replaced free before.
I guess you should expect that a known issue would be resolved with an updated part. If you didnt get an updated part and you can confirm that its a known issue, you should really fight hard.

How can I prove the issue though? If they really don't want to pick up the bill what's to stop them simply saying the fault is different from the last time on inspection? I can't recall exactly what the fault was last time, I just remember it was a certain part of the motor mechanism broke but they replaced the entire thing. So I'm imagining it would be quite easy for them to say it's a different bit this time has failed, and thus different issue...

gs300 wrote: »

I dint remember it being too long I know the first time it was with in 2 hours but I say that because it was still under warranty, the second time I think it was a day but like I say already there is only 2 lads I think looking after the 3 or so makes so I might have caught them on a good day.

I did have to wait given they had to order the parts, he also told me that some parts can take longer coming from their base in Spain as alot of the requests if not all gave to go threw their HQ

Best of luck and I hope you get it sorted soon.

Right enough I totally forgot I had to wait a few days last time for them to get the new motor in... for the meantime they ever so inconspicuously propped my window up with unbelievably visable wadges of cardboard to keep it in place and told me not to touch it! I converted to public transport and lifts for a few days and kept her locked in the garage as it just looked like a sitting duck to thieves!

I don't even know how much of a cost I'm fighting against here... I just really feel like I should fight this! Never got an answer from them on how much it would actually cost to fix. It took a good couple of hours last time so even labour costs aren't going to be cheap. Anybody any guestimations on how much I'm looking at here??

mickdw

Deleted User wrote: »

How can I prove the issue though? If they really don't want to pick up the bill what's to stop them simply saying the fault is different from the last time on inspection? I can't recall exactly what the fault was last time, I just remember it was a certain part of the motor mechanism broke but they replaced the entire thing. So I'm imagining it would be quite easy for them to say it's a different bit this time has failed, and thus different issue...

gather as much info off the net as you can for a start. it should be easy as vw/audi/seat/skoda have terrible window regulators in particular. My 08 audi had to have new regulator at 2.5 year as have many audis.
Even if its a different fault to the original, if its common, you have a case for goodwill.

So, my ever so wonderful mother dearest took it upon herself to give trading standards a ring this morning to see what they said :pac:
Apparently with things like this there is no actual warranty of sorts on any part they replace and they have no legal obligation to pay for the repair or parts as my cars warranty is up. It would be reasonable enough to expect some sort of goodwill gesture from them given the short period of time involved here, however that is entirely down to the dealers themselves.
However should the fault be the same as last time, and I can gather any sort of evidence from the internet or whatever that this is a common problem with that part in my model, if I present that to them then they should pay for the repair and parts under the Sales of Goods Act.
That's the word form Trading Standards anyhoo....

So, rang them back today and got the person I was looking for who was really dead on and understanding about it. She says warranties are pretty much black and white when it comes to these things, even should they have replaced a part the day before the warranty runs out and the part was to fail again the day after the warranty is up, you're out of luck and they have no obligation to cough up for it at all. However, they are going to take it in free tomorrow and check exactly what the fault is this time. If it is the same fault as I had in December (turns out it was the regulator) then they will put in a good will request with Seat to try and get atleast some sort of contribution from them for it as I got the car from them, kept my services with them, car kept in good nick, low usage etc etc and you definately should not expect the fault to occur again in such a short period of time.

If they say it's a different fault tomorrow would I be wise to get a second opinion somewhere incase they do try to pull a fly one? I'm not too sure how much I would trust their word if it was to work in their favor to say it is something else...

slimjimmc

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Ehh, in every other product sold in Ireland it does. What makes cars so special?

Ehh, no it doesn't. Once a warranty has expired that's it, finito, regardless of what parts were repaired or replaced during the warranty period. It's not normal for a manufacturer to extend an additional warranty period to the replaced part unless you paid for the part.

Sale of goods and services might be the way to go since a repair must be permanent, even given the wear and tear nature of machines you could say the replacement regulator was not of reasonable durability.

Just to update, took it to them today to have a look at it, 20 mins later and job done! Apparently the motor was just stuck this time and probably caused by the wind deflectors, which I'm slightly dubious about as I would've thought if it was stuck and just needed freed you would've been able to hear it trying to move??
Anyways I'm to expect the motor to burn out in the future...nice. However fixed for free for the time being at least :cool: