Used car warranty - where do I stand?

bigbadchief

Hi all,

So I bought a used car about two weeks ago, a 2011 VW Golf. It was a high mileage car but very clean and came with a service history. The dealer put it through the NCT before I bought so I was hoping I would have no trouble with it.

Today the glow plug light started flashing (apparently an "Engine management fault"), followed not long after by the "check engine" light turning on. The car still drives but there was a noticeable decrease in power when accelerating. The car came with a 3 month warranty on engine and gearbox, but when I went down to the dealer today he said that his mechanic was on holidays and that it would be after next weekend before he could have a look at it.

I really don't want to wait for another week without the car working properly, and I'm hesitant about driving it in case the problem gets worse. Can I tell the dealer that he should pay for the car to be fixed somewhere else if his mechanic is unavailable to fix it for another week? Or am I stuck just waiting for them to get around to it?

bazz26

His mechanic being on holidays is really not your concern. I'd be pleasant but firm and ask that he either takes the car in gives you a loan of another car until his mechanic returns as you don't want to cause further possible damage to the car by driving it, or else he pays the bill directly to another garage to have the problem diagnosed and repaired.

I certainly would not go getting it repaired somewhere else at your own expense and then trying to chase the dealer for the money back as you could be in for a long ride with that.

PADRAIC.M

The glow plug light comes on to tell the driver to go for a steady drive (100km for 35min detailed in the owners manual) to clean out the dpf filter, if the engine light is on now also your dpf could be full beyond manual regeneration conditions and may need to be regenerated with computer, there also may be a faulty part like an egr valve or something, more driving will probably lead to a completely blocked dpf and may be undrivable

goochy

thats a poor warranty for 4 yr old car i would expect that for 10 yr old car ! dis u get it very good price ?

slimjimmc

If it's a 3rd party warranty such as the type bought from an insurance company then it probably doesn't matter who you go to (you should have a warranty policy documentation so check what it says).
If it's the dealer's own warranty then you'll probably just have to wait if you want this to be covered under warranty. On the other hand a 3 mth warranty seems short, I'd expect at least 6 months on a car that age, so it may be no harm having it checked out at another garage for your own piece of mind to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

bigbadchief

bazz26 wrote: »

His mechanic being on holidays is really not your concern. I'd be pleasant but firm and ask that he either takes the car in gives you a loan of another car until his mechanic returns as you don't want to cause further possible damage to the car by driving it, or else he pays the bill directly to another garage to have the problem diagnosed and repaired.

I certainly would not go getting it repaired somewhere else at your own expense and then trying to chase the dealer for the money back as you could be in for a long ride with that.

Thanks for the reply, I'll try this and see how I get on. Not holding my breath on a satisfactory outcome though

slimjimmc wrote: »

If it's a 3rd party warranty such as the type bought from an insurance company then it probably doesn't matter who you go to (you should have a warranty policy documentation so check what it says).
If it's the dealer's own warranty then you'll probably just have to wait if you want this to be covered under warranty. On the other hand a 3 mth warranty seems short, I'd expect at least 6 months on a car that age, so it may be no harm having it checked out at another garage for your own piece of mind to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

It is the dealers warranty, however I'm not sure of the exact details of the warranty. I didn't get any warranty policy documentation when I bought the car. My own fault for not following it up when I was buying the car. He did confirm to me today that the car was covered under warranty, but I'm not sure what the exact details of it are. But I think your idea of bringing it to another garage is a good one.

goochy

you will be covered under consumer rights anyway.leave with them and get a loan of car. surprised that warranty only covers engine and gearbox on 4 yr old car. very poor would have put me off str8 away.

goochy

you will be covered under consumer rights anyway.leave with them and get a loan of car. surprised that warranty only covers engine and gearbox on 4 yr old car. very poor would have put me off str8 away.