Warranty Work

breakemall

Has anyone ever had an experience where work carried out under warranty by a main dealer is not then covered by the manufacturers warranty on repairs because no payment was made?

colm_mcm

Yes. The customer didn't end up paying either way.

Dealers are a lot more clued in these days though, especially for UK models. They often get pre-clearance for jobs, which means you don't get it sorted as quickly.

breakemall

This was an Irish car; warranty work done in 2014; same problem again in 2015; importers said it was covered under their warranty on repairs done by main dealers when consulted in advance; car was brought to a different main dealer as importers said this could be done; but when car was collected the work was billed for.
Importers NOW say their warranty does not cover work done under a main dealer warranty unless there was a contribution payment made at the time and claim they gave the original assurance it was covered because they did not know the repair had been made under warranty...
Trying to argue the point with them now but they will not respond.
Anyone else experience this sort of thing?

pablo128

Is the original warranty period up?

breakemall

The original warranty period is up.
When the same issue arose again I contacted the distributors and told them that it had been repaired under warranty but had become a problem again. I consulted the original main dealer to confirm the work that was done and relayed this. The distributors said main dealer repairs had a two year warranty and that it was covered throughout the network.
After the repair was done they then said it was not covered because I would have needed to make a contribution towards the original repair. They claimed that I had not pointed out that the initial repair was under warranty.
This is despite the fact that I queried in initial correspondence if the fact that it was repaired under warranty last year would have any influence on things this time and they said once the fault has been diagnosed as the same fault previously then the two year parts warranty will cover those repairs.
So they knew the initial repair was under warranty. I have pointed this out to them and four e-mails later without response I am going to escalate the issue with them.
Just trying to see if anyone else has had the same line over repair warranty?

colm_mcm

Did you pay?

clogher71

You don't get warranty on warranty .... If the vehicle for example has a three year warranty, after 2.5 years the starter motor fails and it is replaced, 10 months later it fails again there is no warranty on the stater, the warranty on it expired on it four months previously with the original warranty. It is not the same as buying/getting a part fitted which most are covered by a two year warranty.

The dealer maybe able to apply to the manufacturer for 'goodwill' on your behalf, but that would depend on mileage, length out of warranty, service history etc etc, and they may cover a percentage of the repair.

breakemall

It was paid... it was part of a bigger service bill.
Am I to take it that if something goes under warranty and is repaired under the original warranty that the repair is not in itself covered by a warranty in its own right from that date?
Lesson learned I suppose, the next time I get a repair done under warranty I will "contribute" a fiver and get a receipt, which will then warranty the repair?
The maddening part is not just that the same issue arose but the fact that having said the repair was covered by a two year warranty (having been clearly told the initial repair was done under warranty) the distributors then changed their mind after the work was done and now refuse to answer correspondence.

9935452

breakemall wrote: »

It was paid... it was part of a bigger service bill.
Am I to take it that if something goes under warranty and is repaired under the original warranty that the repair is not in itself covered by a warranty in its own right from that date?
Lesson learned I suppose, the next time I get a repair done under warranty I will "contribute" a fiver and get a receipt, which will then warranty the repair?
The maddening part is not just that the same issue arose but the fact that having said the repair was covered by a two year warranty (having been clearly told the initial repair was done under warranty) the distributors then changed their mind after the work was done and now refuse to answer correspondence.

My understanding of this is
the original fix was under warranty, as it was done under warranty the car is still only under warranty until that period is up, say 2 or 3 years or whatever the period is . A manufacturers warranty will only get you out of this period. After that if the car breaks its your problem.
What you seem to be expecting is an extension to a manufacturers warranty because they fixed something under it ,
Granted it probably is annoying that something that was fixed under warranty failed again, but parts do fail, it could be a wearing part or a known weak part.

I believe there is confusion somewhere along the line . The 2 year guarantee on their work would only be if you pay for the full job . i dont think you would get away with paying a fiver towards it

breakemall

The original fix was under warranty. The issue arose again after the dealer warranty had ended and was as a result of the original repair not fully fixing the problem.
When I contacted them, the distributors told me that the repair was covered by a two year warranty (and yes, I did tell them the repair was done under warranty in the first place) and any dealer could be used for the repair. So I used another dealer seeing as how the first one had not fixed the problem correctly (it is to do with body work alignment, door rubbers and vibration so it must have left the factory that way?)
Now after the repair was done (it cost just shy of €300 in labour) the distributors say a warranty on the repair is "only applicable if you pay a contribution towards the cost of repair, or pay the full cost of the repair". And what constitutes a "contribution" I wonder? €5?
Is this standard practice within the industry?