Bought a car from a dealer and it broke down.

Stamullen

Hi all. Just looking for a bit of an advice. I bought a car 5 months ago from one of the dealers. The car was 1 year and 5 months old at the time, 5 months after the car broke down, clutch went. They quoted me 1300 euro to repair it! I came back to dealer as he told me at the time I bout the car that he is giving me a year warranty on parts (it was only verbal-he said if anything is happening with the car just bring it back to him and he will fix it). So I brought the car down and he is denying that it's under warranty, I am so pissed off, the car is under finance and I am paying 300 euro a month. I can't afford to fix it. What can I do???? He is a SIMI member .

grogi

Stamullen wrote: »

Hi all. Just looking for a bit of an advice. I bought a car 5 months ago from one of the dealers. The car was 1 year and 5 months old at the time, 5 months after the car broke down, clutch went. They quoted me 1300 euro to repair it! I came back to dealer as he told me at the time I bout the car that he is giving me a year warranty on parts (it was only verbal-he said if anything is happening with the car just bring it back to him and he will fix it). So I brought the car down and he is denying that it's under warranty, I am so pissed off, the car is under finance and I am paying 300 euro a month. I can't afford to fix it. What can I do???? He is a SIMI member .

Less than 2 years old - it still should be under manufacturers warranty. What car is it?

Aka Ishur

No idea if you have any recourse here but personally I'd be surprised if a clutch would be covered by warranty given how driving style can affect it so much. What kinda mileage is on the car and what is the make/model?

kieran.

So the cars 1 year and 10 months old?

Is the car not covered under the manufacturers warranty?

What type of car is it?

Yawns

Would a clutch be covered? You can wreck a clutch inside an hour of you cant use it properly which is why most 2nd hand car sales will give an engine warranty only.

porsche boy

Clutches are deemed a consumable item and as such are not covered under warranty, weather it dealer or manufacturer. Only way would be to prove a mechanical or design defect caused it.

Please list the make, model and engine in your car. Perhaps it can be done for cheaper.

Just for your information, the SIMI is more about lobbying government for changes to help dealers as opposed to holding them accountable for poor service.

grogi

Yawns wrote: »

Would a clutch be covered? You can wreck a clutch inside an hour of you cant use it properly which is why most 2nd hand car sales will give an engine warranty only.

By that logic you can spin the engine to the red and wreck it in 15 mins.

Stamullen

It's a Polo cross. It has 35 k kilometres on the clock. I only use the car to commute from Stamullen to Dublin Airport. From my house it us 2 left turns and straight on the motorway and then only 2 turns and I am on my car park so I would not really use clutch as ppl would do in city. Volkswagen said it's a ,,wear and tear,, part so it's not covered by a warranty.

Stamullen

porsche boy wrote: »

Clutches are deemed a consumable item and as such are not covered under warranty, weather it dealer or manufacturer. Only way would be to prove a mechanical or design defect caused it.

Please list the make, model and engine in your car. Perhaps it can be done for cheaper.

Just for your information, the SIMI is more about lobbying government for changes to help dealers as opposed to holding them accountable for poor service.

Cross Polo, 1.2 TDI

Aka Ishur

Clutch gone after 35k kilometers? If its not you it must have been driven by an absolute animal before you.

Stamullen

Aka Ishur wrote: »

Clutch gone after 35k kilometers? If its not you it must have been driven by an absolute animal before you.

I know! As I said before I can't imagine it's me as I only use car on Motorway to get me from A to B. Motorway is 1km from my home so I only change the gears 5 times to get to motorway and then from motorway probably the same and that's my clutch usage. Plus the car is not ever 2 years old so it's hard for me to understand how could that even happen so quick. Just pissed off with the high bill.

ironclaw

We took a Yaris in from an elderly relative who stopped driving. 2006 Yaris with 35k km. We believe it's had 3 clutches before us. Its entirely possible for a driver to do a lot of damage quite quickly and likely the case here given the type of car in question.

I'd get in touch with VW Ireland HQ but if you sources the parts yourself and found a good indie garage, you can likely get it done for a lot cheaper. Unfortunately its the type of job that is beyond the realm of DIY

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

colm_mcm

Get a price from a non VW dealer.
I doubt it'll be covered on goodwill as it seems you bought the car from a non VW garage.

Drummerboy08

draiochtanois wrote: »

Email the distributor msl.ie and volkswagen.ie

MSL have nothing to do with VW Ireland.

I've seen clutches destroyed in 60 seconds and in a couple of hundred yards of driving. They're not usually covered under warranty unless it's component failure - to prove this you will have to remove the gearbox and have the clutch inspected by a VW technician.

James Forde

Sorry to hi-jack the thread.

But how would one do that kind of damage to a clutch that so quickly?

Drummerboy08

James Forde wrote: »

Sorry to hi-jack the thread.

But how would one do that kind of damage to a clutch that so quickly?

By no releasing it fully for one I've seen cars going up a hill and ruining clutches in the process.

Alanstrainor

James Forde wrote: »

Sorry to hi-jack the thread.

But how would one do that kind of damage to a clutch that so quickly?

I wonder if it's as simple as people who rest their foot on the clutch when driving... but that would be a bizarre practise so I don't know!

punisher5112

I've seen smoke coming from numerous cars in most cases very elderly drivers and the smell of clutch.

Some don't ever go higher then 3rd gear

Putting revs to the limit and slipping

clutch it would burn out in no time.

The o/h yaris had 2 clutches.

grogi

punisher5112 wrote: »

I've seen smoke coming from numerous cars in most cases very elderly drivers and the smell of clutch.

Some don't ever go high

Putting revs to the limit and slipping clutch it would burn out in no time.

The o/h yaris had 2 clutches.

One damages the clutch by:

• Putting revs during slippage - burns the clutch and damage the friction surfaces.
• Keeping the foot on the pedal damages the disengage bearing (did I have the name right?).

Different things might break down in a clutch, like the disengage spring. There is very little bad driving habits can do to harm those really.

cml387

Does the car have a tow bar?

Stamullen

cml387 wrote: »

Does the car have a tow bar?

No. It doesn't. I am just thinking now, would it be possible the car was clocked???

savagethegoat

of course it's possible, clocking is rife in Ireland. I'd have a look at your driving habits though...foot resting on the clutch too long or the clutch being dropped too quickly could be the cause.

No good you clutching at straws though ( :-) ) , it's not a warranty item, suck it up.

Stamullen

savagethegoat wrote: »

of course it's possible, clocking is rife in Ireland. I'd have a look at your driving habits though...foot resting on the clutch too long or the clutch being dropped too quickly could be the cause.

No good you clutching at straws though ( :-) ) , it's not a warranty item, suck it up.

Hahha yeah suck it up I guess, I've been driving for the past 9 years, had two cars and never had a problem with a clutch but I guess there is always a first time lol ! What can I say , I'm a woman driver maybe it's my own fault

shietpilot

grogi wrote: »

[*]Keeping the foot on the pedal damages the disengage bearing (did I have the name right?).

- disengage bearing
- release bearing
- throw-out bearing

Same thing :pac:

RainyDay

There's got to be a general lesson here about verbal warranties (even though I know clutch would not be covered). They're not worth the paper they are written on, so you really need something in writing.

Would the dealer have known about clutch wear when selling the car, I wonder?

Cordell

What exactly happen to the clutch? Is just the friction surface gone or it's something else?

unkel

grogi wrote: »

By that logic you can spin the engine to the red and wreck it in 15 mins.

Nope. You can run any modern engine at the red line all day long without doing damage

Polo_Mint

Stamullen wrote: »

Hahha yeah suck it up I guess, I've been driving for the past 9 years, had two cars and never had a problem with a clutch but I guess there is always a first time lol ! What can I say , I'm a woman driver maybe it's my own fault

You are looking at about 250/300 € for a Clutch

same again to fit it so you should be able to cut the price in half

Moneymaker

Stamullen wrote: »

No. It doesn't. I am just thinking now, would it be possible the car was clocked???

Definitely. Is it a UK import?

Did you conduct checks before buying to verify the mileage?

colm_mcm

Would it be normal to replace the DMF in this case, if it's just worn prematurely would they leave it out?

millington

35k KMs is very low to need a clutch but it would be even rarer for it to be covered by any warranty.

biko

Tbh OP, 5 months is a long time.
If clutch was already gone when you bought car you probably would have noticed it pretty much immediately.

It will be easy for the dealer to say you caused the issue.

Yawns

grogi wrote: »

By that logic you can spin the engine to the red and wreck it in 15 mins.

Not at all true with a lot of modern cars. A clutch is seen as a wear & tear item so usually not covered by warranty. Akin to tyres not being covered by warranty if you drive em til they're bald. I've not had to replace a clutch myself but the mother in law is on her third in 4 years.

R.O.R

As the CrossPolo was never a great seller, I wouldn't be surprised if it was originally a rental car, and that would explain an early clutch failure.

It's not a Silver one by any chance? If you are on the M1 around 07.00 every morning, I've passed it a few times - sticks out as there aren't many CrossPolo's around.

ronnie3585

R.O.R wrote: »

As the CrossPolo was never a great seller, I wouldn't be surprised if it was originally a rental car, and that would explain an early clutch failure.

My thoughts exactly, a couple of spins with some Yanks that aren't used to a clutch would have the potential to do a lot of damage very quickly.

ironclaw

ronnie3585 wrote: »

My thoughts exactly, a couple of spins with some Yanks that aren't used to a clutch would have the potential to do a lot of damage very quickly.

I have it on good terms that some rental companies designate certain cars as 'US Only' and they are completely ragged. Usually covered in bumps and scrapes from not being used to narrow roads etc as well.

Stamullen

R.O.R wrote: »

As the CrossPolo was never a great seller, I wouldn't be surprised if it was originally a rental car, and that would explain an early clutch failure.

It's not a Silver one by any chance? If you are on the M1 around 07.00 every morning, I've passed it a few times - sticks out as there aren't many CrossPolo's around.

No its not silver. It's red in colour and not a scratch on a bodywork or inside.

JohnBoy26

Aka Ishur wrote: »

Clutch gone after 35k kilometers? If its not you it must have been driven by an absolute animal before you.

You'd be surprised. A hard driver isn't necessarily a bad driver. If the gears and clutch are used properly then hard driving won't be an issue to a clutch. It's the gentle OAP drivers that are usually the cause of clutches wearing out prematurely. While they usually drive slow they don't use the clutch properly and rev the car to the moon when taking off. You'll usually see this in a supermarket carpark when they are pulling out of a parking spot.

I once seen a fairly new car with a burned out clutch at under 7k miles. It was owned by an old lady from new and only used to go to the shops and back.

billyhead

Sorry for going a bit off topic OP but is a faulty battery covered under car warranty. My battery went a month into a 3 month written warranty and needed to be replaced

Drummerboy08

A battery generally wouldn't be covered on a used car, no.

bazz26

My money would be on the car being an ex rental in which case the clutch may have been abused or misused by drivers not familiar with driving a manual.

colm_mcm

Or it might have just had one bad driver owner!

Greyfoot

unkel wrote: »

Nope. You can run any modern engine at the red line all day long without doing damage

Not under load you can`t.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

9935452

ironclaw wrote: »

We took a Yaris in from an elderly relative who stopped driving. 2006 Yaris with 35k km. We believe it's had 3 clutches before us. Its entirely possible for a driver to do a lot of damage quite quickly and likely the case here given the type of car in question.

I'd get in touch with VW Ireland HQ but if you sources the parts yourself and found a good indie garage, you can likely get it done for a lot cheaper. Unfortunately its the type of job that is beyond the realm of DIY

I know a elderly man who burnt out a clutch in a new corolla in 800kms