Broken down UK import

bennya

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice on a situation I've found myself in.

I bought a car from the UK on the 12th, on which there was offered no standard 3 month warranty as I was importing it to Ireland, was fine by me at the time.

Unfortunately it's suffered clutch failure at the weekend which has been diagnosed as both clutch master and slave cylinder failure. Obviously I'll have to get this resolved locally.

I've been on to the UK salesman by email who stated to send on the invoice and he'd forward to his manager for perusal.

Question is, am I covered by Sale of Goods or anything similar given that the failure occurred (and was notified to the dealer) 16 days after purchase? Just want to have a little ammo should they decide to be awkward about things.

Thanks in advance,
B

Atlantic Dawn

No, normally a clutch wouldn't be covered under warranty as it's a consumable part, the UK dealer is going out of their way if they offer to cover the price when you send on invoice.

punisher5112

How did you not notice clutch was bad?

No back up as it's not covered in any warranty.

bennya

Let me clarify - the clutch itself is intact and serviceable, it is the master and slave cylinders at fault here.

My question relates to any Sale of Goods or similar laws in force that might offer me some comeback, regardless of what the dealer says.

The clutch was fine on collection but deteriorated quite quickly in the 24 hours before complete failure. Hydraulic fluid leaking from the slave cyl was caught by the engine undertray so no drips on driveway etc.

B

drunkmonkey

Is the garage you bought off part of any warranty syndicate, ie is it RAC approved or anything?

bennya

Nope, it's an independent dealer, albeit one specialising in a range of high end cars (Porsche, BMW, Merc, Audi as well as the bread and butter stuff).

No sign of any warranty affiliations on their website. I understand from conversation that they use a third-party warranty policy for this, which is seemingly only valid in the UK.

B

Henry Ford III

Hydraulic cylinders aren't hugely expensive.

Perhaps you were just lucky and the dealer is being decent?

bennya

I'm hoping I'll be lucky

I understand it's not a hugely expensive repair on my specific car as the slave is external to the gearbox (unlike VW Passats, a workmate of mine had the slave go which required removal of the box to resolve), but it would be nice to get some money back if I'm legally entitled to it.

Better in my pocket than theirs and all that

B

bazz26

Would the sale of goods act even apply to a car bought in a different jurisdiction/country?

If the UK dealer covers any of the cost I think the dealer is being overly decent and you OP would be beyond fortunate in that respect given it's a clutch component on a car you bought in a different country with no warranty.

bennya

Well I've been lucky with the repair at least, picked up the car yesterday evening and the fault lay solely with the slave cylinder, so €100 including labour sorted it.

Surely the UK equivalent of the sale of goods act would potentially cover me though? Again, let me stress, this wasn't the clutch itself, it was the clutch slave cylinder, so not a wear and tear item.

B

bazz26

Would you have been willing to travel back to the UK with the car to get it fixed under the UK sale of goods act, if necessary? Thats my point really.

bennya

That's a fair point

We'll see what they say today (invoice has been forwarded), I'm not massively motivated to chase this any further as the repair was so cheap.

My opinion might have been different if the master cylinder had also been faulty as first thought (almost €300 just for the part!).

B

bennya

Oh, and in case anyone's interested, here's the motor in question. 2.0 HDi Allure spec

B

bennya

More good news - the dealer has been in touch and has agreed to pay the full cost of the repair. Result

Thanks to all those who helped with advice.

B

bazz26

Fair play to them.

Bambaata

Care to pass me their details? Ive been after an Allure SW for a while now but nothing coming up in IE!!

bennya

Happy to, they're Crowther Lodge Motors in Gateshead. Handy to get to, tt's a 15 minute taxi from Newcastle airport, then good quality motorway for 260-ish miles all the way back to Holyhead.

'Twas the same reason I went to the UK in the first space, nothing in Ireland except piddly little 1.6HDi's in Access or Active spec...

B