9 month old car shock defective

coffeepower

I recently failed my NCT on the grounds of an unbalanced rear axle (59% out). Brought my car back to the garage that replaced the shocks 9 months ago (called them beforehand and they said they would stand over any necessary repair). Lo and behold, shock is leaking and now they say they will only cover the labour and not the part! What are my rights on this? Is there a gaurentee on car parts or do I have to cough up for an expensive repair on a part I thought would last years!

Del2005

They have to replace them for free under the sale of goods and supply of services act, you should get more than 9 months from a, shock. This time tell them to put the gater on.

Toyotafanboi

It's a bit of a grey area depending on the business that fitted them and the part in question.

You can argue a shock is a wear and tear component and can be damaged by driver error which is true, to an extent.

That being said, if there's no other signs of external influence in that area and you were at a garage of reasonable quality, got a VAT receipt etc, i think it's reasonable to expect 12 months parts and labour cover on the work carried out.

The thing is, it can be very difficult for non franchise workshops to claim back the value of work done under warranty on behalf of their parts supplier so most just try to fob it off or don't want to entertain it, which is what it sounds like is happening here.

mickdw

Did they charge for new the last time?
Did they fit new?
Parts have warranty. They should be able to handle a claim but I'd suggest they possibly fitted used parts.

bazz26

Surely if they are covering the cost of labour then they should be covering the defective part also? Then they in turn would have recourse with the manufacturer of the shock?

Guy:Incognito

Del2005 wrote: »

They have to replace them for free under the sale of goods and supply of services act, you should get more than 9 months from a, shock. This time tell them to put the gater on.

That 9 months could be 1000 kms driving on lovely flat roads in a new estate or 50000 onpotholed backroads.

Seth Brundle

Also remember that if you are getting them replaced (either through warranty, claim or otherwise) then they should be done in pairs!

coffeepower

mickdw wrote: »

Did they charge for new the last time?
Did they fit new?
Parts have warranty. They should be able to handle a claim but I'd suggest they possibly fitted used parts.

Charged for new and was told they were new parts. I don’t think they fitted used as they have a good enough reputation. I must try and dig out the VAT receipt but I think when I had called them they might not have actually believed there was something wrong and now are trying to backtrack.

Charles Ingles

Wear and tear or driver error.
I think your lucky they are even paying for the Labour.
One bad pot hole or heavy bang can break a shock very easily not usually covered under warrantyy
You could have a brand new part and break it within 5 minutes if leaving the garage

coffeepower

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

That 9 months could be 1000 kms driving on lovely flat roads in a new estate or 50000 onpotholed backroads.

I see your point. Drive on a mixture but mainly main roads. I honestly don’t think I’ve driven on enough dodgy roads to justify this and can’t remember any significant impact on the car. I didn’t even realise a problem until after the NCT results and even now cannot really ‘feel’ any issue when driving

bazz26

The fact they are covering the labour costs to change them would suggest to me that they don't believe it to be wear and tear otherwise they would have told the OP sorry, not our problem.

coffeepower

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

It's a bit of a grey area depending on the business that fitted them and the part in question.

You can argue a shock is a wear and tear component and can be damaged by driver error which is true, to an extent.

That being said, if there's no other signs of external influence in that area and you were at a garage of reasonable quality, got a VAT receipt etc, i think it's reasonable to expect 12 months parts and labour cover on the work carried out.

The thing is, it can be very difficult for non franchise workshops to claim back the value of work done under warranty on behalf of their parts supplier so most just try to fob it off or don't want to entertain it, which is what it sounds like is happening here.

I agree. If they had said from the get go that they wouldn’t cover it at all it would be another story. I’m annoyed that they are now backtracking on what they said originally. No signs of any other damage to the area.

colm_mcm

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Also remember that if you are getting them replaced (either through warranty, claim or otherwise) then they should be done in pairs!

It’s quite common for main dealers (on instruction of the brand) to only replace one side on warranty for a defective shock absorber.
If this shock is defective and the other side is working and only 9 months old then it’s not necessary to replace both.

Spook_ie

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s quite common for main dealers (on instruction of the brand) to only replace one side on warranty for a defective shock absorber.
If this shock is defective and the other side is working and only 9 months old then it’s not necessary to replace both.

If it were 9 months old from new it wouldn't be needing an NCT unless it was in use as an SPSV

colm_mcm

Spook_ie wrote: »

If it were 9 months old from new it wouldn't be needing an NCT unless it was in use as an SPSV

The shock absorbers in the OP are 9 months old.

bells of shandon

The shock and spring assembly strut should last for at least 5 years. The greatest amount of work is the disassembly of the shock and spring spring from the strut, which requires a spring compressor tool. The removal of the assembly from the car is a matter of a few bolts.
Cheapest method is to buy a used assembly from a late model car and fit, 30 mins work at the most.

bells of shandon

bells of shandon wrote: »

The shock and spring assembly strut should last for at least 5 years. The greatest amount of work is the disassembly of the shock and spring spring from the strut, which requires a spring compressor tool. The removal of the assembly from the car is a matter of a few bolts.
Cheapest method is to buy a used assembly from a late model car and fit, 30 mins work at the most.

W112 are you back?

I've never needed a spring compressor tool for doing rear springs.
Rear struts? used assembly ?
GTFO

Spook_ie

colm_mcm wrote: »

The shock absorbers in the OP are 9 months old.

Sorry the way I read your reply inferred you thought the car was 9 months old,.

bells of shandon

BrownFinger wrote: »

W112 are you back?

I've never needed a spring compressor tool for doing rear springs.
Rear struts? used assembly ?
GTFO

You try and dis-assemble a spring from a strut without a compression tool and you are likely to go into orbit or seriously injure yourself

bells of shandon

bells of shandon wrote: »

You try and dis-assemble a spring from a strut without a compression tool and you are likely to go into orbit or seriously injure yourself

Correct,
I've still never used them on rear suspension.