Is this 'wear and tear'?

Bought a Honda Civic from a main Honda dealership six months ago, recently a Saab engineer had a look over and said (quote)

"There's a transmission whine at idle and reverse gear engagement is very, very harsh."

I emailed this to Honda and this was their response:

The problems you have with the noise, is probably bearings inside the gearbox.

These bearings are a wear and tear item and are NOT covered under warranty.
The second issue you have with reverse gear is again a wear and tear issue, NOT covered.

We have been in discussions with Honda today but there is nothing they can do as they are wear and tear items; not covered by the warranty.

"The cost of sorting both issues including labour, parts etc is £971.29 - the gearbox has to be removed and stripped down which is a days work.

"As a gesture of goodwill we can discount the price to £702.49 and will collect the car from you at no extra cost and leave you a courtesy car to use for a few days.

"I look forward to hearing back from you."

..How does this sound to you HJ? It sounds a bit unfair to me that they seem to have recognised a fault and shifted the responsibility my way but where do I stand?

Asked on 11 September 2012 by ipsga

Answered by Honest John
It's a 9 year old car and the problem occurred more than 6 months after purchase so the only way you could claim from the dealer would be if you could prove that the fault was present or developing when you bought the car: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

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