Warranty problems?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Thu 24 Apr 2003 09:18
Warranty problems? - Armitage Shanks{P}
I know the answer is "Buyer Beware" but can Backroomers suggest what options are open to me in the following briefly described circumstances?

In December 2002 I bought a Sep 2000 car for a fair price from a main dealer. A diesel with a 2yr/12,000 mile servicing cycle. I recently checked the service record and found (Shock horror!) that it had not been serviced at all between leaving the garage new and being traded in in September 2002! It had missed a 6000 miles Warranty validation check and, according to the previous owner to whom I have spoken, was not due a service on time or mileage when he traded it in. It was under 2 yrs old and had only done 9,000 miles. The garage then ran it for 4 months, without changing ownership with DVLA, and put another 9000 miles on it without doing the servicing. It was serviced at 17,800 miles when I picked it up; the first service was thus at 2 yrs 4 months and at that mileage. The first owner was an employee of the manufacturer (bought it at a discount I suppose) and it was traded back to the supplying garage.

1. Is my 3 year warranty from manufacturer invalid?
2. Should the garage have notified change of ownership to DVLA?
3. What value have I lost by an incomplete early service history?
4. Do I have any redress against the dealer?

Comments would be welcome! I know I haven't been too clever myself but what can I do to tidy things up?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Apr 2003 09:30
Warranty problems? - Mark (RLBS)
I guess the first thing is the car itself. Is the car a good one that you wish to keep ?

If so, I assume that there are two things which could bother you;

1) Loss of warranty
2) Lessened value for when you sell

There is a time limit and rules around use as to when a trader must reregister a car. Someone else will know what they are.

But first you have to work out what resolution you want. Is it a restored warranty ? (did they say they were selling it with manuf. warranty ?). Is it some money back ?

Having worked out that, you then need to speak to the Dealer. For all you know he may be shocked and appalled and offer to fix the situation straight away. Or perhaps not, but you need to know.

I'd suggest having those thoughts, speaking to the dealer, and then coming back here with an update.

Clearly if the car is not as represented to you, then you do have redress. And if you can prove it, considerable redress at that.

You also need to dig out the original paperwork to see if they stated they were selling it to you with a service history, with a warranty etc.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Apr 2003 09:31
Warranty problems? - joe
Was it advertised for sale as having the balance of the manufacturer's warranty? If so, or if the salesman said as much while you were being shown round the car, then it has been misdescribed. That might give you a peg to hang a claim on.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Apr 2003 19:05
Warranty problems? - Armitage Shanks{P}
Many thanks for your replies. The garage have agreed to stand by the 3 year warranty, whether at their expense or the manufacturer's I don't know (or care!) They agreed that they ran it around for 3 months and without telling DVLA; thus any speeding tickets would have gone to the man who had traded it in and caused some difficulty. I am trying to quantify my 'loss' with regard to the fact that I do not have a full main dealer service history. This will presumably affect a trade in price or the price I can ask for a private sale. It occurs to me that I might suggest to them that it would be nice if I took the book in and they stamped it up for the 2 services that were totally missed, the more important one of which was missed when they had the car and were running it around. Every time the ignition was switched on it would have flashed a servicing warning! Any advice on the ethics of that and how to go about it without being shown the door, please?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Apr 2003 20:13
Warranty problems? - Nortones2
Sounds as thought they really ran it around in 4 months! Rental offered on their site by chance?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 24 Apr 2003 20:43
Warranty problems? - Andrew-T
AS - I am sure that if the dealer stamped up the service record 'fraudulently' it would not be the first time. Better than getting hold of a completely new book and filling that in from scratch, though. :o)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 25 Apr 2003 12:33
Warranty problems? - Armitage Shanks{P}
Thanks for comments! The dealer declined to stamp the service book, basically because a check of the dates/mileages into the computer would reveal discrepancies. However, I rang round a couple of other dealers (same make) and they said that the 'odd' service history wouldn't bother them or affect trade-in value. I am going to get a 'big' service done early, at the right mileage in the book, and get myself off to a new start in the book. It looks as though I got a bit steamed up about not a lot!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link