In January this year I bought an approved used Mazda MPV 2.0TD through a Mazda dealer for £5000 which came with a years Mazda Zoom Zoom Plus (ZZ+) warranty.
When I bought the car she had covered just over 52000 miles. In order to qualify as a used approved Mazda it had to have Full Service History and pass a rigorous inspection. This was a blue chip car.
I soon noticed that it was using a little oil necessitating topping up weekly and this has steadily got worse to the point that having covered just over 5000 miles (bringing the total mileage to just over 57000) it has consumed just under 7 litres of oil, or to put it another way about 1 litre every 750 miles.
I checked the handbook which stated that these engines (Apparently the same as the Mazda6) can consume up to 1 litre of oil every 1000 miles.
The odd thing is, it is not obviously burning oil (no plumes of blue smoke), it is not leaking oil, the performance is strong and the engine runs very smoothly. The fuel economy is good and the coolant level is static and the engine temperature never deviates once warm. Other than the appetite for oil, you really wouldn?t know there was a thing was wrong with the engine.
Took it into my local Mazda garage, and they quickly diagnosed heavy breathing!? In fact, with the engine running, if you remove the oil filler cap it does a (depressingly) good impression of a steam train. It also does the same if the dip stick is removed indicating it is likely to be blow past the pistons as opposed to valve guides. How it doesn?t burn oil I really don?t know. The technician immediately started to talk about a new short engine and I thought ?Fine, crack on?!
I immediately sensed all was not well though as they went on to explain to me that I would have to pay for the engine to be taken out and stripped at a cost of at least £600!!!!! Furthermore, if it was deemed to be ?fair wear and tear? the warranty would not pay for the repair and I would be liable. The warranty help desk have said that if there is a qualifying problem then the diagnostic costs would be fully covered.
So I am now stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have a first class warranty but may still be liable for the repairs!
In a worse case scenario, how do I argue the toss?
To my mind, I have a car which I bought 5 months ago as an used approved car which had a Full Mazda Service History and was good enough to qualify for the ZZ+ approved used scheme; so has clearly been maintained to the manufacturers specifications and was thoroughly checked before sale.
It is a low mileage car and today the life expectancy of an engine must be well over 100,000 miles and probably nearer 150,000 miles, but how do I prove that?
Surely, a properly maintained modern engine should not be using anything like 1 litre of oil every 1000 miles let alone every 750 miles having only done 57,000 miles?
Any advice would be appreciated.
George
Edited by Pugugly on 12/06/2009 at 21:06
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Removed the location of the garages involved - in case you compromise your own case more than for any name and shame breach.
Rob - Moderator.
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Thanks for that. Suffice it to say the supplying garrage is a few hundred miles away; so are difficult to pop into.
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Does sale of goods act not apply here as well as warranty?
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The warranty covers specific faults. If wear & tear is not one of them then it's not covered. It's like my plumbing & heating cover does not cover my shower pump. No warranty in the world covers everything.
As you bought the car less than 6 months ago then Sale of Goods COULD kick in. Assuming the fault is as suspected then it is down to the suplier to prove the fault was not there at purchase. The problem you have is that it is down to you to demonstate that the fault does exist which means paying for diagnosis; but after all it is YOUR car.
The diagnosis costs you should get back if it turns out to be a warranty covered item or a fault that the dealer cannot prove was not there at purchase.
I would pay for the diagnosis & if not a waranty claim then inform the dealer he is liable under the 6 month SofG clause. If he says no then go to trading standards.
Good luck
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Surely a Mazda warranty can be dealt with by any Mazda accredited garage? They can't expect you to go back to the supplying dealer. Re Mazda warranties have a look at the thread re Mazda 6 diesel particulate filters and oil level problems.
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As the fault isn't (yet) apparent, the best advice is - Flog it.
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...but there are still some people in the world who would perhaps feel uncomfortable selling on a car with a known but undeclared major fault. At least I hope so.
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