Any obligation on manufacturer to get me back on the road?

[woodchopper]

I have a Vauxhall Vectra and the mainshaft went in the gearbox in november, since then I've been waiting for delivery of this part but after several missed delivery dates on Vauxhall's part, I'm now being told end of May 2012 - a full 7 months after my car went off the road.
Vauxhall have made no offer of any alternative or compensation despite my car being off the road. My problem is my car's only 6 year old and so I can't even get the part from a scrap yard as there simply aren't any cars with the part in the scrap yards.
Surely Vauxhall are under some obligation to get me back on the road are they not?
I have bought a second hand car on a temporary basis at a cost of £600 to get me to and from work and kids to school etc. on top of what the repair to my own car will be.
I'd really appreciate any advice on where I go from here I seem to have hit a brick wall.
I've gone to the Managing Director of Vauxhall Customer Care but he seems less than interested.

[TWR]

At that Age Wood they are not under obligation at all, try 247 car parts, Euro parts, Google Vauxhall car spares + G/boxes & see what come up in your faviour.

[Andyvon]

Perhaps the problem is that you are looking to replace a single gearbox component Woodchopper. I think if you treated the whole gearbox as defunct and looked to replace the complete unit then you might have more joy. I think it's obvious Vauxhall aren't in the least interested so maybe take that as a hint. Most people would just change the gearbox.

There are plenty of gearbox suppliers who will fit a reconditioned gearbox in a day. That might be more expensive than buying a single component such as the mainshaft but by the time your existing gearbox has been dismantled, the shaft fitted, then the gearbox refitted to the car there won't be much difference in cost (unless you do it yourself of course). You will also have the car back on the road in a short time.

Good luck.

[White_Cat]

Woodchopper;
Do you know if the dealer trying to get the part for you have checked the on-line parts locator (only available to Vauxhall dealers) to see if any other dealer in the country have the part you want in stock?
If another dealer has one Vauxhall will arrange for TNT to collect it and ship it to your dealer (who of course have to pay the other dealer for it!) There is no charge for the courier service- Vauxhall pay for it, as they are unable to supply the part themselves.

The cost of labour to repair a gearbox normally exceeds the cost of a reconditioned one, so most garages just replace them. Plus If a garage repairs a gearbox and it goes wrong again, shortly thereafter, because they failed to notice another part had been damaged when the gearbox failed they might be liable to cover the cost of further repairs. If they fit a reconditioned unit and it fails in under a year it has a warranty.

As others have said no car assembler is obliged to supply parts for any car they have supplied, even if it is under warranty. However under warranty they are obliged to fix it. So in your case, were the car under warranty, they would replace the gear-box.

As for the apparent disinterest, the person you spoke to may well know that Vauxhall have in stock reconditioned gearboxes, so you could get your car fixed (as others have suggested) by replacing the gearbox. Also, there is little they can do apart from tell you when it is supposed to arrive. If the factory that make it then decide not to make one (for you) because they have something more urgent to make....

In some ways you are lucky, I have been trying for almost two months get a delivery date for a cylinder head, let alone actually get it.

[EDDIE51]

As has been said , by the time you have stripped and rebuilt the gearbox it would be far cheaper to just fit a recon gearbox. I am wondering why you did not do that in the first place. Are you doing the job yourself? Vauxhall give priority to dealers if parts are scarce. I would think they get very little call for just a single part of a gearbox. Doing the work yourself would void any warrenty even if it did apply after 6 years.
As to scrap yards why not try a somewhere that dismantles accident damaged cars rather than a scap yard , but again they are only going to have complete gearbox's not parts of them.