Peter James, They Thought I Was Dead:...
Arts & Literature0 min ago
My Rights Regarding My Car Warranty
I have a 13 month old car which has had an intermittent fault since it was 8 months old. It has been in to the dealer 4 times now, the problem being that they have never witnessed the fault. They have got to the point where they don't fix it, but just offer to run it around trying to get it to fault, because they don't get paid by the manufacturer unless the fault is verified. It has become a nightmare as the car is completely unreliable.
They have evidence that all is not well because when it faults the dpf soots up more quickly than it normally would. However they don't ever bother even trying to link up the information they have already got about the fault, and every time it goes in we start from scratch again. They have also started to get a bit fed up of me.
I have tried approaching management 3 times but they are useless and now that they have my money they don't care. At a meeting last week they promised action and then just ignored me. I am at the point of just getting rid of it. I don't seem to have anywhere to go. I can't take it to a non manufacturer approved garage because it would invalidate the warranty, but the approved garage won't repair it.
They have evidence that all is not well because when it faults the dpf soots up more quickly than it normally would. However they don't ever bother even trying to link up the information they have already got about the fault, and every time it goes in we start from scratch again. They have also started to get a bit fed up of me.
I have tried approaching management 3 times but they are useless and now that they have my money they don't care. At a meeting last week they promised action and then just ignored me. I am at the point of just getting rid of it. I don't seem to have anywhere to go. I can't take it to a non manufacturer approved garage because it would invalidate the warranty, but the approved garage won't repair it.
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My OH had this problem with his last car, a VW Passat. VW were particularly unhelpful, stating it was the way he was driving the car. To keep the filters clear, they insisted the car had to be driven at a certain constant speed over a certain distance which was a load of nonsense, and in a lot of driving situations impracticle and unachievable. I think it was at 50mph over 12miles
I have been mis-sold the car, that is for sure. The fault consists of the car jerking sometimes quite violently when going through the lower gears. Sometimes it does this when pulling away and it loses power. Sometimes it can go for quite a while without a problem.
I would accept that the jerking is caused by the filter being blocked, except for the fact that the second time they looked at it, they regenerated the filter, I picked it up, drove half a mile down the road and it faulted again. The filter was clear but the problem still occurred, Two days later they checked the pressure in the filter and found it to be high again. They concluded then that the fault was causing the filter to soot up more than it normally would. But that was where the consideration of the problem ended.
It never does the jerking in 4th gear and above. I would have thought that a blocked filter would cause it to fault at any speed.
I would accept that the jerking is caused by the filter being blocked, except for the fact that the second time they looked at it, they regenerated the filter, I picked it up, drove half a mile down the road and it faulted again. The filter was clear but the problem still occurred, Two days later they checked the pressure in the filter and found it to be high again. They concluded then that the fault was causing the filter to soot up more than it normally would. But that was where the consideration of the problem ended.
It never does the jerking in 4th gear and above. I would have thought that a blocked filter would cause it to fault at any speed.
@methyl - it is a limp home type.
It is not unsafe as such, but I feel nervous sitting at very busy roundabouts when it is acting up, because if I go to pull away and it decides to fault, you jump onto the roundabout, then stop then jump then stop, and people around aren't expecting you to do that, so I feel vulnerable about being hit from behind.
It would pass an MOT I would imagine because you are only aware of it when driving it and when it is giving trouble.
It is not unsafe as such, but I feel nervous sitting at very busy roundabouts when it is acting up, because if I go to pull away and it decides to fault, you jump onto the roundabout, then stop then jump then stop, and people around aren't expecting you to do that, so I feel vulnerable about being hit from behind.
It would pass an MOT I would imagine because you are only aware of it when driving it and when it is giving trouble.
Take it to another authorised dealer for the make. You are not obliged to go back to the one you bought it from. That could have peculiarly strange results; you might be the car in London but live in Newcastle ! My daughter bought in Cambridge but lives in London, so she took her warranty case to a dealer in London for the work to be done, without any problem.
The other dealer may have mechanics who recognise the fault from your description; they may have seen it before; and be better managed than the first one.
The other dealer may have mechanics who recognise the fault from your description; they may have seen it before; and be better managed than the first one.
the basic problem here is that we have no lemon laws, so you are stuck with it. Rest assured hell will freeze over before they'll change a car. It may be worth appealing to their wallets some other way. What is the car? can you elaborate on what the fault is, perhaps there is a solution out on the web? I'm afraid it's cold comfort but for future reference, never buy new, never buy diesel. In order to keep the emissions to some sort of sensible level they have to introduce a lot of complexity that can become a nightmare.
You're right there Tora. I wish I'd spoken to you 13 months ago. It's a Volvo V50. Worst thing is I've gone from loving it to hating it. If you look 4 posts above yours I've outlined the symptoms.
Fred, I might very well try a dealer some 40 miles away that is not related to this one. I've had so much of the 'can't find anything wrong' that I feel they never will.
Might it be worth asking Volvo? Or is that a silly question?
Fred, I might very well try a dealer some 40 miles away that is not related to this one. I've had so much of the 'can't find anything wrong' that I feel they never will.
Might it be worth asking Volvo? Or is that a silly question?
Probably the EGR valve:
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I would go one higher than the main dealer and write to Volvo UK explaining the issues that you have had with the garage and ask them what they intend to do about your problem. This happened with a friend who had an Audi.got a good result in the end. Not saying they will swap the car, but you need to bring it to their notice.
Thanks for all the input. You make me feel that I am not alone with this burden.
Where do I find the VIN number Tora?
@kjn: This sounds like very good advice which I will probably resort to very soon. Thank you. It is nice to have it confirmed that others have had similar problems, as the dealers' attitude is that I'm the only person who ever has a problem with them and has to have regenerations. I drove the car for a year and did not require one forced regeneration. In the last 5 weeks I've needed two. This has coincided with the faulting.
Since I got the car back it is running okay, with no fault. The problem is I'm constantly just waiting for it to start up again. Under pressure they have offered to take it in next week and run it around for a few days trying to get it to fault. I am not at all keen to give them it as they just use up your diesel and then give it back with no progress saying it hasn't faulted, whilst you have a pathetic courtesy car to contend with. But on the other hand I definitely won't get any progress if I refuse.
Where do I find the VIN number Tora?
@kjn: This sounds like very good advice which I will probably resort to very soon. Thank you. It is nice to have it confirmed that others have had similar problems, as the dealers' attitude is that I'm the only person who ever has a problem with them and has to have regenerations. I drove the car for a year and did not require one forced regeneration. In the last 5 weeks I've needed two. This has coincided with the faulting.
Since I got the car back it is running okay, with no fault. The problem is I'm constantly just waiting for it to start up again. Under pressure they have offered to take it in next week and run it around for a few days trying to get it to fault. I am not at all keen to give them it as they just use up your diesel and then give it back with no progress saying it hasn't faulted, whilst you have a pathetic courtesy car to contend with. But on the other hand I definitely won't get any progress if I refuse.
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@kjn The thing is, they have had 4 chances already. Everytime they take it in I lose a day at work and they aren't willing to try fixing it now. They just want to drive it around if necessary forever, trying to get it to fault. I just feel it is a complete waste of my time. The car has been faulty since 2000 miles.
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