Expensive Car Part Failure

[ZYX]

We had an original from new fitment car part fail, the main dealership miss-diagnosed what needed to be done ("the diagnostic computer says it's all OK"), then two visits later they actually worked out what was wrong and fitted the expensive replacement part. The car then covered 3,675 miles in the next period of only just over a year, and was it was due an MOT and service at the end of this August. We had the chance to put the car up on the ramp at the dealership at the start of August, so we did so, and that is when it was noticed that the new part had started leaking. Some of the fluid from the failing seal had dried and looked like an old leak, so it had probably started failing during the warranty period anyway! The car went in for the service and MOT it was due, it passed no advisories. The dealership said that they had "put some sealer" on the leak and we could collect the car. The part was out of warranty by only a few weeks (end of July) so they could not claim for a new one.

We emailed the main manufacturer UK HQ about this failure, said that there was no way we can get under the car here to check a new part fitted...and keep an eye on something like that. We should not even have to do this. How are we expected to see when something like this has failed? We do not have car ramps at home.

Said the car had had very little use since the new part had been fitted, so on the basis that the last one had survived 198,000 miles of use it was reasonable to expect that the new part do this too. It has currently lasted 1/55th of the lifespan that it should have done. It was supposedly a genuine manufacturer replacement part, so nothing cheap and nasty there! Clearly it is not fit for purpose..

What is a reasonable solution to this issue? A £650 part has failed, possibly only weeks out of warranty, but also guess probably during warranty, as it is in a place on the car not easily visible to us and we could not check up on it.

[echat11]

What did they say?

'We emailed the main manufacturer UK HQ about this failure, said that there was no way we can get under the car here to check a new part fitted...and keep an eye on something like that.'

Have you Googled to see if there is an 'inherent fault' (other complaints regarding failure of part) with that manufactured part?

[ZYX]

The Head Office contacted the dealership.

"Our retailers are our technical eyes and ears, so are best placed to address any issues with the car and any technical questions you may have. We are not technically trained here at Customer Care so I afraid I cannot answer your queries directly or offer any advice on the repair carried out by XXXXXXX at XXXXXXXXXX.

I would need to contact the team at XXXXXXX for some more information on this and the repairs they have carried out in order to advise further, so please let me know if you are happy for me to do this."

We have Googled the failure of this part, and it would appear that this is not a regular occurance - from what we can find.

There is a mechanic in the family, he says where the seal on the tank has been forced outwards to leak then this would tend to indicate there is too much internal system pressure. Equally, if the seal had failed and the seal had been sucked inwards this would indicate an internal system vacuum. We have the former.

The dealership replied to us last night. Said they expected us to pay 80% of the cost for the new tank (the "maximum we can claim under warranty"?! So now you admit there IS a fault / warranty with this?), replacement internal additive, programming the spare to the car, and labour to fit it. The "estimated" start bill is £724 for this, reduced to £144 with the discount.

I have replied and said that we have already paid labour for this problem to be fixed. We have already bought the internal additive / paid to have a new part programmed to the car. We have, also, bought the new tank...that they fitted...which has failed.

Why should we now be expected to pay all of the ancillary costs associated with fitting the replacement faulty tank that they supplied? We have "bought" all of these items already.

Currently waiting for a reply...


12.46 - Dealership reply is that they are sorry that this has happened, but they have to follow the rules.. They have avoided answering my questions about having to pay the for the ancillary costs associated with replacing the tank when we have paid these already when buying the original tank. Also "Are we truly expected to put the car up on a ramp on a regular basis to monitor a spare part fitted?". How otherwise would we know the tank had failed? Referred me back to the main HQ.

[des8]

From your account i would be considering a claim under your rights bestowed by the Consumer Rights act 2015.

You purchased a new part which has failed prematurely ie was not satisfactory.
Supplier (dealer?) liable
or the repairs were not carried out to a reasonable standard.

Suggest you read the act https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...ntents/enacted

[ZYX]

Am I right in thinking that Chapter 2 Section 9 (2 / 3a) and Section10 are the ones which apply?

Even Section 23 (2a & b)?

[des8]

I would add Chapter 2 Section 9 3e to your list

Regarding remedies also bear in mind chapter 19 (9) (10) (11)

[ZYX]

The answer today from the main HQ is still "the fault was spotted outside the warranty period, no matter how short a time this was, the offer is an 80% discount, so contact the Ombudsman if you want to persue this further.". No acknowledgement of the Consumer Rights Act 2015...

[des8]

I'm unclear about the amount you are having to pay.
If it is solely going to be 20% of the cost of the tank and there will be nothing else such as installation costs to pay, I would be inclined to accept it.

As the tank is over a year old, even a win in court will not get you a 100% of the cost as there will be a deduction for usage.

You can of course go via the ombudsman service, but it is long and (IMO) often seems to be unsatisfactory for the consumer

if you claim via the courts it can be stressful, and the result can be a bit of a lottery

[ZYX]

We are expected to pay 20% of the replacement tank, 20% of the £100 bottle of fluid to fill it back up again, 20% of fitting labour, and 20% of the programming cost to get the car recognising the new part.

If it was just 20% of the cost of the replacement tank then we would probably accept this as a solution, even though it has only lasted for 1/55th the reasonably expected lifespan it should do.

BUT, they want us to pay the extras too.

We have used 3675 / 70,000 miles (5% or £5 worth) of the fluid that is in there...if that.

The extra payment % on buying the tank at 20% would cover the £5 cost of the fluid we used.

This will not be considered.

[ZYX]

Update: the Automotive Group Head Office clearly took my email about the Consumer Rights Act alot more seriously than the main brand Head Office for the car did...although it still took the former 11 days to acknowledge something had arrived in their "Inbox" though!

We have had the new tank fitted, the dealership paid the "missing" 15% from the offer made by the car brand Head Office, and so the bill was reduced to £36.23..instead of the £724 first quoted. A bill alot more in line with the 2% of part lifespan usage and 5% of the fluid that we actually had the use of.

Thank you very for your help with this, I had an idea about the CRA 2015, but not much idea of which bits applied.

[des8]

Well done and thanks for the update