Used Car Warranty Not Honoured ???

bannerinDublin

Hi Guys,
In July this year I bought a 2002 Audi A3 from a used car dealership with a 6 month warranty. The warranty is written on the receipt as "6 months warranty on all majors " as I agreed with the dealer on purchase.

However, after 5 months and 15,000 miles later the clutch is failing. I contacted the dealer and he says its not covered under the warranty. The only thing covered under the warranty is the engine and gearbox! And that the clutch will cost me at least 1000 euro to replace.

In addition to this he said that I should have paid more if I wanted to cover the clutch on the warranty! But this is the first time he mentioned this to me.

There are 3 points here...
1. At no point did he indicate verbally, written or otherwise that "all majors" actually only meant engine and gearbox.
2. If he had told me that I need to pay extra to cover the clutch and the rest of the car I would have taken that option but he didnt.
3. Also, in August the Fuel gauge was acting up. He replaced the instrument cluster with no fuss - How is this more major than the Clutch??

My understanding of All Majors was everthing except tyres, brake pads, lights, switches, etc. Basically everything that doesnt stop the car from moving.

Maybe I am totally wrong here and he is right with his stance on this but does anyone have any experience with this kind of issue or can anyone advise me on how I should proceed, if of course there is anything I can do.

PS: I have booked the car in for a clutch replacement at my own cost. But I cant help feeling cheated on this matter.

CCOVICH

Have you contacted the SIMI to see what they had to say? Or the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs? The sale of a motor car is covered under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980.

bannerinDublin

Yes I have read through the government website about used cars and I noticed that it is covered under that act.


I will know alot more tomorrow. I contacted an Audi mechanic who is a friend of a friend and he says that
1. If the clutch went after 4 months they should cover it no questions asked. Its not covered under manufacturers warranty but that is why we buy used cars from dealers...it in effect extends the warranty.

2. He suspects that based on the symptoms I described that the problem is caused by a known fault in the audi 130BHP 1.9tdi engine and the 6 speed gearbox combination whereby a rubber seal ont he gearbox wears and leaks minor amounts of transmission oil onto the clutch thus causing the slipping.
- So if this is indeed the problem, the dealer will have to fix the gearbox seal and replace the clutch also as it would be ruined due to the oil on it because as by his own words the gearbox is covered and thus so is the clutch if this is the cause of the problem.

I am awaiting news from the dealer tomorrow. In the meantime I am attempting to get an audi garage to inspect the clutch for evidence of such a case. Aparently this is easily checked through an inspection plate.

After reading the SIMA website I have cancelled the booking for my car repair until this is resolved.

I will keep you updated. Thanks for the info.

bambam

could you mention the dealers name?

Culchie

It's probably best if you want to disclose the dealers name, to use the PM facility.

LFC Murphy

Thanks. And hope it is resolved quickly

MorningStar

If it is a design flaw as you are suggesting it might be seen as not the dealers responsibility at all! If he states that as a reason not to fix it you might need to chase the manufacturer

RainyDay

MorningStar wrote:

If it is a design flaw as you are suggesting it might be seen as not the dealers responsibility at all! If he states that as a reason not to fix it you might need to chase the manufacturer

It's always the dealers responsibility. You paid your money to him and he has a legal duty to provide you with goods fit for the purpose sold. If it's a manufacturing fault, then that's an issue between the dealer & the manufacturer.