Flippin window wipers

dellas1979

hi guys, ok...I posted a few weeks ago about a new car I bought (10 reg) and the window wipers.

I received it on the 29th Jan. By the following wednesday (4 days later) I knew something wasnt right with the wipers. They were screeching and hopping across the screen.

I bought the car from a dealer in Wicklow. I live in the south. It was the best deal at the time. On that Wednesday I email the dealer and tell him about the wipers and ask him what I should do. He says go to another "brand " dealer where I live. So I go to the dealer down the road and he says "oh I think it residue from when they pulled the plastic off-wash it with some waxy cleaning stuff and should be ok".

So, Ive done that - 3 times. The thing is (in way of a miracle) it has only rained here 2 times in the last month! So Saturday its raining and the wipers are acting up again (they seem to be ok when its just a spray from the washer-its just when they are constantly going when its raining).

I ring the "brand" dealer down the road and say "the wipers are still acting up" he says he has to ring the "brand" to see if I can get them under warranty as the car is so new. He rings back and says that "brand" will not do this - that it is considered wear and tear....wear and tear after 4 days????

I have emailed the dealer in wicklow I bought it from, but no reply yet....I havent approached the "brand" myself at this stage...I want to know my rights. I have paid for wipers that havent worked properly from the start. Can anyone help me? What should I do if the dealer I originally bought from wont cough up for them? Is there law I can quote?

(apologies for using "brand" but I do not want to name and shame...yet a least).

-Corkie-

It sounds like that the rubber is perished birdie. A short term solution would be to leave the wiper blades in warm water, it would soften the rubber. Anyway they shouldnt go that fast my car is 07 and has 80k on it and the wipers are still perfect.

sean1141

to be honest i would just go and buy a new set of blades off a dealer. if they are bad they could impare your vision while driving in the rain someday and i dont think this would be worth the hassel and the few quid the blades will cost you.
i understand what you are saying about the car being 4 days old and its not good enough. stay on to the crowd you bought the car off. it might be worth your while to contact a dealer up north as they are far better at dealing with customers the the boyos down here

Atlantic Dawn

My guess is someone at the garage left them on in the cold spell at the start of January to clear ice from the windscreen and this destroyed them. I'd buy online if they are the new type wipers, cheap from here www.wiperblades.co.uk

kazul

I'd be going mental if I were you.
It's a brand new car and the wipers never worked properly.
Head over to the place you bought it and demand a new set of wipers. Even if they have to take them off a demo car.

Pathetic customer service IMO, car dealers should be bending over backwards for customers these days.

dellas1979

Thanks for the replies.

The guy down here said unless the dealer up the country couriers them down, then there is no hope of getting new ones.

There surely has to be law or something out there...I forked out good money for something that simply doesnt work...

Incidentally, it took 4 attempts to start the car this morning and 3 this evening. Now I know its cold, but freakin heck. Guy in dealership down here said to bring it in (under its warrantly) and they hook it up to a pod. Once car is warmed up, its fine, just initial start. Not sure what they can do....lovely car to drive except for these bleedin silly things.

Edit: Kazul, I bought the car 250km from where I live. Am crazy but not enough to drive that for wiper blades. If I cannot get any joy from the original dealer, I will try the "brand" people, but I need to have facts/law etc right. Any advice, please help.

kazul

Contact the "brand" and explain to them exactly what happened and how you've been treated shoddily/given the runaround and you want the problem rectified under warranty.
Explain that's it's not noticeable on screenwash, just when you're driving and that the car is unsafe to drive in rain.
The "wear and tear" clause in a warranty shouldn't excuse the wipers never working properly.
Any "brand" service department can carry out warranty work on any "brand" car.

Carstuck

Bring the car back, you shouldn't have to buy new wiper blades after buying a new car! You are protected under law by the 'Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980' Goods should be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose intended. Tell this to the dealer and if you don't get much satisfaction you can email the National Consumer Agency or call them on 1890 432 432. Their website is www.nca.ie. They should be able to tell you your rights if it comes to that. But ensure to keep at the dealer now or else they will keep saying its wear and tear.
Hope this helps!

dellas1979

Thanks. Thats what am looking for.
I will definitely be quoting that to either the dealer I bought it off, or the main ireland brand offices.
I have no luck...my phone died yesterday (I have bought a new one online, on the way) and I cannot ring from work (today was an exceptional circumstance to talk to the garage but boss didnt like it) so I have to email instead until I get new phone. paahhhhh. When it rains, it really feckin rains.

mickdw

I woud be putting it in writing to them at this stage. You previously went to dealer when car was new stating that they never worked. You tried what they suggested and still no good. inform them that you want it sorted immediately clearly stating that it never worked. Anymore crap from them, get a solicitor. I would think its something other that the actual blades in your case. They should have carried out the screen polishing too, not you btw.

hoodie6029

Get on to the brand head office. explain the situation and lack of response from the dealer.

We bought a yaris off a toyota dealer in the UK a few years ago. They failed to tell us they did not have the key for the locking wheel nuts. we didn't think to check. The dealer ignored all correspondence from us.
Got on to Toyota UK head office and promptly received a response from the dealer asking for an invoice for our costs which we got that week.

In short, forget the dealer, go to head office and threaten them with Joe Duffy if needs be!
best of luck

dellas1979

Thanks for the replies. After a bit of stress, original dealer agreed to pay for the wipers blades. So have it booked in for Friday morning in the dealer down the road and dealer I bought it off will pay.

I am leaving it there for a few hours. Should give them enough time to sort a few things. Stress levels nearly back to normal again. Will update Friday eve. Am not convinced about these cowboys yet...

colm_mcm

just out of interest, what kind of car is it?

alexmcred

Fiat panda I think from one of OPs earlier threads. Sorry stand corrected its a 500 as mickdw said

mickdw

I thought it was a fiat 500. Maybe not.

dellas1979

Correcto . Its a 500.
Not to diss the brand - the car is actually a lovely drive and excellent on petrol. Maybe just teething probs.

mickdw

BirdieNumNums wrote: »

Correcto . Its a 500.
Not to diss the brand - the car is actually a lovely drive and excellent on petrol. Maybe just teething probs.

The wipers problem runs in the family...... Clarkson on topgear had a new ferrari on one of his races & the wipers were fecked on that too. So you really have a little ferrari:)

T-Maxx

Stop by any motor factors, Halfords, Woodies, Lidl, wherever, buy a new set of wipers. Fit them. Done.

dellas1979

hmmm I wonder if you would really do that after having a brand new car for a month. And the blades are not that simple to fit. There is one short one and one long one. Not standard blades Im afraid.

Yeah, the italians arent used to the rain and cold cold I guess!

kazul

T-Maxx wrote: »

Stop by any motor factors, Halfords, Woodies, Lidl, wherever, buy a new set of wipers. Fit them. Done.

Look at thread title, read posts carefully, establish interest, make helpful comment. Done.

T-Maxx

Yah, some people would go to the earth's end for the sake of saving a few euro.

Me, I would rather part with the likes of €15 and get it sorted there and then.

_Kaiser_

T-Maxx wrote: »

Yah, some people would go to the earth's end for the sake of saving a few euro.

Me, I would rather part with the likes of €15 and get it sorted there and then.

That's not the point.. the OP bought a brand new car and has every right to expect everything on it, from bodywork to engine to wipers, to be perfect.

Sure what if the exhaust fell off? Might as well just pay for a new one yourself rather than fight with the dealer, book it in, get a new one.. right? :rolleyes:

alias no.9

Have you (or maybe the dealer before you collected it) had this car through a brush wash car wash with a wax included? I've found in the past that the wax in some of these washes leave a residue on the windscreen which causes the wipers to jump/vibrate across the windscreen. It's been a while since I've encountered this because I'd never use the wax program in one of these car washes any more but you'll need a window cleaner with vinegar and possibly a new set of wiper blades.

MugMugs

mickdw wrote: »

The wipers problem runs in the family...... Clarkson on topgear had a new ferrari on one of his races & the wipers were fecked on that too. So you really have a little ferrari:)

Thats cos some mechanic leaned over the bonnet and put his arm onto the wiper bending it.....

I'd say he didnt last much longer leaning over bonnets with that crowd after that !

mickdw

MugMugs wrote: »

Thats cos some mechanic leaned over the bonnet and put his arm onto the wiper bending it.....

I'd say he didnt last much longer leaning over bonnets with that crowd after that !

Thats what they said alright. Maybe something similar happened OPs car. Certainly needs checking. If the arm is damaged, new blades wont help. Could even be a faulty linkage.

T-Maxx

Like I said, you could rant on and on, waste more time (3 weeks already), make more phone calls, send more e-mails, wax-on-wax-of, etc.

Please just stay of the roads while you try to get it sorted, you never know when you're going to need your wipers.

dellas1979

Thanks for advice eveyone...
Aire come on T-Maxx.
Of course safety is a priority. They are bad, but I would not classify them so bad as to Ive to stay off the road. Ive been driving 10+ years and seen worse. But I expect to have something working that Ive paid for only a month ago.
Mick, tnks for advice..am leaving the car at the garage for a few hours and hopefully problem will be solved. I am hoping it is not wiper arms - though I am really not sure...At least it will give them time to look at it (and have also asked them to have a look when starting the engine-doesnt seem to like the cold!).

dellas1979

As I feared problem has not been rectified with the wipers - doesnt look like its the blades (mick you must be psychic).
Rang "brand" ireland today and ate them.....not sure what is going to happen now.

dellas1979

hi guys,
Just wanted to update the story as finally fixed it yesterday.

So, they initially changed the wiperblades and this didnt fix the problem.
I rang the car brand and (no yelling) told them if they did not fix the problem or take it seriously, I would be selling the car immediately and never buy that brand of car again.

So, the guys in the brand customer care rang the garage and I brought the car back in the following week (last friday). The brand then rang the garage while they were fixing the car to get an update.

Yesterday was the first day it rained properly since I got it fixed again and it was like a different car...I was nearly crying as I turned on the wipers.
They never actually told me what was wrong with the wipers...all I know is now they are right.

So, what I learned (especially to women because they see us coming) is not to give up if you are unhappy with your car (or how it was fixed).

Jip

We know it's a Fiat 500, why are not using 'Fiat' instead of 'brand' ?

E39MSport

All RRS up to late 08 had the same problem - perhaps not as bad - shyte quality wiper blades. I'm with previous posters on this. Get better quality aftermarket ones and don't lose sleep over it.

mickdw

Glad you got them fixed. Id say the whole assembly was loose or something silly. Wouldnt it have been so much better for fiat if they took it in the first day, treated you nicely, fixed the obvious problem & you would now be on the internet saying that you love your car & that fiat were very helpful. Instead we all now know that they will try to break you down first.