Car warranty

[JoeJoe]

I bought a 1 year old car from an official dealer of that brand 4 years
ago. It came with 4 year warranty (i.e. the balance of the original 5).
The car has been serviced there at the intervals recommended by the
manufacturer ever since.

Around 2 years ago the 2 front screen wash pumps died, a few months
apart. The dealer replaced them free of charge under the warranty.

The car warranty expired a couple of months ago.

A month ago the 2 pumps died again (a couple of weeks apart).

I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that
4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very little
use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.

Their reply? “Every part that is replaced under warranty is only
warrantied until the point the car warranty expires”. i.e. “you are on
your own”… When I raised the above points with them (very politely),
their customer service manager stopped replying to my emails.

Any thought where I stand legally on this matter please?

(I am in Scotland if it makes a difference)

[Jeff Gaines]

On 12/11/2024 in message

Post by JoeJoe
I bought a 1 year old car from an official dealer of that brand 4 years
ago. It came with 4 year warranty (i.e. the balance of the original 5).
The car has been serviced there at the intervals recommended by the
manufacturer ever since.
Around 2 years ago the 2 front screen wash pumps died, a few months apart.
The dealer replaced them free of charge under the warranty.
The car warranty expired a couple of months ago.
A month ago the 2 pumps died again (a couple of weeks apart).
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be replaced
as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that 4 pumps
would fail in such a short period of time and with very little use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.
Their reply? “Every part that is replaced under warranty is only
warrantied until the point the car warranty expires”. i.e. “you are on
your own”… When I raised the above points with them (very politely),
their customer service manager stopped replying to my emails.
Any thought where I stand legally on this matter please?

The dealer is correct, replacement parts are only guaranteed for the
duration of the original warranty. Your handbook will have the warranty
terms (they may be available online). It may be worth approaching the
manufacturer's (or importer's) customer service department to see if they
would make a goodwill payment, nothing to lose.

Post by JoeJoe
(I am in Scotland if it makes a difference)

It will be the same warranty but case law might be different.

[Davey]

On 12 Nov 2024 23:01:44 GMT

Post by Jeff Gaines
On 12/11/2024 in message

Post by JoeJoe
I bought a 1 year old car from an official dealer of that brand 4
years ago. It came with 4 year warranty (i.e. the balance of the
original 5). The car has been serviced there at the intervals
recommended by the manufacturer ever since.
Around 2 years ago the 2 front screen wash pumps died, a few months apart.
The dealer replaced them free of charge under the warranty.
The car warranty expired a couple of months ago.
A month ago the 2 pumps died again (a couple of weeks apart).
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd
that 4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very
little use. My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all
bought by the way from that same dealership
), and have never had
one failing before.
Their reply? “Every part that is replaced under warranty is only
warrantied until the point the car warranty expires”. i.e. “you are
on your own”
 When I raised the above points with them (very
politely), their customer service manager stopped replying to my
emails.
Any thought where I stand legally on this matter please?

The dealer is correct, replacement parts are only guaranteed for the
duration of the original warranty. Your handbook will have the
warranty terms (they may be available online). It may be worth
approaching the manufacturer's (or importer's) customer service
department to see if they would make a goodwill payment, nothing to
lose.

Post by JoeJoe
(I am in Scotland if it makes a difference)

It will be the same warranty but case law might be different.

In a similar position, albeit with an older car, my dealer offered a
continuation warranty, aka extended warranty. I normally ignore these
when offered the for white goods, but I took this one, and it has
proved valuable. With the cost of modern car components and labour, it
is good insurance.

[GB]

Post by JoeJoe
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that
4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very little use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.

This is a very strange fault to have recurring repeatedly. I take it
that you have 'googled' to check if it's a known fault with this
particular car? If it is, you might have a claim under the CRA.

If it isn't a widely reported fault, then there's nothing that you can
do in practice. You'd need to have the pumps examined by an expert to
determine the cause of failure, and I assume that you don't have them.
So, your case falls at the first hurdle.

Even if you have the pumps, you'd have to consider whether it's worth
the hassle for what may not be a huge claim - I'm assuming a few hundred
pounds.

[Theo]

Post by GB

Post by JoeJoe
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that
4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very little use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.

This is a very strange fault to have recurring repeatedly. I take it
that you have 'googled' to check if it's a known fault with this
particular car? If it is, you might have a claim under the CRA.

I wonder if the pumps failed due to an internal fault, or due to something
else wrong in the system? eg if there was a blockage it's conceivable the
pump could burn out trying to shift it. Replace the pump but don't clear
the blockage and the new one also burns out.

Post by GB
If it isn't a widely reported fault, then there's nothing that you can
do in practice. You'd need to have the pumps examined by an expert to
determine the cause of failure, and I assume that you don't have them.
So, your case falls at the first hurdle.
Even if you have the pumps, you'd have to consider whether it's worth
the hassle for what may not be a huge claim - I'm assuming a few hundred
pounds.

It's worth looking up the price of the pumps (check ebay, and phone up the
spares department of another dealer) and finding out how much labour is
needed to fit them. It's possible they're cheap and a half hour job to do
it, or maybe it involves substantial dismantling.

In legal terms that would be to assess the value of your damages before
deciding what cause of action to take.

Theo

[Brian]

Post by JoeJoe
I bought a 1 year old car from an official dealer of that brand 4 years
ago. It came with 4 year warranty (i.e. the balance of the original 5).
The car has been serviced there at the intervals recommended by the
manufacturer ever since.
Around 2 years ago the 2 front screen wash pumps died, a few months
apart. The dealer replaced them free of charge under the warranty.
The car warranty expired a couple of months ago.
A month ago the 2 pumps died again (a couple of weeks apart).
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that
4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very little
use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.
Their reply? “Every part that is replaced under warranty is only
warrantied until the point the car warranty expires”. i.e. “you are on
your own”… When I raised the above points with them (very politely),
their customer service manager stopped replying to my emails.
Any thought where I stand legally on this matter please?
(I am in Scotland if it makes a difference)

Not a legal response but hopefully the mods will allow it.

My guess is the impellers are jammed. You may be able to clean them. On
some pumps, there is a cover over the impellers at one end. Remove the
screws, clean the crud, and reassemble. This especially happens in hard
water areas.

I fixed a friends Volvo with the same problem. They’d been quoted a huge
price for new pumps. I settled for a coffee.

[JoeJoe]

Post by Brian

Post by JoeJoe
I bought a 1 year old car from an official dealer of that brand 4 years
ago. It came with 4 year warranty (i.e. the balance of the original 5).
The car has been serviced there at the intervals recommended by the
manufacturer ever since.
Around 2 years ago the 2 front screen wash pumps died, a few months
apart. The dealer replaced them free of charge under the warranty.
The car warranty expired a couple of months ago.
A month ago the 2 pumps died again (a couple of weeks apart).
I contacted the dealership straight away and asked for them to be
replaced as a gesture of good will if nothing else, as it seems odd that
4 pumps would fail in such a short period of time and with very little
use.
My wife and myself owned a car each for 30+ years (all bought by the way
from that same dealership…), and have never had one failing before.
Their reply? “Every part that is replaced under warranty is only
warrantied until the point the car warranty expires”. i.e. “you are on
your own”… When I raised the above points with them (very politely),
their customer service manager stopped replying to my emails.
Any thought where I stand legally on this matter please?
(I am in Scotland if it makes a difference)

Not a legal response but hopefully the mods will allow it.
My guess is the impellers are jammed. You may be able to clean them. On
some pumps, there is a cover over the impellers at one end. Remove the
screws, clean the crud, and reassemble. This especially happens in hard
water areas.
I fixed a friends Volvo with the same problem. They’d been quoted a huge
price for new pumps. I settled for a coffee.

Thanks! I'll have a look tomorrow.

I live in a part of the country that has, most likely, the softest water
possible. The inside of a kettle here looks like new even 10 years
later...
(I always use the standard supermarket pre-mix screenwash liquid anyway).