kia sportage, problems with jeep and garage

chelleybelley

hi im posting this on behalf of a friend......
she bought a kia sportage jeep on an 03 plate with 38,000 on the clock from a garage in kidderminster on march 13th.the car had just had an mot on 11/03/09 and come with a 3 month warranty,she paid extra to extend
the warranty for 12 months at a cost of 180 i think it was. she drove the jeep away and found out within 24 the horn did not work and there is a strong smell of petrol so drove it back to the garage at their request (we are over 45 miles away) and they fixed the horn and put grease around the petrol cap to stop the strange smell of petrol. she then noticed that the interior lights did not work nor did the normal beam plus there was still a now fainter smell of petrol plus a smell of burning now. she rang kidderminster garage who said to drive it back to them but she pointed out that a smell of petrol and burning did not make for a reasonably long journey so she took it to a local suzuki garage as she has a suzuki warranty on the car. they originally told her that her lights we're not working as there was no fuse and the burning smell was the "matrix" sorry if thats spelt wrong was leaking n needed fixing so they disconnected her heating told her she needed it fixed and that they would do it under the warranty.a week on they have had the jeep again and are now saying that it needs an anti coolant flush through it not the matrix and charged her 68 for telling her that. without vat and charge for a new fuse. she has to pay for work apparently. we have contaceted garage in kidderminster regarding all faults etc smell of burning and petrol and they are just not interested at all. what can she do as she feels fleeced after spending several thousand pound for a car with faults and no one wants to help her unless she spends her own money putting these things right. the faults with the horn and lights surely would not have passed an mot only 2 days before selling my friend the car? she is now starting to hate the jeep.
ps also would someone know if her interior light should come on automatically when she opens her door?
sorry for it being a long post but she is very stressed over this and feels like throwing in the towel. thanks

Ex_Gas_Guzzler

Put your complaint to the manager/ dealer principle at the dealer you bought the car from in writing. (Are they a main agent for the make you have purchased if so copy in the manufactuer). Do they have thier own workshops or are they just a sales outlet?

Explain the faults as they stand today clearly and request a meeting to discuss what can be done to rectify them.
There is a chance the fuse could have blown since the MOT, as for the other faults they need to be diagnosed i would say by the supplying dealer, You must go to them.

Do you have a copy of the warranty booklet, this will clearly explain what is and isn't covered?

Most dealers will offer a three month warranty on the main components, engine/gearbox, but the 12 month warranty may cover additional items which are faulty.

The dealer may split the cost with you 50/50 basis, if they are not covered.

Once you have opened talks between you and the dealer you will have to be prepared to go along and let them take a look at the car.

Keep us posted as to how you get on..Good luck

goldspanners

why are there so many manufacturers involved? kia,suzuki and jeep?
regarding the lights,why does she not check the owners manual? this will tell her how everything should work in the vehicle.

chelleybelley

kia sportage is the car she has got (i described it as a jeep because it to me looks the same) suzuki is the warranty that was sold my friend as that was the warranty through the car dealership that they sold her, and she has not got an owners manual with it ...thats y i asked.

goldspanners

chelleybelley wrote: »

kia sportage is the car she has got (i described it as a jeep because it to me looks the same) suzuki is the warranty that was sold my friend as that was the warranty through the car dealership that they sold her, and she has not got an owners manual with it ...thats y i asked.

so she bought a kia from a suzuki dealership,who have given a full suzuki warranty? am i right so far?
or is it a warranty given by the dealership from a warranty company rather than suzuki the manufacturer?
i wouldnt have taken it to any other place other than the place she bought it from for warranty work (unless it was brand new with a definate manufacturers warranty) its not the selling dealers fault she lives 45 miles away from them, get the car back to them and ask for it to be fixed properly.or the car will be returned under the sale of goods act.

chelleybelley

yes shes taken out a extended suzuki warranty which she was told she could use at any suzuki outlet,they even told her it was better than AA warranty,as for living 45 miles away they explained the idea of the extended warranty was so she wouldnt have to travel back to kidderminster when things went wrong.what is the sales of good act then please?

goldspanners

chelleybelley wrote: »

yes shes taken out a extended suzuki warranty which she was told she could use at any suzuki outlet,they even told her it was better than AA warranty,as for living 45 miles away they explained the idea of the extended warranty was so she wouldnt have to travel back to kidderminster when things went wrong.what is the sales of good act then please?

http://www.berr.gov.uk

fit for purpose etc...

chelleybelley

thankyou x

Inactive

Tell your friend to read the handbook re; her interior light, there is probably nothing wrong with it.

pogofish

Sportage interior lights can be a bit flakey but the components are all easy to get at and fix. Simply working the door buttons a bit is usually enough if the car has sat for a while IME.

However, she should check that (OTOH) the middle of the three buttons by the overhead light is pressed-in. A thorough check of the fuses might also be worthwile.

For the smell of petrol, as well as the cap and its fitting, she should get the valve and its associated pipework under the front of the offside rear wheel arch checked. Looks like a bit of metal tube with some narrow pipes going into one end - This is very prone to corrosion and the pipes are vulnerable to damage from road debris. It will leak with a strong smell of petrol - esp on a full tank. Look for it spitting petrol on to the tyre and ground when she fills-up.

Gawdhelper if the tank itself is going, which is a possibility if the vehicle has been anywhere rough - Check the bash-plate under the tank for signs of impact.

Dipped beam can be seriously affected by the position of the manual headlamp adjuster - Again OTOH, it should be set at about one third of its range for a normally loaded vehicle, not at one end or the other. It is a small knob down low on the driver's right hand. Otherwise, I'd be having the headlamp relay swapped - Bosch do one.

Can't be much help with the burning smell - other than that the rear drums can stink to high heaven if they are improperly adjusted - glowing red hot even! Never found the radiator/cooling system to be anything other than totally relaible myself and I'd be hearing alarm bells if they are talking about reverse-flushing a newly sold vehicle! Is it by any chance a model with air conditioning?