New Car - Gearbox broke - warranty refused now i have to pay £1500 Help?

nutmegman

Hello,

My Dad purchase a brand new Aixam car Last March, from a motor dealer. The car comes with a two year warranty.
Two weeks ago his gear box went, unfortunately this will not be fixed under the warranty, the garage have stated that the gear box damage was due to driver error, now i am not sure if this is true. What i am told is that the gear box is a ‘cvt’ in other words if you really wanted to you could put the car in reverse when going in a forward motion.

In short, the garage has my dads car, the manufacturer wont honour a warranty claim, thus he ahs to pay £1500 to get his car back.

Any ideas................one thought he has is to get the car off the delivery lorry tomorrow and then refuse to pay.....but that will end in tears.


If he pays the £1500 i guess he has little chance of getting his money back.....

vaio

Brand new as in really brand new rather than just new to him? And last march as in less than three months ago?

Really, either way it’s a Sale of Goods issue rather than warranty and the garage are liable unless they can prove he damaged it by mis-use.

nutmegman

vaio wrote: »

Brand new as in really brand new rather than just new to him? And last march as in less than three months ago?

Really, either way it’s a Sale of Goods issue rather than warranty and the garage are liable unless they can prove he damaged it by mis-use.

Hello, it was purchased in March 2009, and it was brand new he was the first owner.


The issue with Sale of Goods Act is down to whether or not my dad can prove the gearbox damage was due to a latent defect....and the garage to prove 'driver error' both can be subjective and very hard to prove.

gilbert_and_sullivan

I suggest you join as many forums as possible and get this story out as far and wide as possible.
With any luck someone who matters at the company will get to hear, if they don't then you've done the best you can to utterly destroy the name Aixam in the car buying publics mind.

the very best of luck to Dad.

skiddlydiddly

Any gearbox experts know whether you can prove that reverse was selected whilst still moving forward or vice versa?

ukjoel

I would write to them giving them a last chance to repair the vehicle.
If they dont I would pay for an independent inspection.
Presuming its favourable or even neutral ie we couldnt possibly tell either way if this was driver error or a mechanical breakdown send them a copy.

If they still refuse to fix it take them to small claims court for the cost of the repair. It will cost you £60 you can do it online and you can claim back the cost of the independent inspection.

Ensure you get the work done elsewhere and hit them with the bill - dont let them insist on them doing the work themselves.

I have very rarely seen a court rule against the individual and in favour of a car dealer. Most cases never get to court as dealer or manufacturer backs down due to the publicity not being worth a trifling few hundred quid to them in cost of repairs.

mkirkby

ukjoel wrote: »

I have very rarely seen a court rule against the individual and in favour of a car dealer. Most cases never get to court as dealer or manufacturer backs down due to the publicity not being worth a trifling few hundred quid to them in cost of repairs.

I once had a Nissan 200SX with 120,000 miles. It started misfiring on part throttle & took it to the dealer to see what the problem was. After an inspection costing £45 the first words the guy at reception said to me where "you'd better think about trading it in against a new 200SX"...hmmmm.

They said it needed a completely new head as the valves had sunk into the head due to access wear. (£1750 repair)

Took it to an independent garage to get the work done (quoted £500 with 2nd hand head). They rang me 3 hours later. "Your car is fixed. The inlet manifold gasket was blowing. £135 to you sir".

After going back to the original dealer to complain and get my £45 (principle and all that), they refused. I printed out all the invoices and a covering letter explaining (in a completely unbaised way) what had happened. Then stood outside the dealer on a Saturday handing out the documents to any customers.

Took them 15 minutes to give me my money back. Still posted the info to as many places as possible though.

Do as the previous guy said. Take them on and challenge them. Bad publicity will cost a damn sight more than £1500.

iolanthe07

What the hell is an "Aixam" anyway? Is it French? Renault auto boxes used to be notorious for giving trouble.

Strider590

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aixam

French yes.....

Classed as Quadricycles or Quadbikes in the UK due to their size/weight/power.

I just pulled this from another site.

He's got a point.....

I'm half-French and have driven Aixam's on the continent for several years. In France Aixam's are not looked upon as cars. Aixam's are regarded as quadbikes, i.e., four-wheeled motorcycles with steering wheels! If you use an Aixam to drive down to the shops and make short trips of, say, 10 miles or less per day, have them serviced regularly and keep your speed below 40 mph, an Aixam will last for several years. You English people have been duped into thinking Aixams are real cars, e.g., you go to work in them, do the school run, drive them at top speed all the time and clock up 10,000 to 15,000 miles per year in them just as if they are "real" cars. Quadricycles are simply not designed for this kind of treatment. No wonder you English keep "blowing" your gearboxes!



It has been my observation that many garages in the UK are unreliable and dishonest establishments manned by untrained staff. French mechanics receive a thorough technical training - most hold diplomas or advanced diplomas. In France when an Aixam is serviced French mechanics always use the best quality synthetic oils for oil changes of the engine AND gearbox. In England more often than not this is not the case. British garages often substitute cheap non-synthetic mineral oils of the wrong grade when servicing Aixam engines and gearboxes with disastrous results. Aixam gearboxes need 75/90 fully synthetic gearbox oil of the highest quality not semi-synthetic blends and certainly not EP 80/90 bog standard mineral oil! I have heard that some garages only change the gearbox oil every 10,000 miles and don't bother to check the gearbox oil level between such wildly extended oil changes! Idiotic! Criminal! Aixam gearboxes are known to lose oil and need to be checked and topped up every 5,000 km (3,000 miles). If you don't top up your gearbox it will run low on oil, its bearings will overheat, expand, seize and destroy the gearbox in a non-survivable way. Gearbox failure on the continent is very uncommon mainly because we ensure that the correct oil level is maintained by frequently checking oil levels and topping them up when necessary. Why do you British put up with this kind of treatment? Why don't you ever sue such people or complain to the authorities?

You English punish your Aixams too much and don't have them properly serviced by competent mechanics. For the most part, because your mechanics are poorly trained, uncertified, semi-skilled, dishonest and stupid people they are unable to service and repair cars or quadricycles as well as French motor engineers. Unscrupulous garages in the UK wreck quadricycle after quadricycle while their owners and Aixam (in England) do nothing to curb or stop them. In France unscrupulous garages are stripped of their franchise and blacklisted. By their complacency Aixam in England have single-handedly demolished the reputation of the quadricycle they are trying to market.

and

Here's the thing... An Aixam is called a quadricycle because its a FOUR WHEELED MOTORBIKE with a steeling wheel! An Aixam is NOT a car!
In France they're used to pop down to the beach or shops or for very short journeys. Usually most French drivers clock up 50 - 60 miles a week at about 30 mph. If you start using an Aixam like a car, e.g., going 20 - 30 miles a day to and from work, you'll end up with a blown gearbox. Aixam (Comex) gearboxes are absolute garbage! Eventually catastrophic gearbox failures will kill the ex-Reliant driver market Aixam currently exploit in the UK. If Aixam don't sort out this problem the'll end up with no market for their currently shoddy and disreputable products.
Aixam's are toys!
Not real cars!

Mankysteve

Thanks for that post it did make me smile.