car warranty has no insurance underwriter. help

mighty_hammers

my husbands Cleo has a warning red steering wheel sign on the dash and a stop sign. had out the RAC who think its an electrical power steering problem. Only had the car 6 months tomorrow so took it back to the garage yday. Husband thought it had 3 months warranty but they said they would look at it, phoned and said it could need a new steering column £1000 + and we should take it to a Renault dealer. Once home i realised it had 6 months warranty til 21.8 ! so phoned to ask who their insurance underwriter was as there was such a big list of what was covered and not, but no mention of electrics. They said they did not bother with insurance and now that it Was under warranty they would take it to a Renault garage, but it may still not be covered. Surely if there is no underwriter the warranty has no legal status at all? I do not trust the garage at all now. Any thoughts?

Gloomendoom

What have you got in the way of documentation?

No, a warranty doesn't have to be underwritten by an insurance company.

Joe_Horner

No reason at all that a warranty should be underwritten. I repair and sell (iincluding used) watches and clocks but the 12 month guarantee I give is entirely on my own risk.

The down side of that for customers is that if I go bust there's no-one to honour it but the positive sides are (1) it gives me a real incentive to get it right from the start, (2) I don't have to cover premiums for warranty insurance, which would inevitably be reflected in my prices, and (3) it gives me leeway to cpver things that aren't strictly "covered" (like accidental water damage) if the customer has a good attitude, while holding to the written terms if they come in aggressively

As for legal standing, of course it's legally binding - if someone in any trade tells you that they guarantee something then that's just as much part of the sale contract as any description or other information they provide.

God forbid we ever reach the point where anything's "not legal without an insurer / bank / lawyer involved" (much as the insurance, banking and legal professions might like it!)

mattyprice4004

It's under 6 months old, Sales of Goods act says within 6 months the dealer has to prove the fault WASN'T present at the time of sale.

Write them a letter detailing the faults and what you'd like done (repair at no cost to you) and give them 14 days to reply. If no response, take them to small claims.

mighty_hammers

it states on their warranty underwriters maximum claim liability 400.00 up to 1000.00. the car was 4yrs old when we bought it from a garage. I was surprised that they had no underwriters as their leaflet states they do as they quote what is covered. The partner was v. rude when I asked who they were, which made me feel he was on the defensive. I just feel we will not get a fair deal, as they obviously were trying to get us to go away. As we know nothing about cars I want to know the legal side of our rights.

Joe_Horner

mighty_hammers wrote: »

it states on their warranty underwriters maximum claim liability 400.00 up to 1000.00. the car was 4yrs old when we bought it from a garage. I was surprised that they had no underwriters as their leaflet states they do as they quote what is covered. The partner was v. rude when I asked who they were, which made me feel he was on the defensive. I just feel we will not get a fair deal, as they obviously were trying to get us to go away. As we know nothing about cars I want to know the legal side of our rights.

That might amount to an offence under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 because the warranty contains misleading information (ie: the presence of an underwriter for the warranty where there is none) which could well have affected your decision in making the transaction.

That said, please don't go in with guns blazing - they've said to get it back to them to look at, so give them a chance first. Bear in mind that people in business are people (and consumers) as well, and the reasonableness of your approach to them can seriously affect their response.

Going back to my last post for a minute:

I've had people who've drowned "splashproof" watches a few times. The printed instructions I provide are very clear about the limits of the various water resistance markings and I take the trouble to explain what each individual watch is ok for before sale.

Customers who come in and say "I've drowned my watch, can you do anything" usually get a free repair, even if it means replacing the entire movement, as a thank-you for their honesty.

People who swear that they didn't immerse it (there's no other way to fill something with water!) but don't get stroppy will usually get a repair at cost.

Those who come in trying to intimidate with a scene about "their rights" will have the damage (politely) investigated and, once it's confirmed it's because of immersion, will (again politely) be quoted full price for the repair and are welcome to shout as much as they like before taking their future custom elsewhere.

My experience is that most other customers don't like people trying to cause trouble, so the "know my rights and make a scene from the start" brigade usually do my reputation more good than harm when I politely let them get on with it

mattyprice4004

mighty_hammers wrote: »

it states on their warranty underwriters maximum claim liability 400.00 up to 1000.00. the car was 4yrs old when we bought it from a garage. I was surprised that they had no underwriters as their leaflet states they do as they quote what is covered. The partner was v. rude when I asked who they were, which made me feel he was on the defensive. I just feel we will not get a fair deal, as they obviously were trying to get us to go away. As we know nothing about cars I want to know the legal side of our rights.

Read my post above yours, those are you rights.

Ignore the warranty, that has NOTHING to do with your rights.

mighty_hammers

thanks matty, i thought as the car was secondhand the 6 months rule did not apply. surely if we turn up with a letter stating what you say its likely to get their backs up. so we shall go in and be polite, or my husband will as im more hot tempered, and wait to see what they come up with. thanks anyway.

bazster

mighty_hammers wrote: »

thanks matty, i thought as the car was secondhand the 6 months rule did not apply. surely if we turn up with a letter stating what you say its likely to get their backs up. so we shall go in and be polite, or my husband will as im more hot tempered, and wait to see what they come up with. thanks anyway.

matty has inadvertently made an error, he was assuming that the car was new.

George_Michael

bazster wrote: »

matty has inadvertently made an error, he was assuming that the car was new.

He hasn't made an error.
With regards to new or used goods, there is no differentation in the SOGA with respect to the 6 month period for determining who must prove/disprove a fault.
It is always down to the seller in the first 6 months.

mattyprice4004

bazster wrote: »

matty has inadvertently made an error, he was assuming that the car was new.

No I didn't, you inadvertently made an error assuming I thought the car was new.

SOGA applies to second hand goods, just the reasonable length of time would be less if something is second hand - but it should be a lot more than 6 months for a car.

Anyway, to re-iterate, SOGA is on your side. Within 6 months they have to prove the fault wasn't there at the time of purchase.