Clutch problems - should I complain?

LindaLou72

I wonder if anyone can advise me? Do I have a leg to stand on if I complain to the dealership/is there anything I might gain?

I bought a Citroen C1 in April 2009. In February 2012 the clutch went. Citroen claimed that the 3-year warranty did not cover it and my husband was keen to get it sorted out, so we did - to the tune of £1000. We subsequently did some research and discovered that this make and model had known clutch problems.

The replacement clutch went on me this morning, 18 months later. I had the AA tow my car to the dealership, only to be told that the clutch was only under a year's warranty. They said that they could ask the company to pay part of the repair cost, but there was no guarantee that they would do so, and they gave me no satisfactory answer as to why I should shell out another £1000 for my second clutch in a little over 4 years.

Fortunately I am now working for a company that employs a mechanic to look after its company cars, so I was able to ring him and ask his advice. He told me that it's rare for these dealerships to pay out in such circumstances, as they can claim that it is 'wear and tear' (which is nonsense; I drove my last car for 10 years before I had any such problems, and I average about 10,000 miles a year). So he advised me to get the car down the road to an independent garage, which specialises in clutch repairs; this I did, and the total cost of repair was £300.

They also told me a couple of interesting things there:

1.) They said that the first clutch was recalled as it was faulty, and I should not have been charged at all to get it replaced.

2.) The second clutch was fitted inappropriately, so it was only a matter of a short time before it gave out.

(Plus, they told me to never take my car to a dealership for repairs after it is out of warranty -- a hard lesson, well learned.)

I have been researching clutches on the C1 tonight, in hopes of writing to the dealership and raising the issue of the replacement of the first clutch. However, I cannot find any information about it having actually been recalled.

Am I likely to gain anything at all by writing to the dealership about the clutch problems, or have they been within their rights to do what they have done, however badly they have treated me?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Netwizard

I would take it higher than the supplying dealership as they will probably just fob you off.

paddedjohn

LindaLou72 wrote: »

I wonder if anyone can advise me? Do I have a leg to stand on if I complain to the dealership/is there anything I might gain?

I bought a Citroen C1 in April 2009. In February 2012 the clutch went. Citroen claimed that the 3-year warranty did not cover it and my husband was keen to get it sorted out, so we did - to the tune of £1000. We subsequently did some research and discovered that this make and model had known clutch problems.

The replacement clutch went on me this morning, 18 months later. I had the AA tow my car to the dealership, only to be told that the clutch was only under a year's warranty. They said that they could ask the company to pay part of the repair cost, but there was no guarantee that they would do so, and they gave me no satisfactory answer as to why I should shell out another £1000 for my second clutch in a little over 4 years.

Fortunately I am now working for a company that employs a mechanic to look after its company cars, so I was able to ring him and ask his advice. He told me that it's rare for these dealerships to pay out in such circumstances, as they can claim that it is 'wear and tear' (which is nonsense; I drove my last car for 10 years before I had any such problems, and I average about 10,000 miles a year). So he advised me to get the car down the road to an independent garage, which specialises in clutch repairs; this I did, and the total cost of repair was £300.

They also told me a couple of interesting things there:

1.) They said that the first clutch was recalled as it was faulty, and I should not have been charged at all to get it replaced.

2.) The second clutch was fitted inappropriately, so it was only a matter of a short time before it gave out.

(Plus, they told me to never take my car to a dealership for repairs after it is out of warranty -- a hard lesson, well learned.)

I have been researching clutches on the C1 tonight, in hopes of writing to the dealership and raising the issue of the replacement of the first clutch. However, I cannot find any information about it having actually been recalled.

Am I likely to gain anything at all by writing to the dealership about the clutch problems, or have they been within their rights to do what they have done, however badly they have treated me?

Thanks in advance for any help!

You need to get a written report from the clutch specialist outlining the reasons they feel the clutches failed early.
I cant see how a clutch can be fitted wrong but still work for 18 months.

Strider590

LindaLou72 wrote: »

They also told me a couple of interesting things there:

1.) They said that the first clutch was recalled as it was faulty, and I should not have been charged at all to get it replaced.

2.) The second clutch was fitted inappropriately, so it was only a matter of a short time before it gave out.

(Plus, they told me to never take my car to a dealership for repairs after it is out of warranty -- a hard lesson, well learned.)

Dealerships sell cars, they're full of salesmen with shiny suits and crocodile smiles. Some rare dealerships have a great service dept, but most are trainee's with a diagnostics machine, very little knowledge and a manager who's never got his/her hands dirty.

I avoid dealerships like the plague, because I prefer people who do stuff, rather than talk about doing stuff.

GolfBravo

£1000 for a clutch?

Franchised Citroen garages offer fixed price repair, e.g.. £600 for a C1 clutch - why did they charge you £1000?

LindaLou72

Why did they charge £1000? I don't know. They quote £450 just for stripping the gearbox, before they do anything at all to the clutch.

It sounds like these dealerships really fleece people. Why is this allowed? I've dealt with 2 independent garages recently and both charged prices way below what the dealership wanted, and these were salt-of-the-earth people who were both knowledgeable and, dare I say, trustworthy.

I had to pop back to the clutch specialist today because some dust from yesterday's repairs got on a sensor, which was setting off a warning light. I decided not to ask them to put anything into writing about the improperly fitted second clutch, since at the end of the day it would still just be their word rather than hard evidence, but they gave me a bulletin about the first faulty clutch. It just directs garages to replace it with a new, larger clutch when people come in with problems. Though it does say at the bottom that "All blue print clutch kits fitted from the 1st February 2009 are now warranted against manufacturing defects for a period of three years with unlimited mileage'. Guess I need to find out, if I can, if the second clutch was one of these.

shakeitright

There is a page where you can find out citroen recalls http://www.citroenrecalls.co.uk/ you need to register but you may find the info you are looking for.

LindaLou72

Thank you! I will have a look.