Dealer Warranty Direct refusing to pay out on replacement powersteering pipe and pump

edmond

very frustrated, I have a 2009 Vauxhall insigna which I only purchased about 3 months ago, however the car did come with a Gold 1 year warranty through Dealer Warranty Direct.

I noticed last week there was an issue with the power steering, I called Dealer Warranty Direct and was advised to take this into the local Halfords which I did. I was advised the power steering pipe and motor needed replacing, when Halfords sent the details though to Dealer Warranty Direct. I received a call advising me the work would not be covered as the power steering pipe had corrosion and corrosion was not covered under the warranty meaning all additional work would not be covered.

Very frustrated and angry as I would not expect a power steering pipe to have corrosion after only 4-5 years, can they get away with this. the bill is going to be anything from £500-£600 for the work, basically the warranty is worth nothing, as any future mechanical fault which maybe down to corrosion will not be covered.

Nodding_Donkey

Go back to the dealer you bought it from, it is their problem.

motorguy

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Go back to the dealer you bought it from, it is their problem.

Not necessarily, therefore i wouldnt be going in with a "their problem" approach.

If the fault was not present at the time of sale - which it wasnt as the O/P says it only just occurred - then its not up to the dealer to repair or replace it.

Stoke

motorguy there's no way you can use that logic surely? If I buy a brand new car, and two weeks down the line, the door won't shut because the catch has broken, the dealer will replace it under warranty, despite the fact the defect wasn't present at time of sale...?

Nodding_Donkey

Well as it has occured within 6 months of purchase then it is for the dealer to prove that it wasn't there when the car was bought. As it is a failure due to corrosion I'd suggest that would be hard to prove.

fivetide

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Well as it has occured within 6 months of purchase then it is for the dealer to prove that it wasn't there when the car was bought. As it is a failure due to corrosion I'd suggest that would be hard to prove.

agreed.

I fail to see how something could have corroded through from being fine just three months ago. Therefore, the fault would surely have been present at the time of sale.

edmond

I purchased the car through a private dealer who supplied a warranty with the purchase.

colino

Is this one of the batch of diesel ones that were quietly recalled for having power steering pipes that could potentially crack?

edmond

it is a 2009 diesel, I understand this is a common issue.

AdrianC

colino wrote: »

Is this one of the batch of diesel ones that were quietly recalled for having power steering pipes that could potentially crack?

http://www.recalluk.com/news/vauxhall-insignia-power-steering-service-action.aspx

But if the affected pipe's already been replaced, the recall'll be irrelevant. You may be able to persuade a goodwill payment from Vauxhall, but I wouldn't guarantee it, especially if the service history isn't 100% main dealer. Their reaction will probably be that a dealer would have spotted it before it became an issue, and done the recall, and so the cost incurred is entirely due to not being dealer serviced.

The supplier of the car could argue that surface corrosion on the pipes is to be expected on a 5yo car, and that the failure to get them replaced under the recall is you not mitigating your costs. When you say "private dealer", do you mean a non-franchise car sales place? "Private" implies non-trade, with very different SOGA responsibilities, the opposite of "dealer".

edmond

non-franchise car sales