Bought a car 3 months ago, problems not covered under warranty

motorguy

arcon5 wrote: »

That argument simply wouldn't cut it. Just because it worked when op bought it doesn't mean there wasn't an underlying fault somewhere which has resulted in damage or excessive wear.

"the fault was not present at the time of sale" - they have documented evidence to prove it was checked. The clutch was working. They will use that in court and have a team of solicitors with them too. They're doing it exactly by the book - i asked CAB last year how me, as a dealer can prove a fault wasnt present at the time of sale and they said exactly as this dealer is doing - by showing that you have the car examined prior to sale and have someone sign off on the condition. A big book full of forms completed shows you have a consistent process.

arcon5 wrote: »

This isn't a wear and tear issue, clutches don't fail after such short periods of time when used reasonably. So unless ops misused it and they can prove this then they should replace the faulty clutch!

No, its not a wear and tear issue, but a clutch plate is considered a wear and tear item. There may be premature wear or a fault that caused it to fail, but thats going to be hard to prove if everyone goes legal on it.

arcon5 wrote: »

We're not talking about a banger here with 000s on the clock and many years of wear under its belt - but a fairly new, barely used motor.

Uh huh. I totally agree. Its ridiculous, but the O/P needs to be very careful as to how they handle this - if they force this down the legal route it could last for months if not years, by which time the O/P will have needed to get the car fixed anyway.

I would be pushing hard now to get this resolved quickly by Nissan UK and the dealer.

neilmcl

The fact that something was working at the time of sale does not mean that wasn't an underlying, inherent fault.

motorguy wrote: »

No, its not a wear and tear issue, but a clutch plate is considered a wear and tear item. There may be premature wear or a fault that caused it to fail, but thats going to be hard to prove if everyone goes legal on it.

I don't agree. Don't forget you only need to prove on the balance of probabilities. I think any judge would be able to make a simple decision based on what the reasonable life of a clutch should be.

motorguy

arcon5 wrote: »

Clutches are wear and tear items like nearly all components and aspects of the car - but the clutch has clearly not failed due to wear and tear and is clearly faulty and it should e covered by whomever sold you it under SOGA.

Now, this is assuming you haven't caused the damage yourself.

Also, it is their responsibility to prove the clutch has failed due to reasonable wear and tear or misuse and not an inherent fault!

It may well be "faulty" but the SOGA states that the dealer must prove the fault was not present at the time of sale. The dealer is saying they have done that - by providing evidence they checked it and that it was fine at the time of sale.

Also, you could easily burn out a clutch in 15,000 miles. I've seen them burn out on brand new cars in 3,000 miles.

Whilst the O/P may not have burnt it out, whos to say it wasnt abused by the previous owner?

motorguy

Charliezoo wrote: »

In March I bought a 62 reg Qashqai from a main Nissan dealer with 12000 miles on the clock. It was the showroom demo and had the balance of manufacturers warranty left. I noticed it was becoming sluggish in first gear and also that the air con wasn't so cold so took it in to be looked at. It turns out that the clutch is on it's way out and the condenser needs replacing. They've dropped a bill for £900 on me for the clutch and said they were trying to get Nissan warranty to agree to fix the air con but couldn't promise anything.

Obviously we weren't expecting this from a 2 year old car bought with low miles and only driven by us for a few months, should I be pressing them to replace the parts under warranty or is it a lost cause?

O/P

Who is the first registered name on the v5?

Is it actually the dealership? Or some holding company?

motorguy

neilmcl wrote: »

The fact that something was working at the time of sale does not mean that wasn't an underlying, inherent fault.

I don't agree. Don't forget you only need to prove on the balance of probabilities. I think any judge would be able to make a simple decision based on what the reasonable life of a clutch should be.

Well you could go in all guns blazing with the dealer, waving the soga and entrenching the situation then take your chances in court at some point in the distant future.

Personally I would be looking it sorted now and the best way to do that is with pressure in the right place at the dealers and from above with Nissan uk.

force_ten

you say that the selling dealer has documented evidence to prove that the clutch was checked before the sale

how good a check can you carry out on a clutch without removing it from the car?

you press the clutch pedal and the clutch disengages so it is ok, you apply the hand brake and release the clutch and the car stalls so the clutch is ok, sounds like a tick in the box on the dealers imaginary 120 point pre sale check

an eighteen month old clutch with only 12,000 miles on it would have to be very badly abused to wear out in such a short time, even on a showroom demonstrator that could be driven by many different people the clutch should not fail due to wear in so few miles

just another example of the dealer fobbing you off and not manning up and sorting it out

philgr

force_ten wrote: »

you say that the selling dealer has documented evidence to prove that the clutch was checked before the sale

how good a check can you carry out on a clutch without removing it from the car?

you press the clutch pedal and the clutch disengages so it is ok, you apply the hand brake and release the clutch and the car stalls so the clutch is ok, sounds like a tick in the box on the dealers imaginary 120 point pre sale check

an eighteen month old clutch with only 12,000 miles on it would have to be very badly abused to wear out in such a short time, even on a showroom demonstrator that could be driven by many different people the clutch should not fail due to wear in so few miles

just another example of the dealer fobbing you off and not manning up and sorting it out

My thoughts, too Force ten. Can anyone confirm if this is a hydraulic clutch set up on the Nissan?

Phil

neilmcl

motorguy wrote: »

Well you could go in all guns blazing with the dealer, waving the soga and entrenching the situation then take your chances in court at some point in the distant future.

Personally I would be looking it sorted now and the best way to do that is with pressure in the right place at the dealers and from above with Nissan uk.

I don't disagree with you regarding contacting Nissan UK.

sh0597

My thoughts are:


1) The parts will only be replaced under warranty if it can be proven there was a fault with them as they as a clutch is a wear and tear item and the condenser is liable to have been damaged. It's unlikely either of these parts will be replaced by the warranty.


2) The dealer is likely liable for repair to both parts unless there is clear evidence the damage was caused after you bought it.

Charliezoo

The car was owned by the dealership and this is on the V5 - Glyn Hopkin Nissan was the owner from new. The sales manager of the dealership used to drive the car when it wasnt being used for demos, when we were handed the keys it he even came over to see us just to say how much he'd loved the car when he'd had it. He was an older guy who didn't look like the type to abuse a 7 seater Qashqai 1.5 dci but I guess appearances can be deceptive.

The car could well have had this problem for a long time - it's never been quick off the mark in 1st gear, I said from the start that it was a nice car but it was a shame it was quite underpowered, I had no idea that this was probably the start of the clutch problem, I just presumed it was a bit of a dull to drive sensible people carrier! It's gradually got worse and worse and you have to be careful not to stall it when pulling away now although its still drivable at the moment. It would probably pass the pre sale clutch check easily right now, it's only because we've complained that they've checked it more extensively.

I'll get on to Nissan tomorrow but the CAB has said that everything should be raised through Santander finance.