Unipart car battery

leighv

All,

Might not be the right forum - but gotta start somewhere ;-)

I bought a car a year ago with a Unipart battery in it - which has a 4 year guarantee.

The battery has an issue and won't charge. But I was not the purchaser of the battery, and Unipart was bought by a few different companies.

The price of a new battery is around a 100 pounds. But I obviously need the car and it's already been off the road for 2 weeks while I've tried to charge/troubleshoot/charge after jumping and charging while driving.

2 questions:

Can I claim against the companies that bought the assets of Unipart?
If I can, then how long do I give them before I buy a new battery so that I can actually get to work?

Cheers.

molerat

The only person who has a claim is the original purchaser against the retailer of the battery who could be any number of suppliers. There is no claim against the manufacturer / brand owner. You have no claim unless the retailer specifically gave that right to be transferred.

Crabman

If you paid for the battery on a credit card (either in full or in part) and the price of the battery was above £100, they'll be liable.

TrickyWicky

leighv wrote: »

I bought a car a year ago with a Unipart battery in it - which has a 4 year guarantee.

The battery has an issue and won't charge. But I was not the purchaser of the battery, and Unipart was bought by a few different companies.

Can I claim against the companies that bought the assets of Unipart?
If I can, then how long do I give them before I buy a new battery so that I can actually get to work?

Unipart were not bought by different companies. Unipart went bust and their ASSETS were bought by other companies. That means that those other companies DO NOT represent Unipart in any way shape or form. They are not responsible for Uniparts liabilities or commitments.

Secondly you bought THE CAR a year ago. This does not make you the purchaser of the battery and it does not mean that the battery is the same age as your purchase of the car. The battery could be five years old.

So to recap, you are not the purchaser of the battery with an unknown age and you cannor claim a warranty against someone who did not supply it simply because they bought the stock. I think you need to get a bit more realistic.

If another company had bought unipart and absorbed them into their own company then this would be different but Unipart went out of business and ceased trading. You are on a looser.

AdrianC

I bought a battery from Unipart this spring. I've got the receipt, but - if ever I have a problem within the warranty period - I won't even be bothering to try and claim. You have to accept that the warranty died with the company.

Even without that small detail, your warranty claim would not be straightforward because of the change of keeper of the car.

I'm surprised that a new battery is as expensive as £100 - have you checked on Alpha Batteries or similar?

leighv

Hey.... it was only a question ;-) Most, if not a majority, of the money saving tips here will save you way less than a £100 - and in my view a 4 year guarantee is a 4 year guarantee (BTW - battery is less than 2 years old).

Am I being realistic - but don't really want to spend £50-100 if I can't help it. Isn't this is website what that is all about? I didn't think it was called wasteyourmoneyexpert.com ;-)

So as I've been reliably informed that as I am not the purchaser and Unipart are no longer in existence, I've got no chance to get any money back, and even if I do it's going to the 21xx before I see anything, I'm going to go and buy a new one from a more, hopefully, longer lasting company......

TrickyWicky

AdrianC wrote: »

I bought a battery from Unipart this spring. I've got the receipt, but - if ever I have a problem within the warranty period - I won't even be bothering to try and claim. You have to accept that the warranty died with the company.

Same with everything else too - I have tons of Halfords professional / advanced tools with a lifetime guarantee yet if halfords go belly up (which given their customer service may well happen) then my life time warranties are all shot!

AdrianC wrote: »

Even without that small detail, your warranty claim would not be straightforward because of the change of keeper of the car.

Change of keeper wouldn't matter - they wouldn't keep details of registered keeper at the DVLA. As long as a receipt or warranty certificate could be produced they'd have to honour it - if they were trading of course.

TrickyWicky

leighv wrote: »

Hey.... it was only a question ;-) Most, if not a majority, of the money saving tips here will save you way less than a £100 - and in my view a 4 year guarantee is a 4 year guarantee (BTW - battery is less than 2 years old).

I think you're a bit out of touch to be honest. This site covers all sorts - from switching electricity to phone / broadband - all of which can save you hundreds (or so they say). Either way unless the supplier stipulates that the warranty will cover another owner of the product then it does not. This is very rare and typically only comes with second hand new cars in order to preserve the value and the brands reputation.

Again how do you know the age of the battery? - You have not mentioned a receipt so you don't actually have the purchase date. Of course if you DID have the receipt and unipart were still in business you'd be able to pop in and say "I bought this..." and they'd not be able to disprove it.

leighv wrote: »

Am I being realistic

No you are not. Or did you mean "I am being realistic" - there is a difference!

leighv wrote: »

but don't really want to spend £50-100 if I can't help it. Isn't this is website what that is all about? I didn't think it was called wasteyourmoneyexpert.com ;-)

Yes that is what this site is about but we can't change the way the consumer law works just to please you. If you bought a TV from Tesco that went wrong would you seriously expect Sainsburys to repair or refund it? :rotfl:

leighv wrote: »

So as I've been reliably informed that as I am not the purchaser and Unipart are no longer in existence, I've got no chance to get any money back, and even if I do.....

Even if you do? - Has nothing you've been told really sunk in? - You're in cloud cuckoo land. You have ZERO chance of getting anything back from other customers who bought uniparts last stock. They are not responsible for your battery at all.

Strider590

£100 for a battery? Is it made of gold?

Shop around, you'll get one for half that price......

arcon5

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Change of keeper wouldn't matter - they wouldn't keep details of registered keeper at the DVLA. As long as a receipt or warranty certificate could be produced they'd have to honour it - if they were trading of course.

As already said, the warranty is unlikely to be transferable, so if the company did still exist then it would be a matter for making them believe op was the original purchaser, otherwise likely no rights

facade

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Same with everything else too - I have tons of Halfords professional / advanced tools with a lifetime guarantee yet if halfords go belly up (which given their customer service may well happen) then my life time warranties are all shot!

Good luck claiming now, you need the original receipt and it must not be due to wear & tear or misuse, so basically there is nothing that is covered

My late father had a Snap-on ratchet, supposedly "lifetime guaranteed".
Couldn't have been a day over 50 when I broke it (ratchet wheel slipping )
Would Snap-on change it? Not a chance. Some story about not making them since 1957, and it being "wear & tear" wouldn't even give us a discount on a new one

Turns out "Lifetime" is the normal lifetime of the product i.e. until you break it, not the lifetime of the purchaser. :eek: