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Alternator failed twice within 2 years... advice please
richardc1983
Posts: 2,157 Forumite
Hello all, I am looking for some advice please...
I have had my alternator replaced twice in less than two years... I've already called trading standards and opened a case. The below garage is also a member of the Motor Codes & RMI trade associations. From reading here http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/cars_garage_repairs_and_services_e/cars_problems_with_the_quality_of_garage_repairs_or_service.htm it says I can use this to show the garage that they must put the problem right. Here are the details so far;
1. On the 26/11/12 I brought my car to the Garage due to the fact my car wouldn't start. From the mechanics investigation it was confirmed the alternator had failed and a new replacement was required and fitted costing £350. I drove away everything fine. Mileage at this point was 56157 on the clock.
2. On the 29/07/13 (8 months later) I was having trouble starting the car and was advised by the AA serviceman who attended my home that it was the alternator that was not charging the car and this had flattened my battery. The AA man managed to charge the battery to get me enough charge to get the car going. He advised me to ring the garage and get this booked in ASAP. I spoke to the garage, he was strongly adamant that it was not the alternator and that I would have to buy a new one as it wouldn't be covered under warranty - This was before any examinations had taken place. I arranged to bring the car into the garage for the fault to be diagnosed by the mechanics. The outcome of this was that a new alternator was fitted under warranty on the 31/07/13 with no charge. The job sheet stated however that it was a “suspect glow plug control unit fault that was causing back feeding into the alternator will require a new control module”. This faulty part I was already aware of and had already sourced a replacement to be fitted by an alternative garage. This had been disconnected by the AA serviceman so that the engine would start and therefore we know from the AA’s decision that it would not affect the replacement alternator. I drove away with a working car again. The replacement glow plug relay was fitted by the alternative garage a few days later. The mileage on the clock was 61853. (5696 miles completed since 26/11/12)
3. In July my car was due its annual service and MOT. This was booked in at an alternative garage (now my regular garage); I mentioned to them that I had experienced problems leaving work on a morning with my wipers going slow and lights being dim. During the service he confirmed that the alternator was not charging properly and therefore this was the reason I was experiencing these issues. Mileage at this service was 72353. (10500 miles completed since 29/07/13)
4. I got in touch with the original garage in August (as I had been away for two weeks so dealt with this upon my return) and spoke to a mechanic over the phone highlighting my concerns in regards to the alternator failing again within 12 months. He advised that I could bring the car down to be looked at but it would not be covered under warranty. On the 28/08/14 I brought my vehicle back to the garage after experiencing further worsening issues and lack of power in the electrical items on the car. I dealt with a mechanic in the garage and he went off to check my car out. He returned with the conclusion that the car alternator was not charging properly and that they advised that I would have to pay again for a new alternator supplying and fitting. I was also advised by him that the alternator that was replaced came back from testing and nothing was found wrong with it at a cost to them. I questioned this due to the fact that this would have been the 3rd alternator fitted by the garage in 2 years and having to pay again for something that should last for a reasonable amount of time and not a year. I average out at approx 8-9000 miles per year over this period. They quoted me £293+Vat for a new alternator fitted non genuine or £468 for OEM and if I got this done then as a goodwill gesture they were going to have an auto electrician check the car over for any electrical faults. As I hadn't planned for this extra expense I could not afford to get this done at that time as the car was still driveable.
5. On the 25/09/14 I was driving on the motorway when I experienced total loss of power to my ABS, power steering and other essential electrical items with various engine warning lights illuminating. This was very scary and dangerous and due to the severity of the issue I had to immediately take my vehicle to my regular garage to be investigated. (Mileage currently at 73269)
The regular garage diagnosed that the alternator had now completely failed and the car was effectively running off what little charge was left in the battery. At this point I had no other option but to authorise a replacement alternator to be fitted. As part of this due to the number of alternator changes that had been carried out up to date he had an auto electrician fully check out all electrical systems on the vehicle. His conclusion from this was that there was nothing wrong with the electrical systems and he put it down to either substandard alternators fitted or an insufficient powered alternator, the alternator was sent off by my regular garage for independent testing. A few days later the results showed that the alternator had burnt out and there was evidence of melted plastic within the housing due to overheating. My own garage have said they will back this up with a letter confirming nothing else on the car was at fault after their testing (I think the guy is an auto electrician as well) and the alternator failed due to being a substandard or faulty part. Trading standards said that it was up to me to prove this detail after 6 months - hopefully that will do it?
As a concerned driver and the danger that I was put in regarding substandard alternators fitted by them I contacted Trading Standards and was advised that I needed to give them the opportunity to rectify this which I believe I have done from all the previous contacts and garage visits from July 2013 to August 2014.
Trading standards told me that I am covered for six years under the “Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982” and that parts must be free from fault lasting a reasonable amount of time and be of satisfactory quality assuming average mileage/wear and tear. The part fitted has fallen below all of those expectations. Here is an extract from the act described above:
If the garage replaces a part during the service or repair, you are entitled to expect that the part is:
• of satisfactory quality - the part should be free from minor defects, safe and durable for a reasonable length of time. When assessing satisfactory quality, you should take into account, price, age, and condition at the time of supply
• fit for its purpose and any purpose made know to the trader - the part should perform as it is designed to do and must also be fit for any specific or particular purpose made known to the garage at the time of the agreement
• as described - the part should correspond with any description applied to it. In some circumstances the garage may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer of the part
I've sent a letter to the conman garage recorded delivery on the 16/10 requesting my money back (£350 due to substandard quality parts) and asked them to respond within 14 days of the letter. I rather stupidly forgot to put the date on the letter but it was sent recorded delivery which I have a recorded proof of signature on 17th October by the person the letter was addressed to so they cant say they haven't received it.
Its been 1 week today since this was sent and as yet I haven't had a response but I have given them 14 days from the date of the letter.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Richard.
I have had my alternator replaced twice in less than two years... I've already called trading standards and opened a case. The below garage is also a member of the Motor Codes & RMI trade associations. From reading here http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/cars_garage_repairs_and_services_e/cars_problems_with_the_quality_of_garage_repairs_or_service.htm it says I can use this to show the garage that they must put the problem right. Here are the details so far;
1. On the 26/11/12 I brought my car to the Garage due to the fact my car wouldn't start. From the mechanics investigation it was confirmed the alternator had failed and a new replacement was required and fitted costing £350. I drove away everything fine. Mileage at this point was 56157 on the clock.
2. On the 29/07/13 (8 months later) I was having trouble starting the car and was advised by the AA serviceman who attended my home that it was the alternator that was not charging the car and this had flattened my battery. The AA man managed to charge the battery to get me enough charge to get the car going. He advised me to ring the garage and get this booked in ASAP. I spoke to the garage, he was strongly adamant that it was not the alternator and that I would have to buy a new one as it wouldn't be covered under warranty - This was before any examinations had taken place. I arranged to bring the car into the garage for the fault to be diagnosed by the mechanics. The outcome of this was that a new alternator was fitted under warranty on the 31/07/13 with no charge. The job sheet stated however that it was a “suspect glow plug control unit fault that was causing back feeding into the alternator will require a new control module”. This faulty part I was already aware of and had already sourced a replacement to be fitted by an alternative garage. This had been disconnected by the AA serviceman so that the engine would start and therefore we know from the AA’s decision that it would not affect the replacement alternator. I drove away with a working car again. The replacement glow plug relay was fitted by the alternative garage a few days later. The mileage on the clock was 61853. (5696 miles completed since 26/11/12)
3. In July my car was due its annual service and MOT. This was booked in at an alternative garage (now my regular garage); I mentioned to them that I had experienced problems leaving work on a morning with my wipers going slow and lights being dim. During the service he confirmed that the alternator was not charging properly and therefore this was the reason I was experiencing these issues. Mileage at this service was 72353. (10500 miles completed since 29/07/13)
4. I got in touch with the original garage in August (as I had been away for two weeks so dealt with this upon my return) and spoke to a mechanic over the phone highlighting my concerns in regards to the alternator failing again within 12 months. He advised that I could bring the car down to be looked at but it would not be covered under warranty. On the 28/08/14 I brought my vehicle back to the garage after experiencing further worsening issues and lack of power in the electrical items on the car. I dealt with a mechanic in the garage and he went off to check my car out. He returned with the conclusion that the car alternator was not charging properly and that they advised that I would have to pay again for a new alternator supplying and fitting. I was also advised by him that the alternator that was replaced came back from testing and nothing was found wrong with it at a cost to them. I questioned this due to the fact that this would have been the 3rd alternator fitted by the garage in 2 years and having to pay again for something that should last for a reasonable amount of time and not a year. I average out at approx 8-9000 miles per year over this period. They quoted me £293+Vat for a new alternator fitted non genuine or £468 for OEM and if I got this done then as a goodwill gesture they were going to have an auto electrician check the car over for any electrical faults. As I hadn't planned for this extra expense I could not afford to get this done at that time as the car was still driveable.
5. On the 25/09/14 I was driving on the motorway when I experienced total loss of power to my ABS, power steering and other essential electrical items with various engine warning lights illuminating. This was very scary and dangerous and due to the severity of the issue I had to immediately take my vehicle to my regular garage to be investigated. (Mileage currently at 73269)
The regular garage diagnosed that the alternator had now completely failed and the car was effectively running off what little charge was left in the battery. At this point I had no other option but to authorise a replacement alternator to be fitted. As part of this due to the number of alternator changes that had been carried out up to date he had an auto electrician fully check out all electrical systems on the vehicle. His conclusion from this was that there was nothing wrong with the electrical systems and he put it down to either substandard alternators fitted or an insufficient powered alternator, the alternator was sent off by my regular garage for independent testing. A few days later the results showed that the alternator had burnt out and there was evidence of melted plastic within the housing due to overheating. My own garage have said they will back this up with a letter confirming nothing else on the car was at fault after their testing (I think the guy is an auto electrician as well) and the alternator failed due to being a substandard or faulty part. Trading standards said that it was up to me to prove this detail after 6 months - hopefully that will do it?
As a concerned driver and the danger that I was put in regarding substandard alternators fitted by them I contacted Trading Standards and was advised that I needed to give them the opportunity to rectify this which I believe I have done from all the previous contacts and garage visits from July 2013 to August 2014.
Trading standards told me that I am covered for six years under the “Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982” and that parts must be free from fault lasting a reasonable amount of time and be of satisfactory quality assuming average mileage/wear and tear. The part fitted has fallen below all of those expectations. Here is an extract from the act described above:
If the garage replaces a part during the service or repair, you are entitled to expect that the part is:
• of satisfactory quality - the part should be free from minor defects, safe and durable for a reasonable length of time. When assessing satisfactory quality, you should take into account, price, age, and condition at the time of supply
• fit for its purpose and any purpose made know to the trader - the part should perform as it is designed to do and must also be fit for any specific or particular purpose made known to the garage at the time of the agreement
• as described - the part should correspond with any description applied to it. In some circumstances the garage may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer of the part
I've sent a letter to the conman garage recorded delivery on the 16/10 requesting my money back (£350 due to substandard quality parts) and asked them to respond within 14 days of the letter. I rather stupidly forgot to put the date on the letter but it was sent recorded delivery which I have a recorded proof of signature on 17th October by the person the letter was addressed to so they cant say they haven't received it.
Its been 1 week today since this was sent and as yet I haven't had a response but I have given them 14 days from the date of the letter.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Richard.
If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->
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Comments
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New alternator fitted Nov '12.
Replacement fitted July '13
Replacement appears faulty July '14
Replacement fails Aug '14
Your warranty will run for however long as stated probably 12 months from the date the first replacement was fitted.
you are now 2 years down the line. It will now be up to you to prove the alternator has an inherent fault by taking it to a qualified engineer for inspection and a report.
If three alternators had failed I would be looking at other possibilities. It is also strange that you managed to carry on driving for a month with a duff alternator.
Be careful you are not jumping the gun here.0 -
DNew alternator fitted Nov '12.
Replacement fitted July '13
Replacement appears faulty July '14
Replacement fails Aug '14
Your warranty will run for however long as stated probably 12 months from the date the first replacement was fitted.
you are now 2 years down the line. It will now be up to you to prove the alternator has an inherent fault by taking it to a qualified engineer for inspection and a report.
If three alternators had failed I would be looking at other possibilities. It is also strange that you managed to carry on driving for a month with a duff alternator.
Be careful you are not jumping the gun here.
As stated the car has been checked by an auto electrician who found nothing wrong with the car. The alternator was sent off for testing and was found to have burnt out. My garage has already said it is the alternator that is faulty as it was sent off for testing. I am awaiting a letter confirming with all this on from my garage.
It is entirely possibly to drive around with a duff alternator they don't just fail as there are several excitor circuits inside I knew it was on its way out until it failed completly and I couldn't afford a replacement there and then.
Also it's two alternators that had failed both from the same garage. The first one that was changed was the original alternator on an 8 yr old car.If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0 -
As a concerned driver and the danger that I was put in regarding substandard alternators fitted by themI knew it was on its way out until it failed completly
Sounds like it was you who put yourself in danger, not the garage.
You do seem to be on the right track with tackling this though and the report from the garage will add a useful piece of evidence should this go to court.0 -
You seem to be a member of the AA, won't they help you with this claim?Do you want your money back, and a bit more, search for 'money claim online' - They don't like it up 'em Captain Mainwaring0
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It may just be the way you have written it, but there is nothing in there that says that the failure of the alternator is due to an inherent fault in the alternator.richardc1983 wrote: »As stated the car has been checked by an auto electrician who found nothing wrong with the car. The alternator was sent off for testing and was found to have burnt out. My garage has already said it is the alternator that is faulty as it was sent off for testing. I am awaiting a letter confirming with all this on from my garage.
You say the alternator was burnt out... could that be due to some external factor... like maybe an excessive load being placed on it... even a short circuit?
Could it be the same external fault that has led to the demise of all three alternators?
I don't know the electrical technicalities, but neither will a judge.
The point is that any report needs to clearly show that the failure of the alternator is due to an fault in the alternator that was present at the time of sale but not necessarily apparent at that time. Anything less than that is not good enough.0 -
The alternator burnt out due to overloading and over heating. There is nothing on the car that has caused that and it has been fully tested the car is fine. Was tested by an auto electrician. My garage also stated that a poor quality part will do just that it won't be upto the job.If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0
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richardc1983 wrote: »The alternator burnt out due to overloading and over heating. There is nothing on the car that has caused that and it has been fully tested the car is fine. Was tested by an auto electrician. My garage also stated that a poor quality part will do just that it won't be upto the job.
Overloading?
Do you mean the load was too much for the alternator?
Anyway, that's all ok if it your independent report states that the fault is inherent... i.e the fault was present at the time of sale and is not due to misuse (for example, overloading) or fair wear and tear.0 -
Overloading?
Do you mean the load was too much for the alternator?
Anyway, that's all ok if it your independent report states that the fault is inherent... i.e the fault was present at the time of sale and is not due to misuse (for example, overloading) or fair wear and tear.
What would you class as fair wear and tear. An alternator should last longer than 12 months. Unless I do 100k in a year which is 10 years average mileage.If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0 -
Oh, I'm not saying your problem is due to fair wear and tear, just that now you have told us that the failure of the alternator is due to overloading.richardc1983 wrote: »What would you class as fair wear and tear.
The load on an alternator is supplied by things external to the alternator, isn't it? If an excessive load is applied, then it could become debatable whether the alternator or the load are to blame.
I am merely planting the thought that you need to be careful about how you describe the cause of the problem.
Yes it should last longer than that, but if it has been misused then the seller cannot be expected to provide a remedy.richardc1983 wrote: »An alternator should last longer than 12 months. Unless I do 100k in a year which is 10 years average mileage.0
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