Extended Warranty Cover

Samsonite1

Hello,

My car is in the garage due to a split air intake pipe - I did not even consider fixing it myself as the car has an extended warranty.

As many people know - the get out clause for a warranty is that "Wear and Tear" parts are not covered.

Does an air intake pipe count as wear and tear? It is an important part of the engine function - I get an "Engine Malfunction" warning every time I try driving the car - I cannot believe this part of the car could count as wear and tear.

There appears to be no documentation to state that this part is wear and tear and I make the assumption that as part of the engine system, it is covered.

What does anyone else think?

Thanks,
S

AdrianC

You don't say which part it is, but it'll be subject to heat and vibration, which could quite easily cause it to fatigue and fail over time. If there's been an oil leak near it, that can also accelerate failure in a way that won't be covered by warranty. Add in the potential for damage from previous servicing work...

dannyrst

How old is the car and what mileage is it on?

WellKnownSid

Normally on many third party warranties, anything which is not explicitly mentioned is not covered, and there will be words to that effect. Proper extended warranties backed by the brand can be more comprehensive.

Either way I would expect you to be told if you were expected to pay anything, prior to authorising the work, if it wasn't 100% covered.

That said... an air intake can't be the most challenging of components to replace... although I've always repaired mine with gaffer tape.

Samsonite1

AdrianC wrote: »

You don't say which part it is, but it'll be subject to heat and vibration, which could quite easily cause it to fatigue and fail over time. If there's been an oil leak near it, that can also accelerate failure in a way that won't be covered by warranty. Add in the potential for damage from previous servicing work...

It is a 2008 Ford C-Max Titanium 1.8 TDCi. They previously replaced some part of the suspension under warranty even though suspension is not even mentioned at all as something that is covered.

When I took the car in and told them the problem, they said it was the "air intake pipe to the intercooler". The car and warranty were from the Ford garage (Bristol Street Motors), it was serviced by them too only in February.

They wanted to charge £90 just to look at it until I said I had a warranty. I phoned my local branch (who were too busy to look at it) - they told me to demand that they phone the warranty company when I go to pick it up as the mechanics may just be assuming that the part is not covered. I did this last time and they found out the suspension was covered and charged me nothing.

I don't have time to sort it out myself so I will have a go at getting them to sort it out (again) and swallow it if not. I need it done before the weekend before I take it on a long drive.

AdrianC

Samsonite1 wrote: »

It is a 2008 Ford C-Max

So a seven year old car.

When I took the car in and told them the problem, they said it was the "air intake pipe to the intercooler".

Between turbo and intercooler - hot, high pressure, likely to get oil-covered.

They wanted to charge £90 just to look at it until I said I had a warranty.

One hour's labour. No great surprise. It's likely to need the car on the ramp, undertray removed, potentially bumper off.

Samsonite1

Ok thank you. I will report back if I manage to get it on the warranty, just in case it helps anyone else. Having been through this already and saved £250, it is always worth asking. To be fair, this is my second Ford from them and they have generally not charged unnecessarily, but you do have to ask otherwise they just hand you an invoice with no questions.

The transcript from the last bill was literally "I don't think suspension is covered under warranty, but I will phone and check just in case..." <quick phone conversation with warranty people> "Ok, it turns out you are covered and you have nothing to pay, here are your keys."

dannyrst

Samsonite1 wrote: »

Ok thank you. I will report back if I manage to get it on the warranty, just in case it helps anyone else. Having been through this already and saved £250, it is always worth asking. To be fair, this is my second Ford from them and they have generally not charged unnecessarily, but you do have to ask otherwise they just hand you an invoice with no questions.

The transcript from the last bill was literally "I don't think suspension is covered under warranty, but I will phone and check just in case..." <quick phone conversation with warranty people> "Ok, it turns out you are covered and you have nothing to pay, here are your keys."

Brave to let them do the work without knowing whether you are paying or not.

Samsonite1

dannyrst wrote: »

Brave to let them do the work without knowing whether you are paying or not.

Not really - it has to be done otherwise I will not have a car and I have no time to get it done before going away for the weekend in the car.

It's £200 - it will not really hurt, but if I don't have to pay, even better.

dannyrst

Samsonite1 wrote: »

Not really - it has to be done otherwise I will not have a car and I have no time to get it done before going away for the weekend in the car.

It's £200 - it will not really hurt, but if I don't have to pay, even better.

If it isn't under warranty you will end up paying almost double the price you could get it done independently.

Samsonite1

dannyrst wrote: »

If it isn't under warranty you will end up paying almost double the price you could get it done independently.

This is true, but a calculated cost. It makes sense to take it to the place that has the warranty in the first instance - they waived the £90 for looking at it (due to warranty) as they were not going to take my word for what was wrong and I am not a qualified mechanic. If I had time to take it elsewhere after being told of the cost that would be great, but I do not have time to go and pick it up and I would never get an appointment today anyway, so it is not an option. I cannot do it tomorrow and need to take the car away on Saturday - hence why I am doing this. Literally the only option - other than gaffer tape...