Vauxhall Main Dealer issue

mcgas001

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but I'll fire away and if its wrong, please feel free to move.

Last year (2015) I purchased a Vivaro from Vauxhall main dealer. The van came with a 100k / 3 year warranty. To cut a long story short, the van now has 60k on the clocks and the gearbox has failed. It hasn't totally failed yet but the main shaft bearings are whining and its only a matter of time.

I am now in a hole I don't know a way out of. Vauxhall have said they will take the van in and look at it and fix it if its a defect from the factory, However I use my van on a daily basis and they are not willing to provide me with a relief vehicle. They claim they only have to do this in the first year of the vehicle. After that the warranty still stands but they won't keep me mobile. Being self employed and running my own business this is now a problem for me.. A big problem. I have detailed out to Vauxhall customer services the detrimental effect this will have on my finances of my business and the knock on affect that these customers could no longer recommend me and it could affect my business in so many ways. They are not the slightest bit interested.

Do I have a leg to stand on? I have wrote them a massive email (So that its offical in writing and so I can keep track of whats being said etc) detailing all of what is now wrong with the vehicle, How much I stand to lose over the next few weeks if I don't have this vehicle to use as my business tool and I have given them 3 options to sort it. Either replace the gearbox with a new item and give me a cover vehicle, Take the van back and give me a full refund or replace the van like for like with a brand new model. The van also still has finance on it so I have contacted the finance company under the grounds the vehicle is no longer fit for purpose.


Anyone on here shed any light or help in anyway?

Thanks in advance.

mcgas001

How comes it wouldnt apply to me?

Someone else suggested that I hire a van but why should I spend my own hard earned on a hire vehicle when Vauxhall have a defect from factory that needs to be sorted. Its no fault of my own that the vehicle has failed. I spent good money on this van as a tool for my business and it has failed in a very short space of time. a gearbox shouldnt fail in 60k miles. If it had done 160k I'd understand but 60k miles on a modern vehicle is nothing miles.

mcgas001

Would that still apply even if I'm not LTD company? I'm self employed sole trader. The van was sold to me in my personal name.

forgotmyname

You didnt have a contract where the supplier is required to supply a vehicle whilst yours is in for repair or service.

You sent a deman by email, good luck with that

A full refund for a vehicle you have had use of for a year? No chance.

Replace the gearbox with a new item, keep dreaming. They will get it rebuilt or swap for a recon unit.

Full refund or swap for a brand new van. Oh my.. Fairytales?

The vehicle is fit for purpose, you have been using it for a year to prove that. The gearbox has not failed you have a whine.. It maybe a small issue..

I presume you have a engineers report on the actual problem and what is actually required to fix it? No? Get one.

macman

The warranty terms are whatever the warranty says. Just like your car insurance-you don't get a courtesy car unless the T&C's say that you do, or if you pay extra for it.
The fact that you need a vehicle for your business is no concern of Vauxhall or the dealer, and they are not liable for any consequential losses you may incur.

flashg67

Vauxhall are very consistent with their 'no courtesy/hire van after first year' and I'd be surprised, (and pleased for you) if they did sort one for you.

The warranty covers repairs, which the dealer have agreed to do, it doesn't cover consequential loss, or give you a right to a replacement unfortunately.

I think you'll struggle to prove a single, repairable, mechanical failure means it's not fit for purpose, unless it keeps happening.

Can the dealer pre-inspect the van, get warranty repair approval & order the parts ready for you? I can't see why it should be off the road more than a day or two if they do this?

Car_54

The vehicle hasn't actually failed, the dealer hasn't had an opportunity to look at it, and the OP has sent Vauxhall a list of totally unreasonable demands.

Not the best way to get any "goodwill" concessions.

neilmcl

OP, you are being wholly unreasonable. Book the car in and arrange a van hire for the day.

Whether you're a ltd co. or not you purchased the van solely for business use, this is a b2b contract.

mcgas001

Thanks to everyone on here for their responses.

It seems I would need to do some research into this and find out what the score is. The reason i posted here was to try and see if anyone had been in a similar situation or they had advice for me. Which I'm receiving with thanks.

I've not approached vauxhall from the off as a bad person. My first port of call was to contact the main dealer and explain of my issue. I did this and was told they need to get the van in and have a look at it to find out what's wrong then get approval from the warranty (Vauxhall UK).

I've had the van checked by two x vauxhall techs and another mechanic and I'm also in the trade myself. They have all confirm the main shaft bearing or the diff bearing is whining. It's a very common problem on these.

I then phoned vauxhall customer assistance as to see if they could help me in anyway, it was at the point the manager of the customer care line said she couldn't care about my business I decided to put it in writing and email them. I didn't want to discuss anymore over the phone so I wanted to do it in writing.

The way I looked at it. I do lots of miles in this van and if the van failed through manufacturing defect then it is rightly no longer fit for my purposes.

Thanks in advance for everyone's replies.

mcgas001

Also to add to this vauxhall have never given me a time frame and they are refusing to. Which means I could have the van gone for a week or it could be two months. So this was why I wanted a relief vehicle or else I may not even have a business left if I'm off work for two months.

neilmcl

You have to view your van like any other tool of your trade, ie, what alternatives have you got if that tool breaks. Rightly so it's not Vauxhall's problem how you run your business and what arrangements are made and I'm sure they'll do their best to get your van back to you promptly but they're not there to keep you in business.