car warranty

greengo52

Hi
looking for some advice. My car is less than 3 years old only done around 26000 miles.
Last week my car broke down and turns out it was the timing chain. i believed this would have been covered under warranty but as i do not have full service history the dealership says it is not covered. My argument was that the timing chain should have lasted a lot longer and that it is not checked during a service anyway but the dealership say they need service history for warranty cover. Does this sound right or is there anything else i can do?
Thanks

unholyangel

A warranty is in additional to your legal rights so can have any reasonable terms attached to it..

You may have cause for complaint if you purchased 2nd hand, the car was advertised as having x length of warranty on it and the missing service was not during your ownership period.

Alternatively, you'd be looking to prove the timing chain had an inherent fault with it which has led to it failing prematurely (not sure how long a timing chain is supposed to last but your documentation probably makes some reference to when they should be replaced) in order to enforce your consumer rights.

marlot

The timing chain runs in the engine oil. If you didn't change the oil according to the manufacturers schedule that may well have contributed to the wear. And gives them a perfect reason to reject the warranty claim.

marlot

unholyangel wrote: »

...not sure how long a timing chain is supposed to last but your documentation probably makes some reference to when they should be replaced...

Timing chains aren't routinely replaced in the way that timing belts are.

But they do need the correct oil, changed on a regular basis.

missile

26,000 miles is very low for timing chain failure. How closely does your service schedule compare to manufacturer's requirements? Is this the franchised dealer who has declined? Have you complained to manufacturer?
As you have discovered it is false economy to neglect servicing. Nevertheless if you name and shame it may manufacturer may contribute to repair to avoid bad publicity

motorguy

greengo52 wrote: »

Hi
looking for some advice. My car is less than 3 years old only done around 26000 miles.
Last week my car broke down and turns out it was the timing chain. i believed this would have been covered under warranty but as i do not have full service history the dealership says it is not covered. My argument was that the timing chain should have lasted a lot longer and that it is not checked during a service anyway but the dealership say they need service history for warranty cover. Does this sound right or is there anything else i can do?
Thanks

As has been said already, oil changes in line with the manufacturers recommendations are ESSENTIAL to the wellbeing of components like the timing chain, thus you can see why, if you havent followed the manufacturers recommended service interval, they're not feeling any great urge to assist - effectively you've neglected the car and are expecting them to foot the bill.

Whilst checking the timing chain isnt part of the servicing, it could have given an opportunity for a mechanic to spot a problem before failure - for example, timing chains do get noisy long before they are at risk of breaking, thus by not servicing it you may have removed the opportunity for preventative maintenance

motorguy

missile wrote: »

Nevertheless if you name and shame it may manufacturer may contribute to repair to avoid bad publicity

Surely if you've named and shamed, then they cant at that point avoid the bad publicity?

greengo52

Hi
Thanks for replying
i had the car serviced by a friend who is a mechanic off the books so was unable to provide proof of servicing.
This is a lesson learned costing me more than the service would have.

Keep_pedalling

greengo52 wrote: »

Hi
Thanks for replying
i had the car serviced by a friend who is a mechanic off the books so was unable to provide proof of servicing.
This is a lesson learned costing me more than the service would have.

Why on earth go to the expense of buying a new car then skimping on servicing? Even if nothing failed the second hand value would have been diminished because you have no service history. False ecconomy in the extreme, and I don't think you have a leg to stand on here as you can't even show you have even bothered to have it serviced.

onomatopoeia99

greengo52 wrote: »

Hi
Thanks for replying
i had the car serviced by a friend who is a mechanic off the books so was unable to provide proof of servicing.
This is a lesson learned costing me more than the service would have.

Terrible idea when still in manufacturer's warranty period. You don't have to have it serviced by a main dealer (look up "block exemption" for information), but it must be serviced to the manufacturers schedule using the manufacturer's parts and oils and this must all be documented (that is, on the books rather than off of them ) to make a warranty claim.

oldagetraveller

All the o.p.has said that the car does not have a full service history which is not the same as no main dealer history.