Arnold Clark - My Rights - Please Help

alienuk

Hi All - I was wondering if I can get your advise on a situation.

I bought a 65 plate VW Golf 1.4 petrol which has done 20K miles from Arnold Clark yesterday. At the test drive last week , I reported burnt smell when the engine revs on lower gear and this also produces smoke. This was made as a note on my sales case file. I disagreed to buy their products 'Autocare' and 'Servicing' and paid only for the car + tax + fuel + mats.

At the time of delivery, the dealer said that the car is fully serviced and the issues should have been fixed. The dealer is around 60 miles from where I live and on my drive back home, I had the burnt trpe smell again when the engine revs at lower gear.

Now , I have few questions both on the technical side and legal side.

1. I know that this issue is caused by my poor driving habit which i am keen to correct. But is this not unusual that I get the smell everytime I do this? does this happen for every car who rev the engine on lower gear? I had this twice on my drive back home (60 miles)

2. How quickly is the issue going to escalate and cost me a fortune? Perhaps, if I correct my driving style by keeping my foot off the clutch and use it "only" when it is required then the Issue will never surface again and I can live with?

3. What are my rights with AC as I am on their 60 day warranty post sales. Should they mend the issue what ever it takes to? Presumably, I can take the car to my nearest AC dealer rather than travelling 60 miles up and down?

Thanks in advance for your time and appreciate your response.

foxy-stoat

Take it back for a refund - I wouldnt of started my journey home until I was satisfied that there were no issues.

What was the issue, oil leaking and burning ? When you say the engine revs in low gear, you mean you thrash it in first?

DoaM

Burning smell suggests that the clutch may be slipping?

System

alienuk wrote: »

1. I know that this issue is caused by my poor driving habit which i am keen to correct. But is this not unusual that I get the smell everytime I do this? does this happen for every car who rev the engine on lower gear? I had this twice on my drive back home (60 miles)

2. How quickly is the issue going to escalate and cost me a fortune? Perhaps, if I correct my driving style by keeping my foot off the clutch and use it "only" when it is required then the Issue will never surface again and I can live with?

3. What are my rights with AC as I am on their 60 day warranty post sales. Should they mend the issue what ever it takes to? Presumably, I can take the car to my nearest AC dealer rather than travelling 60 miles up and down?

1) Yes if you continue to drive like you do it will happen quite often. It doesn't happen all the time at the moment because you vary how much you press on the clutch as you drive along. But eventually your driving style will have worn the clutch sufficiently that it happens all the time.

2) Very quickly. My grandad used to wear surgical shoes and would kill a clutch every single year. You may find it could fail within months. The problem is being caused by you keeping your foot on the clutch pedal when you drive. You are causing the clutch to slip which is the burning smell you get. Take your foot off the clutch until you need to change gear and it'll be fine. If it is still doing it when you're driving the car correctly, foot off clutch pedal, then take it back.

3) If your driving style has worn the clutch you have NO RIGHTS at all to have it repaired under warranty. They would be easily able to tell what had caused it when they took it apart and inspected it and you would be billed for the cost of a replacement clutch plus the labour so probably several hundred pounds.

In short sort your driving out, stop being lazy and take your foot off the clutch until you're going to change gear or come to a stop or set off.

System

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Take it back for a refund - I wouldnt of started my journey home until I was satisfied that there were no issues.

What was the issue, oil leaking and burning ? When you say the engine revs in low gear, you mean you thrash it in first?

Read point 2. They're one of those people who drive down the road with their foot on the clutch pedal.

AdrianC

alienuk wrote: »

Perhaps, if I correct my driving style by keeping my foot off the clutch and use it "only" when it is required then the Issue will never surface again and I can live with?

Unless you've already burnt the clutch out. It's entirely possible to do so within that timescale by abusing it like this.


You really need to either learn how to use a clutch properly, or buy an automatic if you can't cope. I presume you passed your driving test in a manual car? If you passed it in a two-pedal car, then your licence does not allow you to drive a manual.

alienuk

Pass with a manual gear car.

alienuk

Yes - I raise the rev a lot on the first gear.

alienuk

Hi All - Thanks everyone for your advise.
Can I check how much does it cost to fix this issue?

force_ten

if you think the burning smell is caused by you riding the clutch what exactly do you expect the dealer to do to correct this

if you have real issues with the car then it would be reasonable to expect the dealer to rectify this, but if the issue is down to you then you should rectify it by improving your driving and keep you foot off the clutch until you are ready to change gear

AdrianC

alienuk wrote: »

Pass with a manual gear car.

So you've simply forgotten one of the most basic skills in the interim?