Vauxhall Exhast - no aftermarket parts

eve26

Hi guys


I need some advice. I have made a complaint to Vauxhall but need to know what to do when they get back to me. Car failed its MOT last Friday due to the exhaust system. My garage phoned around every motor factor and part supplier in the area and no-one had one. They called our local Vauxhall dealer who said that due to the car (Astra GTC) had a short run life, they made no aftermarket parts. The exhaust would cost me £850 and they had to ship it from Germany which will take 5-7 days. So not only is the exhaust costing an absolute fortune, my car is out of MOT and cannot be legally driven. Normally parts can be sourced on the same or following day, so I'm quite shocked at this practice. My husband phoned the dealership up and asked them for the part numbers and was denied them and, I quote 'because he would find the parts on eBay'. So not only are they charging an extortionate amount for the exhaust, the time taking for it to arrive, but also completely taken away from consumer rights to choose.


I have asked Vauxhall for financial recompense due to all 3 issues (no aftermarket parts, 5-7 days shipment from Germany and refusing me a choice on where to purchase the goods) but I doubt very much they will give this to me without a fight.


How do I go about this?


Thanks for your help.

[Deleted User]

You don't.

They don't need to recompense you for any of those issues, with or without a fight.

motorguy

Try your local exhaust fit specialists, rather than having your garage try motor factors.

Also, i'd have thought if you were totally stuck you could have an exhaust made for it. Not terribly expensive and many exhaust fit places will do it.

I cant imagine there would be a problem with an exhaust supplier getting one though.

Also, have you tried in ebay putting in say 2013 vauxhall astra GTC 2.0i exhaust? (or whatever your car is)

Or what about an aftermarket exhaust? If its a performance variant there are bound to be companies doing one?

I know when i had my Clio RS 200 a lot of the parts had to come from the RenaultSport factory in Dieppe (from memory) which was a bit of a ball ache, but i'd have had no problems getting an exhaust, and it was a fairly specialist, niche variant.

EDIT: I havent the time or full information to go through the output, but ive just put Vauxhall GTC exhaust in to ebay search and it came back with 319 results (including some stainless steel variants). Cant imagine you're going to have much of a problem

eve26

Ok. So completely taken away from consumer rights by denying my aces to the part numbers?

Very helpful:money:

eve26

Thanks. Tried eBay but it’s really hard to know what one is what without the part number. I emailed a few sellers but they weren’t particularly helpful. I’ll try your other suggestions though.

motorguy

eve26 wrote: »

Thanks. Tried eBay but it’s really hard to know what one is what without the part number. I emailed a few sellers but they weren’t particularly helpful. I’ll try your other suggestions though.

If you give a supplier your make, model and year of your car they will tell you whether it will fit or not.

Its not hugely difficult. They dont need the original part number.

I'd go to your nearest indy exhaust fitter. I'd be surprised if they even bat an eyelid when they see your car.

motorguy

eve26 wrote: »

Ok. So completely taken away from consumer rights by denying my aces to the part numbers?

Very helpful:money:

You can either spend your time and money trying to extract those part numbers from Vauxhall (which you dont need) OR you can spend your time and money resolving the problem.

I can see the dealers point - why should they spend time and effort finding you the part numbers knowing you're going to go elsewhere and buy them cheaper? They're not a charity.

bigisi

Everybody wants compo nowadays don't they?

How did we ever cope before it was a thing?

eve26

That was meant for the other guy. My annoyance is that it’s also taking over a week to be shipped from Germany. I can’t believe a dealership would put such restrictions on a car. It’s not an Italian supercar which needs specialised parts. It’s just such a headache.

eve26

Blame Martin for the compo culture!

So you think £850 for an exhaust from Germany is ok do you? Glad you have that much disposable cash. I don’t unfortunately.

motorguy

eve26 wrote: »

That was meant for the other guy. My annoyance is that it’s also taking over a week to be shipped from Germany. I can’t believe a dealership would put such restrictions on a car. It’s not an Italian supercar which needs specialised parts. It’s just such a headache.

Its where the parts are supplied from. Probably manufactured there. The local dealer wont keep all parts for all cars in stock.