New Car Warranty Advice

ktid

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice relating to paying towing fees to get my car to the dealer's garage (30 miles away).

The car (VW Tiguan) is 2 years old and still covered by the VW warranty. The battery has given up.the ghost after multiple attempts to charge it and it's unable to start the engine.

The dealer has confirmed that the battery is covered by the warranty, however the car is stuck in my drive 30 miles from the garage. The dealer has advised that they do not provide a tow service and that I need to organise something myself.

I've read through the T&C's of the warranty and it's more of a what is and isnt covered in terms of parts, nothing is mentioned about home or roadside assistance to get to the garage. From doing a bit of digging I found VW advertise a roadside assistance package at ~£100/yr, so I suspect that the answer will be that tow costs are only covered as part of that package and not through the standard manufactuer's warranty.

Has anyone experienced a similar scenario or able to shed any advice?

My father-in-law is adamant I should be billing the dealer for any costs incurred as it's due to a VW defect, however I've pretty much resigned myself to forking out.

Thanks for responses in advance.

m0bov

Just call their breakdown who should come out and either fit a battery,or tow it.

The_Fat_Controller

1. Jump start the car and drive it to the dealer.

2. If the garage agree a replacement under warranty, find a friend to take the old one to the dealer and bring back the new one.

motorguy

The_Fat_Controller said:

1. Jump start the car and drive it to the dealer.

2. If the garage agree a replacement under warranty, find a friend to take the old one to the dealer and bring back the new one.

Indeed.  Some people over complicate things...

The_Rainmaker

Wonder how long the car was left sitting over the last three months?

MinuteNoodles

If a battery drops below 11.6V it's knackered. 
Because of the alarm systems in cars they will go flat if they're left unused for several weeks. 

The_Fat_Controller

My two year old Toyota Yaris started first time after 92 days of no use at all, battery left connected !

MinuteNoodles

The_Fat_Controller said:

My two year old Toyota Yaris started first time after 92 days of no use at all, battery left connected !

Congratulations, would you like a lollipop? That doesn't mean all will. Ones which spend all their time doing short journeys will stand less of a chance of doing so as the battery rarely gets fully recharged. Petrol ones will stand less of a chance than a diesel as the batteries tend to be smaller.

flashg67

Warranty covers warrantable repairs only - how you get it to the dealer isn't down to them. The manufacturer can't factor your location - what  if you were in the wilds of Scotland for example. It's your choice to choose a car where the dealer is 30 mins away. If the VW breakdown cover has expired, it's cheap enough to buy elsewhere, although there may be a waiting period before you can use it - makes sense to have it anyway IMHO

lopsyfa

Most likely cheaper to buy a new battery than trying to recover the car to the garage. Ask for a lift to the garage to pick up the new battery.

Grumpy_chap

Don't most new cars come with breakdown assistance that lasts for as long as the warranty?