Unsuccessful warranty repair

geoffa51

Hi, My car is just over three years old and has a seven year warranty. It has developed a leak in the roof. The main dealer has tried to find the origin of the water penetration but so far has been unsuccessful. They have called in the manufacturers technical team to have a look. If they are unsuccessful in finding the source of the problem what are my consumer rights?.
1.Can I ask for a financial settlement to the current value of the car
2. Can I ask for a new replacement car to the same specification
3. Can I reject the car if they try and give it to me back without a successful repair.
Also the manufacturer has not given me a car to use whilst mine is under repair so I am having to hire one. Can I claim the money back from the manufacturer.
All work is being carried out under the warranty.

TadleyBaggie

Don't get Consumer Rights and Warranty confused, they are entirely different things. Your consumer rights exist against the original retailer (i.e. dealer), not the manufacturer. Your warranty is a contract with (presumably) the manufacturer and will have specific terms and conditions. So the answer to your questions depends on what the warranty says.

geoffa51

Thanks for your swift reply. What are my consumer rights under the Act?

Car_54

geoffa51 said:

Thanks for your swift reply. What are my consumer rights under the Act?

After three years? None whatsover.

k3lvc

Making an assumption here that it's a Hyundai/Kia with a leaking panoramic roof and not just a hole that's appeared in a solid roof. If they've called in the 'experts' then I suspect they'll find a solution so you won't have to invoke any of your 'consumer rights'

I'm more surprised why you've not got a courtesy car while they have yours - have you upset them in the past/failed the attitude test ? Mrs K3 had a similar issue on a 6yo Kia that wasn't purchased from a main dealer but remained under warranty - never any issue being given a courtesy car for warranty work from the local Kia dealer

Ectophile

Car_54 said:

geoffa51 said:

Thanks for your swift reply. What are my consumer rights under the Act?

After three years? None whatsover.

Not true at all.  In England, Wales & NI, you can potentially claim for up to 6 years against the retailer for a latent fault that was there when you bought the car.  In Scotland it's 5 years.  But it's up to you to show that there is a problem with the car, and it's not something you have done.  That may require an expert report.

DiddyDavies

Car_54 said:

geoffa51 said:

Thanks for your swift reply. What are my consumer rights under the Act?

After three years? None whatsover.

I think someone needs to have a look at the Consumer rights act.

A consumer has up to 6 years (in England) to pursue a remedy under the Consumer rights act for defective goods and as one of the prerequisites of the act is that goods must be durable and last a reasonable time If during this 6 year period there is a fault which is due to a manufacturing defect or substandard quality parts, they do indeed have consumer rights.
The seller must be given one attempt to rectify the problem and if this attempt fails, the consumer has the legal right to reject the vehicle and get a refund. This refund will be partial to cover the 3 years use that they have had the car for.

What is the Consumer Rights Act, and how does it affect my vehicle purchase? - The Motor Ombudsman

If you report the problem outside of the first 30 days, you have to give the selling dealership or garage one opportunity to repair or replace your car, with repair normally being the best option.

 

If this fails because the same fault persists, or a new inherent fault has developed, you’ve then got two options: a price reduction, meaning you keep the vehicle and get back some of the money you paid for it or, to exercise your final right of rejection – where you will be entitled to a refund of what you paid for the car minus a deduction for any usage you’ve had. This is usually calculated by looking at how many miles you’ve added to the vehicle, and charging a certain amount of pence for each mile driven.

AdrianC

geoffa51 said:

1.Can I ask for a financial settlement to the current value of the car

You can ask. Effectively, you'd be asking them to buy it off you for the value if the problem was not present. They may well agree, as a quick, simple, and relatively cheap way to resolve the issue.

2. Can I ask for a new replacement car to the same specification

You mean a brand spankin' straight replacement...? Nope, not going to happen...

3. Can I reject the car if they try and give it to me back without a successful repair.

Again, you can ask...
If they refuse, you can leave the car with them, return all paperwork, second key etc - then launch a small claim (if under £10k) for the current, depreciated value. You may win, you may not. If over £10k, you can still claim in the same way, but it's not a small claim, so a more involved process.

You would have to prove the issue was present at the time of sale, and is not reasonable for goods of that age/usage/apparent condition - the onus is on you. Given that the car has gone three years without a leak, this will not be straightforward, especially if the cause cannot be found.

Also the manufacturer has not given me a car to use whilst mine is under repair so I am having to hire one. Can I claim the money back from the manufacturer.

You do not have any legal basis for it, no.

Car_54

Ectophile said:

Car_54 said:

geoffa51 said:

Thanks for your swift reply. What are my consumer rights under the Act?

After three years? None whatsover.

Not true at all.  In England, Wales & NI, you can potentially claim for up to 6 years against the retailer for a latent fault that was there when you bought the car.  In Scotland it's 5 years.  But it's up to you to show that there is a problem with the car, and it's not something you have done.  That may require an expert report.

True, but in the OP's own words it has "developed" the fault. I think any inherent fault would have manifested itself earlier, unless the OP doesn't go out in the rain.

DiddyDavies

Car_54 said:

True, but in the OP's own words it has "developed" the fault. I think any inherent fault would have manifested itself earlier, unless the OP doesn't go out in the rain.

An inherent fault could easily manifest itself many years after manufacture. It could something as simple as metal not being correctly treated for corrosion protection and after a few years it's rusted a bit and a small hole has appeared and this is where the water is coming from.
If it's a sunroof issue, it could be a shrunken or degraded seal, again, something that you would normally expect to last more than 3 years.

One possibility if it does have a sunroof.
Some cars with sunroofs have drains that run from them down a door or window pillar and one of these could be blocked or detached.
I used to have Volvo that had such a setup and the drain ran down the right hand windscreen pillar. Near the bottom, there was a spring loaded valve and the pipe became detached from this which caused the footwell to flood in heavy rain.

born_again

k3lvc said:

Making an assumption here that it's a Hyundai/Kia with a leaking panoramic roof and not just a hole that's appeared in a solid roof. If they've called in the 'experts' then I suspect they'll find a solution so you won't have to invoke any of your 'consumer rights'

I'm more surprised why you've not got a courtesy car while they have yours - have you upset them in the past/failed the attitude test ? Mrs K3 had a similar issue on a 6yo Kia that wasn't purchased from a main dealer but remained under warranty - never any issue being given a courtesy car for warranty work from the local Kia dealer

Hyundia is 5 year warranty. So that leaves Kia.
In that case in the Kia warranty T/C it clearly states that no car is provided while any warranty claims or work are being done.
If the dealer doing the work wants to provide one, that is up to them.

Odds on that either a drainage channel is blocked, one of the seals is either not seated or cracked. (Try some silicon grease on it) or that the sunroof is not fully closing allowing water in.