Evans Halshaw Warrenty Claim

kittyk20

Hi I have a 2011 Ford Smax that I bought from Evans Halshaw in May 2019 with a 2 year extended warranty.  I am a carer to my autistic son, elderly parents and to a single mum who is battling cancer.  Due to Covid and caring I delayed my service till December 2020 when apparently it was due in July 2020.  At the service on 15th December 2020 I paid for rear brake pads and was told the car is in perfect condition ready for its MOT in January.  However the day after the service I notice a white milky substance on the floor under the car.  I took the car back and they said it was nothing and they had cleaned the tray underneath.  The next day I had a transmission limited function message come on the screen I took it back again and no fault was diagnosed and was told it was driving fine.  So a couple of days later I had the same message again took it back to the garage and it’s now been diagnose with a new gearbox is required at a cost of £4000.  We have tried to claim through the warranty and it has been refused due to a break in servicing.  I don’t know what to do I’m at my wits end as we don’t have that kind of money to pay for it.  My mental health is really suffering as I am now unable to care for my shielding parents and friend in this new lockdown.  Has anyone got any advice what I should do.

Supersonos

kittyk20 said:

Due to Covid and caring I delayed my service till December 2020 when apparently it was due in July 2020.  

I don't see why you couldn't have taken the car to be serviced in July.  You say "due to Covid" but that wasn't affecting car servicing in July.  Lockdown had eased by then.

If your warranty contract said you needed to keep the car serviced, then that's what you should've done.  Or, at the very least, you should have contacted them to ask if you could delay the service.

A quick look on Evans Halshaw's website and the warranty very clearly says "Not servicing the vehicle to the manufacturers recommendations will invalidate this policy".  Therefore your extended warranty is no longer valid.

The_Fat_Controller

Unless you can prove a service appointment was not available between July and the 15th December then you are unlikely to get any satisfaction from the warranty.
Even in that situation you should have been proactive with EH and asked for their advice.
Was any work on the gearbox performed during the December service ?

daveyjp

Its a ten year old car, the warranty will have more holes than a Swiss cheese.

What type of gearbox is fitted?  Does it need servicing?  Has it been serviced? 

If its a Powershift it was a disaster for Ford.  EH will know this.

Supersonos

daveyjp said:

Its a ten year old car, the warranty will have more holes than a Swiss cheese.

What type of gearbox is fitted?  Does it need servicing?  Has it been serviced? 

If its a Powershift it was a disaster for Ford.  EH will know this.

To be fair the Evans Halshaw warranty is very straightforward, the T&Cs are minimal and what is covered is clearly listed.

Essentially, damage caused by failure to maintain, neglect or vandalism isn't covered.  Had the OP serviced the car on time as they agreed they wouldn't be facing a £4,000 bill.  

Grumpy_chap

Irrespective of the missed service, does / would the warranty actually cover the gear box?

Supersonos

Grumpy_chap said:

Irrespective of the missed service, does / would the warranty actually cover the gear box?

It is:  "Internal Gears, Synchromesh Hubs, All Internal Shafts"

AdrianC

Supersonos said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Irrespective of the missed service, does / would the warranty actually cover the gear box?

It is:  "Internal Gears, Synchromesh Hubs, All Internal Shafts"

Is that what's failed? I doubt it...
The usual powershift problems are down to clutch pack wear contaminating the fluid, wearing the solenoids. And that would not be covered under that list.

Grumpy_chap

If we go with the damage being covered under the warranty, is there an obligation on the warranty company, if they wish to exclude the claim, to demonstrate that had the service gone ahead then something would have been done that would have prevented the transmission fault from developing?  So, the lack of service has to be a contributory factor to the failure?

I am thinking of the example, say the car is due an oil-change service and it was late or missed.  Then the seat belt buckle failed.  As that would not have been touched in a mechanical service, the failure to have the service is in no way contributory.  (Assume for the sake of discussion that the warranty covers the seat belt buckle.)

Another factor, that works more in favour of the warranty company is the extent to which gear box failure might be partially expected on a 10yo car (depending particularly whether it truly is the gear box or something more wear-and-tear like the clutch).  Even if it was covered, would there be a reduction in cover because of "betterment"?

dipsomaniac

Really feel for the OP.  You need to get a second opinion and quote.

Insurance company buildings used to the the biggest and flashiest in town for a reason  Failure to maintain & neglect are massive 'get out of jail free cards' for them. 

Supersonos

dipsomaniac said:

Really feel for the OP.  

Why?  The terms of the contract were that the OP would keep the car serviced as per the manufacturer's schedule.  The OP didn't bother getting it serviced for FIVE MONTHS.  They would have had plenty of warning about the service and could have booked it long in advance to ensure it was done.

People need to take responsibility for their actions.  There's no point in paying a lot of money for an extended warranty and then ignoring one's obligations in order to ensure its validity.