Financed Car died Under warranty & having issues with the claim process.

RussBlue

Hi, 

Just looking for some advice for a situation I'm currently facing. 

So my car recently blew up (the turbo stuck on and eventually came to a stop)  whilst driving along under normal circumstances. It's currently on finance and I paid extra for a 2 year extended warranty which currently has one month left on it. So I reported the issue and had my car recovered to the dealership. Now they are asking me if I had put oil in or recently had it serviced, neither of which I have done. The person on the phone today kept pressing me into asking about the oil and if I had filled it up. Which I kept repeating I hadn't. Turns out there is apparently " 6.7 litres of oil in the engine when it should be 4.2 litres" 

Now I cant understand how that's even possible since I have never touched the oil for the 22 months I have owned the car. Also, the reason I haven't serviced the car is I have probably driven it less than 4000 miles since owning it and didn't see the need to do so. So it's the same oil that was in the car when I first purchased it. 

This same person on the phone then told me I need to pay upfront charges for them to check what the issue is and get to the bottom of it. Which has me confused since they were perfectly happy to work out the level of oil in it (if their claim is to be believed).

So I'm just left with this gut feeling that they are going to worm their way out of any responsibility and after I pay them to work the problem out I'm probably going to be facing a large bill to repair it. 

Currently, I can't afford a turbo change or whatever else may need doing and I am not willing to put it on a credit card. is it possible to cancel finance on a vehicle that's no longer driveable without facing a black mark against your name? 

Or is it worth fighting tooth and nail and trying to have this repaired under warranty even though I missed a service by 4 months?

Thanks

cymruchris

It sounds like it wasn't serviced often enough to start with. Whether you're using them or not - driving them or not - mileage average or mileage low - oil has to be changed regularly depending on your cars schedule - and this is normally every 12 months or a certain mileage whichever comes first - so based on your low miles - it should have been serviced at 12 months and again at 24 months since the first one/first registration.  Did the car have any service before you got it? Was the car delivered with zero miles brand new?

David713

RussBlue said:

Or is it worth fighting tooth and nail and trying to have this repaired under warranty even though I missed a service by 4 months?

That is more than enough of a reason for the warranty claim to be refused and in all likelihood, that's exactly what the warranty provider will pick up on. 

RussBlue said:

Now I cant understand how that's even possible since I have never touched the oil for the 22 months I have owned the car.

Did you check the oil level since you bought the car?

comeandgo

Check your warrenty conditions.  Does it not state that the vehicle has to be regularly serviced?  A low mileage car still needs regular services.

daveyjp

Car details please including engine type.  Petrol or diesel?

facade

RussBlue said:

Now they are asking me if I had put oil in or recently had it serviced, neither of which I have done. The person on the phone today kept pressing me into asking about the oil and if I had filled it up. Which I kept repeating I hadn't. Turns out there is apparently " 6.7 litres of oil in the engine when it should be 4.2 litres" 

Now I cant understand how that's even possible since I have never touched the oil for the 22 months I have owned the car. Also, the reason I haven't serviced the car is I have probably driven it less than 4000 miles since owning it and didn't see the need to do so. So it's the same oil that was in the car when I first purchased it. 

I take it the car is a diesel?

When they try to regenerate the DPF, which happens a lot on short runs, diesel gets into the sump and overfills it with diluted oil.

Eventually when the sump is sufficiently overfull, the excess oil/diesel mix gets into the engine, which runs out of control until it puts a rod through the side.

You are supposed to check the oil level weekly, and if it is going up, rush to a garage in a panic, and they will change the oil for you.

I doubt if there is much chance of a warranty fix, especially as you have admitted that you haven't checked the oil in 23 months

RussBlue

The last service was November 18 but I have only driven it roughly 4000 miles since that date. I appreciate I should have still had a service since then to avoid this situation.  It is a diesel 2.0 TDI golf. I haven't checked the oil since It does have an electronic display on the car which tells me if it's low or not when I turn the engine on and that never gives me any cause for concern. I only check the oil physically before long trips and I just haven't been using the car that much recently.

So it really sounds like this won't be covered by warranty which is what i was fearing. Does anybody know what options i have regarding cancelling the finance? Since its no longer drivable, and I cant afford repairs.

born_again

RussBlue said:

So it really sounds like this won't be covered by warranty which is what i was fearing. Does anybody know what options i have regarding cancelling the finance? Since its no longer drivable, and I cant afford repairs.

None.
Fail to pay and they will chase the debt.

AdrianC

RussBlue said:

The last service was November 18 but I have only driven it roughly 4000 miles since that date.

Can we just clarify...

Do you mean November the 18th, 2020... or do you mean November 2018?

cymruchris

From VW's own website:

Most Volkswagens require a fixed service. For the first three years ofownership, your car will require an annual service inspection and oilservice.

• 1st service (oil service) – at 9,300 miles or when your car is 12 months old.
• 2nd service – at 18,600 miles or when your car is 24 months old.
• 3rd service – at 27,900 miles or when your car is 36 months old.
  
  
  

Notice how it says at X miles or when the car is X months old - it's always whichever comes first.

If your last service was in Nov 18 - you've missed Nov 19 and Nov 20 - so from a warranty perspective you might be in hot water.

In terms of the finance - I'll let others with greater knowledge cover what options you might have.

cymruchris

AdrianC said:

RussBlue said:

The last service was November 18 but I have only driven it roughly 4000 miles since that date.

Can we just clarify...

Do you mean November the 18th, 2020... or do you mean November 2018?

Good point - I read it as November 2018.