Seat Clutch gone at 20k miles

Kentishphotographer

Hi, my partner’s clutch on his 3 year old Seat Leon has just gone at 20k miles. It’s 6 weeks out of warranty so Seat want to charge £1600 to have it fixed. 

This is a car that has racked most of its miles cruising on the M2 for work and clutch hasn’t been abused or ridden hard. It doesn’t seem acceptable to have to replace a clutch at 20k miles. The guy at the dealer said it wasn’t right but final word from Seat is - no warranty so not taking responsibility. 

Is there anything we can do? Tia 

SaverRate

Will SEAT/the garage give you a contribution towards the cost? Is it worth making a complaint directly with SEAT and seeing if they will do anything for you?
If nothing is done get the work done at a different garage as it will more than likely be significantly cheaper than a SEAT garage.

The_Fat_Controller

Ask them to keep the parts they replace and once Seat have looked at them for manufacturing defects, get an independent opinion.

Clutches are consumable items and can easily be destroyed by bad drivers, so unless you were in the car for all those 20,000 miles you cannot be sure it was driven gently all the time.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Common cause can be resting your foot on the peddle. 

Will probably be cheaper than £1600 elsewhere. 

Kentishphotographer

HarryDavies01 said:

Will SEAT/the garage give you a contribution towards the cost? Is it worth making a complaint directly with SEAT and seeing if they will do anything for you?
If nothing is done get the work done at a different garage as it will more than likely be significantly cheaper than a SEAT garage.

They don’t want to take any responsibility as it’s out of warranty. We’d like a mechanic’s view - if we go elsewhere, not sure if Seat will take any responsibility. 

Kentishphotographer

The_Fat_Controller said:

Ask them to keep the parts they replace and once Seat have looked at them for manufacturing defects, get an independent opinion.

Clutches are consumable items and can easily be destroyed by bad drivers, so unless you were in the car for all those 20,000 miles you cannot be sure it was driven gently all the time.

Great idea - thanks 

The_Fat_Controller

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Common cause can be resting your foot on the peddle. 

Will probably be cheaper than £1600 elsewhere. 

WTH is a peddle ?

IvanOpinion

The_Fat_Controller said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Common cause can be resting your foot on the peddle. 

Will probably be cheaper than £1600 elsewhere. 

WTH is a peddle ?

There is a girl often seen hitch hiking in our area that is known as 'the peddler' but I doubt if that is what is meant - so not sure why I mentioned it!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

The_Fat_Controller said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Common cause can be resting your foot on the peddle. 

Will probably be cheaper than £1600 elsewhere. 

WTH is a peddle ?

An obvious spelling mistake. 

bris

Riding the clutch is common and the biggest mistake drivers make. 

If the clutch is inherently faulty you will probably find others in your situation, look about the car forums for evidence that it is a common problem on that car.

NSG666

In fairness being a wear item they probably wouldn't have covered it under warranty unless a cause for premature failure could be found. If one is found they might offer a goodwill gesture if it was bought new and Seat serviced.