manufacturer or dealership - who to contact?

little_green

if buying a car from dealership which would have manufacturer warranty should any issues develop with the car would I go back to the dealer or the manufacturer? Also, the be car would be getting transported from the dealer which is about 200miles away as it's in stock there but not in my local dealer although the same brand dealership exists in my city. But just want to make sure, I wouldnt have to make the 200 round trip back down to the dealer if an issue arouse. There is also the manufactures garage in my city as well. 

flashg67

The warranty is with the manufacturer, so any dealer for that mak will be able to carry out warranty repairs

mobileron

Your contract is with the dealer.any problems start with them.

NSG666

It depends what issues you mean.

If it's a problem that can be resolved under the terms of the manufacturer's warranty then go to a manufacturer approved main dealer or service agent.

If it's a problem regarding the vehicle and you want to reject it then you need to go back to the supplier.

If it's a problem that might be covered by an extended warranty then you'll need to read the extended warranty documents to see where to get it fixed.

Just as a matter of interest, if it's part of a group who have local representation, can you buy the car via your local branch and they just get it transferred to them to complete the sale? I think some will and some won't.

Ebe_Scrooge

As above, your contract is with the dealer, you go to them (just the same as if you buy a faulty item from a shop, you contact the retailer not the manufacturer).

little_green said:

Also, the be car would be getting transported from the dealer which is about 200miles away as it's in stock there but not in my local dealer although the same brand dealership exists in my city. But just want to make sure, I wouldnt have to make the 200 round trip back down to the dealer if an issue arouse.

This may be a problem - and one reason why it's often advised not to buy a car from a long distance away.  Usually you need to return to the dealer that sold it to you if you want to make a warranty claim.  However, if it's a large dealership, it may very well be that your local dealer would be happy to undertake any warranty repairs.  I'd ask them before you buy.

Alternatively, can you buy the car from your local dealer?  I've done this a few times - seen a car on a dealer's website, but it's located at another branch rather than my local one.  They arrange for it to be transported to my local dealer, who I then buy it from.  Makes life much easier, and I think it's a pretty common scenario with most of the larger dealerships.

AdrianC

Assuming it's an approved-used, I can't see any issue at all in arranging a dealer transfer.

If it isn't part of the approved-used scheme, then the question is why.

Buying any used car sight-unseen is a mug's game.

NSG666

Ebe_Scrooge said:

As above, your contract is with the dealer, you go to them (just the same as if you buy a faulty item from a shop, you contact the retailer not the manufacturer).

little_green said:

Also, the be car would be getting transported from the dealer which is about 200miles away as it's in stock there but not in my local dealer although the same brand dealership exists in my city. But just want to make sure, I wouldnt have to make the 200 round trip back down to the dealer if an issue arouse.

This may be a problem - and one reason why it's often advised not to buy a car from a long distance away.  Usually you need to return to the dealer that sold it to you if you want to make a warranty claim.  However, if it's a large dealership, it may very well be that your local dealer would be happy to undertake any warranty repairs.  I'd ask them before you buy.

Alternatively, can you buy the car from your local dealer?  I've done this a few times - seen a car on a dealer's website, but it's located at another branch rather than my local one.  They arrange for it to be transported to my local dealer, who I then buy it from.  Makes life much easier, and I think it's a pretty common scenario with most of the larger dealerships.

It might be me that's mis-understood what you mean here but if the vehicle is under manufacturer's warranty then it doesn't have to go back to the supplying dealer for warranty repairs it can be carried out by any of the manufacturer's authorised dealer / service centres in the UK. It used to extend into Europe too but I don't know whether that's been affected by Brexit.

little_green

Mixed responses I'm still confused. 
Ok basically it's at an Arnold Clark dealership elsewhere in the country. It's a demonstrated vehicle. We have Arnold Clark dealerships in my city but obviously that particular make/model/color spec etc isn't at my local branch. My understanding is they won't simply transport the car up to my local brand just for me to "look" at & test drive. They would transport it up for me to collect from local brand if I purchased it however. 
The car will come with manufacturers warranty. 

Assuming 6 months down the line a fault develops with the car, who would I contact? The dealer - Arnold Clark? Or the manufacturer (Kia). In my city our Kia is actually an Arnold Clark Kia (if that helps at all). If I had to go back to the dealer could I go to my local Arnold Clark (where I collected the car)  or would I have to go to the supplying branch dealer all those miles away? That's my question. Although I'm guessing most issues would probably be dealt with manufacturer not dealer if manufacturer warranty applies, but I'm not sure if you need to go via dealer for that? Like if a fault develops & it's under warranty would I contact Kia direct or have to contact Arnold Clark who would then contact Kia? 

Grumpy_chap

If you buy from far away, as a totally remote sale, then the first 14-days your position is potentially better than buying locally.  After that, the local purchase and seeing the car first wins hands-down.

If the car develops a fault under the manufacturer's original new car warranty or approved used warranty, then this can be taken to any dealership for the brand of car.

Alternatively, if you see the car from a remote Arnold Clark, I think they offer a facility to get the car to the local dealer for you to see / test drive before purchase.  You probably have to pay a hefty deposit (facilitation fee) that may be forfeited if you don't then conclude the purchase.

NSG666

You can take it to ANY Kia dealer. If your local Arnold Clark Kia is the one you want to use then you would take it to them. If you were on holiday or business elsewhere in the UK you would take it to the nearest Kia dealer.

AdrianC

little_green said:

Mixed responses I'm still confused. 
Ok basically it's at an Arnold Clark dealership elsewhere in the country. It's a demonstrated vehicle. We have Arnold Clark dealerships in my city but obviously that particular make/model/color spec etc isn't at my local branch. My understanding is they won't simply transport the car up to my local brand just for me to "look" at & test drive. They would transport it up for me to collect from local brand if I purchased it however. 
The car will come with manufacturers warranty. 

Assuming 6 months down the line a fault develops with the car, who would I contact? The dealer - Arnold Clark? Or the manufacturer (Kia). In my city our Kia is actually an Arnold Clark Kia (if that helps at all). If I had to go back to the dealer could I go to my local Arnold Clark (where I collected the car)  or would I have to go to the supplying branch dealer all those miles away? That's my question. Although I'm guessing most issues would probably be dealt with manufacturer not dealer if manufacturer warranty applies, but I'm not sure if you need to go via dealer for that? Like if a fault develops & it's under warranty would I contact Kia direct or have to contact Arnold Clark who would then contact Kia? 

If you want to pursue your legal consumer rights, then your claim is against whoever your purchase contract was with. Whether that be Dealership Chain National Ltd, Dealership Chain (City A) Ltd, or Dealership Chain (City B ) Ltd. The fact the car is in stock at Dealership Chain (City A) does not necessarily mean your contract is with that dealership.

The fact both dealers are part of the same chain may well make life a bit easier in regard to transferring a car between sites, although it has to be said that certain dealership chains do not have the warmest of reputations for customer service...

If you want to claim under the manufacturer's new car warranty, or under a Kia UK approved-used warranty, then any Kia dealership.

If you want to claim under a non-Kia used car warranty, then you need to read the paperwork for that warranty.