Warranty woes

LSDevon123

I bought a 2 and a half year old car from a car showroom last week. I drove it the other eve after dark and the headlights aren't bright enough. The car came with the rest of the manufacturers 7yr warranty. I bought similar bulbs to what i had in my previous car, Zenon200 bulb. I spoke to the salesman yesterday as he's sorting out the paint chips on the bonnet. I arrived at the showroom today to have the paintwork done and the salesman is off sick. I've got to go back on Saturday to have the paintwork fixed. I showed them the new bulbs and asked them to fit them for me. They said if they change the bulbs with the brighter ones then my warranty will be void/cancelled. I said what if a bulb goes anyway and needs to be replaced. They said that may well void the warranty! I said the bulbs in at are so bad that i can't drive the car after dark. They said they will contact the MG warranty people and let me know. What can I do and who do i contact?? Also at 10pm last night i had an email saying that my warranty had been cancelled. I asked the sales manager about that and he said it was a glitch in the system and everyone who received those emails had their warranties reinstated straight away and i should receive new documents in the post soon. Very frustrating. 

Grumpy_chap

LSDevon123 said:

I bought a 2 and a half year old car from a car showroom last week. I drove it the other eve after dark and the headlights aren't bright enough. The car came with the rest of the manufacturers 7yr warranty. I bought similar bulbs to what i had in my previous car, Zenon200 bulb. I spoke to the salesman yesterday as he's sorting out the paint chips on the bonnet. I arrived at the showroom today to have the paintwork done and the salesman is off sick. I've got to go back on Saturday to have the paintwork fixed. I showed them the new bulbs and asked them to fit them for me. They said if they change the bulbs with the brighter ones then my warranty will be void/cancelled. I said what if a bulb goes anyway and needs to be replaced. They said that may well void the warranty! I said the bulbs in at are so bad that i can't drive the car after dark. They said they will contact the MG warranty people and let me know. What can I do and who do i contact?? Also at 10pm last night i had an email saying that my warranty had been cancelled. I asked the sales manager about that and he said it was a glitch in the system and everyone who received those emails had their warranties reinstated straight away and i should receive new documents in the post soon. Very frustrating. 

It sound like this was a purchase from the Dealer's premises, not a remote purchase, which would give you different consumer rights.

It sounds like the paint chips are being resolved.  It would have been better had that been sorted before collection, but so be it.  It is being sorted, so that is all that matters (and that they do a good job of sorting it).

The only concern remaining is the headlights.  This is likely not a fault - how does the illumination from the car compare with other cars of the same make and model?
Has the headlamp alignment been checked?  
Is there an internal wheel that adjusts the beam for load compensation?  Is that in the correct setting?

I am not surprised the dealer was not interested in swapping the bulbs.  This can either be done yourself when you are at home, or get the bulbs from Halfords and use the "we fit" service.

LSDevon123

Hi Grumpy_chap, the headlights are dreadful, very poor light. Is it correct that if the bulbs are changed then my warranty will be void/cancelled. I said, what if i need a new bulb at some point, if a bulb was to go out at any time. One guy at the showroom said that a bulb blown and replaced would void the whole warranty. Really stressed about it, especially as i had an email from the head office saying my warranty was cancelled at 10pm last night. The guy in the showroom said it was an error in their computer system but I'm not so sure. 

Grey_Critic

What make and model? Being daft what is the spec for the correct bulbs, could the previous owner have changed them for less bright bulbs?

You say the car has a 7 year manufacturers warranty so how come a dealer is saying it is cancelled? The dealer may give some sort of warranty and could possibly cancel that but they cannot cancel a manufacturers warranty.

LSDevon123

Its an MG3 excite. It's under 3yrs old. No idea about the bulbs, sorry! The email i had late last night was apparently a glitch in their computer system, apparently everyone with a manufacturers warranty got that in error, all cancelled and all reinstated immediately. 

400ixl

As long as the bulbs are OEM equivalent and meet the same British Standard then the warranty would not be voided.

In the case of an MG 3 this is listed in the manual as 'Headlamp High/Low Beam H4 60/55W'

If they are halogen, you would have to replace them with halogen, you couldn't fit Xenon (unless they are Xenon as original fit).

So replacing it with a bulb of a higher output would allow them to void the warranty for any issue related to that part. They couldn't void the warranty in total as far as I am aware. 

LSDevon123

Grey_Critic, meant to add the word allegedly at the end of my reply to you! I've got to go back to see them at the showroom on Sat morning. I'm so stressed and worried about it all. I don't get why a bulb blowing later down the line might cancel/void the rest of the manufacturers warranty. 

LSDevon123

Hi, 400ixl, thanks for the advice too. So looks like i need to take the Xenon back to the shop i bought them from. In my previous car a peugeot 107 i had the Xenon bulbs and it made such a difference with driving at night. The MG3 is lovely to drive but can't drive in the dark. I don't know anything about cars and always wonder if I'm being set up by garages/showrooms as I'm mid 50s and female and know nothing about technical stuff! I do love the car though, just can't drive it after dark. 

[Deleted User]

400ixl said:

As long as the bulbs are OEM equivalent and meet the same British Standard then the warranty would not be voided.

In the case of an MG 3 this is listed in the manual as 'Headlamp High/Low Beam H4 60/55W'

If they are halogen, you would have to replace them with halogen, you couldn't fit Xenon (unless they are Xenon as original fit).

So replacing it with a bulb of a higher output would allow them to void the warranty for any issue related to that part. They couldn't void the warranty in total as far as I am aware. 

I think you have totally misunderstood the marketing phrases used for halogen filament bulbs and mixing up the term Xenon with HID lights which are totally different and wouldn't fit in a H4 bulb holder.

Halogen refers to the small amount of halogen gases such as iodine or bromine added to these bulbs to prevent blackening due to the tungsten filament burning.

All such bulbs are filled primarily with an inert gas such as krypton or xenon. A xenon filament bulb is still a halogen bulb.

The Ring Xenon 200 bulbs the OP is referring to are fully compatible halogen filament bulbs and are identical wattage but have a higher light output due to the type of filament that will be running a a higher temperature. They are a common aftermarket upgrade and worth to money for cars that still use the old style halogen lights instead of HID's or LED's.

The only disadvantage is that they won't last as long as standard halogen filament lights. Some 200% bulbs will last just 200-400 hours compared to OEM's which will give 1000+ hours albeit much dimmer.

HID's or high intensity discharge lights don't have a filament, instead they form an arc between two electrodes. They are also filled with an inert gas such as Xenon and are often called Xenon lights. Aftermarket fitting of HIDs would void a warranty and would also fail an MOT but that is not what the OP has bought.

I've always fitted high output bulbs on cars with halogen lights and never had a warranty issue. Only difference was I fitted them myself though, no point paying for a garage to do bulb changes.

LSDevon123

So if i can find someone to fit the Xenon200 that would be ok for the warranty. I hope so. I guess any garage mechanic will fit them for me perhaps. I'll pay for the fitting, whatever it costs, just need to have brighter lights so i can drive at night. Many thanks for EVERYONE'S help tonight. Really appreciate it 😊

tommyedinburgh

Have you had your eyes tested any time recently - I know a lot of folk haven’t as a result of all things COVID and the lockdowns etc?