Kia

sharonharrison52

Please can anyone help or advise me.
Grovebury Cars in Dunstable have had our car since November 2021 due to not being able to connect our ignition key to start the car, they have been waiting from the manufacturer a chip, and yes I know there are delays, because of COVID and Brexit, but they have now emailed after chasing pretty much every two weeks that the component will not be made in the near future and they have not given me a guideline on time.

The garage will not discuss a cash option or a part exchange for the vehicle this has to be done through customer service and customer service says it has to been done between us and the garage.

there is now no mot , tax or insurance on the vehicle as it has all run out, I have no idea what the condition is of the car at present as we moved in January and had to obviously leave the car there.

where do I stand with Kia or the garage, is there a legal route I can take.

k3lvc

Age of car ? Is it still under Kia warranty ? Is it financed ?

These will then allow people to give better answers

macman

I hope you have SORN'd it.

sharonharrison52

No it’s a 09 plate all paid for no warranty

k3lvc

sharonharrison52 said:

No it’s a 09 plate all paid for no warranty

So currently you have an (effectively) scrap car sat in a Kia dealership

Do you owe them anything for work done already ? 

Will they allow you to retrieve it (presumably on back of a lorry) ?

Time for some research on t'interweb to see if there is a local specialist who can sort an alternative, cost-effective, solution 

sharonharrison52

It wasn’t before then, it run perfectly, low mileage and was due to be my daughters first car , they fixed part of it but needed another chip, hence the 9 month wait, numerous calls to chase and being fobbed off, now we know since taking it further with customer service and several people including area manager at the garage there is no confirmed date of it even being made.
Both will not offer any alternative to us, I have asked for part exchange or cash option but each say it’s up to the garage or customer service, I’m getting no where with anyone.
I have placed a complaint through the ombudsman but they are really busy and can take up to 6 months to sort.
where do I stand on this ?

daveyjp

It's not unusual for components on vehicles over ten years old to become difficult to get hold of, with more electronics in cars this is likely to become the main reason for obsolescence, rather than rust!

A friend had a 16 year old Volvo in great condition, but it had to be written off as an ECU failed and couldn't be repaired or a new one found anywhere.

The options are for the dealership to be honest and either fix it or tell you the car can't be fixed, you do more research and find someone that may be able to fix it, even with a non Kia solution, you take it back and sell it as a non starter.

Stubod

Fairly typical I am afraid, a friend has just had to scrap his 11 year old car for a similar reason. Perfect mechanically but ECU "went south" and nobody can find a replacement. I think manufacturers are obliged to support models up to 10 years old but that's it. Unfortunately that's then way things are these days, if you can't find an independant specialist your only option is to sell it for scrap?

Goudy

You might have to think of another route to repair this.

Can you fill in any more details on the problem and what they are telling you?

If it's the ECU (often referred to as a PCM) you can often get these repaired or a salvaged one cloned by a specialist.

m0bov

If you have no warranty, then they are under no obligation to fix it. Try a specialist or see if you can trade it in or sell it as a non runner.

Norman_Castle

sharonharrison52 said:

 I have asked for part exchange or cash option [asked who?] but each say it’s up to the garage or customer service,

Its not clear. Did you recently buy this car from them or just take it to them for work which they cannot complete due to the missing part?

Try asking on a Kia forum.

As above, have you sorned the car? Its your responsibility to do so.