Problematic Astra! 24 February at 12:53PM in Motoring 14 replies 565 views

LeightonP72

Just over 5 months ago I purchased a 63 plate Vauxhall Astra 1.4T [72k miles on click].
Recently following a spell where the car was suffering from vibrations and slight loss of power I put it into the local garage.  They couldn't pinpoint the problem and changed the coil pack and spark plugs [which made the vibrations worse].
On advice I took it to a more specialist garage.  2 days later they confirm it is likely to be the flywheel and will have to strip out the gearbox.  Then yesterday they confirmed that the clutch had gone!
I have a 6 month RAC warranty that covers me  (loosely) and it will cover up to £65/hour labour and parts, but I will be out of pocket.
I have contacted the dealer directly and asked if they would support/cover the full cost.  I have made direct reference to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 whereby within 6 months a seller has an obligation to offer a repair, replacement or refund for a faulty product provided the user has not done something to cause the fault!
The car has not done a lot of mileage since purchase as I generally work from home reducing my monthly mileage by around 500 miles.  The garage it is currently in will email the costs involved to the dealer [around £1800 potentially to strip out the gearbox and potentially replace clutch and flywheel).
The process is exhausting but I have to try everything to get this sorted out cheaply.
Based on the circumstances what do people think of my chances of getting this done to my satisfaction through the Consumer protection or warranty angle?

Tucosalamanca

Two garages both with wildly different diagnose.

Garage two says clutch and gearbox need substantial repairs but garage one didn't notice any symptoms to indicate this?
Seems very unlikely to me. I don't think that I'd trust either garage's opinion.

I would return the car to the dealer and let them handle it (I'm guessing they won't be happy but it is what it is).
As for reclaiming costs, I guess that depends on the warranty, what's covered and what's considered to be wear and tear.
I think you've got an uphill battle coming up tbh.
Good luck with it....

LeightonP72

Thanks.  I would trust the second garage over the first tbh.  I think many local garages tend to stick on a coil pack and change the spark plugs without proper diagnosis.
The second garage has much more sophisticated equipment and spent time doing the diagnosis over two days! They have excellent customer reviews.
I am trying to see if I can push the Consumer Rights Act onto the dealer rather than use the warranty as I want to minimise the costs to me.

lemondrops69

The clutch is a wear and tear part and not normally covered by warranty and I'm not sure any warranty would cover the cost to change a clutch on a 9 year old car with 72k miles on the clock, but good luck

Nobbie1967

I don’t think you stand any chance unless the dealer is feeling very generous. The problem developed well into your ownership, so was unlikely to have been present when you bought it. It sounds like a normal wear and tear failure of the dual mass flywheel. You also do not appear to have given the supplying dealer a chance to fix the issue or even notified the warranty provider to get authorisation for repairs which may be required.

Ganga

£1800 seems like a lot for clutch and flywheel repair ,can you not ring round and get better quotes? i looked on Eurocar parts and the flywheel is about £250 and the clutch kit about the same so they are wanting over £1k for labour.

LeightonP72

Nobbie1967 said:

I don’t think you stand any chance unless the dealer is feeling very generous. The problem developed well into your ownership, so was unlikely to have been present when you bought it. It sounds like a normal wear and tear failure of the dual mass flywheel. You also do not appear to have given the supplying dealer a chance to fix the issue or even notified the warranty provider to get authorisation for repairs which may be required.

Thanks.  Everything has been done 'by the book.' Taken car to garage, garage notifies RAC Warranty of the issue (they can't confirm exact problem until they strip out the gearbox - garage charges £105/hour labour; RAC warranty covers up to £65/hour).  Garages in my locality wont touch anything involving warranty repairs and they wont take on the 'complicated' intricate jobs.  I contacted the dealer to see if they could help as it was within the 6 month period.  The garage has since had two communications with the dealer on my behalf so he is very supportive. The last exchange came from the fact that the car dealer questioned why the garage was taking so long to diagnose the fault!!  The air was blue!!
According to my garage it is around 6 to 7 hours work to strip out/put back the gear box and fit replacements.

LeightonP72

lemondrops69 said:

The clutch is a wear and tear part and not normally covered by warranty and I'm not sure any warranty would cover the cost to change a clutch on a 9 year old car with 72k miles on the clock, but good luck

Thanks - wear and tear is in the back of my mind.  Was that flywheel OK though when it was bought as I read it should technically last £100k miles, although ever car is different and I don't know if the previous owner ran it into the ground!  That malfunctioning flywheel (tbc) has probably led to my clutch packing in too.

Ayr_Rage

I very much doubt a wear and tear item such as a clutch would be covered under ANY warranty on a secondhand vehicle.

What does the warranty paperwork say about clutches and flywheels ?

LeightonP72

Ayr_Rage said:

I very much doubt a wear and tear item such as a clutch would be covered under ANY warranty on a secondhand vehicle.

What does the warranty paperwork say about clutches and flywheels ?

Apparently covered under mechanical failure unless it is down to wear and tear or water damage? I am far from an expert but if the flywheel stops working then that compromises the clutch - that isn't wear and tear as such is it? I assume my garage can judge but the warranty company want photos.

Ayr_Rage

@LeightonP72

You said this.

 2 days later they confirm it is likely to be the flywheel and will have to strip out the gearbox.  Then yesterday they confirmed that the clutch had gone!

Has the gearbox actually been removed to see which part has failed ?