Clutch has gone after 12000 miles

Tryphic

Hello

I bought a Vauxhall Corsa new in November 2019 and it has roughly 12000 miles on the clock. The clutch has now gone and the dealership are quoting £1300 for a repair/new part. I feel that this is unacceptable. I didn't take out the extended warranty and have complained to their central customer services department. I took it to Vauxhall as I very strongly feel that even though it is out of warranty, this is not acceptable. I will be looking at other quotes but was wondering if the Consumer Rights Act 2015, specifically section 9.2 would cover this. I was going to pay off the car in November but am now seriously considering just handing it back. 

Can anyone please advise me of my rights here.

Thank you

sevenhills

12,000 miles is not very many for a clutch, you have had the car for 4 years, so I assume that you mostly do short journeys?

Alderbank

You seem to be saying that clutch failure at 12,000 miles cannot be driver error and must be an intrinsic fault.

I don't think you can say that. There are lots of recorded cases where drivers, especially drivers who do low mileage, have shredded clutches at vastly less than 12,000 miles.

The car is more than 3 years old. For CRA 2015 claim you would need an independent engineer's report to say that the clutch failure was due to an intrinsic fault rather than driver error.

Please don't take offence at this but many mechanics would say to a driver who does less than 3,000 miles a year and has a prematurely burnt out clutch that they should consider an automatic or EV. 

HillStreetBlues

You would have to prove the clutch was inherently faulty.
Although low mileage it was been 4 years  so would need to rule out your driving style.

sevenhills

HillStreetBlues said:

You would have to prove the clutch was inherently faulty.
Although low mileage it was been 4 years  so would need to rule out your driving style.

Can clutch discs corrode with low milage as rear brake discs do?

Alderbank

No. The clutch is enclosed within the clutch housing. Brake discs are open to the elements, road salt, etc.

HillStreetBlues

sevenhills said:

HillStreetBlues said:

You would have to prove the clutch was inherently faulty.
Although low mileage it was been 4 years  so would need to rule out your driving style.

Can clutch discs corrode with low milage as rear brake discs do?

You can knacker a clutch just by keeping your foot on it as you're disengaging it while in gear.
Mistiming gear shifts is another way.

With the time-frame OP  needs to prove that's not the case,  unless they offer some goodwill.

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree with the above.  The possible suspect here is short journeys.  12000 miles in 4 years suggests infrequent use of the car (not a problem) or frequent small trips with lots of gear changes, which is likely to lead to excessive clutch wear.

What's your driving pattern?  

stuhse

Is it you who exclusively drives this car ?  How many miles have you got out of previous cars before the clutch has worn out ?....have these previous cars been used exclusively by the same people as are driving this one ?

breaking_free

Not saying that the OP does this, but my long ago neighbour who was rather deaf used to thrash her car as she couldn't hear how hard she was riding the clutch. She only used it for short trips to the shops, etc. I daresay her mechanic made a good living out of her.

born_again

As car is out of warranty & even a extended one will not cover wear & tear, as clutch is a consumable item.
Only hope of anything is if when stripped down there is a fault in bearing or such.

But on a 4 year old car, I would be looking at a trusted independent to change it. If there is something wrong with the parts (other than worn clutch plates), then get them to write a report & see if Vauxhall will offer a goodwill payment to help with costs. So make sure you keep the parts in case they need to check them.