Van broken down under warranty

monsterlane

Hi, I bought a semi automatic 2014 van and it came with three months warranty. It broke down after 2 1/2 months with a power shift solenoid problem basically gearbox. It’s since gone back to the van dealership for them to check it over as it’s still under warranty. As the van has gone back to the dealership, I’m without it or any other transport and I need it through Work as I am a divisional groundsman So I need to be on the road. I only have an automatic license and they haven’t got anything in to give me as a courtesy. Surely they should look at other options for a courtesy car van am I right? I purchased this van for £6000, but it’s part financed, I’ve put a £3000 deposit down if they don’t fix it standard or I’m not happy what are my rights to ask for a full refund and how does that work with a finance company? Any help would be great thank you. 

MattMattMattUK

monsterlane said:

Hi, I bought a semi automatic 2014 van and it came with three months warranty. It broke down after 2 1/2 months with a power shift solenoid problem basically gearbox. It’s since gone back to the van dealership for them to check it over as it’s still under warranty. As the van has gone back to the dealership, I’m without it or any other transport and I need it through Work as I am a divisional groundsman So I need to be on the road. I only have an automatic license and they haven’t got anything in to give me as a courtesy. Surely they should look at other options for a courtesy car van am I right?

Rarely does a warranty specify that a courtesy vehicle will be provided, you almost certainly do not have a right to one.

monsterlane said:

I purchased this van for £6000, but it’s part financed, I’ve put a £3000 deposit down if they don’t fix it standard or I’m not happy what are my rights to ask for a full refund and how does that work with a finance company? Any help would be great thank you. 

What you you mean "fix it standard"? You being happy or not does not really matter, what matters is what is in the warranty. As this was a business purchase you do not have consumer rights. What does the warranty say about timelines? How long has the van been with the garage since the gearbox fault occurred? How many miles are on the clock?

Herzlos

A dealers 3rd  party warranty is unlikely to include any courtesy vehicle option, and the automatic only restriction makes it even harder because most vans they'll have available will be manual.

I don't think you've got any way to force the dealer to provide an automatic van or reimburse any costs for you to hire something unless you've got a contract stating that they will.   Your best bet is probably to hire something yourself to get you to work and then reject or keep the van once the dealer has had a chance to repair it.

Did you buy the van as a consumer or business? Because the rules will be completely different.

monsterlane

Herzlos said:

A dealers 3rd  party warranty is unlikely to include any courtesy vehicle option, and the automatic only restriction makes it even harder because most vans they'll have available will be manual.

I don't think you've got any way to force the dealer to provide an automatic van or reimburse any costs for you to hire something unless you've got a contract stating that they will.   Your best bet is probably to hire something yourself to get you to work and then reject or keep the van once the dealer has had a chance to repair it.

Did you buy the van as a consumer or business? Because the rules will be completely different.

Hi there I bought it as a consumer and not business. It has 82000 miles on it and just think after less than three months a major gearbox issue arises and I’ve lost confidence in it now but hope they’ll fix it. So I can legally reject it if I’m not happy with the repair? Thank you. 

Mildly_Miffed

monsterlane said:

I need it through Work as I am a divisional groundsman So I need to be on the road.

monsterlane said:

Hi there I bought it as a consumer and not business.

These are mutually contradictory. Which is accurate?

It's not about what legal entity bought it - if you bought it as a tool for work, then consumer rights do not apply.

Besides, consumer rights would be minimal in this instance.
Is it reasonable to expect a 10yo 80k mile van to break down occasionally? Yes.
Are the dealer fulfilling their obligation to fix it? Yes.
Do they have a legal obligation to provide replacement transport in the interim? Not unless their contract with you explicitly states as much.

If you want to pursue a claim against them, don't forget that you need to minimise your losses - it will cost you less to hire a van than to lose a day's work.

Ectophile

So I can legally reject it if I’m not happy with the repair?

The all depends on what you mean by "not happy with".  That doesn't really mean anything.  The gearbox is either fixed, or it isn't.

born_again

3 month warranty on a £6K van is not going to cover much at all. Certainly no temp vehicle or compensation. 

You could ring finance co, but that would not get you another van. Do not think that S75 would kick in, as this may not be covered under warranty.

You need to dig out warranty T/C & just what it does & does not cover... As they are not get out of jail free cards.

monsterlane

Hi I thought I’d provide an update on the situation. I’ve still not got the van so they’ve had it since the 11th of November. It broke down on the 29th of October no courtesy car and I’ve still been paying my Payments. I will paste an email that they have just sent today. I don’t know whether to try and just pay or wait for the finance company to investigate as I reported it to them but they’ve still not assigned a handler for the case. I just need some advice thank you.

Hi,

 

 VAUXHALL COMBO 

 

With reference to the above van. 

 

The van was described as losing drive and possible gearbox fault. We recovered the vehicle free of charge and found no drive. The gearbox system in this van is quite specialised and so we needed to locate a specialist garage who were willing to look at it. Once the specialist garage was found , they removed the gearbox to find a worn clutch and flywheel to the extent that the vehicle has lost drive. The clutch and flywheel by nature of the job are a wear and tear item so not covered under warranty. The parts to repair these are under a back order from Vauxhall and are not available. Luckily, the garage that repaired it were able to locate the parts, but we did have to wait for the parts to arrive. 

 

Whilst being repaired, a worn engine mounting was noticed and replaced. Once back together, the van was intermittently starting and so the starter motor was replaced to ensure all repairs were completed together and the van ready to drive away. 

 

The total bill was £1836.43 inclusive of VAT. As we can claim the vat back this leaves £1530.36. 

 

I propose that as a matter of goodwill and without any admission of liability, we split that cost 50/50 so that would be a cost of £750 from you, plus the original delivery cost that wasn’t paid by yourselves of £184. 

 

This is a one-time offer, should you decide to not take this offer and continue down the legal route then we will withdrawal the offer after 7 days, and hand over the complaint to our legal advisors.

 

The van is physical here on site should you wish to collect or we can arrange for delivery back.

Mildly_Miffed

Nobody owes you a penny.

Your message even acknowledges that this is wear and tear on an 11yo 82,000 mile van that's not covered by the warranty.

It was a business purchase, so no consumer rights - but even as a consumer, this would not be covered.

born_again

Bite their hand off...

11 year old, 82K van. 
Wear & tear parts & other items replaced all for £750 to you... 👍

knightstyle

Do not hesitate and take that offer.  99% of garages would not have been so generous.   Make sure the work and new parts come with a warranty in writing before paying.