PCP Deal - Voluntary Termination whilst Vehicle with Main Dealer for Repair

Iniquitist

Hi, I'll try and keep this as brief as possible...

We have a 2018 vehicle on a 4 year PCP agreement (started in July of 2022) and have reached the point in the agreement where we are eligible for Voluntary Termination.

However, the vehicle has been with the main dealer for getting on for 5 months now for a repair with the charging system - long story short, its finally (after they've thrown other parts on without resolution) reached a point where they have authorisation to replace the whole EV/Traction battery but have advised the part is on back order and gave us an estimate of a further 3 months (dropping a big hint, that this was advised to us before their recent cyber incident) and now it's basically anyone's guess as to how long that will take.

Supplying dealer don't want to know, Finance company don't want to know and the main dealer garage seem hopeless....

So we are left paying the PCP monthly amount for as long as it takes the garage and manufacturer to get their act together and get it fixed, whereas we just want to hand it back like yesterday.

Anyone have any advice they'd care to share for this type of scenario. More worringly, what's going to happen when we reach the end of the PCP term if it isn't fixed - are the Finance company simply going to expect us to pay the balloon payment if we still aren't in a position to return it?

born_again

Iniquitist said:

Hi, I'll try and keep this as brief as possible...

We have a 2018 vehicle on a 4 year PCP agreement (started in July of 2022) and have reached the point in the agreement where we are eligible for Voluntary Termination.

However, the vehicle has been with the main dealer for getting on for 5 months now for a repair with the charging system - long story short, its finally (after they've thrown other parts on without resolution) reached a point where they have authorisation to replace the whole EV/Traction battery but have advised the part is on back order and gave us an estimate of a further 3 months (dropping a big hint, that this was advised to us before their recent cyber incident) and now it's basically anyone's guess as to how long that will take.

Supplying dealer don't want to know, Finance company don't want to know and the main dealer garage seem hopeless....

So we are left paying the PCP monthly amount for as long as it takes the garage and manufacturer to get their act together and get it fixed, whereas we just want to hand it back like yesterday.

Anyone have any advice they'd care to share for this type of scenario. More worringly, what's going to happen when we reach the end of the PCP term if it isn't fixed - are the Finance company simply going to expect us to pay the balloon payment if we still aren't in a position to return it?

Yes. As you need to return a working car.

Take this a JLR car?

You could try raising a complaint with finance co. But would not hold out much hope.. Given 3 years usage of car.

To echo a previous post.
This is the major downside of PCP on a 2nd hand car. It has to be working or you have to pay the balloon

Grumpy_chap

born_again said:

You could try raising a complaint with finance co. But would not hold out much hope.. Given 3 years usage of car.

A complaint to the finance company does not sound obviously hopeful but could be worth trying the "satisfactory quality" tack.

I mean, the OP has purchased a car in July 2022 on 4-year finance (so still a year to go) but the car has been in the garage for 5 months now with a promise of a further 3 months.  Assuming that timeline is met, it would mean no car for a period of 8 months.  That might not meet the general public perception of satisfactory quality.

Is the OP paying for this repair, or is it being funded by the manufacturer?

Iniquitist

Thanks for the comments so far. Car has a comprehensive warranty covering the full PCP term although we do have to pay for some of the initial diagnostics. Yes it's a JLR car and without the manufacturer warranty covering 8 years or 100k miles we would also be facing a huge bill of around £15k to replace the EV/traction battery on the car. So maybe we just accept the silver lining and try and remain patient hoping that we don't end up reaching the end of the agreement before the car is repaired.

born_again

That price will be JLR. I would be fitting a 2nd hand on in on a car of your age. Hevra garage could do it for a 3rd of the price.

What age is the i-pace & what miles when bought & now?

Iniquitist

It's a RRS, P400e, had around 22k miles on it when purchased and it's still only got less than 35k. Why would we pay to put a 2nd hand battery on when it's still covered by manufacturer's warranty?

sheslookinhot

Iniquitist said:

It's a RRS, P400e, had around 22k miles on it when purchased and it's still only got less than 35k. Why would we pay to put a 2nd hand battery on when it's still covered by manufacturer's warranty?

Read your original post again.

born_again

Iniquitist said:

It's a RRS, P400e, had around 22k miles on it when purchased and it's still only got less than 35k. Why would we pay to put a 2nd hand battery on when it's still covered by manufacturer's warranty?

Given the issues JLR have just had, then it is a waiting game till they get systems back on track.

Sadly they can not magic up parts.

Just to check, who has said 8 years? As searching also brings up 6 years on Hybrid

For your peace of mind, we guarantee the battery in your electric vehicle for eight years and 100,000 miles (160,000 km) and electric hybrid for six years or 60,000 miles (100,000 km) – whichever comes first. And while it’s under warranty, our EV experts will fix any manufacturing defects free of charge.

https://www.landrover.co.uk/ownership/electric/maximise-your-battery-life.html

Iniquitist

JLR themselves via customer services over the phone and through webchat, plus the dealership have all confirmed it's a covered part under the manufacturer's warranty and its been ordered by the dealership with JLR authorisation as a warranty claim.

As you say, it's a waiting game, but one we've already been incredibly patient about.