Taxi broken down again

Beechy74

Good evening,

I bought a 9 seater minibus 18 months ago through Allied Vehicles. It cost nigh on 50 k over 60 months. 

Its broken down again and now been off the road for 5 weeks in the past 9 months.

The latest fault is a major one. Ford have already had it 10 days, tried to repair the problem (gears) but now they're saying they will need to replace the gearbox as well. So its another 7 days + ill be without work. Albeit, the warranty covers the repairs.

Would I have any claim against anybody for this? 

Thankyou for reading. Its much appreciated 

Grumpy_chap

As a commercial purchase, consumer rights will not apply in the normal way so you will be reliant upon the terms agreed to in the purchase.

Is there any kind of hire option for a replacement cab while yours is off the road?

Beechy74

Grumpy_chap said:

As a commercial purchase, consumer rights will not apply in the normal way so you will be reliant upon the terms agreed to in the purchase.

Is there any kind of hire option for a replacement cab while yours is off the road?

Thankyou forvthe reply.

Allied are calling me Monday to discuss it. Theres nothing I can see in the T&Cs to suggest i get a replacement vehicle. 

Ill know a lot more Monday. Thanks again. 

Grumpy_chap

Beechy74 said:

 Theres nothing I can see in the T&Cs to suggest i get a replacement vehicle. 

I was not necessarily meaning that the supplier would provide a replacement vehicle, but more asking whether you can mitigate against the loss of work by hiring a replacement vehicle.

I don't know where, how, whether it is possible to hire a taxi.
However, the need to hire a short-term taxi seems like one that would be fairly common.
I know it is possible to hire many types of vehicles that might not be so obvious on a short-term basis - dustcarts, buses for example.  I would kind of expect that there is some kind of taxi hire vehicle service available to those in the industry.

paul_c123

There's definitely firms out there who do short term taxi hire, to cater for just such a need. The other possibility is business continuity insurance, but I imagine this is even more expensive or not even available. 

Generally, "all bets are off" when it comes to the reliability and maintenance of taxis, compared to normal cars. Most normal cars just aren't as durable as the few makes/models which regular firms seem to gravitate towards for taxis and there's always some kind of issue that pops up.

Think of it as a "cost of doing business" thing.

Mildly_Miffed

Beechy74 said:

I bought a 9 seater minibus 18 months ago through Allied Vehicles. It cost nigh on 50 k over 60 months.

The cost of the vehicle, and the cost of the finance are two separate things.

If you had a claim for the vehicle cost, it would not cover the finance cost - for example, if the van was written off in a collision. Or if the warranty declined repairs as they were above the value of the vehicle.

the warranty covers the repairs.

Would I have any claim against anybody for this?

Yes, your claim for the cost of repairs is against the warranty, and has been met.

Do you mean any claim for loss of business, any other costs arising, replacement vehicle, etc? No. None. Not unless the warranty specifies as much, or you have some other insurance policy to claim on.

Beechy74

An update on this

The original repair didnt work, so they replaced the gearbox. They've now had the vehicle seven weeks. Excuse after excuse about waiting on parts etc. Even though its a Ford garage. 

Now they've found a leak after its been taken on a road test. Even though the vehicle hasnt moved for 6 days. 

Is this really acceptable? 

Thanks for reading.

Cheers, Dave 

Grey_Critic

Oil leak or SWater Leak?

Beechy74

Grey_Critic said:

Oil leak or SWater Leak?

They never actually said but i can only assume the leak has only occurred whilst its been in the garage  in the past 8 weeks,. It had a service a week prior to the gear box going pop. 

Obviously they're not going to admit they've damaged something anyway.  That wouldn't bother me as such, mistakes happen but its the fact that once again, its been sat another week and this latest problem hasnt been sorted.

Ive never come across incompetence like it. 

Grumpy_chap

What is the OP doing for work while the normal car used is out of service?

born_again

Mildly_Miffed said:

Beechy74 said:

I bought a 9 seater minibus 18 months ago through Allied Vehicles. It cost nigh on 50 k over 60 months.

The cost of the vehicle, and the cost of the finance are two separate things.

If you had a claim for the vehicle cost, it would not cover the finance cost - for example, if the van was written off in a collision. Or if the warranty declined repairs as they were above the value of the vehicle.

the warranty covers the repairs.

Would I have any claim against anybody for this?

Yes, your claim for the cost of repairs is against the warranty, and has been met.

Do you mean any claim for loss of business, any other costs arising, replacement vehicle, etc? No. None. Not unless the warranty specifies as much, or you have some other insurance policy to claim on.

Many warranties are worded that they do not cover loses.

Example

Limited liability

Under this warranty, Kia are only liable for the repair or replacement of original parts by an authorised Kia dealer that are defective in material or workmanship. Kia are not liable for any costs that may incur getting to a dealer, supplying a replacement car or as a result of being without the car during warranty repairs.