Warranty Claim - 72 reg car

kerrypops1979

Hi,

I bought a car back in April / May which is a 72 plate Nissan.  We hit upon some gloriously warm months after purchasing the car so didn't use the heaters in the car.

Now it's getting colder, and I'm trying to use the heaters, they intermittently warm up.  I've just done a 30 minute journey and it took until 25 minutes into the journey to pull through any warm air.  most of the time is doesn't - I can have the blowers on 30 degrees and it's still blowing cold air through. 

Contacted Nissan as I got an extended warranty with the car.  They have said they will need £180 up front for diagnostic checks before even confirming if the issue is covered by warranty!  I've asked if they can provide a list of what isn't covered by warranty and they have said that this doesn't exist.  I feel it may end up being very costly - on a car that should have been in working order when I bought it. 

To add to this, I did purchase some of the cost of the car on my credit card to provide some form of cover (is it section 55 or something) but I wondered what my legal rights are here....I've heard of horror stories with Nissan (recalling the days of mass engine failures). 

Any advice would be appreciated. 

Thanks 

Isthisforreal99

It's pretty standard for the diagnostic fee to be charged up front and waived/reimbursed if it is covered by warranty. There are so many causes of any faults on a car so to have a list of what is/isn't covered isn't practical but generally speaking any wear and tear part won't be covered.

So your choices are take it to Nissan and pay the diagnostic or go to a local garage.

Mildly_Miffed

Charging an hour's labour for diagnostic is normal for any warranty query. If it is warranty, then you won't get charged.

If the heater's taking that long to warm up, the obvious thing is that either coolant level is low, or the thermostat is stuck open.

If the coolant level's low... why? It might be stone damage to the radiator, which would not be covered. Or it might be a leak from a pipe or the water pump, which would be.

Bigwheels1111

Are you loosing any water, are the foot wells damp, Sweet smell in the car, wet say under your floor mats.

Does the temp on the gauge get to say 90 degrees, that's where mine sits.

No water loss, might be thermostat stuck open.

Water in car can be the heater matrix.

£180 up front for diagnostic checks, Had this with Peugeot, 3 times.

Never paid it as was a warranty job.

chrisw

Is it diesel? They can take an age to warm up due to their increased efficiency. 

Also, setting the blowers to 30° won't make it warm up any quicker, it will just continue to warm up slowly until the temperature reaches 30°. Just set the blowers to whatever you want the final temperature to be.

daveyjp

Some basic vehicle details such as a model, engine type etc be useful.  

born_again

Isthisforreal99 said:

It's pretty standard for the diagnostic fee to be charged up front and waived/reimbursed if it is covered by warranty. There are so many causes of any faults on a car so to have a list of what is/isn't covered isn't practical but generally speaking any wear and tear part won't be covered.

So your choices are take it to Nissan and pay the diagnostic or go to a local garage.

Many dealers selling a brand (Nissan) of car are not owned by the brand (Nissan). They are franchises. So they do not get paid for diagnostic work, unless it is a warranty claim.

Kia only own 1 dealer (Bolton) all the rest are franchises.
How many brands do the like of Arnold Clark sell? Do you think the brand owns each dealership? If so where does AC come into the deal?

kerrypops1979

Bigwheels1111 said:

Are you loosing any water, are the foot wells damp, Sweet smell in the car, wet say under your floor mats.

Does the temp on the gauge get to say 90 degrees, that's where mine sits.

No water loss, might be thermostat stuck open.

Water in car can be the heater matrix.

£180 up front for diagnostic checks, Had this with Peugeot, 3 times.

Never paid it as was a warranty job.

There doesn’t appear to be any damp, no sweet smell either. I can’t see a temperature gauge but that might be me. Still trying to work out where things are on the car. Will take a look when I go out later. Thanks 

kerrypops1979

Mildly_Miffed said:

Charging an hour's labour for diagnostic is normal for any warranty query. If it is warranty, then you won't get charged.

If the heater's taking that long to warm up, the obvious thing is that either coolant level is low, or the thermostat is stuck open.

If the coolant level's low... why? It might be stone damage to the radiator, which would not be covered. Or it might be a leak from a pipe or the water pump, which would be.

I checked the coolant and it’s between the lines and the right colour. In the 20 odd years I’ve had a car I’ve never had to check it so was all new to me. 

kerrypops1979

chrisw said:

Is it diesel? They can take an age to warm up due to their increased efficiency. 

Also, setting the blowers to 30° won't make it warm up any quicker, it will just continue to warm up slowly until the temperature reaches 30°. Just set the blowers to whatever you want the final temperature to be.

It doesn’t get to any temp. It just stays cold. My hubby has a diesel and his heats up quickly. As did my previous car. 

kerrypops1979

daveyjp said:

Some basic vehicle details such as a model, engine type etc be useful.  

Sorry, I thought the fact I was asking about my cover meant I wouldn’t really need to provide this. 

It’s a 72 plate Nissan Juke hybrid. Would any other information be helpful? Thanks