Impending court case vs VW dealer

goldspanners

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Sorry phillydog but your post seems abit "out of time", by about a decade:rotfl:
You said it was nearly new but was out of waranty? so that must be 3 years old?

And I havent seen a distributor on a new car for about 10 years?

No offence, just strange.

i was thinking this too,but i work on modern vw engines that have distributors fitted to them,i havent looked under the bonnet of a polo recently though.

phillydog

Case was held last week. Interesting result - despite my pessimism judging from your advice I decided to go ahead. The garage defended but the judge (who was also blinded by the dealer's technical explanations of the work) decided that I was right - the fault was the same and not 2 separate faults that the dealer had claimed. The dealer admitted that the VW diagnostic software (that, as a VW dealer, they're obliged to use) failed to find the fault. It was eventually diagnosed and corrected by a mechanic's experience and intuition. The judged ruled I should be refunded the labour costs from the second repair (£100) and the court fees. Satisfactory and amicable conclusion. My advice for others in this position is to stick to the legal principles (in this case fitness for purpose of a service), don't get intimidated by the legal process, prepare thoroughly and be quietly and politely assertive during the hearing. Thanks again for taking the time to advise.

MX5huggy

Well done phillydog :T:T:T.

Just read the whole thread for the 1st time, I am plesently suprised at the outcome.

On reflection was it worth it?

But again well done :T

phillydog

Barely worth it for the sake of a hundred quid but well worth it to prevent the lingering feeling of being ripped off. That's partly why moneysavingexpert is such a great site and a brilliant public service. Consumers are continually fleeced and plundered by big and small companies - I know many people who are resentful for years. And, like most people, I don't like feeling resentful, cheated or fooled.

Incidentally my record in the small claims cases is now won 8 drawn 1 (the latest case) and lost 1. Opponents have included British Airways, Anglian Water and Car Hire 3000. Others included employers who didn't feel like coughing up for legitimate expenses.

iolanthe07

Well done - so glad you won. I'm surprised they didn't cave in before it went to court.

vwjo

You won, but that certainly doesn't mean that the dealer did anything wrong. In the vast majority of cases, the result will be in favour of the 'little man' rather than the business. It's worth remembering that every person at the dealership is an individual human being, who may well have done exactly the right thing in order to TRY to look after you and your car. Remember that, at least.
The average conman doesn't work in a main dealer, do they? They're making far more money knocking on doors and distracting old ladies while they pinch their purses.

vwjo

phillydog wrote: »

Incidentally my record in the small claims cases is now won 8 drawn 1 (the latest case) and lost 1. Opponents have included British Airways, Anglian Water and Car Hire 3000. Others included employers who didn't feel like coughing up for legitimate expenses.

Ever had a whiplash claim? :rolleyes:

phillydog

vwjo, completely agree except that the garage did something wrong (according to the judge and it's only his opinion that matters). The case finished amicably, shook hands with the dealer at the end. I just didn't want to pick up the tab for the dealer's inabilty to correctly diagnose a fault. In 25+ years of driving a variety of cars this was my first dispute.

And, for the record, have never had a whiplash claim and don't expect to.