Dodgy dealer?

[Mark_C]

sounds like par for the course for a modern diesel tbh!

 

[Darcy Dog]

You dont say what model of car it is that you bought but i have a vauxhall zafira vxr and its also giving me loads of trouble. Im really sorry that i got rid of my 1998 st mondeo which never had any problems at all except the usual things like tyres etc.Now im in debt up to my neck paying for a car that is a real pain to own.

My zafira done exactly the same thing as your car it stopped dead when i pulled out of a junction onto a carrigeway it had no throttle and would not move.I was lucky i didnt get rear ended.The dash was lit up like a christmas tree.The traction control light brake light switch ids spanner light you name it was on the dash.The car is now up in the vauxhall dealers.

I really think the problems are with vauxhall cars in general if you google loss of power in vauxhalls you will see that it a common fault in them to just stop in the middle of the road.People spend thousands of pounds getting them repaired.I wish i had off read up on a vauxhall before i bought mine.

While you are dissapointed in the service you have got from the dealer you bought the car from i think vauxhall have a lot to anwser for when they know a lot off their cars are constantly failing on customers. The advice you were looking never buy another Vauxhall.I for one will never buy another one.

 

[RickyB]

We sell RAC warranties as an option on our cars. They seem fairly comprehensive and very rarely turn something down unless it is genuine wear and tear. The problems you have mentioned will be covered no problem.

the dealer really isnt at fault here. That is why you took the warranty is it not. Plus he did accommadate yuo by plugging the car in at short notice. People expect the earth

Fully agree. Its a car, they break!! Title in your post is Dodgy dealer.... Its crap that uve purchased this and its given you hassle but hardly makes the supplying dealer a dodgy dealer?? You have been supplied a good warranty which will sort out all your problems. Sure look at Rockos post. He bought a new Audi and prob been without it for 2 months and getting a new engine. Doesnt matter wether its new or old, £500 or £30,000, they all give bother!
Do problems not occur in your own workplace or line of business where people get let down??

 

[azzymo]

In fairness JCLC's comment would be the same as mine, however, that is the reason the service industry in this country is ****e.

If you give money to a business for anything, and the product fails or breaks or is not fit for purpose then the business should be bending over backwards to ensure you, as a customer are happy with the outcome.

Thats how it works everywhere else in the world, why not here?

Would agree regarding the servicing. Infact I'm not looking forward to dealing directly with Vauxhall themselves either, as I've heard their customer service ain't award winning but we get what we accept.

The whole point of them offering the RAC warranty is basically an insurance policy for themselves intended to reduce losses that they would incur if they had to repair sold vehicles themselves, using the warranty means it costs them nothing and you still get your car fixed.

Something like this is a necessity IMO if you are a second hand dealer who can't absorb big losses.

It won't affect your rights with regards to the statutory 3month warranty, so even if the repairs above 1k then in theory you can get this off the seller but will probably require a solicitor to get them to pay out the difference.

You're getting your car fixed, you aren't having to pay any money out. I don't see the issue.

That's one thing I don't quite get, why do RAC offer such warranties? Surely they're then just taking the risks off dealers. I'm wondering how such arrangements with warranties are profitable for RAC. I'm guessing that dealers must pay a rather big subscription to be allowed to take out this cover as why wouldn't every dealer on earth use this method if it meant never having to be accountable for anything you sell?

You dont say what model of car it is that you bought but i have a vauxhall zafira vxr and its also giving me loads of trouble. Im really sorry that i got rid of my 1998 st mondeo which never had any problems at all except the usual things like tyres etc.Now im in debt up to my neck paying for a car that is a real pain to own.

My zafira done exactly the same thing as your car it stopped dead when i pulled out of a junction onto a carrigeway it had no throttle and would not move.I was lucky i didnt get rear ended.The dash was lit up like a christmas tree.The traction control light brake light switch ids spanner light you name it was on the dash.The car is now up in the vauxhall dealers.

I really think the problems are with vauxhall cars in general if you google loss of power in vauxhalls you will see that it a common fault in them to just stop in the middle of the road.People spend thousands of pounds getting them repaired.I wish i had off read up on a vauxhall before i bought mine.

While you are dissapointed in the service you have got from the dealer you bought the car from i think vauxhall have a lot to anwser for when they know a lot off their cars are constantly failing on customers. The advice you were looking never buy another Vauxhall.I for one will never buy another one.

Same engine as yours! I did do a bit of reading up on Vauxhall and was put at ease by many people saying that this car was the best they'd ever owned and most stating no issues with it. I know every car has specific issues that can be common, I guess I'll feel better that in a weeks time this is all sorted out and my car doesn't keep dying on me in the middle the road.

Fully agree. Its a car, they break!! Title in your post is Dodgy dealer.... Its crap that uve purchased this and its given you hassle but hardly makes the supplying dealer a dodgy dealer?? You have been supplied a good warranty which will sort out all your problems. Sure look at Rockos post. He bought a new Audi and prob been without it for 2 months and getting a new engine. Doesnt matter wether its new or old, £500 or £30,000, they all give bother!
Do problems not occur in your own workplace or line of business where people get let down??

My title was with a question mark, basically asking does it sound dodgy re saying no fault codes, denying having a workshop, saying the car in driving fine when it wouldn't move amongst other things. That's why I wouldn't name the place as I could may well just be getting them on a bad day and maybe there reader didn't read any of the fault codes and the guy could've forgot about his workshop etc.

I suppose with having 10 years of pretty much 'bother free' driving I wouldn't say all give bother as I would very much look after all my cars. With this car being the most expensive I've ever bought I suppose I'm pretty gutted that I feel like I've bought a dud and should've kept old faithful!

Regarding problems in my workplace.. If someone pays me alot for good work and say there's a problem or an issue, I sure as heck don't just say 'that's life mate, on your way' but I stop what I'm doing and do everything in my power to correct the situation, even at times when it's not my immediate fault but I guess different people operate in varying ways.

I do honestly appreciate all replies though, helps with perspective!

 

[Rfg]

If it is covered it should not be an issue the fault may not have been picked up by the dealer if the rac covers it happy days if not then go back to him but make him aware now what's going on if he's good he will work with u if not then make it aware. If the car is second hand u always have to budget to do a bit of work or get it independantly checked it costs a bit but it will either bargain the car price down or give u peace of mind. As said this could only be one faulty part causing it.

 

[pablo]

the price of the RAC warranty will be loaded into the price you pay for the car, its not free.

 

[sacodetoro]

That's one thing I don't quite get, why do RAC offer such warranties? Surely they're then just taking the risks off dealers. I'm wondering how such arrangements with warranties are profitable for RAC. I'm guessing that dealers must pay a rather big subscription to be allowed to take out this cover as why wouldn't every dealer on earth use this method if it meant never having to be accountable for anything you sell?

It's basically an insurance policy that the RAC are providing. There will probably be conditions with regards to age etc of the cars sold likely to be paid for/taken out on a car by car basis by the dealer and as pablo said, it's included in the price you are paying for the car.

No different to you paying £300 for insurance and then having a claim which costs 15k.

You can bet the RAC make money on it rather than loose money on it.

 

[azzymo]

It'd be interesting to know the requirements that a dealer needs to meet in order to issue an RAC warranty and the price they pay for it. Say for arguments sake that a warranty did cost £300 per car and the car had to be serviced prior to sale, surely the dealer would be better off saving the money and taking the risk themselves.

The only reason why I reckon the dealer didn't take the car into his own workshop was my thinking that maybe he'd have to cover the repairs and labour himself whereas making me go elsewhere then RAC have to pay out, as why if there was things wrong with the car and a good bit of work to be done, why wouldn't he want the RAC payout money going into his own workshop?

 

[paulmcmillen]

That's one thing I don't quite get, why do RAC offer such warranties? Surely they're then just taking the risks off dealers. I'm wondering how such arrangements with warranties are profitable for RAC. I'm guessing that dealers must pay a rather big subscription to be allowed to take out this cover as why wouldn't every dealer on earth use this method if it meant never having to be accountable for anything you sell?

I bought a car from a dealer a while back who offered this same deal - basically it is their way of wiping their hands clean of a car once they have sold (IMO of course...)

It all sounds good at the time of purchase...

Shortly after purchasing the car the clutch was slipping, so I had to deal with the RAC to get it sorted. I booked it in with my mechanic who took the clutch out of the car, a dude from the RAC came to look at the clutch. My claim for a repair was declined on the basis that a clutch is an item which is susceptible to wear and tear - there was nothing I could do other than pay out of my own pocket. Now just imagine if you had bought the car off a dealer who cared about it's customers - they would have fixed the clutch, either for free or for a reduced fee due to the fact they had just sold you the car - But because of the RAC warranty this in particular dealer could wipe his hands clean of it all...

I'll be staying away from RAC/dealer connections in future. I'm not saying they're all bad but they're just not for me

 

[Darcy Dog]

Well i hope you have better luck than me getting your car fixed by Vauxhall.
I got my report from Vauxhall today.

New cat needed but i should really chaange the whole system £1229.70

Turbo Feed Pipe £173.00

Air con rad broke £435.90

Discs and pads the brakes felt ok to me £ 334.00

Total £2172
The car is 2006 with 40 thousand miles on it its only done ten thousand miles since i bought it a year ago on the 9th of feb warranty has expired

I am totally gutted this is the first car i have ever had on finance.Its the newest car with the least miles ive ever had so i thought i would get a good few years out of it.

I hope the outcome for your car will be better than mine.

 

[azzymo]

I bought a car from a dealer a while back who offered this same deal - basically it is their way of wiping their hands clean of a car once they have sold (IMO of course...)

It all sounds good at the time of purchase...

Shortly after purchasing the car the clutch was slipping, so I had to deal with the RAC to get it sorted. I booked it in with my mechanic who took the clutch out of the car, a dude from the RAC came to look at the clutch. My claim for a repair was declined on the basis that a clutch is an item which is susceptible to wear and tear - there was nothing I could do other than pay out of my own pocket. Now just imagine if you had bought the car off a dealer who cared about it's customers - they would have fixed the clutch, either for free or for a reduced fee due to the fact they had just sold you the car - But because of the RAC warranty this in particular dealer could wipe his hands clean of it all...

I'll be staying away from RAC/dealer connections in future. I'm not saying they're all bad but they're just not for me

No way, that is annoying. I would be like you in expecting the dealer to repair and take most if not all of the cost of repairing unless of course the car was sold unserviced and unchecked. Hindsight is truly a wonderful thing and I'm starting to appreciate the service I got from other dealers in the past who I will be going back to in future.

Well i hope you have better luck than me getting your car fixed by Vauxhall.

I got my report from Vauxhall today.

New cat needed but i should really chaange the whole system £1229.70

Turbo Feed Pipe £173.00

Air con rad broke £435.90

Discs and pads the brakes felt ok to me £ 334.00

Total £2172

The car is 2006 with 40 thousand miles on it its only done ten thousand miles since i bought it a year ago on the 9th of feb warranty has expired

I am totally gutted this is the first car i have ever had on finance.Its the newest car with the least miles ive ever had so i thought i would get a good few years out of it.

I hope the outcome for your car will be better than mine.

OUCH! Gutted for you mate. If my bill comes anywhere near that (or over £1000) for that matter, then my experience will start to get rather complicated. Apart from the shocking figures there, how did you find Vauxhall when it comes to dealing with them directly?

 

[Darcy Dog]

To be honest not great they tell you they will phone then dont bother.Then give excuses that the computers are down.
I suppose i wouldnt want to ring someone up to tell them their car is a pile off S**t and its needs 2 grand of work done.

Even if i had warranty on the car to cover the first thousand pounds i dont have a spare thousand pounds for the rest off the bill.

Its looking like gmac can come and get the car from vauxhall i cant afford to repair it and gmac own more of it than i do i can hardly think straight at the mo im gutted.

 

[pablo]

decat the f**ker. job done

 

[Darcy Dog]

The guy in Vauxhall service said if i dcat the car it might not pass mot and the engine management lights will stay on.

 

[pablo]

bound to get a cat off a scrappy, and leave the rest alone. Leave the brakes alone if they look ok, and the aircon rad (not going to make any difference to driving, fix it later).

No point going mad and spending all that money

 

[Revogti]

Well i hope you have better luck than me getting your car fixed by Vauxhall.
I got my report from Vauxhall today.

New cat needed but i should really chaange the whole system £1229.70

Turbo Feed Pipe £173.00

Air con rad broke £435.90

Discs and pads the brakes felt ok to me £ 334.00

Total £2172
The car is 2006 with 40 thousand miles on it its only done ten thousand miles since i bought it a year ago on the 9th of feb warranty has expired

I am totally gutted this is the first car i have ever had on finance.Its the newest car with the least miles ive ever had so i thought i would get a good few years out of it.

I hope the outcome for your car will be better than mine.

Try Autovaux on ebay mate, most of their parts are genuine GM items, but much cheaper.

is the £334 for discs and pads all round? A bit excessive if just fronts - but i would be getting another mechanic to check them, stealers are shocking in my experience for trying to change brake components prematurely.

Pabs has the right idea IMO.

 

[johnm]

bound to get a cat off a scrappy, and leave the rest alone. Leave the brakes alone if they look ok, and the aircon rad (not going to make any difference to driving, fix it later).

No point going mad and spending all that money

+1
Probably chancing their arm! I'd get a look at it yourself and even get a second opinion if your not sure.
Too convienant for all that just out of warranty.

 

[Pumesta]

Shortly after purchasing the car the clutch was slipping, so I had to deal with the RAC to get it sorted. I booked it in with my mechanic who took the clutch out of the car, a dude from the RAC came to look at the clutch. My claim for a repair was declined on the basis that a clutch is an item which is susceptible to wear and tear - there was nothing I could do other than pay out of my own pocket. Now just imagine if you had bought the car off a dealer who cared about it's customers - they would have fixed the clutch, either for free or for a reduced fee due to the fact they had just sold you the car - But because of the RAC warranty this in particular dealer could wipe his hands clean of it all...

I'll be staying away from RAC/dealer connections in future. I'm not saying they're all bad but they're just not for me

I would doubt any dealer would replace a clutch for nothing, a clutch is excluded from warranty on a brand spanking new car never mind on a second-hand one. But back to the OP issues the dealer obviously doesn't have a workshop equiped to fix the problem as their computer didn't find any problems

 

[Smog]

I would doubt any dealer would replace a clutch for nothing, a clutch is excluded from warranty on a brand spanking new car never mind on a second-hand one. But back to the OP issues the dealer obviously doesn't have a workshop equiped to fix the problem as their computer didn't find any problems

I have had one replaced under warranty on a new car when it died about 2years later One dealer (Hursts peugeot) refused to consider it while another (Roadside motors lisburn peugeot) did it over the weekend.

 

[Coog]

I'd a clutch done under warranty too.

Bummer about the vauxhall, st24mondeo... what a nightmare

 

[belfastchris]

The guy in Vauxhall service said if i dcat the car it might not pass mot and the engine management lights will stay on.

mate as said you need your head looked at if you pay over 2K for any of that- i would refuse to pay any more than a 1/4 of that quote - get an independant quote for the work - as said the AC rad makes little odds - check the owners forum regarding engine light and decatting it - it will pass mot, as for the breaks, if you thought they were ok then they prob are - a new set of pads minimum should get you by.

 

[azzymo]

To be honest not great they tell you they will phone then dont bother.Then give excuses that the computers are down.
I suppose i wouldnt want to ring someone up to tell them their car is a pile off S**t and its needs 2 grand of work done.

I've experienced both of these today from Vauxhall!

Not impressed but hopefully they can bring my motor back to life.

 

[Damage_Inc]

The guy in Vauxhall service said if i dcat the car it might not pass mot and the engine management lights will stay on.

It will pass mot mate, I checked before decatting mine


OP, I can see your point and I hope you get everything sorted.
It does sound dodgy that they've denied having the facilities to fix the car even though you've witnessed it yourself. Out of interest when you said you doubt it was serviced, is there any paperwork from the service? To say what work was supposedly done?
Hope you get everything sorted though, nightmare

 

[azzymo]

OK, so I eventually got a call from Vauxhall after hounding their reception!... Turns out main problem is the jewel in Vauxhalls diesels crown - Inlet Manifold replacement as EGR valve stuck open coming in at £1040 & VAT along with the 4 other problems. RAC Warranty covers up to £1000 max. I will know tomorrow morning whether RAC do agree to cover this or this could get messy..

 

[Damage_Inc]

OK, so I eventually got a call from Vauxhall after hounding their reception!... Turns out main problem is the jewel in Vauxhalls diesels crown - Inlet Manifold replacement as EGR valve stuck open coming in at £1040 & VAT along with the 4 other problems. RAC Warranty covers up to £1000 max. I will know tomorrow morning whether RAC do agree to cover this or this could get messy..

Hope they do, it's £40 afterall.
Wonder if they'd let you even put the 40 towards it, fingers crossed. Waiting is the worst part