My father in law has a car that is now coming up for 4 years old. The manufacturer's warranty was for three years.
When the car was still well under warranty, he detected a faint noise from the back when driving. He worked for many years in the motor trade, and knows cars well enough to have an idea what it was; he was sure it was a wheel bearing. He reported it to the dealer at service time.
The dealer said they could hear no noise and there was nothhing wrong. f-i-l was unhappy but dealer was adamant. Although he mentioned it again at the next service, still in warranty, they still said they could find no fault. Perhaps at this point he should have tried another dealer; he did not.
You know what's coming. At the last service (now of course, out of warranty), he reported it again, and the dealer took the car for a day, at the end of which they said "well, it's the wheel bearings on both sides".
Is he right to feel a bit hard done by here would you think? Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer will give anything towards the cost involved, as the car is 4 years old now sir, and out of warranty...It's only £250, but nonetheless! I should add this is a Major Manufacturer.
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My boss has a Suzuki Grand Vitara and he reported that he thought the gearbox was iffy whilst the vehicle was in warranty. After the warranty expired the gearbox worsened and he took it to suzuki who said a whole new box was required. After some hefty debate Suzuki coughed up for a whole new gearbox.
So the fact you father in law reported it twice during warranty should be in his favour, however can you prove it was reported? Print outs of the work sheets for the car might help. I feel you might have a case but a tough one!
Good luck.
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If the work sheets for the two services carried out in warranty detail FiL's report then I'd go straight to the manufacturer and ask them to refund the cost as the evidence would be there that the fault developed in the warranty period.
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Thanks guys, should have thought of that. I'll ask him if he has written evidence.
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I'm not so sure you have been well advised, Dipstick. First, was it manufacturer warranty, or was it 2nd or 3rd year dealer warranty? Big difference. Second, like a brake disc, a brake pad, a clutch, a tyre, a wheel bearing is a wearing part. It does not necessarily last the life of the car. The fact that it became noisy while the car was under some sort of warranty and was reported does no necessarily imply any entitlement to a free replacement. A Mechanical Breakdown Insurance would only replace it if it actually failed. So better to ask nicely for some goodwill rather than jump in and insist that someone else pays.
HJ
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Thanks HJ. Ford Direct car under (balance of) original Ford manufacturer's warranty, rather than mbi. I think you're right though - my experience is ALWAYS that if you ask very nicely you get way better results than hopping up and down, and I know f-i-l thinks the same way, so we'll tread carefully.
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