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Following a head gasket failure on our Kia Sedona in Oct 07, we instructed our local Kia garage to carry out repairs. Two weeks after we got our car back the newly fitted cam belt failed, the garage admitted liability and carried out a second re-build to the engine.
Three and a half months later we finally had our car back, the following day we had to take it back again as one of the pipes was leaking, they repaired this free gratis but said that if anything else went wrong with the car they would not make any more repairs at their expense:?
Yesterday the cam belt failed, just 13 months after having a brand new one fitted as part of the engine re-build, I contacted the garage this morning and they have said that as it is over 12 months old there is nothing they can do. The mechanic at my local garage thinks that this is disgusting as a cam belt should be good for around 80,000 miles, and that the Kia garage should be held liable for the damage the failed cam belt has done to the engine.
I have contacted Kia customer services today and have basically been told that whilst they agree a cam belt should last much longer and have every sympathy with my case there is nothing that they can do regarding the Kia Garage.
Should I contact a solicitor, trading standards to persue this matter further or just chalk it up to experience?
You don't chalk it up to experience, this is premature failure.
Address it to the Manager personally if you know his name.
Dear
On (date), I took my car (Model and Reg No) to your garage as it had developed a fault
(describe the fault), which required repair.
Your garage carried out the repair and the bill for this work was £xxx, which I paid in full.
Two weeks later, the cam belt failed again and you repaired it at your cost.
Since then, the same fault has recurred ie; the cam belt has failed again.
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, as amended, states that I am entitled to expect
that the work is carried out with reasonable care and skill, and materials used are of satisfactory
quality and fit for their purpose.
I believe that the repairs have failed to rectify the fault due to poor workmanship and/or defective
parts and you are, therefore, in breach of contract.
I am prepared to allow you the opportunity to rectify the faults at no cost to me. If you fail to do so,
I intend to employ another garage to carry out the work and recover the cost from you.
I look forward to receiving your comments and intentions within seven days.
Send it recorded or special delivery and send a copy to Kia.
Just one other thing. If you paid for the repairs by credit card, the CC company is jointly responsible.
Trading Standards wants your help
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Never phone or accept phonecalls from debt collection companies.
If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed.
_________________________ ________________ _________________________ ___________________
absolutely; dont let them fob you of. either faulty parts or workmanship. Get the cambelt checked to see if faulty or one of those cheap pattern part jobbies.
Re: Cam belt failure after 13 months and 5K miles UPDATE!!!
Well I received a letter from Kia Customer Services this morning stating the following:
Thank you for your letter dated 25 March 2009 regarding your vehicle.
I am sorry to learn of the problems you are experiencing recently with the Service Department at Hughes Garages. I can certainly appreciate how frustrating this must be for you and apologise on behalf of Kia Motors (UK) Ltd for any inconvenience caused.
As the concerns detailed in your letter are with the dealership, I would suggest that you continue dialogue with them in order to discuss matters further.
I have noted your comments, if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact Kia Customer Services on 0845 601 7521 whenever convenient.
Thank you for taking the time to write to Kia Motors (UK) Ltd and express your views. I can assure you that we do value your feedback and all relevant departments have been informed of your concerns.
It is now 7 days today since the garage received my letter, and I haven't heard anything from them as yet.
Can you please give me some advice on what steps to take next, also how would I go about getting an independant mechanic to inspect the vehicle?
I would like to avoid paying for the repairs up front and then claiming them back if at all possible as this would involve borrowing the money from family members.
I would give them until Monday so as to be reasonable.
In the meantime, you could ring the RAC do inspections or look in your local paper / online for a local garage that belongs to one of the motoring associations such as - www.mvra.com
Trading Standards wants your help
Dubious website businesses Conterfeit alcohol and cigarettes Illegal sales of alcohol, tobacco, knives & fireworks to children Cowboy builders or tradesmen Car clockers Counterfeiters Aggressive selling
Never phone or accept phonecalls from debt collection companies.
If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed.
_________________________ ________________ _________________________ ___________________
Took our Sedona to have its child lock fixed on one of the siding doors, 2 two days later the sliding door fell off and our son injured his foot as it fell on him. We were told this happens as its a heavy door, all I know is until they had the car we had no problems with the door, but that was the best they could come up with.
Had a small leak coming from the power steering pump, which managed to get worse each time it went back into them. And last but not least we had a wobble which seemed to come from the front under braking, we dropped it off at Hughes and that was the last we saw of our car, it got wrote off by one of their employees while test driving it. So my overall experience of them is not good.
The leak and the door issue was fixed at Brindley Kia Wolverhampton, the only reason I took it to hughes for the braking issue was it was down the road from me and didn't want to drive took far with a potential braking problem.
BTW the accident involving our Sedona wasn't due to the brakes as one might have first suspected, as it turned out the employee pulled out infront of the path of another vehicle.
Looks like we've got our work cut out! I would rather they didn't offer to do the repairs anyway as I have lost all faith in them, we wouldn't have any confidence in the car afterwards.
Quick update, have not received a reply from Hughes garage, no surprise there then
Should I instruct my local garage, where the car is currently being stored, to strip it down and provide me with a pro forma invoice for the work that needs doing, or should I ask the AA to do an inspection first?
The mechanic at my local garage has not touched the engine other than to do the timing belt failure test, as he believes the Kia dealership who fitted the cambelt should do the repairs at their expense.
Whilst we would love to have the repairs done and then persue Kia for re-imbursment, unfortunately we are not financially in a position to do this right now.
Cam belt failure after 13 months and 5K miles
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