Car Giant - Breakdown Insurance Con

[Bonus77]

I bought a VW passat fom Car Giant in Jan this year. They offered a warranty that covered many things including Aircon ( they charged an additional premium for this ).

Okay, so fast forward to today.. the aircon stopped working. I phone them, they of course havent got me down for air con cover.. so I fax a copy of my policy and they agree for a repairer to look at it.

I took it down to the place they recommend, they checked it out and told me that it needs a new Dryer and a pipe going to the compressor. They quoted £330 to do the job, they had checked the policy and it doesnt cover the dryer or pipes!!!!

How on earth can they charge a premium to cover aircon then weasel out of it by listing things they dont cover in the small print?

Have I got any grounds to do anything regarding the description of the cover then actually not covering anything?

[JonCris]

1st is this the only time you reported a fault or complained about the AC
2nd take it somewhere else who has no connection with the dealer & you feel you can trust.
3rd ask them to take a look & whilst it is assumed that the pipes are ask them if the dryer also forms a major component in the aircon.

Then get back here for further advice.

[Tel916]

Hi,

Be aware, If it gets narky, the seller may say that the fault was outstanding before the car was purchased, and the warranty commenced, make sure you're up to speed on this, it's a common cop-out; aftermarket warranties are an absolute minefield. The next one'll be 'wear and tear', that's an old favourite.

But like JonCris' said, tell an independant air-con place the truth (hell, maybe 2 or 3 places) and ask for a free estimate, although to be honest, I can't imagine their 'approved' place being cheaper than anywhere.

Sadly though, if it helps, it's usually a leak in the system (maybe pipes) that causes a failure, which in turn, buggers the compressor.

Terry

[chiefengineer]

Are you sure it doesn't need re-gassing? I'm no expert, but cars my firm has had in the past needed it when the cold air blew warm.

Jeremy

[Bonus77]

Thanks for valuable input guys.

Jon, This is the first time I reported the failure. There are other faults I asked them to check out, but its the main issue. I will certainly phone around and see if someone else can take a look. A second opinion is def needed.

Tel, I think your right. In fact, when I got to the garage, the guy showed me the warranty book stating that it didnt cover the release drier or pipes! Typical huh! Fortunately the compressor seems ok.

Chief, I tried getting it regassed. I took it to Kwik Fit who were having a special on re-gassing. Which was if its not 5 degrees cooler when re-gassed you get your money back. Mine of course wasnt, but their system didnt pick up the fact the car had a leak in the system. It didnt stop the gas leaking out of the system when it was initially re-gassed in less than 24hrs. So I got my money back and got onto the warranty place.

Cheers again for advice.. I will let you know how my quotes work out.