Warranty question CarCraft - **resolved by CarCraft Rep Linzi**

[Astrajohn]

Good Morning,

 

I have a simple question but has a long sub plot!

 

On 15th November last year we picked up our 07 plate Astra 1.7 Diesel from CarCraft in Chertsey,

we declined to take out the extra warranty so had the standard 1 year.

 

We have had no problems with the car at all, the free service was booked in with no problems

before the 6 month limit and the car passed its MOT.

 

Fast forward to Thursday 15th November this year 6.00 pm, car still running perfect,

my wife is taking my son to football and I get a phone call

- basically the car has died

- all warning lights came on so my wife pulled over to hard shoulder.

 

Remembering we had free RAC cover through CarCraft I called them up,

that's when i discovered it was a year to the day we got the car !

 

Luckily the RAC membership expired at midnight so after 20 mins the car was recovered to a garage.

 

The fault is diagnosed as an alternator - cost £420 .

 

Phoned CarCraft that evening but got no response so my wife send them an email to at least 'log' the problem

as of course the years warranty was up on this day.

 

Wife got a phone call from CarCraft the next day - "Sorry the warranty ran out at 12.00 midday yesterday !" So hard luck (they didn't say that last bit!)

 

Couple of points, Is this 12.00 midday cut off time right ?

 

Technically as we picked the car up at about 6.30 pm a year ago surely the warranty had half an hour to run ?!

 

Would have been nice to have been offered a good will (or hard luck) gesture as the car broke down bang on the 365 days !

 

£ 420 is a lot of money just before Christmas so i'd like to find out if the warranty cut off time is correct.

 

John

[dx100uk]

hi AJ

 

i dont think that warranty really matters

under soga you should be covered here

 

we have car carcraft onboard here

 

i'll alert them for you.

 

dx

[sailor sam]

£420 for an alternator? Bit steep isn't it?

 

Carcraft will no doubt say that you should of taken it back to them to rectify in the first instance. As far as the warranty is concerned, (although this is only an extension of your statutory rights) I think they are stringing you along. Check your documents, it should expire at the same time as it was taken out or at midnight on that day.

[Astrajohn]

Thank you for your replies,

 

dx100uk I would be so grateful if you could.

 

sailor sam -£420 was the price fitted - £265 alternator - £16 for fan belt - £70 for Labour + VAT. Ive no doubt that what they will say , but we did try and call them and on a cold dark night by the roadside you just want your car repaired !

 

Like I say i've no complaint about the service we received when buying the car, everyone was polite, even when we told them we didn't want finance ! The service and MOT were booked with no trouble and we've been really happy with the car, It just seems we've been fobbed off a bit too easily. I understand there must be a point where the warranty ends but seems a bit too convenient to end it a few hours before a claim.

John

[sailor sam]

Alternator prices range from about £120 to £270 for a 1.7 diesel Astra so you have paid the 'roadside' price it seems. That could be significant because Car Craft may only agree to pay somewhere in between the two.

 

I think for such a small amount (to them), they will be keen to rectify this amicably.

[Surfer01]

Surely under SOGA after 6 months it is up to the buyer to prove that the fault existed at time of purchase?

 

I would be surprised if Carcraft offered anything after 1 year's usage as it could be a wear and tear problem.

 

I doubt if any warranty covers wear and tear.

 

I know it is unfortunate to happen just before Xmas,

 

but that is the way the cookie crumbles.

 

Apologies I know it is not what you want to hear!

[dx100uk]

ye pquite

however lets await linzi tomorrow.

 

IMHO, they certainly should do 'something' to help here

 

even if its a goodwil gesture toward the highprice he was charged

and

that it was 'so' close to the 'warranty' end

 

dx

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Dear John

 

I am sorry to hear you have had an issue with your vehicle.

 

Looking into what you have written above, I have bullet pointed responses:

 

• The guarantee ran out at 12am on 15th November, therefore when your vehicle developed a fault it was unfortunate that you 1yr free guarantee had expired.

 

• We have not seen a copy of the repair invoice so we do not know such factors as:

o Mileage or What caused the fault was it wear and tear or was it sudden mechanical failure?

 

• In an ideal situation, Carcraft would like to see the vehicle prior to repair, however due to the time in the evening and the fact that your wife broke down on a potentially busy road,

we understand that this is not always possible.

 

• In relation to the comments made by Surfer01:

o Carcraft do offer an extended guarantee that runs longer than 1 year, but this of course is an optional product.

o The guarantee does not cover wear and tear

o It is up to the customer to prove whether the fault was there at the point of sale once you have gone past 6 months of ownership, however, at this stage this point is irrelevant.

 

Unfortunately we cannot foresee when an issue may occur with a vehicle, especially after such a long time.

 

I understand the frustration in the fact that your guarantee expired not long before the fault happened,

however no one can predict when a fault will appear.

 

It is an unfortunate coincidence, but by no means deliberate.

 

I cannot at this stage promise you that we can assist you,

however if you send a copy of the repair invoice to the mailbox your wife emailed to last week with the mileage and reason for repair stated upon this,

then I will happily look further into this for you.

 

I look forward to hearing from you soon.Kind regards

 

Linzi

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Apologies if the above is compact in your view, i could not attach it separately

[sailor sam]

Can you clarify Linzi that the warranty expired on midnight of the 14th or 15th please. Also can Astrajohn confirm the expiry date/time on his warranty documentation?

 

It would seem strange to me that a 1 year warranty would expire at 00.00hrs of the day of the anniversary date. In my opinion, that suggests that the warranty can only be 364 days long so in fact NOT a full 12 month warranty.

 

In any event, I would of thought that in the interests of good customer relations, for the sake of less than £500 and bearing in mind the very thin line between the time the fault developed and the 'expiry' of the warranty, Car Craft should be at least be making a gesture of goodwill here.

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi Sailor Sam

 

The guarantee ran out at 12am on 15th November, therefore from Tuesday 15th November 2011 to,

but not including Thursday 15th November totals to 366 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date.

 

Consequently the customer had 366 days usage (1 year and one day) and not 364 days as you state

 

.The guarantee runs out at 12am on the anniversary of the when the guarantee was taken out,

so I do not understand you sentence that states it is not a full 12 month guarantee.

 

As I stated in my post above Sam,

if John can provide me with a repair invoice, I will look into it further, I am sure you appreciate that I cannot offer money to a customer without seeing any proof.

 

I am sure you also know from previous posts that you have contributed towards,

that I will always do my utmost for the customer when possible.

 

ThanksLinzi

[Astrajohn]

Hi Linzi, Many Thanks for your reply.

 

I am a bit confused as 12.00 am (midnight) on the 15th means the car was covered by the year warranty (if mechanical failure) as the breakdown happened before midnight on the 15th.

 

I will forward the invoice which shows the total cost plus mileage

- I will have to talk to the garage for their opinion on the reason for failure and try to get it in writing.

 

I'm having difficulty locating the warranty documents at the moment so can't confirm the time/date of expiry.

 

only that it was the 15th that we paid for the car and drove it off the forecourt !

 

John

[Astrajohn]

Hi Linzi,

I never saw your reply at 17.37 , as I was typing my reply ! I will try to get the document off to you tomorrow.

 

John

[Astrajohn]

Linzi,

I have emailed a copy of the invoice to customerservice at carcraft.co.uk , with your name in the Subject line.

 

Thanks

John

[Surfer01]

Does the small print on the warranty cover fair wear and tear?

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Does the small print on the warranty cover fair wear and tear?

 

Hi Surfer01No it does not cover wear and tear.AstraJohn,Thank you for sending me the invoice, i will look into it this morning.Linzi

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi All I have sent the following email (attached) to John, he is happy for me to post it on here and he will also update this thread later on today.ThanksLinzi

Edited November 20, 2012 by Carcraft Customer Service Manager

[Surfer01]

Hi All I have sent the following email (attached) to John, he is happy for me to post it on here and he will also update this thread later on today.ThanksLinzi

 

Nice to see that a dealer takes responsibility even though they could have easily avoided paying out anything or made it difficult for the customer to be re-reimbursed. Well done!

[dx100uk]

thats great news

 

thank you again to linzi

 

i'll mark this thread as resolved when the OP posts they are happy for

it to be done

 

dx

[sailor sam]

Another brownie point for Linzi and Carcraft!

[Astrajohn]

Hi all,

As you can see my claim has been very quickly and efficiently resolved by Linzi and the Drive Happy Guarantee department. I am so grateful to all those who contributed to my post, As surfer01 has said in his post it could have been very easy for Carcraft to dismiss my claim and avoid paying out.

 

Linzi from Carcraft has been fantastic throughout treating my enquiry fairly and swiftly, I can't thank her enough for the time and effort she has put in to resolve this issue. Definitely a brownie point (or 2) for Linzi and Carcraft !

 

Thank you - John

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi John/EveryoneThank you very much your great comments back - always appreciated.Linzi