My customer is making a Warranty claim, how to deal with it.

[rhysd1309]

Apologies for the question and my naivety, but in nearly 5 years I have never had a customer come back with a faulty part.

 

I am a mechanic, I fit hundreds of parts every year with no problem. Last year in around September, I fitted a Head Gaskets set, and Timing belt kit to an MG zed using a k series engine (famous for head gasket failure, I have done dozens).

 

6 months after the job,

I get a call from an Irate customer who says his car has overheated on the motorway

and the AA say the header gasket has failed.

 

I am skeptical, as I fitted the modified gasket Land Rover released after year of the old type failing.

 

I am convinced that the head gasket has only failed because the car overheated initially,

and something else caused the car to overheat,

but as he kept driving with the car at maximum temp, he has cooked the gasket.

 

Also, he stated he had no other problems before that day,

and head gaskets usually give you fair warning before going up in smoke.

 

if it did turn out to be the part at fault,

the supplier can make a like for like replacement,

or it can be sent to manufacturer for a labour claim

to be submitted (they will pay for remedial work if found to be faulty)

 

But who pays for the removal of the part?

If I remove it and the gasket is found to be OK,

then I've wasted a days work.

 

If he is so convinced that the head gasket has failed,

is it fair to ask for a deposit on the work until a labour claim has been submitted?

 

I don't expressly offer warranty, but obviously all parts are covered by manufacturer warranty.

 

Please let me know where I stand in this situation.

 

Thanks.

[dx100uk]

probably more to do with the selling of goods act and soga I suspect.

 

typically if the issue arises within 6mts

 

sadly its down to the retailer [seller] to investigate the fault

 

outside of that

its down to the person 'complaining' the part has failed.

 

HTH

 

dx

[heliosuk]

This is quite easy if handled correctly.

 

You need to confirm it is the head gasket at fault.

 

If it is a genuine Land Rover part/kit then the customer needs to book it in at the nearest dealer for them to repair under a parts warranty claim subject to their assessment of the fault condition and cause. The problem that will possibly arise is if the owner has driven and ruined the engine.

 

You will need to support the customer with a copy of the invoice you received from the LR dealer who supplied it. Who is the nearest dealer?

[rhysd1309]

Hello, thanks for replies, unfortunately it's not a genuine Land Rover part. It was manufactured by a company called British Gasket Group, who are one of the leading manufacturers.

 

The thing is, the head gasket is more than likely ruined as the car was driven for some time before he realized it over heated. My supplier have said they just do a straight swap if old gasket is returned. BGG need the gasket back, and if they determine the gasket caused the failure (which would be very hard to do) they would reimburse the cost to sort engine.

 

If only it was that easy. The cylinder head got skimmed last time, and the cylinder head can't be skimmed again (for non motoring folk, skimming is a process where the surface of the engine is milled away to ensure it is perfectly flat). These heads can only really be skimmed once, as the surface of the cylinder head isn't very thick to start with. Because it's over heated, the cylinder head will have warped, but is now rendered scrap as the head cNnot be skimmed again.

 

I can go out to him and confirm if the head gasket has failed by running a few tests, but is it my responsibility to replace the head, the gasket (and associated parts), and then peruse the claim for the money back myself, or is this down to the customer?

[heliosuk]

Ah so not so straightforward then.

 

In this case it could get a bit complicated but in essence this is how it would normally work.

 

The head gasket as a straight replacement like for like would normally have to be covered by yourself.

 

The supplier of the head gasket would be liable for your costs in replacing

if they confirm that the gasket was faulty, i.e. the parts supplier not the manufacturer.

 

The problem that will arise is if the manufacturer cannot see any manufacturing defect with the part

and there is a secondary cause which caused the gasket to fail.

 

In this case I suggest based on what you have posted that there is something else which led to the gasket failing.

 

This is not helped by the fact that the owner continued to drive in an overheated condition which is what you alledge.

 

Most dealerships work is covered for 3 months in terms of labour plus the applicable warranty

on the part changed which in most cases is 12 months or 10,000 miles and this ought to apply to you as well.

 

Irrespective of this, if it is proven that there was a defect with the gasket, which I think is unlikely,

then neither you or the supplier is liable either as it could be argued with the K series

that the original fix is a one time only and this is well documented.

 

Personally if it was me then I'd offer to do the change but point out should the head proved to be warped,

which with the K series it most likely will be

but until it's checked you don't know, then that side of the repair is the owners responsibility.

 

You are only liable for the part you changed in a nut shell, not any other work that was required at the time.

[unimatrix1066]

Post on the mg rover org forum you might get some concensus on the likely cause.

K series are known for the head gaskets going, do you replace the lower oil rail aswell as these where modified as part of the gasket upgrade with metal instead of plastic pegs.

[Conniff]

Did you send the head for a skim?

Did you pass a blued flat plate over the block?

Did you use new bolts?

[JoeyJoeC]

I have a ZR as well. HGF has happened twice on the car since new. The time between the first replacement and 2nd failure was around 6 months as well using the same gasket, without a skim.

 

I had it professionally skimmed, and a nice £70 victor reinz gasket, and it's been fine ever since (3 years).

 

After any failure, you should get the head skimmed or the problem will come back.

 

As Conniff said, use new stretch bolts, keep to the specification torque, too much or too little will certainly cause the head to go again.

[Billy's mate]

I think you're teaching the guy to suck eggs !.

 

I too am a mechanic, and personally wouldn't touch this type of job without giving the customer a short ( 3 months perhaps ? ) guarantee

and a thorough talking to, as these K series engines are a nightmare - even with modified parts.

 

It's a tricky one, the owner could take it to a different garage to strip the engine,

but they would have to give the original garage the opportunity to inspect it

and make a decision on how to progress from there.

 

The original garage could strip it, and if found to be faulty parts,

the garage could claim off the manufacturers for his labour charges.

 

The trouble is though, either way, that car is going to be sitting around in someone's premises

for a long time with the engine in bits, much to the inconvenience of the owner and the garage.

[unimatrix1066]

Google mobile k series gasket repairs there is 2 guys in Derby that do this all day long and know what there doing and are not expensive, I am a member of the mg rover forum there's loads of praise or them.

[Bandit127]

I think you have 2 choices.

 

1. A goodwill replacement paid for by yourself. Hopefully the head is still straight, or within a light second skim. And then try to get back what you can from the gasket supplier. If it needs a second skim there must be thicker gaskets that will keep the compression and valve/piston gaps right.

 

2. Deny, deny deny and hope the customer doesn't leap on to the forums or worse sue you.

 

Given that the AA has already called out a head gasket failure I don't think you can say anything about another fault causing it to fail. Especially not the possibility that the owner drove it for miles at maximum temperature. That is pure conjecture on your part and frankly unlikely. Any K series driver with a car still on the road will know better than to drive it for miles in the red.

 

If it was my business I would take option 1 and get rid of it as quickly as possible. (After making sure that the cooling system would stand up to another 12 months).