denied claim with warranty wise

[dodgerjourney]

Hi all,

new to the forum and came here because a search on the interweb gave some great information from this site.

 

 

My problem is that I bought a Dodge Journey diesel auto in April last year. As the garages warranty had run out, and I had some spare cash, decided to take a warranty out as Im not dripping with cash and as this is the most expensive car I had (with finance) wanted to ensure I could always get it repaired.

 

 

It seemed good timing as less around a month later and with 730+ miles extra on the clock, when pulling out of a junction on my way to work, the gearbox gave up with a big bang and would not move

 

 

I called WarrantyWise who advised me to take to a VAT registered garage etc and get them to call them. The first garage I went to, a normal place, would not check it as they said it would need to be looked at by a specialist. I then booked in with a gearbox garage, who would deal with warranty firm as well (altho, the man on the reception gave me some horror stories bout warranty wise - couldn't happen to me could it?)

 

 

The garage have deducted that the mechatronic unit has failed, leading to issues with the clutch etc - Im not sure of the full details but in total they advised to repair would cost around £4,500. They sent the details to warranty wise who requested an independent inspection, the garage requiring my authority at this time as this would mean them having to fully strip the garbox so would then put me into a £6-800 debt with them.

 

 

I decided to go ahead as required repairing but then......an email advising claim denied. They have denied with the following information :

"The reason for the decline is your repairer wishes to replace the

following parts on your vehicle:

1) MECHATRONIC UNIT ASSEMBLY

2) FRONT CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

3) GASKETS/SEALS,FILTERS,OIL

Unfortunately the Mechatronic assembly is specifically excluded on the 9.4 08/80 level of cover you

currently hold and therefore we cannot consider this request.

We have also received the independent engineers report and he has concluded that the forward/dual

clutch has become damaged consistent with a failure of the mechatronic unit and is a fault common to this particular type of transmission which the repairers have previous experience of.

The independent engineer would also have to consider in all reasonable probability that due to the elapsed mileage since plan inception he would have to consider the fault to be progressive and that the fault would have been developing at the time of plan inception or at best the unit was compromised leading to the current defect."

 

 

In respect of the exclusion of the mechatronic unit, this is due to the following information re gearbox and transmissions :

"Parts included : All Internal mechanical and electrical parts of gearbox, transfer gearbox, torque convertor and overdrive (but excluding SMG and DSG hydraulic actuator, internal oil cooler or radiator)"

I have now checked on the internet and would seem that the hydraulic actuator is within the mechatronic unit, so I honestly am not sure where I would stand on this. When I mentioned this to WW, they advised that as te mechatronic unit is not an internal part of the gearbox, this is not covered anyway (although, I again have pointed them to several sites where it advises this unit sits inside the DSG). But as I say, Im not a mechanic so I may be totally wrong and it may be an excluded part.

 

 

What has irked me, and Im hoping someone can really help me with on here, is the fact they are using wear and tear, and the fact that this unit is well known for being a problem, to deny the rest of the claim. The car was running fine up until that moment, so as it requires repair before being able to be used, this should be down to sudden and unexpected failure. As I have advised them, all the reviews I read none of them mentioned an issue with this gearbox (it was normal car reviews) so how would I, a layman, have known there was issues with this? They seem to be using the fact that as these boxes are well known in 'the trade', then that should have been all I needed to know.

 

 

There is a lot more I could put on here, but if anyone could try and help me and would like more information, please let me know.

 

 

Thanks

[neil6534]

How did you pay for this? loan? credit card etc?

You would in general expect fair usage of a used vehicle for at least the first 6 months - as you've had it for less than a month then I would now take your complaint to the dealership - although do wait for some advice as to what to say from those with more knowledge on this site

[BankFodder]

I don't understand why you haven't simply gone back to the original seller of the car and require them to repair it.

 

Please can you tell us the date that you bought it, who you bought it from, how much you paid for it, and how old the vehicle was and its mileage.

 

What steps have you taken to hold the dealer responsible and to require them to carry out the repairs?

 

I don't understand why you went on to buy an extended warranty when you are probably fully protected by the Sale of Goods Act. It may be that the money you spend on the extended warranty is lost now – and even maybe the cost of work that you have done so far. We need to see and we need to understand.

 

The mechanics of this vehicle are all highly technical and so we don't necessarily understand what is being said. It is not clear to me that your extended warranty does not apply to this and certainly the first thing that the insurer would do would be to want to find a reason to deny liability

[dodgerjourney]

HI all,

 

thanks for replying.

 

I probably didnt make it clear above, but I bought the vehicle in May 2015 (sorry, I think I put April in my inital post), so after the initial 6 months that is when I took the extended warranty out.

 

If you think it will help, I shall post full details of when I purchased the car, value etc when I get home later, as I dont have the booklet/details here.

 

Thanks for your help

[BankFodder]

Yes please. List out the details briefly.

 

You haven't responded to my questions about what steps you took to get the dealer to carry out the repairs.

 

You also haven't told us who the dealer is

[dodgerjourney]

Hi Bankfodder,

 

sorry - the dealer was 'Save on used cars' in Sc unthorpe and I havent contacted them at all tbh. I thought as it has been over 7 months since I purchased the car, and I had taken out the warranty then it would be their issue ? I also purchased this through a finance company called MoneyBarn if that helps.

 

I have read your link re extended warranties (thanks) and unsure what the timescale would be for vehicles.

 

I can get the full details of dates, price etc.

 

Thanks

[neil6534]

Then your compliant is with MoneyBarn

[dodgerjourney]

Thanks - but what would be the complaint to them and how would this be worded ? (sorry for the question, and Im sure you are right, Ive never had to claim for anything like this before, been driving for 20+ years and never claimed on insurance at all)

[BankFodder]

I think that your first port of call is with the dealers – http://www.saveonusedcars.co.uk/ .

 

You have rights under the Sale of Goods Act.

 

Please read the advice I have given here in respect of a broken laptop computer bought from Currys. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?459718-Laptop-failure-after-2-years-3-months-my-rights-under-SoGA&p=4858044&viewfull=1#post4858044

 

The explanation I have given about the operation of the Sale of Goods Act applies to you.

[neil6534]

That I am afraid is something someone else is going to have to answer - as far as I am aware, as you have used a finance company to provide the funds for the car then it is their responsibilty to deal with the issues throughh the dealer - but they will fob you off

[BankFodder]

I think that your initial approach should be to the dealer and you should expect the dealer to take an interest and put the matter right.

 

Of course, you have complicated the matter by taking your own action and having other people look at the car. The dealer may argue that you have now voided the statutory rights which you enjoyed under the sales contract.

 

You have certainly made life more difficult and I don't understand why you took good money to throw around when you are perfectly well protected under the Sale of Goods Act.

 

If the dealer won't do anything about it then your next port of call would be the loan company and you would try to invoke section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act because the lenders share a sale of goods act responsibility with the dealer. However, your action in buying an X warranty and then having the car looked at and taken apart by other mechanics may also have paid that issue more complicated as well.

 

You certainly haven't done yourself any favours here

[dodgerjourney]

Thanks both.

 

I took out the warranty as I didnt believe the vehicle would be covered after 6 months from the date of purchase - I think this would be the same as most people unfortunately.

 

I will be honest I never even thought of going back to the dealership as I always believed you bought the car as seen -- do you know what would be the reasonable amount of time as advised in the SOGA, for a second hand vehicle ? It isnt above average mileage although as advised, I dont have all the details to hand.

[Conniff]

I'm never one to stand up for car warranties, but I can fully understand why these units are not covered.

 

To put it in a very basic context, the auto gearbox was a big beefy unit that would rarely give a problem unless abused. It's a system of planet and sun gears operated by hydraulics. These modern autoboxes are basically a manual gearbox with an ecu connected to sensors and a couple of clutches housed in a plastic box inside the gearbox housing.

 

Used extensively by VW and it's associated makes, I'm afraid they do not have the robustness of a more conventional automatic gearbox and are cheap in comparison and typical of the way motor manufacturers are going in that they are not fully testing new ideas before fitting them as standard.

 

This also brings back the age old warning of doing some research and, more importantly, reading documents and t's & c's fully before buying.