Am I being that guy

[macp]

So I bought a used Panda 1.2 in October from a dealer and paid top money for it. I chipped a little off I think £100 as having done a little due diligence I had a good idea of where a good one should be. Also the dealer was throwing in a 6 month warranty which I considered potentially useful.

A day or so after picking it up I noticed a knocking from the rear. So I ran it up to them and a broken spring was discovered. It was fixed pretty quickly as they were a little red faced about it. The car had a fresh MOT on it that was carried out by themselves. And as they said should have been picked up. They told me a lot of test stations were losing there license through this kind of thing so he was concerned. Anyway I was pleased with the response and went on my merry way.

Perhaps a couple weeks later swmbo calls me saying the car is going crazy and has broken down. She is stranded in the pouring rain. So being an emergency I called the garage and was basically told I had a warranty so use it. Having no choice I did just that and got it to a local garage who carried out the repairs straight away. Perhaps my first mistake as the warranty company didnt want to know. But it was an emergency and we needed the car. I called the dealer and explained all of this. Clearly I got through to somebody who seemed much more willing to help. They offered to pay the bulk of the £200 bill. And I was extremely happy with that as I really like the car and want to keep it.

Anyway that was that. Or so we thought until 2 or 3wks later the same thing happened to my poor suffering wife in the same weather conditions. Now this time I have run the fault codes and where the HT leads & spark plugs were replaced last time. In my opinion its now the coils which it may have always been. Or its the next weakest link after the other parts being renewed.

Anyway thanks for sticking with this and reading it through. But basically the question is I see it as an ongoing connected fault. And I think the dealer should resolve it. So why not claim on the warranty. Well because the warranty does not cover it. SWMBO thinks im being that guy. Generally she is better than me. Full stop. I can and have gone off half cocked more than once. I have a feeling she is probably right again but I would be genuinely interested in your opinions. My flame suit is on.

 

[portland_bill]

It used to be the case that garages had to give the first month warranty themselves, and any additional warranty would then start one month from date of purchase. If no extra warranty was purchased (by them or you, might be included in the sale price), then the garage woudl be expected to give at least 3 months warranty. This was usually first month parts and labour, second and third months parts only. I'm not sure whether this was law, or code of practice. The month wait before any additional warranty kicks in, was to prevent garages supplying cars with known faults, and getting warranty companies to foot the bills.

Things may have changed, but might be worth researching this. Citizen's advice, or a trade body. See if the invoice mentions any trade body, or if they have a sign outside. There used to be, 'Motor Agents Association' and 'Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders'. I think the 'Good Garage Scheme' may also oversee trade conduct. There may be others, I'm out of touch. Having this knowledge may help later, but don't go in guns blazing as a first resort, or the barriers will go up instantly.

I'm surprised the warranty does not cover coil failure.
Warranties usually require the car to go to one of their authorised repairers, as then they can oversee claims, and manage costs. If repaired elsewhere, any refund is often argued and minimised. Need to read the small print, all of it. The selling garage would not want ot pay retial repair rates, when they might have repaired it themselves at cost, hence the refund being less than the £200 spent.

It seems you have a seller that is less than competent, and poor with their customer service. Then the repairer may have not diagnosed the problem properly. Your chosen repairer was apparently not on the warranty suppliers list of approved garages. (I'm just reeling a little at £200 for plugs and leads, are they gold plated?)

Read the warranty. If it covers coils, follow the instructions to get it to an authorised repairer.
If the warranty does not cover it, you could ask theat the seller fix this, but don't be too optimistic.
Probably time to find a reputable local garage, or pop a couple of coils on yourself.

Plug leads on these are a weak point and need replacing regularly. They tend to grip the plugs well, and often break on removal, so get replaced at each service. (I keep a set ready.) However, it has been reported on here several times, where failing leads cause the coils to work harder, leading to coil failure. Original repairer may have been right, but coils were weakened and have died since.

When replacing coils, ensure the low voltage connectors are clean and making good contact.

 

[macp]

Thanks Bill

I thought it was reasonable for the dealer to pay the garage bill. He obviously saw that it was not reasonable for me to have to pay an almost £200 bill within a week or two of taking ownership. Even if the parts were reaching the end of their life. Having said that I honestly think had this happened say 3mths after taking ownership. I would think it unfair to go after the dealer.

But since I posted this it turns out the warranty will cover the coils. I was going to stick a couple new coils in myself until I found this out. By the way the £189 bill included £60 for diagnostics which I was at first a bit miffed about. And as I found out the dealer rang the garage doing the repairs to basically bollock them for charging the £60. I did not know he had done this. But as the garage explained to me. They dont know my car. It was the first time they have seen it. Also they have to pay £5k a year for the diagnostics system. So somebody has to pay it. I thought that was not unreasonable.

So potentially its all been a bit of storm in a teacup. As I said the warranty company will apparently cover ignition coils. Research shows a lot will not. So its booked into my local Fiat/Alfa specialist and they are making a claim to the warranty company. There is no list of approved repairers. But should for some reason the claim be denied im going to get them done anyway. And move on with my life.

Seriously though its a cracking little car. Which is why im making such a fuss about sorting it out.