General Heating and warranty

[TheLankyTwig]

So I have owned my 08 punto for about a month and a half. When i bought the car it came with a three month warranty, so any issues obviously i want sorting out straight away. However i am only 20, and I have little idea on the way these warranties work.

My rear left brake light occasionally stops working, i can only presume this is loose wiring or similar. I presume this would be covered by the warranty?

What i am less sure on is the heating system. I bought the car at the end of august, and had no need for a heater then, and as an aside was in love with the air con having not previously having one. However now the mornings are getting colder I have been trying to use the heater, but it barely warms up, half an hour journeys and it only starts to warm up, and even then its not doing much. Demisting the windscreen just doesn't happen with "hot" air, meaning i need to blast cold air and the air con when its 3 degrees outside. Would the warranty cover this?

The temperature gauge works fine, temp sitting in the middle.

The warranty only says it doesn't cover replaceable parts like light bulbs and tyres etc. But as a used car would the faults like above be covered if they were like that before i purchased the car? I would happily give any fixes a go myself as it is a bit of a trek to get to the garage, but would this void the warranty as it would with trying to fix phones etc?

Thanks!!!!!

 

[Bernievarian]

IMO the heater HAVE TO work, it's clearly an hiden defect since you bought the car in summer and you're discovering NO that the heating doesn't work properly, plus you couldn't have any Failure indication BEFORE since your gauge works well.
Regarding the brake light, it's an intermitent fault so IMO should also be covered by the warranty as you couldn't see it immediately, it's not a service part neither …Have those fixed BEFORE attempting to do anything else, as you said doeing so might void your warranty if anything happens ...

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)

 

[TheLankyTwig]

Thanks so much! Have contacted them regarding both faults. When I drove into uni today i noticed the temp gauge took a couple of minutes to move from the bottom, is this normal?

In any case should be getting it fixed.

Thanks again!!

 

[Bernievarian]

The temp gauge should not reach the middle (about 90°) instantly but with a smooth ramp like as you said a couple of minute running the car …
Tell us what they said about the warranty, I'm curious to know ;-)

BRs, Bernie

 

[TheLankyTwig]

So,

Last monday, i went to the garage, told me what the issue was and said come back next monday (today) to fix it. Bit annoying as it was meant to be fixed last monday, but hey ho, I am a uni student so not like i have a lot on. Went back today, got the car fixed, thermostat was broken, and some unspecified tubes were blocked, along with the heat exchanger in the centre console.

All went well in the end, so I then called up the guys i bought the car off of to check everything was okay with the warranty, they said "some of the parts aren't under warranty", when I asked which bits they couldn't answer, they offered to go 50/50, I said no, they got angry, I said no again, explained the warranty to them then they agreed to pay it. Warranty stated they wouldn't pay for wear and tear, but would pay for mechanic/electrical faults. They ended the conversation by saying I needed to check the warranty more thoroughly next time!!

Anyway, alls well tht ends well, and with a cold snap coming very soon to the UK, I can happily report the heating works incredibly well now. Thanks Bernie for replying!

 

[Bernievarian]

He he, well done Mate !! And thanks for the update ...

The Lesson here is " Don't give-up ", they tryed to deal a 50/50 which definitely is not the aim of a warranty, and you've been strong enough to refuse their proposal; I guess they will now be a bit more aware of (some) student pugnacity ;-)

BTW, happy that your car's running well (or at least better), enjoy it !!

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)