A WARNING ABOUT WARRANTIES, CLAIM GONE WRONG!

[Husky]

This is a long read and I have put off posting it for a fair while but I think now i can see light at the end of the tunnel its worth doing. To save you a read if you aren’t interested here is a summary.

 

Warranty issues

Extremely poor service from first garage used

Outstanding service from the Performance Specialist used

Extra Cost to me directly due to poor service from garage: £3855.03

Cost to warranty company: £0

What the warranty company should have paid out: £6230.06

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

I purchased my car in may of 2009, shortly after this I realised there were a couple of issues present that are common with 350z's. This didn’t worry me too much as I had purchased a warranty from Scotsure (£300 warranty two) and knew I would get it sorted out. The problems that occured were:

 

Gearbox – 5th and 6th synchros were gone, changes to these gears were very difficult. This problem surfaced in a relatively short period of time.

CV joints – common clicky joints although far louder than commonly found. I believe the garage that sold me the car had greased these before I test drove meaning the problem came back quite shortly after I purchased it but was unnoticeable on test drive.

Rear ARB drop links – clunking sound from these, again greased by the garage.

Front ARB drop links – clunking sound from these, have become really bad since February.

[Husky]

RESOLVING THE PROBLEMS…

The rear ARB drop links were a cheap and simple fix that I thought best just to get sorted my self to reduce the size of the warranty claim, so I purchased them and asked a garage to fit them. At the same time I requested some spacers be fitted to the front wheels of the car that required replacement of the hub bolts. After informing the garage that I had no locking nut key they sourced me some new ones (which turned out to be of very low quality and rusted badly) the old ones were to be removed, there was damage caused by the removal leaving large burrs of metal on the rays. At the time I accepted this as normal for the removal of stuck locking nuts but have since been told it is not, this should have been my first warning about the quality of the garage. At this time I spoke to the garage regarding my warranty claims as I was on the hunt for a trustworthy place to take them on. I asked;

If they were a registered garage I could place my warranty work with, garage answered yes.

If they would be able to carry out the work, garage answered yes.

If they had dealt with warranty work before and I emphasised the large gearbox claim asking if this is a problem, garage assured me there would be no problem and they had dealt with things like this before.

 

The garage asked me for a copy of the warranty booklet for them to use and informed me that they would take care of everything for me. I phoned the warranty company and requested a warranty booklet. The booklet was delivered and I gave it to the garage. From this point I asked for updates regularly from the garage and was told various reasons for delay from;

I am waiting on the warranty company getting back to me

these are really tricky people to deal with

it depends on who you get as to how helpful they will be.

At no point did they phone me regarding these issues, I had to chase them. On almost all phone calls I was told things were progressing and we were waiting on the warranty company to move each time. I accepted this and waited patiently for an update with a course of action to be taken. I waited from November all the way until the end of February when I phoned them for an update as usual, this time however I did get a phone call back from them where they informed me; I would need to phone the warranty company myself and we have had to start a new claim. I asked why a new claim was needed and the response was somewhat vague leaving no reason. I phoned the warranty company at about 4pm that day…

 

Scotsure were about as much as you can expect from a warranty company, rude and generally unhelpful. After some confusion as to the 4 month delay I asked them what they have on record for my car.

1) November – I requested booklet

2) February - The garage phoned informing of issues with the gearbox synchros, CV joints, ARB drop links.

With 2 phone calls in total, one of them being from me, I enquired about the integrity of their records system to which I was informed

All conversations are logged and recorded and they have no record of any other communication. They also informed me that they will not answer any enquiries without it being related to a warranty number.

 

The problem was now two fold; the claim has been delayed for 4 months leaving a short amount of time to resolve the issues before the warranty runs out. And there is a £2000 claim limit for each individual claim. By telling the warranty company of all of the problems that built up in one go (rather than separate claims) they can easily shift the majority of the cost to me only paying out £2000 (bear in mind a new gearbox alone is £2.5k).

 

I phoned the garage back and informed them of what the warranty company had said, they responded so I don’t exist anymore! Well that’s just great, I’m sure I have a fax somewhere to prove it. That fax hasn't materialised and I haven't heard from the garage since. And as far as they are aware they are still responsible for my warranty claim. It was at this point I decided to cut my losses with this garage and talk with a performance specialist that I could hopefully trust.

 

 

 

 

FINAL RESOLUTION:

 

I contacted a performance specialist who specialise in many exotic cars as well as 350’s, skylines, etc. I believed this was my best option as I was getting nowhere with the previous garage and my car was getting worse. I would like to add at this point that the performance specialist is the best garage I have dealt with bar none. I left the car with them renting a chevy matiz in the mean time, the rental car was at a big trade discount meaning it paid for itself in the time I had it as it was cheap on fuel. I gave the performance specialst my car after driving 600miles so it was a bit grubby, they refused to let the car in the garage unless it was Meguiars valeted and detailed as the place is spotless. I was called at every point to ask questions or inform of progress, and progress was made very quickly. The car was given a thorough check to find any and all problems with it, finding issues I knew of and some I had suspected, to the point of being told a bit of trim hidden away in the boot wasn’t clipped in properly. I was informed that the gearbox was in a bad state as we knew it would be and the clutch and flywheel were on their last legs as well, as we suspected. The car now has a new exedy clutch and stock flywheel with a 16k mile gearbox which is like new. The car was again detailed and valeted before being hand delivered back to me.

[Husky]

The BAD news:

 

The bad news from this is that in March 2010 I discovered from Scotsure that authority was given to remove the Gearbox and other problem items, and get the car ready for inspection from the independent Engineer / Inspector instructed by Scotsure. I was never told of this, nor was I told that driving my car would prove detrimental to an ongoing warranty claim! This authority was given when the first garage phoned in February. Because of this, the warranty company has stated that the gearbox has been in use (700 miles, 1 month) since the order to inspect it and is now considered to be neglected. Also all of the other items fall into this bracket as they were reported in one claim. To sum up; they are not required to pay a penny for what was a genuine claim of faulty parts which would have easily gone through with the minimum of fuss had it been dealt with properly. I have to foot the entire bill myself.

 

 

COSTS:

 

The bill now includes:

 

QTY...Part.................I paid....................Warranty company would have paid

1...... Gearbox............1250..................2535.70+vat

1...... Clutch..............300....................300

1...... Flywheel...........350.....................935.94 +vat

2...... ARB droplinks.....32.94+vat............32.94+vat

2...... CV joints...........295.07+vat..........295.07+vat

1...... BCM.................244.07+vat..........244.07+vat

1...... Dome lights.......50 approx.............50 approx.

1...... labour..............1k+ approx...........1k+ approx.

1...... Hire car............250.....................250

 

Total paid by me as a result of the garages mistakes: 3855.03

total that would have been paid by warranty company: 6230.06

 

 

 

LESSONS LEARNED:

 

I'm a very reasonable person so put this all down to one huge life lesson, I only hope this information helps others, saving them from falling into the same trap.

So if you have a warranty claim to deal with;

 

-Do the background work on the garage your dealing with, just because they give good service fitting a simple exhaust does not mean they will have the capability to deal with a warranty company. All may not be as it seems on the surface.

 

-Whichever garage you choose it is imperative you seek examples of warranty work they have completed previously.

 

-Make sure you do not under any circumstances talk to the warranty company without being strictly advised from the garage first.

 

-Do not drive the car once the warranty company is aware of the issues.

 

-Expect to be paying out for the full fix yourself if it isnt dealt with perfectly

[Vik54]

not a nice experience for you John...now I get what you were hinting at earlier It is totally sh*te but you'll just have to chalk it up to experience its not worth anymore of your energy or upset

 

Glad its all sorted now though

[rich5259]

Glad to hear Lee sorted you out mate .

 

You need to name & shame the original garage so others can avoid them.

[Chesterfield]

Shocking service from both garage and warranty company. Certainly right to name and shame!

 

The warranty company appear to have looked for any possible reason to keep your money and wriggle out of a payout. It may appear that they have dragged their feet knowing full well you will need to use your car, and hey presto an excuse for non payment presents itself.

 

The garage also appear not to have chased this as much as they could have, which has just compounded the issue.

 

Glad you got it sorted in the end, but the service from both the above is just well below par.

[rich5259]

How about a call to watchdog? Or one of the other consumer protection programmes?

[R35LEE]

You have to remember that the Warranty company have a set of guidelines in which they follow and do not deviate from. So from the time of authorisation to remove the parts for inspection by their engineer to the time when they were actually inspected (700 miles or so later) and at a different garage. The first thing they say is car should not have been driven and class it as neglect

[Cragus]

You have to remember that the Warranty company have a set of guidelines in which they follow and do not deviate from. So from the time of authorisation to remove the parts for inspection by their engineer to the time when they were actually inspected (700 miles or so later) and at a different garage. The first thing they say is car should not have been driven and class it as neglect

 

But you trailered it to the garage did you not?

 

Sorry to hear this bud - bet your glad you cars running right now though - just a shame it has had to cost you so much when you have paid for warranty.

[GT4 Zed]

Hey John, you have been through the wars i see and finally seen the light at the end of this very long dark tunnel.

It will also be helpful to name the garage in question so as to warn other about who they are especially if its a service used by forum members

[Maccaman]

This is really shocking tale & good advice for any others with warranties. Why a garage would not take the oppurtunity of warranty work is baffling. If it was something they were incapable of doing they had plenty of chances to tell John and give him the option of going elsewhere. Very expensive lesson John & really feel for you but at least you have the car you thought you had bought in the first place.

[nixy]

 

But you trailered it to the garage did you not?

 

 

Presumably the first thing they do is log the mileage and then check it again on inspection........

 

Glad your zed got the treatment it deserved from Falcon in the end John.

[Husky]

The warranty company appear to have looked for any possible reason to keep your money and wriggle out of a payout. It may appear that they have dragged their feet knowing full well you will need to use your car, and hey presto an excuse for non payment presents itself.

 

absolutely spot on Chris, they were very far from being on my side through all of this.

 

As for naming and shaming its a tricky and uncomfortable one for me as its a popular trader from here. This whole experience gave me a slightly different perspective on what's posted on forums and to take everything with a pinch of salt even the fantastical reviews. Its a shame as forums usually manage to protect you from experiences like this. lesson learned.

[Husky]

And thanks for the support guys it is really appreciated

[Vik54]

Sorry I think this is bl**dy outrageous...did the original garage offer to supply parts or do anything to help towards the bill?

It was them faffing around that caused this c*ck up - they either knew how to deal with a warranty company or they didn't - we all know how important it is to keep momentum with a warranty claim.

I don't care who they are John -and its obvious who it is due to the spate of 'thanks to....' threads that have been popping up all over the forum for the last week or so - perhaps they'd like the opportunity to share their perspective?

[Husky]

I didn't request any compensation from the first garage after the failed warranty request, as soon as the warranty claim was refused all parts were sourced by the performance garage and paid for by me all within the day (as the bill for them holding onto the car and me the hire car were growing rapidly).

 

It was apparent in February that the claim wasn't being pursued in the way i wanted (or at all) hence the move to a different garage.

[Tarmac@TarmacSportz]

Now I know why you were stressed out .

 

Man that sucks, let me know if I can help out with a bottle of vodka and a pizza

[Husky]

cheers chris, its been a rough time with it.

[ATTAK Z]

So glad you have survived this Husky .......... hope you recover quickly and that life is a bit kinder to you in the very near future ......... it's been an expensive lesson but to look on the brighter side, you have still got your health, and some good friends

[Husky]

my exhaust is now blowing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jinxed i say, cheers for the comments

[nixy]

you've got a spare one knocking about .........its a bit quiet though!

[gunmetalzgt]

The warranty company appear to have looked for any possible reason to keep your money and wriggle out of a payout. It may appear that they have dragged their feet knowing full well you will need to use your car, and hey presto an excuse for non payment presents itself.

 

absolutely spot on Chris, they were very far from being on my side through all of this.

 

As for naming and shaming its a tricky and uncomfortable one for me as its a popular trader from here. This whole experience gave me a slightly different perspective on what's posted on forums and to take everything with a pinch of salt even the fantastical reviews. Its a shame as forums usually manage to protect you from experiences like this. lesson learned.

 

One thing that's worth saying though mate,

 

If the first garage is a popular trader then surely you should do the right thing and mention who it is to protect other forum members. We are all here to look after one another and help wherever possible. I know you might feel a little guilty for saying who it is but anyone who saves over 3.5k because of it would be forever grateful!!!

[andlid]

The warranty company appear to have looked for any possible reason to keep your money and wriggle out of a payout. It may appear that they have dragged their feet knowing full well you will need to use your car, and hey presto an excuse for non payment presents itself.

 

absolutely spot on Chris, they were very far from being on my side through all of this.

 

As for naming and shaming its a tricky and uncomfortable one for me as its a popular trader from here. This whole experience gave me a slightly different perspective on what's posted on forums and to take everything with a pinch of salt even the fantastical reviews. Its a shame as forums usually manage to protect you from experiences like this. lesson learned.

 

One thing that's worth saying though mate,

 

If the first garage is a popular trader then surely you should do the right thing and mention who it is to protect other forum members. We are all here to look after one another and help wherever possible. I know you might feel a little guilty for saying who it is but anyone who saves over 3.5k because of it would be forever grateful!!!

+1 on name and shame...

 

Husky, you've been through it mate! man its shows big integrity and stamina to keep yourself going without flipping out completely well done on that! See it as an experience is a good thing, hope you can recover some of these monies? Is there any legal advice you can take to maybe sue either of the parties involved?

 

I hope I don't develop the gearbox problem!!!

 

Sell some of your rear led clusters and you'll be on top in no time!

[rtbiscuit]

Husky its a real shame this situation happened. and could have easily been avoided if the job had been done properly in the first place. i get the distinct feeling the first place took on more work than they could handle and therefore couldn't give it the attention it deserved to do the job properly.

 

i know all 3 parties involved and think Johns been very good at not just smearing a garage to make himself feel better and has also given the first garage an opportunity to post up and give their side. The original garage owner is a good bloke and i'm fairly certain this would never have been deliberate. everyone makes mistakes at some point, this one just happens to have been a costly one. but now might be a good point to come forward. better to step up to the plate, than wait to be revealed.

 

i'm not sure if someone had cost me the best part of £4k that i would have posted such an impartial thread and protected the identity for so long.

[MITZ@CougarStore]

All, I will come forward and say that John is referring to myself when he mentioned the original garage, however, at the moment I am completely taken back at this situation as its news to me, when I read the thread yesterday only then had I been in the loop of the situation, as for the last 2 months John hasn’t been in touch and yesterday I read this thread to find out about the warranty and that the work had been carried out, so as you can imagine its also come as a shock to me too because I wasn’t informed from John about this, so we’ve all basically found out at the same time.

 

I vividly remember the last phone conversation John and I shared, since then all the above had taken place and I wasn’t in the know with it.

 

John is a great guy, when I spoke to him yesterday he himself said that he has no qualms with me etc, and I regard John, as I do all the members that I speak to and meet as friends.

 

I will speak to John, even meet up with him.