Dealer won't cover £2500 repair under warranty, what should we do?

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Dealer won't cover £2500 repair under warranty, what should we do?

My brother bought a car brand new from Skoda, a Karoq. It is still under warranty and is coming up to 3 years old, and there has been a water leak through a rear seal in the boot in the car. The water has got into the steering chassis and Skoda has said this is "wear and tear" and the steering needs replacing at a cost of £2500. They have said the car is not roadworthy. They said he is not covered under the warranty for this fault. He is sure there has been no damage by him to the car, no accidents or repairs that may invalidate the warranty. What should he do?

Asked on 16 February 2021 by Fergus Rushe

Answered by Dan Powell

This is the second report we have received for this problem on the Karoq. I have recorded your brother's experience in the good/bad section of our Karoq review. The key to this issue is identifying the underlying cause of seal failure. It's theoretically possible for it to be damaged by road debris (a stone strike, for example) and this wouldn't be covered by the manufacturer warranty. However, given the car is less than three-years-old, I wouldn’t expect this part to fail as part of the car's normal wear and tear.

Given the magnitude of the repair cost, it may be prudent for your brother to arrange for the car to be inspected by an independent Skoda specialist. They should be able to identify the cause of the seal failure and provide a written engineer's report that your brother can then use to challenge Skoda's original assessment.

Tags: warranty issues

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