We bought our August 2011 Passat in Feb 2013, second hand from available car.

It was still under warranty and we took out an extra 2 year extended warranty. Within months the boot would not shut and needed a new catch. The following year we needed a whole new cooling system and cam belt as it developed a leak. This year we now have a failure of the dual mass flywheel, clutch and gearbox. extensive damage has been called by debris from driving with a failed DMF, (well this is what extended warranty are saying) our mechanic says he has never seen such damage and failure in 20 odd years. extended warranty are refusing to pay the £3000 quoted to repair all damage and failings.

Where do we stand to fight this? We have 59000 miles on the clock we don't tow anything and generally just use the car for a round town. I travelled 53 miles the day before the clutch went, I noticed no problems with driving the car at all! I travel with my 2 toddler sons I'm not about to put them in danger if the car was not driving right! especially since we have extended warranty to fall back on. It had a major service 6 months ago. The extended warranty are saying we drove the car damaged and its all procured from a 'wear and tear' of the dual mass flywheel and because we didn't get it seen its caused all this extra damage. We honestly felt no difference in the car driving, clutch or noise-wise. I literally pulled out our drive and could not get into gear, it kept getting stuck so I drove straight to the garage. The mechanic said it was probable clutch failure and said keep driving it and bring it in the following week. I obviously didn't carry on driving took it home and left it on the drive until the day he said he could fit it in. I wasn't going to risk more damage or breaking down with the kids. Can we fight this or do we have to suck up and pay the £3000 we cant afford? HELP ME please!