What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
The steering rack on my new car was defective - can I claim against the dealer?
We have had a fairly acrimonious dispute with our local dealer and also VWUK about having to replace track rod ends and the steering rack on a Volkswagen Golf VII barely 6 months out of warranty. My point of view was I wanted a technically competent person to explain to me why the part had failed. All we got was a small discount off the new rack and a complete refusal to assist with a technical assessment. I firmly believe that there must be a way of getting an opinion as to why these parts failed on a car so young. I believe they must have been defective, so the warranty is irrelevant. My 32 year old sports car has only had one new rack in all those years. Am I wasting my time or should I continue to fight? I have the replaced parts still.
Asked on 6 January 2017 by Mike Watson Smith
Answered by
Honest John
You could have the failed parts professionally inspected and a report written by Scotia Vehicle Inspections or similar and you could then take the matter to Small Claims (against the dealer who originally sold you the car). But that's going to cost you £300 - £400 with no guarantee of a successful outcome. Law here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/
Similar questions
On 1 October 2017, I purchased a BMW 5 Series (approved used from a BMW dealership. Since then the car has been in for repairs three times. It shut down on the motorway, had warped front discs and split...
I brought a Skoda Yeti from a Skoda main dealer four months ago for £7000. I've been on maternity leave and only drove the car small journeys (only done 1500 miles). I recently went back to work via the...
I've owned a Ford Capri Injection for 23 years. In October 2015, I delivered my car to a local restoration bodyshop in order to have a bare metal respray carried out. The proprietor notified me that he...
Related models
Plenty of second-hand choice, excellent cabin quality, efficient petrol and diesel engines.