2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty

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Thu 4 Apr 2013 18:01
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - derekjamesm
wife bought the car new in feb 2012 from arnold clark glasgow , got full service end jan 2013 at same garage - 5000 miles . engine temp light came on on way home from work , topped up coolant and light went off and ok for rest of week . went on motorway following week and light came on again , pulled in at services and topped up again an light went off , decided to drive home instead of carrying on , light came on again on motorway and pulled off at nearest exit , car broke down . got rac to tow it to same garage , got report later that there was a faulty coolant pipe and the engine had overheated to failure , vauxhall say they wont repair car under warranty because it was driven 59 miles from time light first came on till last time even tho it went off inbetween , they say she drove the car to destruction and want £4000 for replacement engine , where do we stand ?
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Thu 4 Apr 2013 18:52
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - thunderbird

The warning light comes on for a good reason and when the level of the coolant drops you need to get the dealer to check where its gone. Did you ever check the coolant level aftertopping it up the first time, I suspect not, if you had it would not have come on again. Since you clearly continued to drive it without getting it checked or checking the coolant level its your fault. Looks like yo have a big bill to pay.

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Thu 4 Apr 2013 20:48
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - unthrottled

I can only echo thunderbird's response. It is unfortunate.

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Thu 4 Apr 2013 21:33
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - derekjamesm
cheers guys , kinda knew that already but its a bitter pill for the wife to swallow , as she says , she isnt a mechanic but if she runs out if petrol the car stops but it doesnt cause four grand of damage , so when the light came on n she topped it up n the light went off she thought she was ok n it wasnt major . if they still had a temperature gauge on the other hand she would of seen there was a major problem n not just a wee red light flashing on the dash.
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Thu 4 Apr 2013 23:29
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - unthrottled

if they still had a temperature gauge on the other hand she would of seen there was a major problem n not just a wee red light flashing on the dash

I agree entirely. I wouldn't buy a car without a temperature gauge.

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Thu 4 Apr 2013 23:41
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - Avant

" I wouldn't buy a car without a temperature gauge."

Agreed - and I wouldn't buy a Vauxhall !

That said, aren't we being a little unfair to Derek and his wife? As I read it, she stopped and topped up each time the light came on, and the final time she pulled off the motorway.

This is a disgrace for a one-year-old, 5,000 mile car which has just had a service. Unfortunately the dealer concerned is too big to be interested in mere customers, and she may do better to make sure that Vauxhall have the full story, and if that has no effect perhaps approach the 'watchdog' in one of the motoring magazines.

Any other constructive suggestions?

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Fri 5 Apr 2013 00:26
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - wires13

Is there a motor industry ombudsman, usually a free service if there is one and will rule on whether u or they are right !!!

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Fri 5 Apr 2013 19:51
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - unthrottled

Any other constructive suggestions?

I would write a (nice) letter to Vauxhall HO explaining that the lack of temperature gauge made it impossible to monitor the extent of the problem and hope for some goodwill. They might supply the engine for cost price-which would be a fair result.

Legally, the OP doesn't have a leg to stand on; Vauxhall are responsible for the failed hose-but not subsequent damage caused by driving for 59 miles after the red warning light first appeared.

I'm not sure any other marque would have acted differently. Customers are assumed to be technically ignorant, but are required to understand the function of warning lights (as outlined in the handbook) on the dashboard and act accordingly.

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Sat 6 Apr 2013 01:20
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - Avant

Sure, but she did act accordingly, didn't she? She stopped and topped up / called the RAC each time.

Edited by Avant on 06/04/2013 at 12:25

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Sat 6 Apr 2013 01:49
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - unthrottled

She caled the RAC after the car broke down (presumably catastrophic engine failure). Vauxhall's stance is that if she'd stopped immediately after the warning light was illuminated, and had the vehicle recovered to Vauxhall, the engine may not have suffered irreparable damage.

But having driven 59 miles after the warning light first appeared, the car has effectively been driven to destruction.

I'm not blaming the OP; it is a very sad result.

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Sat 6 Apr 2013 09:38
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - skidpan

Cars might not have temperature gauges but they have temperature warning lights. People who ignore lights are just as likely to ignore gauges.

What people forget is gauges on modern cars are not linear like they were in days of old. They rise quikly to normal and stay there until its virtually too late and rise instantly into the red. Think about it, how many times have you sat in traffic with the gauge on normal with the fan running. On a Focus the normal running temp is about 90 degrees, the fan comes on in 2 stages the first at 108 degrees yet the gauge has not moved.

The average drive does not watch is gauges thus a warning light is generally more useful. But this thread just proves that even when a waring light comes on people do not do the sensible thing and go to the dealer to get it checked over.

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Sun 7 Apr 2013 14:33
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - derekjamesm
What people forget is gauges on modern cars are not linear like they were in days of old.

ok skidmark lol ! there's always one !
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Sun 7 Apr 2013 16:33
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - FP

There seems to be more than one or two people on here who are ready to descend into rudeness and personal insult at the least (or sometimes without any) provocation.

(Edit - you're quite right, FP: I've hidden the particularly offensive post that probably gave rise to your comment.)

Edited by Avant on 08/04/2013 at 00:33

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Sun 7 Apr 2013 16:57
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - derekjamesm
sori for insulting you but you did come across a bit preacher know everythin type , n its ok i know what linear means , but if you look at my original post you will see i was talking about my wife driving and to her she couldnt care less about motoring talk , she just wants to drive her new car to work and the shops n buy pretty things . altho we all know she did drive the car too far and should have taken it to the garage straight away , she didnt , and i was just asking where she stands regarding warrent etc as i can see from her point that she thought she was doing the right thing and is obviously very upset about paying £4k for a new engine or putting a second hand engine in a car that has only done 5k miles
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Sun 7 Apr 2013 16:41
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - VolvoT5

I can't see Vauxhall paying for it really. In my experience (of mainly older cars to be fair), there are some warning lights that can be ignored but others, like the low coolant and low oil/oil pressure lights, that require immediate attention.... not continuing to drive the car for 50 odd miles.

IMO the best you can hope for if you get really stroppy with them is a 'goodwill' gesture from Vauxhall, maybe reducing the cost or sharing the cost with you. Unlikely though because any kind of warranty is subject to the car not being abused and being taken to a dealer at the first sign of trouble.

OP's OH should not have drove on and the definitely shouldn't have let vauxhall know they drove on....

Edited by VolvoT5 on 07/04/2013 at 16:44

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Sun 7 Apr 2013 17:03
2012 corsa 1.2 petrol - vauxhall warranty - derekjamesm
on board computer print out mate , cars are far too clever these days !
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