I wonder if any BR-ers can help me with a tricky legal problem.
I bought a VW Polo new from a garage in the midlands in April 03.
The battery doesnt hold its charge for more than a week, which means that although I drive it regularly for 6000 miles a year it is regularly dead, sometimes only 3 or 4 days after its been driven. The manual says that it should hold charge for up to 4 weeks and its never been left anything like that long. It is also on it's second battery, which has made no difference and the altenator is apparently OK.
I am now based in the south-east and have taken the car several times to my local VW dealer who has tried various things without success and now just says he has done all he can and I will just have to lump it or words to that effect. VW Assistance breakdown service have also attended on numerous occasions
Now, as I understand it, I will have to enforce my legal rights through the dealer who supplied it, who is now 120 miles away.
My question is if I try to sue the original dealer for compensation, will the evidence I have accumulated through my local dealer be admissible, or will I have to give the midlands dealer his 3 attempts at repair? The latter scenario is obviously not very practical and I am keen to avoid it.
Any comments / ideas most welcome.
CF.
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You obviously have a case here, and should not have to "lump it". Your car has a fault which should be rectified under warranty.
The VW website: www.vw.co.uk/services/factory_warranty/benefits
states that:
"There are many benefits of having a warranty covering your new car, the main one is that it allows you to enjoy your car without worry. The following list of benefits are particular to the Factory Warranty and provide you with a selection of the areas that your warranty covers.
Please note: it is necessary to read the terms and conditions in conjunction with the benefits as exclusions do apply throughout.
Your warranty is not only valid at the authorised Volkswagen retailer from where you purchased your vehicle, it is also covered at any of the authorised Volkswagen retailers throughout the United Kingdom.
Should any defects that are covered within the Warranty conditions occur whilst you are in another country outside of the United Kingdom you can simply take your vehicle to the nearest Volkswagen retailer who will honour your Factory Warranty.
All Volkswagen parts that are replaced within your warranty period are covered for the remainder of the warranty period.
All the retailer fitted genuine accessories, including radios and alarms, are covered by a 24 month warranty from the date of purchase.
All Volkswagen passenger cars come with a 3 year warranty from the date of first registration against any manufacturing defects in the paintwork.
If your new vehicle is one of the following models: Lupo, Polo Hatch, Golf Hatch and Estate, fresh Beetle, Bora, Passat Saloon and Estate, you are covered by a 12 year Long-term Body Protection Warranty. All other models are covered for a 6 year period. This warranty protects you against the cost of rectifying rust attacking the internal cavities of the bodywork (from the inside out)."
Looks pretty clear cut to me - "Your warranty is not only valid at the authorised Volkswagen retailer from where you purchased your vehicle, it is also covered at any of the authorised Volkswagen retailers throughout the United Kingdom."
I'd go back to the local dealer, point out that your car needs repair under warranty which you are entitled to, and write to VW HQ in Milton Keynes if they refuse to act.
Hope this helps.
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It's unusual for original equipment manufacturers' (OEM) products, such as your battery, to fail to last far longer than eventual replacement parts.
The battery should have been swapped for an exact equivalent under the warranty and, if the problem persisted, the actual cause determined by the dealership such as, for instance, a faulty voltage regulator.
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It is worth pointing out that to completely flatten a battery in 4 days, is a fair rate of discharge.
I would have hoped that VW should have some idea of the normal leakage through the alternator, and the normal amount consumed by the alarm, radio and if seperate, clock. Modern cars tend to have a huge number of fuses and thus the circuits are easily isolated and tested by removing fuses in the fuse box.
A good auto electrican ought to be able to find this, perhaps even without VW specifications.
OE batteries as has been said, are usually very good.
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I am astonished that VW are unable to fix this problem. I appreciate that what you want is a new car, but I'd have thought that 10 minutes spent with the car would be a much lower-stress option.
It is an electrical fault somewhere. Does the boot light go off when you shut the boot? (Small person put inside boot works well here/open the rear seats.) Glove box light?
Failing that, then, with the car switched off, open the fuse box. Pull out each fuse, and replace it. With a load like that, you'll almost certainly see a spark. If not, then you'll have to put an ammeter across the two contacts. Then you'll have isolated the correct circuit, and it should be a trial and error method to find which item on the fuse is causing your problem.
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Not a great idea - messing with a car yourself is unwise if you want to make a warranty claim. If they can find an excuse not to pay, they will...
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thnaks for the replies all.....The problem is intermittant [dread word]. The VW assistance guy did identify a 500ma drain - high! - and did the fuse swapping trick which narrowed it down to the central locking citcuit.
Car subsequently goes into garage and ..... fault has disappeared. Repeat this scenario 3 times - aarrrggghhhh - owner is at end of tether....
Although I may end up getting one of those solar battery top-up devices to see if that helps, my nature is to take action against whoever I can - hence my question about about the practicalities of legal action....
CF
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I've so far only ever had 2 problems with the battery not being able to hold charge.
(1) I had a short circuit in the radio and it kept on draining the battery in about 2 days.
(2) SWMBO had a Golf Mk3 and apparently the cooling fan drained the battery once. After that there was nothing more to do than change the battery as it seemed incapable of holding full charge.
I don't know how good batteries are at holding charge once they have lost power but I was always lead to believe that they were never the same.
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Car subsequently goes into garage and ..... fault has disappeared
Nightmare!
A colleage at work had a problem with a new Seat Leon - every now and then it would cut out and not start. Eventually, the dealership agreed to keep the car for a three-day electrical test under warranty. Eventually, they phoned him back. Expectantly, he listened...
"That's some kind of intermittent fault you've got there, mate"
In the end, they had to just order a new ECU from Spain and fit it. He was chuffed, though - he was moving house and for the right 6 weeks had an Alhambra!
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If it is the central locking circuit then one of the buttons could be being pressed upon by the door trim. My old car had a similar problem and the car would unlock itself in the sunlight as the door trim would expand and press up on the button! This also caused the battery to go flat after the car was left for a few days too.
The solar chargers are quite good but they will only keep the battery topped up so it would be best to charge the battery fully then plug in the solar charger. I used to use one and it was very good at keeping the battery topped up if I wasn't going to be using the car for a while.
teabelly
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thanks for the tips T - I'll check that out....
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