Alarm warranty claim

[neworiginal]

I had the overhead control unit replaced on my GLE in late May 22, shortly before the 3-year warranty ran out at the end of that month. The fault was due to it making a whirring noise. The installation 2 days rather than 1 because they had problems installing it.

In August/September 2022 later I had issues where the alarm went off randomly, requiring a manufacturer roadside engineer to make some sort of change to temporarily fix it. He told us it was a known problem.

The issue went away for a while, but occasionally happened again. In February 23 the issue got quite bad. The car was recovered to the dealer, but they could not find a fault and simply updated the car software.

The issue kept recurring.

Recently I took the car into another branch who traced the problem to the overhead control unit. They initially said I would have to pay 100% of the replacement cost (£600+) since the car was out of warranty and it was a part already replaced under warranty. They have subsequently offered to cover 50% of the cost.

Obviously my view was that on balance of probabilities the part was faulty when installed (i.e. problems installing, the alarm issue starting within 4 months). This is also not a part that is expected to last the lifetime of the car - it will not suffer wear and tear.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

 

[markjay]

Welcome.

It's a tricky one. We sell IT kit, and the manufacturer's rule is that a replacement part only carries the same warranty as the remainer of the original warranty.

You've been offered a 50% goodwill contribution, reducing your cost to £300, which sort of limits the amount of time and money you'll be willing to invest in order to try and get MB to pay it.

I would ask the dealer to confirm (in writing) what warranty the new part will have, given that you are now paying for it rather than have it replaced free under warranty.

I would also ask the dealer to confirm what happens if it turns out that the new unit does not resolve the issue (I.e. their initial diagnosis was incorrect).

Pending receipt of satisfactory responses to these two questions I'd agree to pay the 50% and bring the matter to conclusion, but this is just what I'd do personally.

As for the point that the item should have lasted for the life of the car, this is often raised on this forum by members, my view is that it's a difficult one and I'd reserve this legal argument for potentially large bills, but probably wouldn't chance a court case on this occasion if I was in your position.

Hope this helps.

 

[neworiginal]

What about the consumer rights angle? See https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/02/martin-lewis-faulty-tech-warranty/

Could you make the argument that a non-wearing component of a product costing £60k lasting 3y 6m is not reasonable?

 

[Fastcar155]

Welcome.

It's a tricky one. We sell IT kit, and the manufacturer's rule is that a replacement part only carries the same warranty as the remainer of the original warranty.

You've been offered a 50% goodwill contribution, reducing your cost to £300, which sort of limits the amount of time and money you'll be willing to invest in order to try and get MB to pay it.

I would ask the dealer to confirm (in writing) what warranty the new part will have, given that you are now paying for it rather than have it replaced free under warranty.

I would also ask the dealer to confirm what happens if it turns out that the new unit does not resolve the issue (I.e. their initial diagnosis was incorrect).

Pending receipt of satisfactory responses to these two questions I'd agree to pay the 50% and bring the matter to conclusion, but this is just what I'd do personally.

As for the point that the item should have lasted for the life of the car, this is often raised on this forum by members, my view is that it's a difficult one and I'd reserve this legal argument for potentially large bills, but probably wouldn't chance a court case on this occasion if I was in your position.

Hope this helps.

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