adamdun

I will start by stating that my wife has been driving for 15 years and has always driven a manual. She has run a nissan micra for 2 years (first car no power steering either!), a brand new fiat 500 for 5 years, a brand new VW new beetle and a used mini country man for 3 years all with regular servicing and maintenance and has never had any serious issues. Last week her 2018 plate Karoq broke down on a busy junction, transmission totally disappeared without warning. She did not have any indication of an issue until she tried to pull away in 1st and couldn't. The car was recovered and taken to the nearest open Skoda/Seat dealership. On monday they called to ask for permission to remove the gearbox to investigate stating that if it was found to be wear and tear then it may not be covered but it was likely that it couldn't be wear and tear given the age and mileage. Low and behold they call yesterday to advise that they have found signs of overheating on the clutch/flywheel/etc and the whole lot needs replaced. They have advised this could only be down to the way it has been driven (effectively blaming my wife). I have never known her to over-rev or to ride the clutch in any car so can't understand how after less than 8000 miles this could be possible. This car has had its first annual service and so far as I'm aware has not had any recall work done it - I believe there is a software issue to prevent kangarooing in 1st/2nd). Has anyone else experienced any similar issues and would anyone suggest an alternative to user error that may cause over heating and damage to the clutch? I would add that the dealership are passing all responsibility for the decision to refuse a warranty claim or goodwill onto skoda and have advised us that they are looking for £300 for the investigation and in total it will cost £1700 to replace. The car is on a lease which is up in May and my wife is not the registered keeper on the papers - not sure if this makes a difference. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Adam