martinch

I'm sure the warranty simply states that it must be reported to them within the warranty period, rather than reported & fully investigated? Have a look over the terms of the warranty, and the phone your car/house/breakdown insurance legal assistance line to see where you stand as the warranty is an enforceable contract (they may be able to give you a few key phrases to use) ...

Single rear lights annoy me ... I much prefer the idea of a symmetrical pair, so that you can see the width of the vehicle (I don't know if it's standardised so that it the fog light goes on the right, reversing light on the left, or what - 2 is just easier to deal with visually [for me]). Having said that, I have no idea whether mine has 1 or 2 rear fog lights - it's whatever it came with ...

My battery failed recently, and the days leading up to it, the boot would lock itself when I got out of the car (the rest of the car was still unlocked), needing me to unlock the car via central locking to get in the boot (my remote only has 2 buttons). I don't know if that's in any way related ... VCDS is RossTech's diagnostic software: http://www.ross-tech...ain_screen.html

My Fabia manual says VW will make/supply parts until at least 10 years after production has ceased. I think my relatives' Octavia says the same, and guess it's still the case ...

Agent 47 has it. There's instructions on how to do it in the Haynes book (for cleaning the plenum chamber), but I would suggest having to tool to remove the windscreen wipers (were a pig on mine), and having a supply of the clips ready (they will break - I had to cut through one on mine), before you start.

As Mike pointed out, there's stones and all sorts in there. I passed one coming the other way a couple of winters ago (pulled over as far to the left as possible and braking), and it sounded like I was being shot-blasted with ball bearings ... looking at the paintwork, there's 5 or 6 small "dents" in the lacquer as a result of it.

Sorry to hear about your accident. :( Hopefully you can find something nice in your budget

I wonder how that reconciles with the OFT's guidance on the Sales of Goods Act:

My parent's Octavia's manual says the anti-perforation guarantee is 12 years, but my Fabia says 10, so I guess that's where it's from..?

Well, if it develops a fault within 6 months, then unless the characteristic of the fault means that it would not have been present at the point of sale, it was faulty when sold.

Parent's Octavia had this ... diagnosed as the actuator arm having stuck.

Someone I knew had a vehicle repaired by another branch after an accident. After declaring the work "done", the inspector rejected it 3 times, requiring remedial work to be done. Something like this? Basically, if the vehicle is in an unsatisfactory condition (given its age, mileage, and cost) within 6 months of purchase, the onus is on the dealership to prove it wasn't faulty when they sold it. Should it be concluded they had sold a defective product, they would be liable for consequential costs, e.g. fuel for the Lincoln-Newcastle trip, if that was required, etc.

So, you phoned them and they told you to take it to the garage, who would sort out the claim on your behalf, and then rejected your claim because you hadn't submitted a form they didn't say to submit? Is the "warranty" of the "insurance policy" variety*? If yes (to both), submit a formal written complaint to the warranty company, stating that they gave you incorrect instruction which led to a claim not being paid and causing you financial detriment - as a result, they have failed to treat you fairly. They will have 8 weeks to reply, If they fail to reply within the 8 weeks, or if they issue a final response rejecting your complaint (they may well reject it with a spurious reason - it seems fairly frequent), send a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) - this is a free service (well, the insurer always pays), but their findings are binding on the insurance company, and likely worth the cost of 2 stamps. I would note that this process involves the writing of 2 letters, and, due to the time allowances and the FOS being backed-up, will likely take 6 months. FWIW, I helped a friend who had had most of a breakdown repair policy claim rejected. I did the complaint letter for them, which the insurer basically ignored, so the matter was forwarded to the FOS. After they examined it, the insurer was obliged to pay the remainder of the claim (i.e. the amount they failed to pay), plus the equivalent of "statutory interest" on the sum from the date of the claim to the date of payment at 8% per annum. * Have a look in the policy document - if it says regulated by the Financial Services Authority/Ombudsman, then it's an insurance policy. Obviously, if it's not classed an insurance policy, the above doesn't apply. EDIT: Just thinking about it, depending on how the warranty was purchased, you might not be classed as the customer (the dealer might be), which means you don't have the right to complain to the FOS. However, for £500, I would say it's worth trying.

I don't have a vRS, but I find there's a lot of people who are somewhat impatient, and get somewhat annoyed at people actually travelling at the speed limit (e.g. driving so close to you that you stuggle to see the bottom of their windscreen in the rear-view mirror). Indeed. Just remember to leave a larger gap in front of you when you have a tailgater, so that should you need to brake, you can do so more gently (to mitigate the risk of you doing an emergency stop and them going straight up behind you).

Start reading up on the provisions of the Sales of Good Act - the dealer should be stumping up for those things (especially as if it happens in the first 6 months, they have to prove it wasn't like it when they sold it).

Some companies to add in a "loading" for non-fault claims, as well as for fault claims. :( I would check what the insurers regard to be a modification (I did hear some insurers believe factory fitted optional extras are modifications! ). Whilst the insurer can't void your insurance if you fail to declare something, unless you intentionally mislead them and/or they would not have offered insurance had they have known, they can pro-rata any payout based upon what they would have charged had they known everything (according to the Ombudsman's service's technical bulletin).

To be honest, I'm not so sure about that - the trader who supplied the engine would be liable for the costs of repairing the engine (or replacing it) as a consequential damage, if it were supplied defective. However, taking a pragmatic approach, if they are only asking a small amount for the work, and seem to be willing/competent, it may be worth it to retain the good will and get your car working quickly... Hope you get it sorted out soon. Indeed. Given the cost of the bill, and the fact the OP didn't say otherwise, I assumed it'd been supplied & fitted by the trader mentioned.

As hinted at with the previous mention of the conversation the OP had with Trading Standards, it could be a breach of S2 of the Fraud Act 2006 (a misrepresentation of fact, either expressly or implied, which was known to be untrue or misleading), or Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (misleading omission). The Distance Selling Regulations apply to any transaction concluded at a distance (with some exemptions where it's a one-off mail order being done by the retailer). So, if you paid for a car over the phone and had it delivered, then conceivably the DSR would apply, although it would seem a somewhat torturous route.

Indeed (and that link is very handy as it explains how the car should be valued). Sadly, not all insurers play fair - an acquaintance recently had a bad experience with RSA - when they disputed the valuation, they refused to budge, said that they'd offered over the market value of the car (£1,000 under Glass' guide) and suggested that if they went through the complaints procedure, the valuation may be reduced. Oh, and they said that the Glass' guide value they'd got a dealer to look up for them was the wrong one. Sadly they took the "life's too short" approach ... sigh ...

Can't find anything in the warranty, but there's this on their site under the customer commitments section: http://www.skoda.co....es/default.aspx ?

They are required to exercise "reasonable skill and care" - i.e. to fix the problem you've asked them to, and not to create any new ones - and any parts fitted must be of reasonable quality (i.e. a 2nd hand engine with X miles on it should be in a condition you'd expect at that age). It sounds like they've failed to do this, so they'd be liable for putting it right. http://www.oft.gov.u...e/sogaexplained If you paid any part of the bill on a credit card (not debit card), note that the issuing bank shares joint liability should you choose to go to court (and you could also look into a charge-back)

Sounds like a leaking door carrier seal: http://www.fabia-vrs.com/technical-info/door-carrier-repair/. Once it's rained, you should see some "beads" of water just below the door card. Adding a plastic barrier between the bottom of the door and the body (e.g. a bin bag) should work as a temporary fix. If you have access to a VAX-type vacuum cleaner/carpet cleaner, it can be used to suck the water out of the carpet. Failing that, newspaper will wick the water out of the carpet. Sounds like the plenum chamber is full of leaves, etc, and needs cleaning (also worth removing and checking the pollen filter - it's under/behind the glove-box - if you lay on your back in the passenger's footwell, you should be able to see it on the radio side).

Might want to have a read of this on rejecting & refunds: http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained. Partial refund if you've had the benefit of use of the item for some time before it went faulty, full refund if it was iffy from the off, normally.

Off the top of my head: revving when it's really cold (before the oil is circulating in the turbo housing), not allowing the vehicle to cool a bit (2 mins, I seem to remember) after a high-rev run (hot oil is left in the turbo housing causing it to heat up and harden the seals, apparently), and not giving it an occasional "Italian tune-up" to clear the soot off the vanes.

Indeed. If they're not going to allow a claim on the warranty, they should be able to provide a demonstration as to why not (e.g. you can see that a stone hit it *here*). If they can't, or you can demonstrate otherwise, they may have an interesting time should it be alleged that they're breaching the warranty terms (warranty = contract) ...