2 Yr Import Warrenty

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

My 2009 Octavia VRS recently had some work carried out "under warrenty" at a local Skoda dealer

I've just had a call from the garage saying that they have tried to process the warrenty paperwork but it has come back that the car was imported from Ireland, and as such was only subject to 2 years warrenty period. Therefore, they will be invoicing me for the work carried out!!

I bought the car second hand in May 2010 from another skoda dealership and at no stage was I told that the car was imported, or that the warrenty period was affected by this.

How do I stand regarding payment of the invoice for the work carried out? Can I reclaim this from the original dealer where I bought the car from?

Do I have any rights in this instance? Or is it a case of payup and shut up?

Thanks for any advice.

Paul

[JohnRS]

Have you spoken to SUK?

See what they say about the 2 year period and then get onto the dealer you bought it from.

If it were me I wouldn’t pay it. Demand the car back until you clarify the matter and then if it is 2 years I'd want the dealer you purchased it off to foot the bill.

Out of interest why did you not use the dealer for the work?

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

Haven't spoken to SUK yet, wanted some advice first before being committed to anything that SUK might throw at me.

I already have the car back as the work was carried out a few weeks ago, I just had a phone call this afternoon telling me that they will be sending me an invoice for the works carried out.

I didn't/don't use the original dealer as they are an 80 mile round trip, whereas my local Skoda garage is a 10 mile round trip.

My car has been to the local garage before for warrenty and servicing work, and never reported back about the cars origins.

[Babs]

Should say at the bottom of your V5c if it was imported, but the supplying dealer has a duty of care to inform you of any material facts which may prejudice the sale (Consumer Protection Against Unfair Business Practices legislation)

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

Will be checking the V5c as soon as I get home, but just been and checked the service book for the supplying dealer Pre Delivery Inspection stamp, and there is no dealer stamp or details, just a signature in the box

[KenONeill]

The Sale of Goods Act seems to apply here too. Since the relevant parts on a UK vehicle are clearly of a quality which means that a reasonable person could expect them to last for 3? years, you would reasonably have the same expectation. Accordingly, any issue that the dealer who handled the work has regarding payment is between them and the supplying dealer, rather than them and you.

[Babs]

Ken - "reasonable time" is 6 years, IIRC

[Mike Wrightson]

Ken - "reasonable time" is 6 years, IIRC

It depends on the product. On a car I would be expecting a minimum of 6 years, which is the time limit for making a SOGA claim.

[Babs]

That's what I was referring to!

[KenONeill]

It depends on the product. On a car I would be expecting a minimum of 6 years, which is the time limit for making a SOGA claim.

There are specific clauses referring to specific parts of a motor vehicle, so the "normal" 6 years doesn't always apply. Hence my argument that it is reasonable to expect parts to last for at least the time that the manufacturer/importer is prepared to warrant them for.

[rum4mo]

This is a strange one, but it must have happened to someone else in the past - ie buying a "nearly new" car that had been first reg'd outside of UK. Once I bought an ex Channel Islands Fiesta at 9 months old (the old gag where car makers keep production lines running at a nearly constant rate and dump excess cars into other holiday markets), when I bought that car from a Mitsubishi dealer it was clearly descibed as an ex Ford motor company car that had been brought in from Jersey and even although it was under 12 months old, it carried no Ford new car warranty - so was sold with a third party warranty. These cars were actually good buys as they were nearly new, very low mileage and could be traded in to a Ford dealer if necessary, when that time came. In the past 12 years, I have personally imported both my VWs new from Holland. As these cars were reg'd in UK within something like 2,000 miles and 30 days, they were deemed to be new at first registration, so the statement on the V5 thing declared them as such. Neither of these cars can offcially be taken as trade in at VW garages (VAG's rules) and both of them carried only 12 month warranties although I could have bought the second year cover from VW UK.

Bottom line is, I either was told or knew from research what I was getting my self into when dealing with imported cars - were you misinformed about any of this when you bought that car, maybe check all the paperwork that you signed.

I tend to disagree with the comment that its not your problem and that you should just let the repairing dealer handle it, its not entirely his fault that you find yourself in this situation - oh maybe he should have spend some time checking that car's provenance - but is this expected when any dealer takes a car in for repair within warranty period, maybe in ignorance you accidentally set a trap for him. One thing on this checking provenance, every second MOT I get at a VW garage, includes the term "IMPORTED" some where on the bill, plus comments about some labelling missing under the bonnet!

Edited 7 November, 2011 by rum4mo

[Volvomeg]

Dont know how different volvo work but when a car is booked in they are checked to see if there is any outstanding recalls on them and but on the same screen it also tells you if its a import or if there are any warrenty restrictions on it, ie if its been misfueled at some point in its life then any fuel system warrenty is void etc,

Dont think we have ever had any warrenty issues regarding claims but am also not sure what warrenty volvo offer across the pond

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

I can categorily state that at no point was I advised when buying the car that it was an import, there was nothing advertised to this effect - I still have the ad. The sales man never mentioned it, and none of the vehicle documents suggest it was imported.

I emailed the supplying dealer Friday night, and the sales manager has replied saying that he will look into it first thing tomorrow morning. According to his records, the car was 1st registered 11/08/2009, which is what my V5c says.

Right now, I envisage 2 outcomes... 1) My local Skoda garage has got it wrong, and will have to cancel the invoice and process the works under warranty, or 2, the supplying dealer have sold me an imported car, but either didn't know, or deliberately with-held that informtion from me.

Either way, a Skoda main dealer, selling a 9 month old Skoda, should know the cars origins, and I believe that I can easily prove that they hav miss sold me the car, which will be against the terms of the finance companies conditions.

If it comes to light tht the car is imported, what factors do I need to consider discussing with my supplying dealer to resolve the situation.

I would like to keep the car ideally, for financial, logistical and personal reasons, but I would like the remainder of the warranty period covering; not much to ask really, but what if I break down in a different part of the country?

How much less would an imported car be worth at trade in time, compred to a UK car?

If the car is imported, will this affect my insurance, and would it be reasonable to ask the supplying dealer to contribute to the additional policy price?

Any other factors that I need to consider?

Cheers

Paul

[Moist Von Lipwig]

I would have thoght that it will affect your insurance cost as it is a standard question about whether the car is an import or not. Do you legal cover included in your insurance? It may be useful at least for advice or help.

[kit]

I would wait to see what the original dealer says and if you get the bums rush then off to your solicitor or local citizens advice office and get some legal advice.

Kit

[juan27]

There are specific clauses referring to specific parts of a motor vehicle, so the "normal" 6 years doesn't always apply. Hence my argument that it is reasonable to expect parts to last for at least the time that the manufacturer/importer is prepared to warrant them for.

I see what you're saying but the 3 year warranty does not mean the manufacturer thinks any given part will last 3 years - just that they are willing to repair or replace it if it doesn't. I don't think Kia who offer a 7 year warranty expect their components to last any longer than most, you just pay more of the initial price as insurance against failure.

[rum4mo]

A car imported from another country does carry the sigma of being such a car, normally moving a car from one market to the other is done to save money at initial purchase, or to make more money when selling it without stating that fact. All in all, that car will be worth less than its equivalent model sourced from Skoda UK. Payment of VAT should not be an issue as the ROI VAT, at that time was more than UK. I sem to remember that there were minor differances in build state, ie some things were option in ROI but standard in UK. All the insurance should be worried about with a car like this will be the residual value being lower - if its written off, but either way, if it turns out that it is imported, then they should get told about it. I would not expect that your repairing dealer would make a mistake as it will be very obvious to them by looking at the "build state code label" - I think that sales campaign or sales territory is indentified by that label. Good luck

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

An update. Not really sure how I'm feeling now...

On one hand, the dealer is being deliberately obstructive; I have asked outright to find out whether the car is an import or not and I have told him that I want written confirmation of this.

The answer I got today was a load of crap: remember this is from an official Skoda appointed retailer network dealer:

"the car is exactly the same as any other UK car. All skodas are built in the same place and it just depends if the boat drops them off to dealers in the UK or in Ireland."

He then tells me the car was built for the UK market and originally sold by a dealer in Ireland.

He assures me the vehicle is not a grey import, and therefore has no affect on the purchase price/trade in value, and should not affect my insurance.

Now firstly, I find it extremely difficult to believe that "it just depends where the boat drops them off" is how Skoda manages their shipping and importing operations.

Secondly, is there some technical difference between an 'imported car' and a 'grey import', as he seems very keen to emphasise that the car is not a grey import.

Thirdly, looks like I'll be taking the car back there when I do want to sell it as they won't offer me a reduced price for the car!!

On the other hand however, and in his defence, he has openly offered to pay the repair bill from the other skoda dealer, and he has offered to put a full 12 months Skoda warranty on the car from now, which therefore exceeds the date that the original manufactuers warranty would of expired.

As previously posted above, for various reasons, I would actually still like to keep the car. At the end of the day I am happy with it, and had no plans to change it for some time. So, given that the repair bill will be paid, and I will have a warranty in place for the 12 months, am I being unreasonable to expect anything else from all of this mess?

Is it really worth pursuing any legal routes if I don't really intend on handing the car back? Which I guess is where most legal routes would have me end up on the basis the car was miss sold.

I just feel like the suplying dealer is treating me like an idiot by expecting me to believe what he has told me above.

I suppose ultimately, it's just another one of life's lessons you chalk down as experience. I guess all the evidence is pointing towards the fact that the car is imported, but without an official definative written answer either way, I don't know what to do about my insurance, and that really worries me!!

And just to top it all off, I've got a blinking headache now!! :wonder:

[gadgetman]

So to confirm your V5 does or doesnt show it as an import?

If it doesnt, then this is all you need to show Skoda - that their records are wrong.

If it does, then you take it up with the dealership as to why they didnt disclose it at purchase.

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

The V5c does not show it as being an import.

I'm thinking that I need to take this up with Skoda UK for a definitive and final answer?

[gadgetman]

The V5c does not show it as being an import.

I'm thinking that I need to take this up with Skoda UK for a definitive and final answer?

If they say it is 100% import, then someone knowingly misled the DVLA.....

[rum4mo]

Just a couple of questions, when you say first reg'ed in Ireland, you are meaning Southern Ireland - I ask that question as if it was first reg'd in Northern Ireland, then its reg'd as new in UK. I do not know what changes on the UK reg docs, ie V5C, after a car has had a change of owner, but neither of our imports, first reg'd my me and my wife as new in UK, show up as being imports. Maybe ask Skoda UK who the importer was so that you can work out if it was the official importer of Skoda into Ireland or a third party - just to clear this car's early life up. Technical differances from official UK imports - maybe some standards referance numbers are different - although still complying to EU directives, maybe the odd small item ommission, I seem to remember that it was not possible for example to specify a factory sided sunroof to VWs as an option if buying in from Southern Ireland. In the "good old days" of personal car importing, there were some small savings to be made by buying from ROI and driving into UK on temp plates, though the mandatory ROI car insurance to cover part of the first journey cost a lot for a few hours driving! Really only the "less adventurous" car importer used that root due to the small savings and lack of factory fitted options. Good luck, a work aquaintance used to run a South African MK3 Escort, it was basic but not too rusty and he knew nothing about cars - but it did keep going!