I bought my Otavia VRS in early October from a Renault dealer. It's been back to a skoda dealer for the injector recall. While doing the recall the skoda garage found a potential turbo issue (oil leak).

Where do I stand with my consumer rights? I've been told that if the issue is within 90 days then the garage is liable for any repairs, is this true?

Can anyone give me any advice as I want to be armed with all the information before I contact the dealer I bought the car from.

Or should I just suck it up and pay for repairs?

Thanks.

Edited 27 December, 201114 yr by darren9

What sort of warranty was given with the car? What age is the car as they have a 3 year warranty as standard?

Ian

Does the turbo require replacing? Some oil leaks are considered acceptable.

It's am '07 I have a warranty but as is usual with these things it's cleverly written allowing lots of wriggle room for them to get out of work.

If the car was labeled as 'sold as seen' this protects the garage from any possible faults with the car once it has rolled off the forecourt.

Thats why when i bought mine i made sure it was from a main dealer and with comprehensive warranty, so far it has paid for itself even though the car is 07 plate iv had over a grands worth of parts either already on it or waiting to go on, ov only owned it since November this year!

Does the turbo require replacing? Some oil leaks are considered acceptable.

I don't know, the skoda dealer described it as an 'oil leak' but wanted to charge a further £70.00 to investigate as my warranty covered me elsewhere I decided against it.

Hopefully it will be covered under warranty.

If you buy from a dealer you are covered by the sale of goods act. Any defects within the first 6 months are assumed to have been present at the point of sale. The dealer is responsible for the cost of repairs.

As said above it is covered under the sale of goods act.

You say it has an oil leak so go back to the dealer and ask them if they will sort it.

They may do so but it may be hard to prove if it was there when they sold it and as yet it hasnt caused a problem.

There are lots of things that could be potential problems but it dosnt mean it will be..

If the car was labeled as 'sold as seen' this protects the garage from any possible faults with the car once it has rolled off the forecourt.

That was the case years ago, a dealer cannot sell a car as 'sold as seen' any more, your consumer rights still apply and you have to get a minimum of 3 months warranty to cover any defects that were present when you buy or occur in the first three months.

The SOGA gives you even more protection if you fancy pursuing through the courts.

I bought a 115K mile Octy from a Skoda dealer and got the 3mth warranty as they couldn't/wouldn't sell it with a 1 year warranty due to the mileage. I had clutch/flywheel, A/C compressor and turbo replaced under warranty. All of the faults occurred during the first couple of months. It took a little persuading and the threat of SOGA but they honoured the warranty. None of the faults were evident prior to purchasing. They wouldn't replace the wiper stalk which was intermittently faulty under the warranty (buttons for Maxidot didn't work every now and then, common fault), but they did the part at trade and fitted it for free.

The easiest way to go about it is to put your concerns in writing and ask them to rectify as the fault existed when you bought the car. You may be best off getting the diagnosis done by a Skoda dealer and if they can provide a written report that says that the fault has existed prior to you buying the car then they don't have a leg to stand on and will have to cover the diagnosis charge as well.

As others have said, proving the fault existed when you purchased the car and also that it is a fault and not just acceptable wear and tear for age and mileage are the key points you have to address.