62 plate car clutch gone after 3 months

[KiliLegge]

In March I bought a 62 reg Qashqai +2 from a large main Nissan dealer with just under 12000 miles on the clock. It was the showroom demo and had the balance of manufacturers warranty left. I noticed it was becoming sluggish in first gear and also that the air con wasn't so cold so took it in to be looked at. It turns out that the clutch is on it's way out and the condenser needs replacing. They've dropped a bill for £900 on me for the clutch and said they were trying to get Nissan warranty to agree to fix the air con but couldn't promise anything.

 

Obviously we weren't expecting this from a less than 2 year old car bought with low miles and only driven by us for a few months. We have done about 3000 miles in the car. My wife is the main driver. She is pregnant and uses the car mainly for short journeys with our 15 month old daughter so is not in the habit of burning out clutches or driving unsafely nor has she ever burned out a clutch before. The car was bought on finance with a large deposit made up of our 2 precious Nissans + cash (paid on debit card).

 

While we should be preparing for the arrival of our new baby we could really do without fighting Nissan over this issue but cannot afford this enormous bill for our new car so would appreciate advice on what to do next.

[filrobbo]

Have you informed the HP company , they have paid for a dud car.

[KiliLegge]

No I haven't. This all only happened yesterday so I'll call them today. Is it something they'll speak to the garage about or just log on their system? Thanks for letting me know.

[ncf355]

No I haven't. This all only happened yesterday so I'll call them today. Is it something they'll speak to the garage about or just log on their system? Thanks for letting me know.

 

You need to look into Section 75 of the consumer credit act

 

I totally agree that what has happened to the car is unreasonable failure, can't understand why they aren't covering it all via warranty?

[KiliLegge]

The garage say it's wear and tear on the car so won't replace the clutch even though we've only had it a few months. They said that the tick in the box on the 65 point car check done before the car was sold is enough proof that the fault occurred since we bought it.

 

I have contacted the finance company and they will raise a complaint with the garage after we've filled out some forms. The CAB have said that the issue is the responsibility of the finance company and they need to get an independent inspection of the car done to prove that it was/wasn't our fault and the age and low mileage of the car will be taken into account.

 

I'm not sure where I stand in regards to driving the car - it's drivable at the moment but I don't know how long for or if it'll cause problems with the dispute. I'd be interested if anyone has any info on this.

[queensclose]

i would be even more concerned how the car had been treated before you bought it. for a clutch to go that quick

[Conniff]

Get in touch with the finance company by recorded delivery letter and tell them the problem you are having with 'their' car. This is their car and it's up to them to get it sorted.

[KiliLegge]

Get in touch with the finance company by recorded delivery letter and tell them the problem you are having with 'their' car. This is their car and it's up to them to get it sorted.

 

Ok I've filled in the forms online sent by Santander and they've requested further paperwork and more details of the problem so I'm just in the process of compiling these. I thought I'd get the ball rolling with Nissan UK by contacting their customer services. They were particularly unhelpful and dismissive of the problem so I'm hoping Santander have more luck dealing with them then I did.

 

Does anyone know how successful such situations tend to be where the finance company are responsible for disputing a warranty claim? I'm obviously concerned at how long I could be stuck without a car for and worried at how Nissan seem to be adamant that we caused the damage to the clutch on such a new car that we've only had for a short period of time. I hate the idea that we're probably going to struggle without a car for weeks then find we just have to pay out for it anyway.

[Billy's mate]

The wear in items such as brakes, tyres and clutches can be influenced by how the vehicle is driven, so warranty providers are very reluctant to pay out on these. I know of one lady who has had three clutches in one year, but insists it's not her driving and that all the clutches must have been faulty !. I know it's not what you want to hear, but if the dealer is adamant that they won't pay for your clutch, you can ask them to contribute towards the cost under ' sympathetic warranty '. Your air-con condenser is something different and should be covered under the warranty. Hope this helps.