Vauxhall Insignia gearbox failure

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Hi

 

New to forums.

 

Just put my 2010 vauxhall insignia in garage on tuesday 14th due to gearstick movement and whining noise, I have on 33k on the clock.

 

Garage have attempted warranty claim through extended warranty that i have and they are requesting removal of gearbox and pictures to be sent, based on what I have read on here looks like bearings have went and most likely will not be covered.

 

can anyone offer any advice on what i should do in the event of failed claim as i simply dont have 3k to drop on a new gearbox.

[BankFodder]

You don't give many details but it certainly seems to me that a vehicle with only 33,000 miles on the clock – despite its age, six years, should not be suffering these kinds of problem.

 

If that is correct, then under the Sale of Goods Act you would have a good argument for saying that the car was not of satisfactory quality and therefore it should be repaired by the supplier.

 

We need more details please.

 

How long have you owned it? How much did you pay for it? How many miles to have on the clock when you bought it?

 

Those three questions, for starters.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Hi

 

Thanks for reply

 

I have had the car for 18 months and when i got it it had 20438k on the clock. I paid 3k for it as a courtesy to my mother in law as the car was my father in laws from new until he passed away in aug 2014.

[BankFodder]

Thank you.

 

In that case, in so far as your statutory rights are concerned, they can only be enforced by your father-in-law's estate. That shouldn't present an overwhelming problem but it is one extra complication which a garage, trying to avoid its proper responsibilities, could try to leverage against you.

 

Can you tell us about the extended warranty. Who took that out? And when? Was that also your father-in-law? If it is, then that would also be a matter for your father-in-law's estate.

 

Don't forget that the supplies of extended warranties make their money from selling them – and not by paying out in fact, they make their money by not paying out.

 

Are you sure that the fault is really excluded under the extended warranty? What particular cause of it are they relied upon? I have no special love for extended warranties – in fact I think that they are a complete con. Follow the link under extended warranties and you will see what I have said about them in the past. By and large they are merely duplicating your statutory rights. However, it will be interesting to be able to apply both the extended warranty and the statutory rights to this because it will demonstrate even more that the suppliers are merely trying to shirk their responsibility.

 

Presumably your father-in-law bought the car new. Is that right? Has it got a full service history?

[xXRandomTaskXx]

hi

 

Would not be involving his estate as his widow does not need anymore bother.

 

Car purchased new by him 26th july 2010 and extended warranty purchased july 2013 by him through networkQ(now the warranty group).

 

Still awaiting removal of gearbox for full diagnosis and final say from NetworkQ once pictures submitted, during phone call to them it was suggested bearings not covered as wear and tear item but upon investigation this is common fault with M32 gearbox.

 

I suppose I am jumping the gun at the moment as they have not said it is not covered at this time.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

sorry, forgot to include can has full service history with all stamps and receipts and always done at Vauxhall(arnold clark)

[BankFodder]

Well if they agree to do it on the extended warranty – you have no problem. However, if they don't then you will have to look at the extended warranty and see if it is transferable to you – and if it has actually been transferred.

 

If it is not transferable to you then I'm afraid is your mother-in-law – or the administrator of the estate will have to take in hand either under the extended warranty or under the statutory rights. I'm afraid that if they won't simply just honour the extended warranty then the situation could become far more complicated then merely whether or not the fault is covered under that guarantee.

 

Anyway, I think that you should find out what clause of the extended warranty is it which relieves them of the liability for the fault which has been discovered.

 

Post it here so we can see – and also an exact diagnosis of the problem with the car.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Well if they agree to do it on the extended warranty – you have no problem. However, if they don't then you will have to look at the extended warranty and see if it is transferable to you – and if it has actually been transferred.

 

If it is not transferable to you then I'm afraid is your mother-in-law – or the administrator of the estate will have to take in hand either under the extended warranty or under the statutory rights. I'm afraid that if they won't simply just honour the extended warranty then the situation could become far more complicated then merely whether or not the fault is covered under that guarantee.

 

Anyway, I think that you should find out what clause of the extended warranty is it which relieves them of the liability for the fault which has been discovered.

 

Post it here so we can see – and also an exact diagnosis of the problem with the car.

 

Hi

 

Thanks

 

warranty has been transferred to me and was done at point of car transfer. everything to do with the car is in my name solely.

 

I will update once diagnosed

 

thanks again

[heliosuk]

Extended warranties are usually insurance policies against mechanical failure and are not usually transferable without a fee so double check. Statutory rights will also be neglible if any at all given the age. On Vauxhauls previous record I personally think you are on a hiding to nothing and pursuing it just isn't worth the time and trouble. Go to a non franchised dealer and get a rebuilt box with a guarantee if that indeed turns out to be the required action to fix the issue. Arnold Clark has a notorious history of mis diagnosis and customer service .It's the legal status of the warranty and actually what has failed which will be key here and until it's stripped by an approved person you're not to know what the problem actually is.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Hi

 

Warranty is already in my name with no cost of transfer and i have previously made 3 claims via Arnold Clark.

 

With the diagnosis there is a clear fault as i have gear stick movements and whining noise which is consistent with m32 gearbox bearing failure.

[heliosuk]

But from what you know are the two linked as bearing failure ? A bearing failure would not normally be linked to excessive movement of the gear shift unless the bearing you are referring to is actually a bush often referred to as a bearing which probably wont be covered and cannot be covered.

[king12345]

No gearbox should fail at 33k.

They can't claim wear and tear for a sealed part that should run 50k+ miles without servicing and in some cases 100k.

I agree that extended warranties are worth nothing, but in this case they'll have to bite the bullet and replace your gearbox.

Don't desist, there's nothing you could have done to prevent this failure, it's not a clutch!

[Conniff]

Before I say anything else, are you prepared to take this all the way to court xXRandomTaskXx ??

[xXRandomTaskXx]

hi

 

No, as was only looking for advice

 

New update and gearbox would need to be sent to specialist at cost to me just to confirm cost, if warranty not authorized then i am in total £1000 lighter.

 

not doing it as not worth the risk so getting rid of car.

 

thanks for assistance

[king12345]

Get your gearbox rebuilt from a specialist firm.

They usually offer long guarantee.

It will be cheaper than a new gearbox and will be the same as a new one.

[Conniff]

hi

 

No, as was only looking for advice

 

New update and gearbox would need to be sent to specialist at cost to me just to confirm cost, if warranty not authorized then i am in total £1000 lighter.

 

not doing it as not worth the risk so getting rid of car.

 

thanks for assistance

 

That's a shame, it's about time someone took on these warranty sharks.

 

Still, problem solved you're passing the problem on to someone else. I hope you tell the buyer there is a problem with the box.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

~~Update~~

 

Arnold Clark advised they would get pictures taken of gearbox for nothing as goodwill gesture, pictures have been sent to NetworkQ and they rejected the claim saying "fair wear and tear". Arnold clark went back to them stating "fair wear and tear at 33k miles?", since then NetworkQ have arranged a seemingly independent engineer to come to Arnold Clark and inspect the gearbox which is being done today.

 

I have spoken directly with Vauxhall who are taking no stance on the matter and are advising they will not force a decision either way.

 

I think i am onto plums and will end up with a £450 bill for inspection and a car with a fault i cannot afford to fix.

[Conniff]

Court about £50 which you claim back should it reach that point. 33k is nothing, and if that's fair wear and tear, it say a lot about the quality of GM cars.

I'm afraid they can't compete with the likes of the South Koreans on price and quality so build down to a price and not up to a quality.

[Hammy1962]

Sorry.

 

As a fully qualified, professionally accredited engineer, who has in the past acted wholly independently (and in Court!), I can just envisage another lengthy forum debate on just how qualified said engineers are and are they actually independent when they are funded by one or the other sides in a dispute such as this. Other members of this Forum have their own, entrenched, ideas about this.

 

The phrase 'seemingly independent engineer' sums this up nicely as there is already a suspicion of the engineers independence.

 

If it helps. most of these policies have the wording 'Sudden Mechanical Failure' or such somewhere in them and this is one of the parts which causes most concern.

 

H

[Conniff]

Looking into this again, although the warranty company says 'wear and tear', I don't think this is the warranty companies problem. If the case hardening has pitted on the bearings, then this is a manufacturing fault and if the car is less than six years old then it is covered by consumer regulations.

 

I'll put money on they aren't Timken bearings.

 

According to post #17, AC have stripped down the box so if GM continually refuse to get involved, they should be challenged.

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Ok

 

So, engineers report in and described as "fair wear and tear of main shaft bearing", warranty company will not pay out and Vauxhall have clammed up and will not comment. Arnold Clark are contacting Vauxhall for possible claim and are getting price from gearbox specialist to replace damaged part so i can trade in vehicle without any hassle.

 

Utterly shocked at a gearbox going at 33k regardless of age and will definitely influence my next car purchase(next week).

[Conniff]

Is this the warranty companies engineer ??

[Hammy1962]

Oh, come on Conniff, everyone knows that it will be an 'independent' engineer.

 

Said engineers are typically employed by a consulting firm and yes, which is the point you are getting at, the fee's for this service are paid by the 'warranty' company as you put it. They could equally be financed by the end user\owner and would, almost certainly arrive at the same conclusion.

 

You already know, or should do by now, I know several of these specialists personally and I can tell you, as I have previously, that in these circumstances they agree to pay many more than they reject. A point completely ignored on the CAG forums.

 

As I said earlier on in the thread, this theme is heading in a very predictable direction.

 

H

[ukguy2k]

33k wow that makes you say don't buy vauxhall

[xXRandomTaskXx]

Is this the warranty companies engineer ??

 

They arranged it so i would say yes