Moan and Praise

[Jagger]

I am 72 years old and have been fortunate enough to be able to buy 7 new cars during those years, these have been Ford, Saab, Toyota and now my Ibiza, just over two years ago.

I have had various warranty claims ranging from niggly things to a new auto gearbox and DSG in a fiesta. They have all been attended to in a good and timely manner in the past.

Two weeks ago one of my two bonnet catches broke. The lock-in lever would not lock.

Phoned Seat dealer in Tunbridge Wells and was really taken back when the girl said they had to follow Seat requirements and had to carry out an assessment but couldn't look at it until the 1 December. Then it had to be agreed it was a warranty item and then I would have to take it back in. Also they wanted a £120 potentially refundable deposit before they did the assessment. So over a 3 month wait to get it fixed. I couldn't drive it for any distance until fixed as one side of the bonnet was poking up and I guessed if I had an issue I may not be insured. To rub insult into the wound the lady said if I wanted to pay for the repair they could do it in a week.

So I phoned Seat dealer in Crawley, where I had bought the car and it had its first service there. It was the same story I got there from the lady except they could look at it in 1 1/2 months for the assessment and there was no mention of a £120 deposit.

At that point I was really despondent and wondering if this was an industry wide situation with all makes or whether it was just Seat. Was obviously a deliberate ploy to try to avoid undertaking warranty work. I was going to give up and just put a new lock in myself.

However I phoned Seat dealer in Hastings St Leonards and was greeted by a pleasant and sympathetic man who said I could bring it down straight away and he would look at it. That was done, part was ordered and the result was I took it in yesterday when the new bonnet lock was fitted while I waited. My faith was restored and I know where I will be going with the car in future.

So what have others found with warranty work??

 

[James_R]

Providing the process is followed correctly, Warranty work is guaranteed paid work. You'll find that it's not a case of dealers avoiding it, they just don't have the staff to meet the demand, and the deposit is standard practice in most businesses because a good 40% of the time, the issue isn't claimable under warranty but the time spent needs to be covered.

 

[Jagger]

Hi James. I understand what you say to a certain extent but surely the same mechanics will initially look at the car and also do the work irrespective of whether it is warranty or paid for. On that basis I really cannot understand why I would have been able to get the lock fitted three months earlier if I had paid out of my own pocket. It would seem to me that someone along the line is trying to cultivate work (as we say in my industry) or at the very least the system is flawed. To me it sort of balanced on the point of blackmail really. Also re the £120 deposit. I would not have been too bothered about that in the normal way but I have never been asked to pay a deposit before and I did not have to when I took the car in for a service. Is this just Seat or does it apply to all makes now??

 

[James_R]

Q. "surely the same mechanics will initially look at the car and also do the work irrespective of whether it is warranty or paid for"

A. In a well structured dealership, you tend to find that a diagnostic or master technician will confirm and identify the cause of a concern but the job might then be passed along to a service technician to fit the parts. So unfortunately it might not always be the same person diagnosing the issue then fixing it.

Q. On that basis I really cannot understand why I would have been able to get the lock fitted three months earlier if I had paid out of my own pocket.

A. Warranty and retail work are scheduled differently in workshop loading diaries. They might well have had retail availability but not warranty. Retail is also considerably easier to process in terms of payment.

Q. It would seem to me that someone along the line is trying to cultivate work (as we say in my industry) or at the very least the system is flawed.
To me it sort of balanced on the point of blackmail really.

A. It's unfortunately a bit like the NHS, where you can wait 6 months to have that scan or pay for it and have the same medical staff do it the next day.

Q.Also re the £120 deposit. I would not have been too bothered about that in the normal way but I have never been asked to pay a deposit before and I did not have to when I took the car in for a service. Is this just Seat or does it apply to all makes now??

A. The "deposit" is an initial payment to cover the first part of diagnosis. It can also be used as a holding deposit for your slot in the workshop. It's becoming a more popular way of conducting business due to the shear amount of non warranty faults and customer no-shows that occur. Folks who've paid for their appointment are pretty much guaranteed to attend.

 

[Syphon]

Sorry to hear you've had issues. We'd appreciate it if, when the dust has settled, you can share your thoughts in our dealer review section: https://www.seatcupra.net/forums/dealers/