4 weeks old car and gearbox fault

[Jarekwi]

Anyone had this problem? 

I have noticed a lot of oil coming out of gearbox just after 3 weeks of owning brand new octavia vrs diesel automatic. Took it to service and they say gearbox needs to be replaced. Now they say it could take anything between 2 weeks and 8 months!!!

 

And they offer me fabia for time being which I don't like at all as I'm paying for much more expensive car.

 

I raised complaint to Skoda UK and hopefully gonna get some similiar class car through Mobex scheme.

 

If not just wondered if I can reject car all together through my finance if they won't supply me with the car I'm paying for possibly few months.

[KenONeill]

55 minutes ago, Jarekwi said:

wondered if I can reject car all together through my finance

I'm not sure if you need action from finance or just to inform them that you are formally rejecting the car for cause.

[SurreyJohn]

Rejection is notified to the supplying dealer, not the finance company.   Letting finance Co know is more a courtesy, they don’t do anything to the faulty car.

 

It is different if car is leased, as the leaseCo own it, and you deal with them.

 

Basically dealer has one chance to fix it (not multiple goes) promptly.  If they can’t do it, reject it on the spot, don’t take it home, get money back.

 

Edited 24 December, 2021 by SurreyJohn

[Jarekwi]

It's on pcp.

 

I bought it from dealer 200 miles away as they only had it in stock. 

 

Its been at my local Skoda dealership where they said replacement is needed. Problem is that they said because there are supply and shipping issues it could take months to get new gearbox.

 

Is it acceptable that I could wait months for such a repair?

 

 

[KenONeill]

1 hour ago, Jarekwi said:

It's on pcp.

Ok, so your contract is with the leasing company, not a dealership. I'd still say rejecting the car for cause here is reasonable, but you need to inform the leasing company, not a dealer.

[MiniNinjaRob]

It’s a rare thing to happen but it does happen! I had a brand new Vauxhall Astra once through work and it had to have a new box fitted, took them 2 weeks and cost £3k to do it (I didn’t pay it but saw the dealer cost sheet when I picked it up which would be covered by warranty). 

[SurreyJohn]

10 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Ok, so your contract is with the leasing company, not a dealership. I'd still say rejecting the car for cause here is reasonable, but you need to inform the leasing company, not a dealer.

PCP is not a lease, it’s personal contract purchase, you have bought it, own it, but are paying in instalments, and have option to pay balance in one lump sum, or return it in 36 months (or whatever period is)

 

You have mixed it up with PCH (where H is hire), and hire/lease company is owner.

 

Regarding the fault, an oil leak could be the seal when attached to engine, bit of grit etc so doesn’t seat correctly.   It doesn’t automatically mean gearbox has a fault (a crack, hole, badly cut gear wheel etc).  However could be the machined face of casing where seal sits isn’t perfect so needs changing.

 

 

[Ootohere]

So you might have the V5 and are the registered keeper and bought it but with others money. 

They own it actually until the finance is paid. 

 

@SurreyJohn

So important is was it Engine OIl or DSG oil that was leaking.

Is the times quoted because of a lack of DSG's or DSG & MCU, back orders etc.

Surely not as Skoda CZ have been turning out such a low number of TDI's in this last year because of the ongoing issues.

Skoda / VW know if a box and MCU and ECU if required is sitting someplace ready to ship to the UK. 

 

Even given Brexit or Covid it is a Gearbox in a crate that is getting delivered from the Skoda Factory or a German one to the UK and not a vehicle and they can get that in in under a week if they bother to do that.

The Skoda Factory is closed until the 10th January though, but even so if there is a built DSG sitting then it would be 'Simply Clever' to get it dispatched to arrive in the UK before the end of January.  

Edited 25 December, 2021 by roottoot

[nbramwel]

Just simply reject the car.  Having such a serious fault, it is not fit for purpose.

[KenONeill]

3 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

PCP is not a lease, it’s personal contract purchase, you have bought it, own it, but are paying in instalments

As @roottoot indicates below, ever if you have the V5 you may not own the car (depending on terms of agreement). If you had taken out a personal loan, then you would certainly own the car.

[kodiaqsportline]

Just barging in on this thread ( bored with eating and watch Xmas TV all day 😂 ) so tell me to sod off as I no longer own a Octavia.

 

Root is correct.  Just to clear up a few errors from elsewhere in this thread

 

1. Under PCP the car belongs to the finance company ( usually VW Finance ). It only becomes yours if / when you make that large final payment. Under PCP you are the registered keeper, not the registered owner. 

 

2. You MUST inform both finance company ( the owner ) and the supplying dealer that you are rejecting the car. Your contract is with both of them.

 

3. It was under the old system you had to give the supplying dealer a chance to rectify the problem but laws have since changed.  Note - the problem has to be serious, you can't reject if it's a niggle or minor inconvenience.  A faulty gearbox that needs replaced is about as major a problem as you can get. 

 

(a) Within the first month of delivery, you can reject a product if it proves to be faulty - end of. No attempts to fix it required ( although common courtesy would say give them a chance )

 

(b) From month 2 to month 6 if a fault develops the onus is on the supplier to prove the fault was not present at time of delivery. Again you give supplier a chance or two to rectify problem, but if it persists you can reject.

 

(c) From month 6 to month 12 the onus is on buyer to prove the fault was present at time of delivery. This is potentially more tricky and it's unusual for a car to be rejected after 6mth.

 

(d) After 12mth? You've more chance of winning the lottery than rejecting the car 😂

 

My advice to the OP is that if what you say is accurate i.e. you reported the fault within the first month since delivery, then I wouldn't expect there to be any issues rejecting the car. If it was over the month since they were informed, that they've confirmed there's a problem and it can't be rectify within a reasonable timescale, it's a simple rejection.  ( Some dealers may try and plead that because they gave you alternative transport i.e. courtesy car, that they are entitled to repair the faulty car - it's not true, it's not what the law says. don't let them away with it if they try that ).

Notify both the finance company and the supplying dealership you're rejecting the car.  Under law, both are equally liable for the car you're paying for.

 

And last two very important things to remember that almost everyone gets wrong.  THIS HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH SKODA UK so don't blame them.  (There's nothing they can do anyway). Your contract is only with the supplying dealer and finance company. And whatever you do, DO NOT STOP YOUR MONTHLY PCP PAYMENTS until told to do so.

 

Hope that helps.

 

PS - If I were in your situation? Rejection should be easy but what's your alternative? As delivery times on new cars are all over the place right now, can you purchase a car in stock?  

 

 

Edited 25 December, 2021 by kodiaqsportline

[TheWanderer]

15 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Just barging in on this thread ( bored with eating and watch Xmas TV all day 😂 ) so tell me to sod off as I no longer own a Octavia.

 

Root is correct.  Just to clear up a few errors from elsewhere in this thread

 

1. Under PCP the car belongs to the finance company ( usually VW Finance ). It only becomes yours if / when you make that large final payment. Under PCP you are the registered keeper, not the registered owner. 

 

2. You MUST inform both finance company ( the owner ) and the supplying dealer that you are rejecting the car. Your contract is with both of them.

 

3. It was under the old system you had to give the supplying dealer a chance to rectify the problem but laws have since changed.  Note - the problem has to be serious, you can't reject if it's a niggle or minor inconvenience.  A faulty gearbox that needs replaced is about as major a problem as you can get. 

 

(a) Within the first month of delivery, you can reject a product if it proves to be faulty - end of. No attempts to fix it required ( although common courtesy would say give them a chance )

 

(b) From month 2 to month 6 if a fault develops the onus is on the supplier to prove the fault was not present at time of delivery. Again you give supplier a chance or two to rectify problem, but if it persists you can reject.

 

(c) From month 6 to month 12 the onus is on buyer to prove the fault was present at time of delivery. This is potentially more tricky and it's unusual for a car to be rejected after 6mth.

 

(d) After 12mth? You've more chance of winning the lottery than rejecting the car 😂

 

My advice to the OP is that if what you say is accurate i.e. you reported the fault within the first month since delivery, then I wouldn't expect there to be any issues rejecting the car. If it was over the month since they were informed, that they've confirmed there's a problem and it can't be rectify within a reasonable timescale, it's a simple rejection.  ( Some dealers may try and plead that because they gave you alternative transport i.e. courtesy car, that they are entitled to repair the faulty car - it's not true, it's not what the law says. don't let them away with it if they try that ).

Notify both the finance company and the supplying dealership you're rejecting the car.  Under law, both are equally liable for the car you're paying for.

 

And last two very important things to remember that almost everyone gets wrong.  THIS HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH SKODA UK so don't blame them.  (There's nothing they can do anyway). Your contract is only with the supplying dealer and finance company. And whatever you do, DO NOT STOP YOUR MONTHLY PCP PAYMENTS until told to do so.

 

Hope that helps.

 

PS - If I were in your situation? Rejection should be easy but what's your alternative? As delivery times on new cars are all over the place right now, can you purchase a car in stock?  

 

 

 

One of the best posts I've seen in a long time. 

[Greezy56]

I have the VRS through personal lease with VWFS. I complained recently that the car now 10mths old has been at the dealer 8 times for various faults.

VWFS complaints dept contacted me and told me, after doing some background checks to my story  that i could reject the vehicle and stay with it till i received another vehicle from any other brand. My contract would end after the new car arrived.

Option 2 was to agree to stay with the vehicle till the MARCH 31st 22 fix and receive an inconvenience payment of £650 with the disclaimer that if the fix did not happen or did not work i could again reject and walk away.  

After looking at the market it was hard to find a new car that would be available in the short term or med term and the prices were loads higher than i was willing to pay.

So i said to VWFS , ill stay for the fix but the goodwill payment was too low and if i kept the car i wanted an extended warranty.

In the end VWFS offered £1000 to assist with purchasing an extended warranty.

What do you guys think about this?

 

[TheWanderer]

And extended warranty doesn't cost £1k.

 

I've just got a quote for £338 for my 3 year old RS which I don't trust, but I'll be keeping until SUK pull their corporate fingers out of their backside and get the Mk4 software etc running correctly. 

 

If I were you I'd get some quotes for extended warranties online including Skoda's own first. But if you're looking to buy another marque then it might be pointless. 

[Jarekwi]

23 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

 

 

PS - If I were in your situation? Rejection should be easy but what's your alternative? As delivery times on new cars are all over the place right now, can you purchase a car in stock?  

 

 

 

This is exactly situation I'm in.

 

I would rather avoid rejecting the car as I love the car, but I have been given Fabia basic as courtesy car for the time until car is fixed which is not an option I can accept so raised complaint to Skoda UK and they said they should be able to help and provide same class and size car (not necessary Skoda) through Mobex scheme but will come back to me this week.

So I gave them a chance to get me similar replacement sorted until Friday.

 

Thanks for help anyway!

 

 

 

 

[Greezy56]

1 hour ago, TheWanderer said:

And extended warranty doesn't cost £1k.

 

I've just got a quote for £338 for my 3 year old RS which I don't trust, but I'll be keeping until SUK pull their corporate fingers out of their backside and get the Mk4 software etc running correctly. 

 

If I were you I'd get some quotes for extended warranties online including Skoda's own first. But if you're looking to buy another marque then it might be pointless. 

The £1k was a goodwill payment for all the strife encountered on a new product that should be free form defects , a product that has been into the dealers 8 times for pointless work that made no difference and in some occasions made other minor problems worse.

[Paul52]

Kodiaqsportline gave some very comprehensive advice which seems to be in line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 but you are clearly talking about a lot of money here and if it was me  I'd consider getting some formal advice from a solicitor who should be able to advise you on your rights in respect of the repair being offered but also possibly on compensation for inconvenience and any out of pocket expenses, which might include his/her fees to provide you with the advice and letters to the appropriate parties. (I mention this because I had to employ a solicitor a few years back to resolve a commercial debt owed to me which required me to sign a wordy release. I had to pay the solicitor initially but it got added on to the debt). 

What you don't want is to try and be reasonable and then find that later down the line you unknowingly gave up your rights. 

[TheWanderer]

51 minutes ago, Greezy56 said:

The £1k was a goodwill payment for all the strife encountered on a new product that should be free form defects , a product that has been into the dealers 8 times for pointless work that made no difference and in some occasions made other minor problems worse.

 

I know what it's like, mine has been in 16 times, it's now running on an experimental wiring loom, it's working so I'm not worried about it anymore. 

[Jarekwi]

Just a quick update. Got gearbox replaced. It took them over a month. Got replacement car through Mobex. Not the best experience tbh.

But man. How amazing car it is. VRS diesel auto. It's just pleasure to drive...until next fault 🤣

[TheWanderer]

Good luck with the car.