Import Warranty Query

[littlebrooklyn]

As some of you know we had to sell our lovely Mercedes and have just got an 18mth old VW Golf. When my partner went to see it on the weekend he was told there was a balance of the UK 3yrs Warranty and we agree to buy it.

Today he picked the car up and when he looked at the Service Book it seems to have come from Cyprus. The dealer we bought the car from said he hadn't realised it was an import and has said he will get us a years 5 Star RAC Warranty.

We are a bit worried that this RAC Warranty won't be as good as the manufactuers warranty and the only reason I am posting here is because I know you guys and value your opinions.

 

[tjo]

i would be worrird to, generally that type of warranty does not cover consequential damage ie water pump fails you wreck engine they pay for pump you pay for engine

 

[Retired]

I'd check very carefully to see if it is a UK spec car. I've bough three cars from Europe and an item by item equipment inventory is essential to ensure UK spec. VW might help to identfy any other hidden differences such as suspension settings, rust proofing etc.

If it was me I'd probably be looking to hand for a refund it back for a refund or get significant compensation over and above an RAC warranty.

Agree with tjo's comment on the warranty. Read the small print carefully.

 

[Silver Arrow]

I believe that Cypriot cars are to a lower specification than European ones and they pay significantly less than the Euro prices.

 

[andy_k]

he sells you a UK car with a 3 year UK warranty then delivers a car registered in Cyprus and offers you a 12 month third party warranty........

a, the car is still on your drive?
b, you need to ask if this is a bad deal

If they don't agree to a full refund or to deliver a car which is exactly what you ordered then head off down to trading standards.

Andy

 

[maldon]

Fully agree with Andy K.

Make a lot of noise and don't budge an inch, LB.

 

[Myros]

not just trading standards

but CAB and the legal dept of your motoring association ( e.g. RAC, AA) if you belong to one.
What's a dealer doing importing cars from Cyprus anyway, or have I missed something?

Good Luck. The law is on your side, I'm sure. Misrepresentation would seem to cover it. Might even be fraud.

 

[42864]

What a load of rubish for adealer to say that he did not realise that the car was an IMPORT of course he knew he was hoping that you did not notice. Take the car back and demand your money back immeadiatly.

Dave

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Well I spent ages on the phone this morning trying to sort the problem out. I phoned Volkswagen Head Office to clarify the current warranty, the trading standards office and also the RAC to ask about what their warranties cover.

I then got back onto the dealer and although the manager said he knew it was an import, he said the salesman hadn't. I really have no idea what to think, but I know that car salesmen are about as genuine as estate agents, so I am going with the assumption that they did know and did hope we wouldn't notice.

Anyway the dealer said he would either take the car back and give us our Mercedes back or he would give us a 2yr RAC warranty. I did consider just starting all over again, but quite honestly I don't real feel up to all the hassle of doing all that. I think we paid a fair price for the car, even as an import and I am just going to have to cross my fingers and toes and hope that it's going to be okay.

 

[andy_k]

I just hope that when it comes to selling it any potential buyer is as understanding as you are.

Any price you paid shoud take into account the fact that it will be worse less than a UK spec one

Andy

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Well VW tell me it takes about £500 off the value as we had looked at an import at Citygate Watford last week. I think if they had offered us a good price for the Mercedes we would have bought it, but they only offered us between £12,000 and £13,000, which meant we were losing up to £6,000 in 8 months which is just stupid.

We tried to sell the car back to Mercedes but they didn't want to know as they said they had 22,000 used cars in stock in the UK already, but if we wanted to trade it in, well that wouldn't be a problem. There is nothing smaller than the C Class that I would contemplate buying, the A Class is beyond ugly and the new B Class isn't much better.

Not one main dealer offered us anything near what the traders offered us, so we had no choice but to buy from a trader. Luckily we know someone that is a VW technician so if we have any problems we can have a word with him. I have also checked all the VW prices and I think the price we paid is a fair one. It was purely the warranty issue that was worrying me, although it is still covered under the 2yr warranty it came with.