Where do I stand? Dealer warranty

[Bryan]

I bought a Ford Kuga for £7k two weeks ago from a dealer in England. It was advertised as having 3 months warranty. The car has been great and we were very happy with it but about a week ago now it started to vibrate badly shaking the whole car. I initially thought an engine mount had failed but it was smooth when driven so it must be the dual mass flywheel.

I contacted the dealer and they have told me that clutches and flywheels are not covered under warranty and they will make a "small gesture of goodwill" towards the repair. I don't think this is very fair. The car has covered less than 500 miles since we bought it (220 of those was the drive home). The dual mass flywheel is going to cost around £300 in parts alone if I do it myself but I don't think the "small gesture of goodwill" will even cover that.

I understand clutches not being covered but surely the dual mass flywheel is part of the engine? He also said the warranty company will no honour a claim unless the part has failed. The car is still driving but it is not a nice experience and in my mind the flywheel has failed because it's no longer doing what it is supposed to do.

 

[Deckz]

I’d imagine the DMF is a wear and tear item (like your clutch, brakes etc)

In my opinion I think the dealer is being fair offering a small gesture, most places would prob tell you to jog on.

 

[Mark_C]

Dmf strikes again! The flywheel is part of the full clutch kit so you're unlikely to get by with that unfortunately. Just be glad you have caught it now if that's what it is, before it flies apart at speed and shatters the gearbox casing.

 

[Deckz]

*edit. Get an estimate from a Ford dealer for the replacement (say £600) if you can haggle £300 out of the dealer and replace yourself you’ll not be out that much.

 

[Bryan]

Is 87,000 miles the life of a DMF?

 

[Deckz]

Different car but mine went at 95k on a Saab. Drove it to 130k then replaced it lol.

Prob all depends how it was treated before you got it.

 

[G N K]

Just a bit of bad luck, cars really are a pain the arse at times.

Sounds like the dealer is being honest and decent about helping towards the repair.

 

[Bryan]

£265 is the cheapest I've found so far...
CLUTCH KIT AND LUK DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL AND CSC FOR FORD KUGA II(DM2) 2.0 TDCI | eBay

 

[Coog]

I had a DMF replaced under warranty with Charles Hurst. Car had about 50k on it.

 

[Bryan]

If the dealer will fund the parts I'd be happy enough to leave it at that. I'll do the job myself and be done with it. At least then I'll know it has a good clutch too. I've asked them to clarify what value "a small gesture of goodwill" actually is.

 

[KevM]

Are you sure it’s DMF? They normally just rasp a bit at idle going away when the clutch is depressed fully?

It shouldn’t really shake the car....?

PS seen the Jurassic mobile parked up at the Outlet on Friday eve!

 

[Bryan]

Are you sure it’s DMF? They normally just rasp a bit at idle going away when the clutch is depressed fully?

It shouldn’t really shake the car....?

PS seen the Jurassic mobile parked up at the Outlet on Friday eve!

Pretty sure. When you change into higher than 4th gear there is an audible delay before the "clunk" of the DMF engaging properly.

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

I've never heard a DMF "clunk"

Rattle on idle usually

 

[Bryan]

It rattles on idle as well and sends vibrations throughout the car.

 

[Mark_C]

That's incredibly cheap! I had to drop over 600 for an old Volvo s60 clutch and dmf kit.

 

[Deckz]

That's incredibly cheap! I had to drop over 600 for an old Volvo s60 clutch and dmf kit.

Thinking that myself. Give something similar to yourself for a Saab 1.9 TiD

 

[Bryan]

I guess it's supply and demand. There's an awful lot of Kugas out there and if they fail at around 80k miles there'll be a constant stream of them needed.

 

[Ben]

DMF failed in my old Polo at 80k miles.

Less than £300 is very good for the replacement DMF.

 

[suckindiesel]

Since you are able to do the work yourself Bryan I think you may be surprised how much you can get their gesture of goodwill to! They are probably thinking you are going to hit them with an £800 quotation. I would get a price for the job, then ask them to pay half and go from their, you may find it costs you very little.

If it was a car I sold I would certainly be looking at paying half and taking it on the chin, most reasonable people expect that, and understand that it is a common fault and they will have a better car at the end of it. A lot of people don't grasp this though....

 

[stevieturbo]

What do the terms and conditions of the warranty state ?

And what does trading standards state ?

DMF's and all such modern nonsense suck ! How anyone ever invented such an unreliable piece of **** that they all use is beyond me....made worse by them continuing to use them !

 

[pobmk4]

I'd say you'll have some craic getting them to pay the entire job, but bear in mind their labour costs are wayyyy above ours. I've replaced dmf's at 40k never mind 80k.... In the grand scheme of things nowadays....if you get 100k out of your original your doing well....but I can only talk from the VAG side of things.

 

[300trophy]

I work for Charles Hurst (formerly in service) and the flywheel would have been classed as a mechanical component and therefore covered under the used car warranty we supply. Check out who the warranty is with and terms etc as mentioned.

Due to distance selling laws etc now I would imagine you could reject the car based on this experience. It’s becoming more and more common cars coming from and going to the mainland and I’d heard of much more trivial problems which led to a car which was sold to the mainland ending back on our forecourt.

 

[Wild Thing]

I can see you having intial problems, I can imagine it is a 3rd party warranty company and even that boyo that was on the tv driving shows, their warranties are as slippy as soap. They will want to see the failed parts, and never state worn always total failure with no warning. They will insist that you nominate a vat registered garage to do the works. If you can hook the price of the clutch and flywheel kit of the dealer and you are happy doing the work, that will be your best option.

 

[Ge0rge]

@Bryan 7k for a Ka could you not buy something a lot nicer at that kinda money!! a nice mini etc but sounds like a headache !

 

[Ge0rge]

are you certain it wasnt like that when you got it but just didnt notice? id be looking a full refund or sorted for free at 7k