Motor customer care - what would you do?

Question

i took my car in to my local dealership. My car is 6 weeks old and has 600 miles on it.

I took it in for a knocking noise over bumps and they came and collected for me and dropped off again which i thought was brilliant, Its a 6 mile trip there and back, but due to being pregnant and over due i thought it was a great convenience.

When i got my car back they couldnt diagnose a fault, told me theyd taken it on a test drive and all seemed ok. I assumed they would have gone on a normal test drive and tried a bumpy road, how wrong was i!

The clock told me they had done 47 miles in the car and left the car in the fuel reserve, after id left it with over 1/4 of a tank of fuel. Turns out they had taken it down a motor way and back for an hour and told me that that was to be expected from a test drive.

I now have 47 miles on my car which id only do in 4 days worth of driving if that and no fuel to get me to a petrol station!!

Is this fair or am i over reacting??

Answer 1

No, 47 miles for a test drive is taking the mickey, it's probably been used as the run around. Write to the dealership manager and express your disappointment with the standard of service you've received.

Answer 2

In the bigger scheme of things, 47 miles is very little - and unless you own a lorry, it will have only used a gallon or a gallon & a half at the outside.

You asked them to find a fault, which they failed to do. You don't say the fault still exists, so I assume it's gone. If they couldn't find the problem with a five or ten mile test drive, they will have taken it further - probably given it to a mechanic to take home & bring back. It's called being thorough.

If you want the £9 back for the fuel, can they charge you £75 for an hours labour?

Answer 3

Probably.  They could have reimbursed you for the gasoline, although it's 2 gallons of gas (<$10) and they probably spent over an hour of mechanics time which is probaby worth about $90.  Noise problems can be the most difficult to find, sometimes its best to get the mechanic to go with you and you to show him/her what's wrong, but in your case that was not possible.  

Answer 4

No. the dealers are not in the business of fixing cars just selling them. If you know a reliable small garage ask them to check for the knock and give you a report then take this to the dealer and tell them to fix the problem. If they do not then report them to trading standards.

Answer 5

this is not fair a normal road test would be a couple of miles

maybe a bit more if it had a distance related problem

why would they test for a knocking noise on the the least bumpy roads known (motorway)

i would have found a local bumpy road and driven it up and down a few times  thats all that would be needed,

kick up a fuss and mention fair trading that always frightens them you should get some money back.