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[BazaJT]

A short while ago my step daughter decided she'd had enough of driving cheap'n'cheerful and would get a newer-and to her thinking more reliable car.So she got herself a 12plate Meriva on finance[with some kind of warranty.Everything went well for about a monthand then the car took to beeping at her all the time when driving it.She took it back to the trader she'd bought it from who did[or had done-so they told her]a diagnostic test on it that showed a sensor had gone wonky and was registering that a door/the rear hatch[they didn't specify]was open/not properly shut.They then said she'd have to take it to a garage[again unspecified]to be fixed under her warranty.Her worry is that if she does this then this garage will want to do their own diagnostic on it which she'd have to pay for out of her own pocket.I've never had a car with a warranty so don't know the rules of the game for sorting this out.Anyone any ideas as to what advice I can give her to move this forward and get it fixed?

[Doctor Gollum]

Assuming that said deal wasn't VX and her car isn't a Network Q car, then her warranty is about as much use as a wet bog roll.

Best bet, would be either Webby or Serek...

Could simply be that a door isn't quite closed properly. Quite easy not to shut a tailgate properly if not slammed

[BazaJT]

I doubt it being Vx or Network Q[could be wrong though]otherwise I'd have thought they'd have fixed it rather than telling her to take it elsewhere? The thought had occurred to me that a door hadn't been shut quite properly.The rear hatch could be a strong favourite for this as I know the Ka + hatch needs a good slam to stop such a warning happening even though the hatch looks and feels firmly shut.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I suspect that she has bought the car from a small trader who has provided a 3rd party warranty as part of the deal.

The first step is to phone the warranty company to see what their procedures are.  She'll either have to pay for the repair and then claim the money back from the warranty company or they might pay the garage direct.

Whatever, don't use a dodgy back street garage and make sure that the garage is VAT registered. Most warranty companies insist on that I believe. 

They might even direct her to a local garage that handles their business. 

[TheBoy]

I saw the title and immediately thought it was about a 1990s Unix-like cube computer....  ...that grew into OSX


I need to get out more

[Andy B]

Take the car back to the garage she bought it from if she's only just bought it. At least give them the chance to fix it themselves without involving 3rd party warranty companies.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Take the car back to the garage she bought it from if she's only just bought it. At least give them the chance to fix it themselves without involving 3rd party warranty companies.

Seems she's already done that and been told to use the warranty. 

This doesn't seem complicated. Just phone the warranty company and take it from there. 

[BazaJT]

Thanks for the advice guys.As it turns out this is now the least of her problems as I've just got home after towing her car to her home after she broke down on her way back from work.Preliminary and very basic roadside checks indicate that the head gasket has blown,seems as though she's bought herself a real quality vehicle

[Nick W]

Thanks for the advice guys.As it turns out this is now the least of her problems as I've just got home after towing her car to her home after she broke down on her way back from work.Preliminary and very basic roadside checks indicate that the head gasket has blown,seems as though she's bought herself a real quality vehicle

The smaller 4 pot VX engines suffer from oil cooler failure just like V6s do. And the symptoms are the same: lots of oil in the cooling system. Just like a V6, you need to follow correct diagnosis before assuming it's the head gasket. It's a simpler and cheaper job on an I4

[BazaJT]

From what she told me the car suffered a quite rapid overheat so she pulled over and stopped.Initially I got her to a safer place and after letting the car cool down filled the [now empty] cooling system.Running the car produced huge clouds of white smoke from exhaust pipe and a rapidly emptying header tank.Evidence of mayo on underside of oil filler cap but not dipstick and no sign of oil in header tank.Anyway got her back home last night and later today will get her to a garage then  we'll find out how good her warranty really is.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I'd phone the warranty company before taking it to a garage, as they might have an approved garage that they want her to take it to. 

Also keep a record of everything from now on as depending on how long ago she bought the car, she might be able to demand a refund from the trader. 

[BazaJT]

Warranty company said she could take it to any garage so as it was nearest to her flat I towed it to the local Vx dealers,she showed them warranty documents and they said they're happy to deal with that company and they'll get onto it on Monday.

[dave the builder]

Any provision for a loan car from the warranty company,repairing garage or dealer who sold it ? it won't be a 1 day fix 

[BazaJT]

Nope no loan car arrangement in place so she'll be borrowing my V70 until something is sorted out with her car.

[dave the builder]

guess you'll have to use your  Omega then