Warranty not covering claim - query?
Discussion
After some advice to see if there is anything I can do:
Summary: Wife’s car has suffered an engine failure. Warranty company has refused to cover the repair as the car was not serviced in line with warranty company requirements.
Bought the car in 2021 from an online company that offers a monthly maintenance fee which covers warranty and annual service.
In 2023 we were late to service the car by 5 months (and 4k miles). Normally they emailed to remind a service is required but nothing got sent to us until this later date - the email just said a reminder your service is likely due. So we booked it in. No issues found. This year we had the car serviced well within the timeline required, again no faults found. A month and a half later the engine problem arose and diagnosed as a failure. It is cylinder 1 no compression due to scoring.
I’m fairly sure we have no hope of the warranty company agreeing to cover this as they will keep referring to the car exceeding the service schedule on that one occasion. They have admitted on the phone that comms haven’t always been great (they changed system and a new warranty company has taken customers on) but am sure they will still say it was on us to stick to the schedule.
Just seeing if anyone has any advice or has been through anything like this before.
As it stands likely we will sell the car as a non-runner rather than pay for the new engine, which is a real shame.
Summary: Wife’s car has suffered an engine failure. Warranty company has refused to cover the repair as the car was not serviced in line with warranty company requirements.
Bought the car in 2021 from an online company that offers a monthly maintenance fee which covers warranty and annual service.
In 2023 we were late to service the car by 5 months (and 4k miles). Normally they emailed to remind a service is required but nothing got sent to us until this later date - the email just said a reminder your service is likely due. So we booked it in. No issues found. This year we had the car serviced well within the timeline required, again no faults found. A month and a half later the engine problem arose and diagnosed as a failure. It is cylinder 1 no compression due to scoring.
I’m fairly sure we have no hope of the warranty company agreeing to cover this as they will keep referring to the car exceeding the service schedule on that one occasion. They have admitted on the phone that comms haven’t always been great (they changed system and a new warranty company has taken customers on) but am sure they will still say it was on us to stick to the schedule.
Just seeing if anyone has any advice or has been through anything like this before.
As it stands likely we will sell the car as a non-runner rather than pay for the new engine, which is a real shame.
Some questions that might help advise what to do next:
How much was the car when bought and what was the mileage?
How old is the car?
How was it paid for?
Is this a known/common fault?
Have you checked the Ts and Cs of the warranty?
How much would it be worth now without the knackered engine and how much is repair/replacement engine likely to cost?
How much was the car when bought and what was the mileage?
How old is the car?
How was it paid for?
Is this a known/common fault?
Have you checked the Ts and Cs of the warranty?
How much would it be worth now without the knackered engine and how much is repair/replacement engine likely to cost?
As I read it it's the warranty company that sent you the email reminders when a service was due?
And it's the same warranty company that failed to notify you when a service was due?
And now that warranty company is refusing to honour a warranty claim because the service schedule wasn't adhered to?
I'm not a lawyer and I can only offer the same opinion as a bloke in a pub, but:
I'd focus on their failure to notify you of the service date, considering that they did notify you before and after the missed service, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to expect them to notify you of the due date - especially as you're paying for the whole warranty/service package?
It might also be an idea to explore whether the engine failure can be attributed to the late service - I imagine the warranty will say that it was, but an independent expert opinion may throw some doubt on that being 100% the case.
And it's the same warranty company that failed to notify you when a service was due?
And now that warranty company is refusing to honour a warranty claim because the service schedule wasn't adhered to?
I'm not a lawyer and I can only offer the same opinion as a bloke in a pub, but:
I'd focus on their failure to notify you of the service date, considering that they did notify you before and after the missed service, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to expect them to notify you of the due date - especially as you're paying for the whole warranty/service package?
It might also be an idea to explore whether the engine failure can be attributed to the late service - I imagine the warranty will say that it was, but an independent expert opinion may throw some doubt on that being 100% the case.
E-bmw said:
Unfortunately, as you didn't follow the terms & conditions, I don't see any other outcome.
Just because they didn't send a reminder doesn't mean you shouldn't have been aware that a service was needed.
Yep exactly what I keep coming back to - just because we received them before doesn’t mean they are obliged to do it (can’t see anything in our terms).Just because they didn't send a reminder doesn't mean you shouldn't have been aware that a service was needed.
PV7998 said:
As I read it it's the warranty company that sent you the email reminders when a service was due?
And it's the same warranty company that failed to notify you when a service was due?
And now that warranty company is refusing to honour a warranty claim because the service schedule wasn't adhered to?
I'm not a lawyer and I can only offer the same opinion as a bloke in a pub, but:
I'd focus on their failure to notify you of the service date, considering that they did notify you before and after the missed service, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to expect them to notify you of the due date - especially as you're paying for the whole warranty/service package?
It might also be an idea to explore whether the engine failure can be attributed to the late service - I imagine the warranty will say that it was, but an independent expert opinion may throw some doubt on that being 100% the case.
We have sent them the proof of the emails so will see what they say. They have already admitted issues with sending documents as they changed companies half way through. But I guess as pointed out before they can say this is just them trying to be helpful rather than telling us we must service. And it's the same warranty company that failed to notify you when a service was due?
And now that warranty company is refusing to honour a warranty claim because the service schedule wasn't adhered to?
I'm not a lawyer and I can only offer the same opinion as a bloke in a pub, but:
I'd focus on their failure to notify you of the service date, considering that they did notify you before and after the missed service, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to expect them to notify you of the due date - especially as you're paying for the whole warranty/service package?
It might also be an idea to explore whether the engine failure can be attributed to the late service - I imagine the warranty will say that it was, but an independent expert opinion may throw some doubt on that being 100% the case.
Will wait to see what they reply to that.
The fact the car did another 10k miles and was serviced since with our issue probably makes it hard to say for sure a late service helped, but again can’t prove this
kestral said:
ollyh1988 said:
After some advice to see if there is anything I can do:
Summary: Wife’s car has suffered an engine failure.
diagnosed as a failure.
What is wrong with the car, Not what people SAY is wrong with it, what is not working as it should? and what are the symptoms?Summary: Wife’s car has suffered an engine failure.
diagnosed as a failure.
E-bmw said:
Unfortunately, as you didn't follow the terms & conditions, I don't see any other outcome.
Just because they didn't send a reminder doesn't mean you shouldn't have been aware that a service was needed.
This is indeed the likely outcome.Just because they didn't send a reminder doesn't mean you shouldn't have been aware that a service was needed.
But, there may be a goodwill gesture on offer?
It's unusual for a modern car not to flag up the service itself. Was this not correctly set at the last service? (Just clutching at straws to think of a possible line of attack).
Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Tuesday 27th August 19:37
Torquey said:
I'll bet a good chunk of virtual cash that the terms and conditions state it's the owners responsibility to keep servicing up to date.
There is no way they'll replace an engine based on they didn't send you an email on time.
I would bet another load of virtual cash it does not say " you will be notified when a service is due " How could they know how many miles the OP would do? There is no way they'll replace an engine based on they didn't send you an email on time.
Why I keep rolls of little service due stickers.
OP, it is your car and your resposibility to keep on top of servicing, especially if you are paying for a warranty which they will always look for a way out of.
Good luck, I hope you are not fighting a losing batlle, but seen warranties refuse for far less.
ollyh1988 said:
It is low compression on cylinder 1. Scoring in the actual cylinder.
But what alerted you to this?Is there anything wrong with the car when you drive it?
How is it known to be scoring on the cylinder wall?camera down barrel?
What percentage is the compression down by. There is an acceptable range.
You need to know all this before you start getting into arguments over what might be pointless warranty claims, based on a misdiagnosis.
kestral said:
But what alerted you to this?
Is there anything wrong with the car when you drive it?
How is it known to be scoring on the cylinder wall?camera down barrel?
What percentage is the compression down by. There is an acceptable range.
You need to know all this before you start getting into arguments over what might be pointless warranty claims, based on a misdiagnosis.
It has been to an engine specialist who has done all the tests and got photos of it. Is there anything wrong with the car when you drive it?
How is it known to be scoring on the cylinder wall?camera down barrel?
What percentage is the compression down by. There is an acceptable range.
You need to know all this before you start getting into arguments over what might be pointless warranty claims, based on a misdiagnosis.
Initial symptom was slow to crank.
The warranty company aren’t disputing that, it is just the service schedule being missed that they are apparently rejecting for.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
This is indeed the likely outcome.
But, there may be a goodwill gesture on offer?
It's unusual for a modern car not to flag up the service itself. Was this not correctly set at the last service? (Just clutching at straws to think of a possible line of attack).
It’s a modern car (Jaguar F Pace) and I believe the warranty company schedule is more frequent than Jaguar would do normally. But, there may be a goodwill gesture on offer?
It's unusual for a modern car not to flag up the service itself. Was this not correctly set at the last service? (Just clutching at straws to think of a possible line of attack).
Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Tuesday 27th August 19:37
ollyh1988 said:
It’s a modern car (Jaguar F Pace) and I believe the warranty company schedule is more frequent than Jaguar would do normally.
So you might explore whether the late service is outside of the Jaguar service schedule, the warranty company schedule or both - it'd be interesting if it was within the Jaguar schedule but outside the warranty company's.I'm aware that the late service appears to put the claim outside the T&C of the warranty - but are they suggesting that it's 100% the cause of the failure?
If you shift some of the responibility for the engine failure away from the late service might there be an opportinity for some compromise?
They might say no, but nothing ventured etc. Again ... this is bloke in a pub advice, that's all.
PV7998 said:
So you might explore whether the late service is outside of the Jaguar service schedule, the warranty company schedule or both - it'd be interesting if it was within the Jaguar schedule but outside the warranty company's.
I'm aware that the late service appears to put the claim outside the T&C of the warranty - but are they suggesting that it's 100% the cause of the failure?
If you shift some of the responibility for the engine failure away from the late service might there be an opportinity for some compromise?
They might say no, but nothing ventured etc. Again ... this is bloke in a pub advice, that's all.
They haven’t suggested it caused the failure just they are turning down the claim as we are outside the terms of our service agreement. I don’t think I’ll be able to challenge that, because we are. Also we had the car another year and a half, and another service, before this issue arose. But I don’t think they will care about that.I'm aware that the late service appears to put the claim outside the T&C of the warranty - but are they suggesting that it's 100% the cause of the failure?
If you shift some of the responibility for the engine failure away from the late service might there be an opportinity for some compromise?
They might say no, but nothing ventured etc. Again ... this is bloke in a pub advice, that's all.
I’ll wait to see what they say tomorrow, but already looking how much a non-runner car is worth…
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