How to repair a faulty car under warranty or return it to the salon

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

About what difficulties may arise and what to do if the dealer refuses to fulfill his obligations.

The first month of operation of a brand new car is in progress, you are still delighted, but for no reason at all you begin to notice that it behaves somehow strange: it will not start the first time, then the engine makes some unusual sounds, then the revolutions float at all. At first, you close your eyes and try to convince yourself that there is no problem, but these unpleasant symptoms do not go away and annoy you more and more. And all this despite the fact that the car is under warranty and is serviced according to the manufacturer's regulations.

Finally, you decide to take the car for diagnostics and find out that the malfunction is definitely present and is of a production nature, which means that it must be eliminated by an authorized dealer. Or even worse - that the malfunction is serious and the operation of the car is unsafe.

The only correct solution in this case will be to immediately contact an authorized dealer with a request to eliminate the defect in the order of car warranty service.

However, this can be a big problem if the malfunction is really serious and its elimination is expensive. Practice shows that in most cases, official dealers refuse to accept cars with serious defects under warranty, citing the owner's improper operation of the car, and, accordingly, the lack of warranty coverage.

We will tell you how to be in such a situation and what to do to convince the dealer to fulfill his obligations and to repair the defective car or return the money paid for the car.

How to proceed to have your vehicle repaired under warranty

Deliver the car only by a tow truck

The first and, perhaps, the most important point is the delivery of the car to an authorized dealer. It would seem, why is it so important and what are the difficulties? All in the same wording about "misuse of the car" that the dealer can use against you.

In the presence of certain malfunctions, operation is prohibited by the manufacturer, so as not to aggravate the situation and not lead to even more serious disturbances in the operation of the car. It turns out that it is categorically impossible to deliver a defective car to the service on your own: this will become another reason for the dealer to refuse you repair.

What should be done? Of course, call a tow truck and use it to deliver the car straight to the salon. And all receipts and receipts for the evacuation payment must be kept and presented to the dealer as expenses necessary for the delivery of the car. The dealer will be obliged to reimburse them.

Apply only in writing

Next, you should write and submit to the dealer a written application with the requirement to diagnose and correct the existing defect or return the money paid for the car if it is impossible to eliminate the malfunction.

The application is prepared in free form in two copies - one for you, the other for the dealer. Make sure your copy bears an acceptance mark with the official seal of the company. Remember that the dealer conducts any diagnostics of the car at his own expense, so in no case do not get fooled by the tricks of the car dealership.

Contact an independent expert

If more than a week has passed since the moment the car was handed over for diagnostics, and no clear answer has yet been received from the dealer, it is worth involving an independent expert in the case. Having enlisted his support, you will receive an official opinion on the nature of the malfunction and the cost of its elimination, which will be another proof of your rightness both in negotiations with the dealer and in court, if it comes to that.

Keep track of deadlines

If the dealer recognizes the malfunction as a warranty case and accepts the car for repair, carefully monitor its duration and make sure that the dealer does not violate the statutory deadlines.

The Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" established the Law of the Russian Federation of 07.02.1992 N 2300-1 (as amended on 18.03.2019) "On Protection of Consumer Rights" a period of 45 days, during which the dealer is obliged to eliminate the defects in the car.

When you have the right to claim a refund for a faulty car

If 45 days have passed, and the car has not been returned to you, you have the right to demand a full refund for the defective car.

To do this, you must once again submit an application to the dealer demanding the return of funds paid for the car under the sales contract. And if the car dealership responds with a refusal to your demand, you will have iron grounds for going to court and collecting this money in court.

Another reason for a full refund is the total presence of the car in the service for 30 days during a calendar year. So, if the car breaks down constantly and the dealer repairs it under warranty, but because of this, you could not use the car for a total of 30 days during the year, demand a refund.

What to do if the dealer refuses to fulfill his obligations

Ask for an independent examination

If the official dealer refused your request to eliminate the defects of the car and claims that the malfunction has not been identified or is not covered by the warranty, immediately submit a free-form application demanding an independent examination to identify the defect. According to the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", the dealer is obliged to carry out the Law of the Russian Federation of 07.02.1992 N 2300-1 (as amended on 18.03.2019) "On Protection of Consumer Rights".

Until this issue is resolved, do not take the car from the service, otherwise the dealer can take advantage of this and indicate that you agreed with the absence of a malfunction and took the car yourself. In the process of carrying out the examination and signing of all documents, take an active part and be careful. If the dealer requires you to sign any act of acceptance of the car or the absence of a malfunction, do not be afraid and everywhere make a note that you do not agree with the position of the dealer and consider the malfunction to be significant.

Make a pre-trial claim

If an independent examination has been carried out, but the dealer still does not want to budge, the time comes to appeal to him with a pre-trial claim. It is she who will serve as proof of your good intentions and desire to resolve this issue peacefully, without bringing it to court.

In the claim, it is necessary to state the circumstances of the dispute and require the dealer to fix the malfunction at his own expense or to reimburse the cost of the repair in monetary terms. We recommend attaching an independent expert opinion to the claim, which will indicate that the malfunction is significant and it will take a certain amount of money to fix it.

Go to court

And finally, the last stage is the judicial one. If the dealer did not respond to your complaint within two weeks from the date of receipt or refused, feel free to go to court in order to get a refund for the car or recover the cost of repairing a malfunction that the dealer is ignoring.

By law, you have the right to go to court in your place of residence. As a rule, in such disputes, the courts side with the consumer. The only question is to correctly prove the presence of a malfunction and violation of your rights by the dealer. The conclusion of an independent expert and a little ingenuity will help to do this.

A bonus in the satisfaction of your claim by the court will be the recovery from the dealer of an additional forfeit and a fine for refusing to voluntarily comply with your legal requirements. These legal sanctions can equal the value of the car itself, that is, double the amount of the penalty.

What I would like to say in the end: try to peacefully resolve the dispute that has arisen and do not conflict with the dealer for no reason - in most cases the company makes contact and contributes to the prompt resolution of the dispute in your favor. But if you see that your rights are being violated, do not be afraid to go to court and defend them by force.