Warranty Service Debate

Would £2k be enough to replace an engine or gearbox?

Two grand should just about get you a gearstick from Danbury, I personally don't think those warranties are worth the paper they are written on, much better to find yourself a good VW mechanic and purchase your parts from VW heritage or JK and save yourself a shed load of hassle.

As an impending new owner, I find the warranty issue attached to these vehicles pretty onerous. Serviced every 6 months by Danbury to maintain warranty is just outrageous. Thankfully I only live 20 miles away but I still think it will cause a problem when the appropriate service times come. For those that live further, it must be a nightmare.

I must admit, I had thought that such monopolistic practises weren't allowed. Vague recollections of similar issues with main dealers requiring their franchise vehicles serviced at their garages and this being shown to be illegal and so now you can get your car serviced anywhere and still maintain your warranty.

I'm not sure whether this could ever be tested in court but until I'm an owner and have a copy of the T&Cs I can't really comment. Just express my concerns.

TimV wrote:

So £450 for 5 years cover? Versus however much it costs to run over to Yate, time off work, their labour charges .... with a max claim of £2000? I'd go for it.

The Warranty is £375 for an initial 3 years then extended (free) annually for an additional 2 years. Covers all mechanical & electrical parts with a max claim of £2000. You need to maintain the prescribed service schedule.

Its backed off to MB&G Dealer Care...

Hey all,

Interesting discussion... but am I missing something?

According to the Brazibay service manual, services are every 6 months, or 10k, whatever sooner.

The first one requires only an oil change.
The second just 'preventative maintenance'.
The third an oil change again, plus change or air filter and new transmission oil.
etc.

I mean, you can do this yourself for less than £100 on a Sunday afternoon. A good garage will probably also not charge much more than that for each service.

So £375 for a 5-year warranty does sound steep and unnecessary. Especially as I'm assuming you'd have to pay Danbury for every 6 month service, so it's not void, right?

Background info: I've had my van from almost new and it now has 13.000 km. I've only done an oil/filter change so far. I do check everything very carefully every month, though, eg. rust spots, linkages, lubrication, electrics, etc.

max wrote:

Hey all,

Interesting discussion... but am I missing something?

According to the Brazibay service manual, services are every 6 months, or 10k, whatever sooner.

The first one requires only an oil change.
The second just 'preventative maintenance'.
The third an oil change again, plus change or air filter and new transmission oil.
etc.

I mean, you can do this yourself for less than £100 on a Sunday afternoon. A good garage will probably also not charge much more than that for each service.

So £375 for a 5-year warranty does sound steep and unnecessary. Especially as I'm assuming you'd have to pay Danbury for every 6 month service, so it's not void, right?

Background info: I've had my van from almost new and it now has 13.000 km. I've only done an oil/filter change so far. I do check everything very carefully every month, though, eg. rust spots, linkages, lubrication, electrics, etc.

The point being having paid the £375, you can now take your van to any 'vat registered' garage, and as long as they carry out the maintenance you prescribe, then your warranty is intact.

lostlogik wrote:

As an impending new owner, I find the warranty issue attached to these vehicles pretty onerous. Serviced every 6 months by Danbury to maintain warranty is just outrageous. Thankfully I only live 20 miles away but I still think it will cause a problem when the appropriate service times come. For those that live further, it must be a nightmare.

I must admit, I had thought that such monopolistic practises weren't allowed. Vague recollections of similar issues with main dealers requiring their franchise vehicles serviced at their garages and this being shown to be illegal and so now you can get your car serviced anywhere and still maintain your warranty.

I'm not sure whether this could ever be tested in court but until I'm an owner and have a copy of the T&Cs I can't really comment. Just express my concerns.

I agree. This practice must be illegal.

This is what we need. Shame it's only in 'Beta' in the States...
http://angel.co/yourmechanic

stephenjedward wrote:

max wrote:

Hey all,

Interesting discussion... but am I missing something?

According to the Brazibay service manual, services are every 6 months, or 10k, whatever sooner.

The first one requires only an oil change.
The second just 'preventative maintenance'.
The third an oil change again, plus change or air filter and new transmission oil.
etc.

I mean, you can do this yourself for less than £100 on a Sunday afternoon. A good garage will probably also not charge much more than that for each service.

So £375 for a 5-year warranty does sound steep and unnecessary. Especially as I'm assuming you'd have to pay Danbury for every 6 month service, so it's not void, right?

Background info: I've had my van from almost new and it now has 13.000 km. I've only done an oil/filter change so far. I do check everything very carefully every month, though, eg. rust spots, linkages, lubrication, electrics, etc.

The point being having paid the £375, you can now take your van to any 'vat registered' garage, and as long as they carry out the maintenance you prescribe, then your warranty is intact.

The warranty I got off Danbury wasn't worth the paper it was written on! The gearbox needed re-building twice in the first year, each time I contacted the warranty company they told me to take it to a garage. then they had to liase with the mechanic and not myself. I did exactly as they told me, the mechanic took out the gearbox to inspect and determine the damage. Both times they refused to pay out as the correct forms and permissions hadn't been done in the correct order before the gearbox was removed, even though they hadnt actually done any work. I could have no control over this as I was not allowed to liase with them myself once it was at the garage.
Danbury basically said they could not help in any way because I wasn't having the work done there, even though I live hundreds of miles away! They would happily sell me a full new gearbox at full price. It gets better....
The gearbox "imploded" again!! Obviously I have no idea if this was just bad luck,bad repairs or I had been unlucky enough to get the worst gearbox ever to leave Brazil. After numerous attempts to contact the warranty company again without success I rang Danbury who informed me that they'd gone bust!! They did say they could sell me a gearbox at full price though.

This is why I now have Subaru power.

From my experience the warranty company will make it as hard as possible for you to claim ( this may have been due to the fact that they were going bust and had no money to pay out). And if you take the warranty, and again this is my own personal experience, and things go wrong, Danbury wont treat you as somebody who recently paid them thousands of pounds. And also worth noting, if your chosen garage, who very likely has not worked on a Brazil bay before rings Danbury for any advice, tips or specs they are less than helpful.
But they could sell full price parts.

How long ago did all this take place Flowervanman?

I've had a look at the OFT website and found some interesting stuff. Most notably that

"following action by the OFT in 2004, all major makes of new car in the UK are sold without servicing ties as part of their warranties. This means that the manufacturer’s warranty and any extension offered free, such as the dealer based extended warranty are covered by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) OFT Approved code of practice (see www.smmt.co.uk). The code from the SMMT, who represent all sectors of the automotive industry in the UK, says that you are free to get your car serviced anywhere in the UK and still benefit from the manufacturer’s new car warranty, as long as the service is carried out to the car manufacturer’s recommendations, even if this service is carried out by an independent service or repair outlet."

However, "any additional warranty which you have bought, may contain restrictions on where your car can be serviced and for bought warranties this restriction has to be obeyed (as well as any others) for the warranty to be valid."

It then goes on to give examples of restrictive conditions, such as "This warranty is dependent upon the manufacturer’s recommended servicing being carried out by an authorised (make of car) dealership at the time or distance intervals specified"

You need to keep in mind that our Kombi is not recognised by Volkswagen (Europe) as being a current - or even recent - model. All European VW dealers have been instructed to treat the Kombi as a grey import. Therefore you cannot expect any back-up from Volkswagen. Danbury bring in the New T2s under licence and it is they who have a deal with Volkswagen Of Brazil. Only they can claim on the Volkswagen Of Brazil warranty.

Danbury offer a 3 year warranty to bring their product in line with other current models offered to the UK market. Unlike a major manufacturer they have stipulations to their warranty, which should you choose to follow , will give you 3 years' cover.

TimV wrote:

You need to keep in mind that our Kombi is not recognised by Volkswagen (Europe) as being a current....

This I think is the crux of it. After my review of the OFT stuff it would seem that the salient point is the SMMT is in respect of major manufacturers and new vehicles sold within Europe. Danbury are importing from Brazil and modifying.

I still think as a customer I should be free to choose who services my vehicle, assuming VW parts used but have concluded there isn't a lot I can do about it if I want the Danbury warranty to be intact.

Given the situation, one possibility is to "self insure". But there you have to weigh up the £500 odd pa savings in service cost, plus travel etc, against cost of fixing things that might go wrong. I only really self insure warranty-wise on white goods and things that I'd be happy to bin after a year. For bigger ticket items I prefer the safety of the big pool, and I'd certainly consider a new VW camper a bigger ticket item

Another possible option is to seek refuge under the SOGA, if things went pear shaped in the first year but that's another story.

Bottom line ... regardless of who maintains your New T2 ... just keep it well maintained and it will serve you well.

It all happened between 03 and 05, I've nearly calmed down now. I did everything as I should, correct service intervals, vat registered garage. The garage rang danbury numerous times to ask numerous simple questions ie part numbers or which year are certain parts the same as. At best the reply was evasive and unhelpful. Very happy to sell the vehicle but not happy when you get it serviced somewhere else! I could understand this attitude if I was local to them but I am 300 miles away and they sold me the warranty then instantly accept no responsibility. They will happily sell you a gearbox when the warranty they sold you won't pay though.

I think you'd notice a change in approach now. We've certainly seen an improvement in their customer service since we've been around. In today's climate it's suicide to be anything otherwise.

Flowervanman wrote:

It all happened between 03 and 05,

I seem to recall the OFT first published their report on restrictive service contracts in '04. Whilst no comfort to you, it is reassuring that your troubles happened so long ago. As Tim says, in today's climate such attitudes would be corporate suicide.