Sat nav not working on used car due to missing sd card - what would you do?

stuey2407 · 20 Jan 2020 at 16:38

My mum just bought a used 2018 Seat Arona FR from her local Fiat dealer. The car is immaculate with low mileage.

One of the reasons for going for this model is that we knew it included the sat nav as standard along with a couple of other features on her want list.

My sister went with my mum to look and test drive the car. Everything seemed good. However after getting the car home my mum called me to say that the Sat Nav wasn't working and was showing a message, something about the Database not being available. My initial thoughts were that the sd card probably just needed ejecting and reinserting. Something I have had to do on my Fiesta before. I went up yesterday to see her and her new car yesterday and the sd card is missing.

The garage have said the car was never advertised with sat nav and it was likely that it was an optional extra on that car. I have spoken to the dealer that supplied the car to the first owner and they confirmed it was standard on the model and would have included the SD card on delivery. They have also quoted around £60 for a replacement activation card.

Is it unreasonable for me to think that equipment standard on the model should work and therefore the Fiat garage that sold the car to my mum should but paying for the replacement sd card? I know it is only £60 but it really annoys me. Had I gone to look at the car I would have pressed and poked very button in car.

Temujin · 20 Jan 2020 at 16:47

I guess ask Seat to put in writing that it was indeed a standard option on that specific model car from new, go to Fiat with said written evidence and ask them to front the cost for replacement given what the evidence proves. If they really don't want to pay, and it was indeed not advertised as including sat nav then I'm not sure you'll be able to press too hard for them to pay up!

TheVoice · 20 Jan 2020 at 16:56

£60 for a new SD card is a decent price to be fair, although I wouldn't bother as you can use Google Maps, Waze etc via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay for free. The only thing they might not do quite as well is integrate into the other car systems (e.g. lane guidance on the driver info display) the way the SEAT navigation does.

If it's any consolation, the SD cards are locked to the car they're first used with so whoever decided to take/keep it isn't going to have much use for it.

Rilot · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:01

I would absolutely expect any standard fit equipment to work. You wouldn't accept the DAB antenna being missing for example.

stuey2407 · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:08

I think mum is to going to go back to the Fiat garage with the verbal confirmation from Seat that it was included on that car. I honesty don't think they will cough up though even with written confirmation. My mum doesn't have a smart phone and keeps telling me how she never wants one. Probably a good thing tbh otherwise I will get bombarded with questions 24/7.

I think the best thing is to pay the £60 to get the integrated system up and working for her and chalk it up to experience.

tom_e · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:10

It's effectively broken and has never worked, it's their problem to fix don't let them fob you off.

ttaskmaster · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:13

stuey2407 said:
Is it unreasonable for me to think that equipment standard on the model should work and therefore the Fiat garage that sold the car to my mum should but paying for the replacement sd card?

The car is second-hand.
Unless that specific local dealer advertised it as having everything present and working, then caveat emptor, really... Its presence/absence is purely down to the Previous Owner. If the local dealer doesn't get it when they accept the car, why would they be responsible for supplying a new one? Only if they advertised it as working would you be able to hold them responsible, I'd say.
Do check with Trading Standards, though, just in case.

Guy at work just got a 2018 C300 Merc, which is also missing its SD for the SatNav. His is costing £100.
Either talk to the PO and see if they have it lying around somewhere, or the other dealer you mentioned and get a replacement card.

tom_e · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:15

ttaskmaster said:
The car is second-hand.
Unless that specific local dealer advertised it as having everything present and working, then caveat emptor, really... Its presence/absence is purely down to the Previous Owner. If the local dealer doesn't get it when they accept the car, why would they be responsible for supplying a new one? Only if they advertised it as working would you be able to hold them responsible, I'd say.
Do check with Trading Standards, though, just in case.

Guy at work just got a 2018 C300 Merc, which is also missing its SD for the SatNav. His is costing £100.
Either talk to the PO and see if they have it lying around somewhere, or the other dealer you mentioned and get a replacement card.

It's standard fit, unless advertised as not working then it should work. It's not a private sale so there's no buyer beware.

Howard · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:19

This would leave an extremely sour taste in my mouth after paying what was probably good money for a <2 year old car. I would definitely pursue this, and I would happy annoy them with phone calls and emails until they decided to sort it out.

I might think differently if it was a 10 year old car with 5 previous owners.

Demon · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:35

Whist the VAG group did do silly things (I'm thinking back to my parents audi A1 that had it fitted but required a £575 activation fee, so many people didn't pay it), clearly in this case it was fitted as standard (it wouldn't complain about the DB, it's just say it was activated) then I'd push them hard on it. I'd agree with many above in getting SEAT to confirm it's standard equipment and go from there.

To say that it wasn't advertised is disingenuous, it was fitted when it was test driven and for dealers there is no 'sold as seen' get out unless agreed and shown in the paperwork, so if it's fitted you of course have every right to expect it to work... I'd be amazed if you approach this politely but firmly that they'd be so silly to try to weasel out. If they still try to fob you off, either ask for their complaints procedure, or ask to see the principal / manager..

I've usually found salesmen are all the usual second hand cowboy types, but the managers/principals tend to be more business orientated and should try to sort this kind of thing, for £60 it would be silly to fight it!

Orionaut · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:50

What an odd setup. I would have thought, like with the older stand alone sat navs, it would have worked out of the factory and only needed an extra card for map updates. It is certainly grumble worthy, but OTOH, if you use the sat nav a lot, £60 for an up to date set of maps is perhaps not that bad a hit and I would probably have done it anyway.

tamzzy · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:55

Orionaut said:
if you use the sat nav a lot, £60 for an up to date set of maps is perhaps not that bad a hit and I would probably have done it anyway.

totally this

MadMan-JaMeS · 20 Jan 2020 at 17:56

Threaten to take the car back for a refund and buy another that has the sat nav working ? Surely they'll budge then ?

stuey2407 · 20 Jan 2020 at 18:43

I think the £60 was for the activation sd card. The seat dealer mentioned it would be another £120 if we wanted to update the maps

Anyway I told mum to call the Fiat garage and tell them that the supplying Seat dealer confirmed the sat nav was standard and was supplied with the card. He wanted to talk to his parts dept then called her back an hour later to say they have ordered the card and will cover the cost. Should be in Wednesday and have asked if she could pop in they will fit it and make sure it is all working. Right result in the end. I was starting to look forward to the fight . Most important thing is that mum is happy.

thanks for everyone’s replies and thoughts

Howard · 20 Jan 2020 at 18:47

Happy days.

Kenai · 20 Jan 2020 at 18:57

stuey2407 said:
I think the £60 was for the activation sd card. The seat dealer mentioned it would be another £120 if we wanted to update the maps

Once you have a card that works, maps are free updates 6 monthly that you can download and install yourself.

Assuming Seat haven't done anything weird, you should be able to get them from the VW site which typically has updates earlier than the sister brands.

Mcnumpty2323 · 20 Jan 2020 at 19:11

Hard to believe the garage wouldn't have had it advertised on their website mentioning Sat nav as a selling point
And yeah some of them take the ####
With map updates
My experience
Vauxhall £120
Nissan £200
Hyundai £0
Hyundai it was just bring the car in and we will do it for free

Matmulder · 20 Jan 2020 at 19:16

I don't understand dealers - £60 is absolutely nothing. If she was expecting £600 worth it's a different story, but them finding £60 (probably less in real costs to them) meaning the difference between a happy customer who'll probably come back again and an unhappy one who wouldn't return and/or leave a bad review?

Bonkers.

Gaygle · 20 Jan 2020 at 19:31

Rilot said:
I would absolutely expect any standard fit equipment to work. You wouldn't accept the DAB antenna being missing for example.

"Madam, the advert did indeed say the car had alloys, but we never said it had tyres"

ttaskmaster · 20 Jan 2020 at 19:40

tom_e said:
It's standard fit, unless advertised as not working then it should work. It's not a private sale so there's no buyer beware.

Technically the SatNav itself does work. It just doesn't come with the data card...