Need help with getting warranty claim on car sorted!

Gibbo

Gibbo

Gibbo

OcUK Staff
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HI there

Well Mitsubishi repaired, my AYC and paid for it all, no issues there.

But I have an issue with the paint on the rear drivers side arch:-

paint1h.jpg


paint2r.jpg




Its worse now, the paint is literally just flaking off and from looking at it I'd say it looks like its been previously sprayed. Its literally peeling away in 4 different areas now in that area of the arch on the drivers side, resulting in bear metal on show and its looking quite a mess now.

The dealership has told me today they are unwilling to cover this under warranty as the paint has been previously repaired.


I told them this was not acceptable and quoted from the online PDF manual stating the car has a 7yr/100,000 corrosion warranty or free from paint defect. I've explained its clearly not stone chipping otherwise the passenger side arch would be the same. At this point the sales manager was humming and harring saying he'd call me in the morning after he'd spoke to sales.

I fail to see what sales have got to do with this to me it clearly looks like a paint defect or a previous repare job done badly, no doubt the car was marked when shipped over on the container and someone did a quick job at repainting the arch, albeit not very well.


Now some of you guys are very experienced or knowledgable in such areas but I firmly believe this should be covered under warranty. When I purchased the car I got 3k off it due to stone chips and light scratches on the paintwork, but the arch had zero paint peeling issues. Yet now the paint is literally peeling off, if I took a pressure washer to this arch that section of the whole arch would turn to bear metal and that should not happen.

Do I have a leg to stand on or am I wrong to think warranty should cover this?

If I am in the right and they still refuse what lines can I throw at them to make them seriously reconsider and do this for me?
 
Simon said:
Is it plastic?

Looks slightly diff colour? Has it been painted before?
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Yes Mitsubishi admitted it had been painted previously and was their reason for not honoring it. I told them thats not my problem, you did not inform me when I purchased the car and evident from this it was obviously not done properly. I then stated the car has a corrosion warranty for 7yr/100,000 miles and due to this corrosion was now clearly forming.

There response was well we did not know it had been previously repaired, as in HQ never informed them, to which I stated is not my problem and that paint should not do that, their response was we'd speak to sales and get back to you in the morning. Clueless as to why the need to speak to sales, but if they still come back saying no what do you guys suggest I tell them?

The guy I spoke to at the bodyshop said its common when cars are shipped over on the containers they get marked and dealers will just do a cheap job.

Worse case I repair this myself, will cost me £200-£300 at a guess, but right now I don't see why I should.

Its not plastic either, its metal, but the doors are a different material to the arch, maybe the doors are ALU and the arch is steel at a guess, but yes there is a colour mis-match, to the eye its hard to see but a camera really picks it up.
 
You bought this car from a Mitsubishi franchised dealer?

This is Mitsubishi's problem - do not back down. The fact it has been previously painted is a problem of Mitsubishi, not you.
 
I had this problem on the Leon. They were adamant it had been repainted at some stage and wanted nothing to do with it.
I gave up in the end.
 
they've got to speak to sales because they can't claim from mitsubishi for this.

It will have to come out of their own pockets as basically they're going to have to cough up because somebody bought in stock that had a shoddy repair.

As they say, mitsubishi won't honour it because it was previously repaired. this means it now falls to the dealer that sold a used car with a bodged repair. Presumably somebody agreed to buy that in as stock and its them thats going to get the blame.

Just keep pushing, you'll get there eventually.
 
Guys

I understand to keep pushing but I need to be saying the right things to them that will make them think, damn he aint gonna go away and if we don't sort this he is gonna go speaking to whoever, trading standards??? and cause us a nightmare.

So I just need to know what lines to be giving them that will have maximum weight with them. Problem is the more time they spend thinking about doing it the more un-protected my arch is from the elements which will cause corrosion. Obviously I've coated the entire arch in collonite and sealant to try and protect it though I've not told them that.

I just need to know what lines to give them to have maximum effect and hopefully in my favour. :)
 
[TW]Fox;18252442 said:
You bought this car from a Mitsubishi franchised dealer?

This is Mitsubishi's problem - do not back down. The fact it has been previously painted is a problem of Mitsubishi, not you.
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Yes Holdcroft Mitsubishi on Leek Road in Stoke-on-Trent, I am the 2nd owner and upon collection apart from stonechips and light scratching the arches were fine.

Yet now the drivers side arch the paint is literally falling off, if I rub it with a sponge more comes off, wheras there is no sign of this on the passenger side, not even when trying to scrap the paint off it won't budge. Its as if the paint on this arch is not bonded to the metal properly, hence job poorly done or defective paint. Either I don't see as my problem.
 
if they play hardball and refuse to co-operate your only choice is to try to take them through the small claims court on the basis its not fit for purpose.

Up to you if you want the hassle of pursuing them through the courts.

How many months ago did you purchase it by the way ?
 
Mine appeared after a snowy winter. I think gravel hitting the paint caused the (****ty respray) to flake. It wasn't base coated or cleaned properly, which is why it's coming off.
 
My friend is a car painter and works for a company who do loads of work on new Mitsubishi's that come in through the Bristol (Avonmouth/Portbury) docks.

They do get whacked about when loading and unloading sometimes. I expect cars like the Evo get absolutely ragged when the loaders are unloading them. Infact, I am quite sure of it! Therefore, little accidents do happen. This would be a stupid reason for the paint warranty to be invalid though. It is painted before even being delivered new.
 
MrLOL said:
if they play hardball and refuse to co-operate your only choice is to try to take them through the small claims court on the basis its not fit for purpose.

Up to you if you want the hassle of pursuing them through the courts.

How many months ago did you purchase it by the way ?
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Purchased it last March.

Under warranty its had all the alloys replaced for new, AYC pump replaced and am currently working on this.

If they point blank refuse I shall kick up a fuss, but should I be quoting their 7yr corrosion warranty and be asking as to why this is not covered?

Surely saying its because its been previously painted is not a get out cause as this was not done in my ownership?
 
I guess they are looking at this as it not being the original paint and is therefore not covered by the Mitsubishi warranty. If it has been previously repaired at an approved repairer then that'll be a different issue but as you, I assume, have no details on when/where it was done they will be unable to claim against the repairer either, so as MrLOL has said they will be footing the bill if they decide to repair it.

Thats why when I've had work done on the BMW I've had it done at the BMW bodyshop as that retains the original warranty on the paintwork.

Push them hard but you might get to the point of deciding is the aggravation and your time worth more than the cost of getting it done yourself...
 
Tesla said:
My friend is a car painter and works for a company who do loads of work on new Mitsubishi's that come in through the Bristol (Avonmouth/Portbury) docks.

They do get whacked about when loading and unloading sometimes. I expect cars like the Evo get absolutely ragged when the loaders are unloading them. Infact, I am quite sure of it! Therefore, little accidents do happen. This would be a stupid reason for the paint warranty to be invalid though. It is painted before even being delivered new.
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Yeah the guy at local Mitsu bodyshop said the same and that it was probably painted/repaired before it was registered so I really don't see how this is my issue.
 
Gibbo said:
Purchased it last March.

Under warranty its had all the alloys replaced for new, AYC pump replaced and am currently working on this.

If they point blank refuse I shall kick up a fuss, but should I be quoting their 7yr corrosion warranty and be asking as to why this is not covered?

Surely saying its because its been previously painted is not a get out cause as this was not done in my ownership?
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the warranty is by mitsubishi

the person who did the damage and repaired it poorly is the dealer. Mitsubishi will not honour mistakes by the dealer under warranty. The dealer has to pay for them instead.

Quoting the warranty is pointless, as it simply won't be honoured by them because the dealer made a bad repair and just refer you to them. You need to be telling the dealer they shouldnt be selling badly repaired stock, rather than quoting the warranty at them.

re: the courts, the longer after the date it was sold, the less your case becomes. At 10 months since sale and already a used car when you bought it, i don't think your case would be certain. But thats just me guessing, you may be better to seek some proper legal advice to see if you have a case. That's if you want to go down this road ...
 
If it was also done before the dealer got it you can see why they are also considering it as not their problem. If Mitsubishi wont honour it as it has been painted the first port of call should be the people who did the actual paintwork. Do you know who this is, the work should have been guaranteed?

There is little merit, or even reason for Mitsubishi or the Dealer to pay for someone else poor workmanship.
 
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MrLOL said:
the warranty is by mitsubishi

the person who did the damage and repaired it poorly is the dealer. Mitsubishi will not honour mistakes by the dealer under warranty. The dealer has to pay for them instead.

Quoting the warranty is pointless, as it simply won't be honoured by them because the dealer made a bad repair and just refer you to them. You need to be telling the dealer they shouldnt be selling badly repaired stock, rather than quoting the warranty at them.

re: the courts, the longer after the date it was sold, the less your case becomes. At 10 months since sale and already a used car when you bought it, i don't think your case would be certain. But thats just me guessing, you may be better to seek some proper legal advice to see if you have a case. That's if you want to go down this road ...
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Between me and you if it starts to prove too much hard work I shall get it done myself and I know a mate who owns a bodyshop and is very good so at least I'd know it was done properly. But at the same time if I can stand my grand and get them to sort it and save me the money then I will. Am just not going to be a walk over for them.
 
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