A good trick here is to dip paper towels in it. If it smells like oil or fuel then that's what it is. If it is oily and coloured, probably hydraulic fluid and if it's coloured water it's antifreeze. If it doesn't smell much, isn't oily and isn't coloured, it's either air con condensate or you drove through a puddle....
I really don't think you have any responsibility regarding the Saab James. It is an old car and the customer must know anything can go wrong on such a car. It travelled a long way back to Ireland without any issues. I feel a one month warranty on the types and age of the cars you sell is as much as you should offer. You go beyond all expectations in prepping your cars with an advisory free MOT. I would happily buy a car from you knowing how much you care about your vehicles and customers.
Interesting video and talk!..a secondhand car selling as a small dealer can be a challenge but seems like your doing a good job,anything can fail anytime it in the lap of the gods!..coming from an ex mechanic of 40 years 🤗
James most of these warranty claims are a joke . The 32 year old Saab that needs a turbo , no chance . The fiat 500 that has a rattle , nope - wear and tear . The water under the car could be from the air conditioning drain . The missing seat adjuster is trim, doesn't affect the cars driveability. That's 3 sorted straight away. The engine bay noise could be an auxiliary belt pulley , probably air conditioning related again. People expect the world on a ten year old car or one with 120,000 miles on it . Expectations are too high or your customers are naive .
Indeed bought a car from a mechanic last year, we are friends with his wife mainly. Noisy clutch bearing started a month later, drop links toast even though they pass an MOT as there's not play they clunk, top mount collapsed and the spring snapped on OF. Discovered after a while that second gear only likes to go in if held only when cold, it's had a new clutch and fresh fluid. So possibly play in the gear linkage most likely gearbox related. Not once did I go running back to the mechanic it's a 15 year old French car. Someone had spent close to 3k on it over the last 4 years in maintenance, old cars fail on components.
*About the SAAB turbo* most turbos go out because of oil starvation, the small tube that feeds oil to the turbo gets gunked-up from the heat and gets clogged, most mechanics just replace the turbo, which in about a 3 months leads to another replacement, so ANYTIME YOU REPLACE A TURBO, you replace the oil lines as well. As far as you replacing the turbo, I think you need to do that because it's is a major component of the engine, however YOU SHOULD ONLY BE OBLIGED TO REPLACE IT WITH A USED ONE, if the customer wants a new one, they need to pay half.
Self insurance is a sound policy provided you get the actuarial aspects right. You need to regularly review and calibrate your cover, Ts&Cs, and how much you put in the ‘pot’ for each car.
@@ChopsGarage they sound like a really good garage, but perhaps you need to speak with them and get to a point where you are doing what is actually needed and not curing every advisory... especially on older/higher mileage stock?
Following being with a friend during the buying of a used Van he was offered bronze as standard, silver and gold standard of dealer provided warranty . He believe he only offered gold on vehicles he felt could be offered the better options . Customer took the choice and signed to accept whatever they chose. Seemed fair. Friend went for silver and didn’t have any issues for way longer than the warranty. Happy days
I had a focus st 56 plate , when it was a year old , every now and then the clutch pedal would go to the floor and not come up , flick it up with your foot and it was ok again, backwards and forwards to Ford and it turned out it was the pedal box
I had a company 14 plate focus diesel that had the clutch pedal stay on the floor 4 times out of 10. No idea what the fix was, but I never saw the car again and was moved into a new focus.
Comment on the warranty issues 1. Turn the phone/email off 2. tell them to bugger off and leave you alone 3. Pretend to be French and remark "c'est la vie & shrug your shoulders 4. Close up and sell ice cream at Woolacombe 5.But the route you will take- suck it up and accept it for what it is "A moment in time" Best of luck James in whichever route you take (Not many warranty claims on ice cream on a 30 degree day though) Alan B
As you are self managing your warranties it is vital that you clearly, explicitly and fully document everything that is included and also excluded, with no ambiguity. For major items you should stipulate mileage limits. Clarity in the contract is required, not just recommended. You can get predefined documents from industry specialists.
I've always bought cars at the bottom end of the market, the last car they gave a 3months warranty just engine and gearbox which I thought was fair enough; had the car for 3years so cant complain. Yes repairs ongoing but it's an old end of life car on 170,000 miles
Re the Saab. Given the age and that it’s been standing for 10 years I’m not surprised elements will fail. It goes with the territory. Welcome to the joys of classic car ownership! I think you very generous even considering paying for the turbo.
Water on the driveway could be condensation coming from the exhaust. More so if he uses his air conditioning or AC lines. This is what I do, if the vehicle is priced at a reasonable price I just pay it, I usually get extended warranties anyways. A car dealership is more likely to help you out if you do not nickel and dime them to death. They are in business to make money as well.
If your warranty covered a replacement engine then it would be fair to replace the turbo, but very few warranties I have seen apart from those on a brand new vehicle cover engine replacements. Fair wear & tear in my opinion as the car was what it was. The turbo went on my newly bought, fully serviced vehicle at 39,000 miles. Luck of the draw with Turbos.
I know it’s not the same but we have just had a 2016 Hyundai i30 1.4 had a cam crank correlation fault, carried out wiring/sensor checks all ok, took valve cover off, turned over by hand and the chain had so much slack in it, crank was about 20degrees out of time to the cams, ironically no noises from the engine at all!!! All cars and vans are junk nowadays!!!
As I have said before third party warranties are nothing but a hassle either give me a discount or carry the risk yourself, I am sure with your level of prep and use of a reputable garage for the clean M.O.T you will be way ahead on your sales dont let this months figures get you down James , Saab man wants to be looking for a used Turbo sharpish.
With that chain rattle on start up mines been doing it for the last 40k until engine warm goes away like a slight chirping noise I totally agree wait as chains can go on to 200 k totally minor issue but understand customers concerns but believe me nothing to worry about. As for the Saab turbo I my self would agree to go Dutch (half’s)
I’ve never been able to get my self to deal with cars older 5 years and with over 40k very rarely have warranty claim ever, I think less stock but newer cars might be a shout
06:25 If the concentric slave has been leaking fluid into the box on the Ford for a while it may well have soaked the clutch though! 08:19 I would not have put more than a month warranty on the SAAB and I would not be covering the turbo. Turbo's get hot, very hot. After standing for so long any rust in the turbo bearing from standing could well have cause a failure. 08:52 Kia no! The seat handle may have been lost by new owner and it they are pulling the HB on really hard to hold on a big hill it's they who have stretched the cable. If it passed the MOT it was fit at point of sale.. Fiat 500 - Knock - Could be a drop link, could be a CV joint, depends on the "knock" but should be covered. Leak, depends on what / where, but also inclined to cover. On any car over 10 years, I think you should only cover for 1 month for free, longer if you sell them a warranty on top. There's a reason people sell cars, especially at auction or dealer PX, so you should always assume they have undisclosed issues.
I liked that Saab - had I bought it and turbo failed that’s betterment and down to me to fix imo after all it’s a classic car you know you are buying a drama
In Australia it's all covered by the relevant act so it's black and white. "For a second hand motor vehicle the Motor Dealers and Repairers Act 2013 provides a statutory warranty of 3 months or 5,000km from the date of sale (whichever occurs first). This applies to second hand vehicles that have traveled less than 160,000 km and are less than 10 years old. " so anything over 10 yo or 100,000 miles - no warranty. The only condition then is the general consumer warranty which says goods must be fit for purpose. For motor vehicles that means roadworthy - so your MOT equivalent. IMO you should set similar black and white boundaries- then you have zero grey areas. The other thing to note is what is covered under the warranty - "typically covers the car and its accessories in relation to safety, reliability and roadworthiness; it doesn't cover cosmetic damage or normal wear and tear." That's a bit less clear but I imagine that means things like tyres, 12V battery, normal brake wear etc are not covered.
Yes you make some good points but must say as a regular visitor to OZ three months every year i see some old cars on the road that would be in the scrapyard in the UK and if you dont get pulled by the police you get away with it MOT is a yearly check here when a car is more than 3 years old you are lucky in OZ you dont have rusty cars to worry about because that is a killer.
@@ChopsGarage James - Aussie not Auzzy. Our regs relating to the sale of used vehicles are pretty clear but we still have a fair share of dodgy dealers and RWC inspectors that turn a blind eye! If you are purchasing from a reputable dealer then you can usually buy with a degree of confidence. The main point is that the vehicle is used therefore normal wear and tear is to be expected. The other problem is that the lower the purchase price then the buyer of these vehicles usually cannot afford more expensive forecourt ones but still expects the same quality as a vehicle 5 times the price. Always need to lower consumer expectations with what they are buying when dealing in what is somewhat the bottom of the market.
cosmetics are not normally covered by warranties, I certainly would not be covering a seat cosmetic. The kia 1.7 could be the rail injectors that very often happens now and then.
A possibility on the fiat 500 water on the drive, the bulkhead drains always block up and can hold an amazing amount of water. This dripps over time landing at the rear of the engine bay. I used to clean them on the mot as only took seconds.
I paid £2300 for a 2006 Honda Jazz with 116k miles last October. No warranty, soldcas seen but i insisted on 12 mth Mot and underseal . Had rain water ingress a real pain ive had to sort, squeaky clutch pedal, sticking tail gate lock., foggy headlights, exhaust back box fell off in March. I expected nothing, have earned to fix things myself and despite the faults its a great car. I still haven't solved the boot leak but its only noticeable after prolonged heavy rain. Ive had the battery off and 3 cells arent great but dropped bat aid tablets in and charged and been fine since. I know its a gamble buying used cars. But ive learned a lot fixing the issues and can see why the previous owner parted company. You just hope the issues are not serious and fixable. You really prepare your cars well and offer a warranty.
@@hughjanus7354 lol 😂😂 this comment show just how clueless you are. £2300 minus £800 is it 🤣🤣. Ok so transport was free,MOT was free,MOT work was free,VAT man said don't worry about paying me,Tax man said the same,Landlord said have the place for free,Auto trader said, he'll advertise for free! Brilliant! In your example the VAT alone is £300! 🤣🤣.
All good being a car dealer as much i would love to do tey an do myself l,but I don't think I could handle these types of warranty claims from customers.i don't know how you handle all this an u keep calm...all best
At least you honour warranty claims. I bought a car in December 2023. I had to pay out myself for two inner tie rods and track rod ends. The garage that the trader uses looked at it and said there was nothing wrong with it. It was easier for me to get et my garage to do the work rather than getting several quotes and confronting the dealer and having the work done by a garage I have no confidence in.
People seem to have very high expectations, I would expect to fix virtually all of those faults myself mainly because they showed up weeks after you sold the cars. Your customer care sets you apart James - Is the warranty in with the price of the car? If so, 30 days should be enough for defects present at point of sale to show.
By law if you sell a vehicle and you are a Trader it has to have a a 30 day warranty. This is plenty of time to find out if you have bought a lemon or not Good dealers will give you a 3 month warranty for free. If you buy using a credit card you get even greater protection, but most dealers don't take credit cards as they eat well into their margins. I sold cars on and off for Twenty five years. At my body shop. Most of the time it was the customer trying to rip us the garage off.
You are going above and beyond with your services. I would prefer a car with no advisories and a 3 months warranty on major components. Depending on the age and milage of the car, the warranty price for those 3 months would be different. With an older car/more miles the warranty is more expensive to cover the higher chances of something major breaking. The warranty could be optional and reflective in the price of the car. I would not expect for a piece of trim that breaks once I drove off to be covered under warranty. I am no car dealer, and understand that this might not sit well with everyone.
From my experience buying remotely from a small car dealership, the National warranty is pointless. No garage wanted to touch it under warranty; I would have to pay and claim back under the warranty myself. All garages said it wasn’t worth the hassle. It’s not a knock at you, more the warranty companies.
The Moore guys seem like a genuine garage. I took my cars to a small garage the owner went from being honest and decent to putting huge numbers on invoices, the first two I let slide. The third one they charged three hours labour for rear springs a job that would have been an hour at most. Politiely asked and he flew off the handle and accused me of not knowing anything. I pulled the plug and take my cars to another indy now. Being a dishonest trader or mechanic is one way to lose thousands of pounds a month in work
In 2010 I paid £15,000 for a sub three year old MB CLK and the handbrake travel was excessive. The local dealer wanted £80 to adjust so it took me less than 10 mins to do it myself. Absolutely no way was I going to ask the supplying dealer to pay. Common sense is needed here.
Re kia diesel. We have a 1.6 mild hybrid one and it had an issue, really noisy like slipping belt . We were lucky as I caught it quick and it needed a tensioner whereas some needed engines if they let it develop. Ask your service manager contact
Classic car dealers don't give warranties. Best you get is a full refund and the car goes back if there's a major issue - that complies with the law as the customer is returned to their state they were in before purchase. Retailer here - May was the worst month in years.
Place a clause that states something like "sold as viewed, any plastic/rubber or any other materials used (ONLY) within the interior of the vehicle (excluding seat belts) are the buyers own responsibility, please ensure all parts are there before payment, as these are not covered by the warranty."... and bring them to this section to ensure they see before buying.. lol
I work at a ford dealer and have had the same problem with a focus. It had a new clutch in it did not solve the problem. In the end a new clutch spring sorted the issue
Coolant loss on the Skoda could be EGR cooler internal leak I'm afraid, you could do a sniff test but it's probably not going to detect it as coolant pressure will be greater than exhaust. If you have to go down the route of a new cooler, word of warning DO NOT cheap out on anything other than an OE equivalent (Pierburg etc) assembly. You won't save much and they just don't last, I will not fit one other than OE quality any more, no eBay specials, no Starline or other cheaper brands. I'll turn the job away, they just don't last and they've caused me enough of a headache I've learned my lesson! TLDR; don't just pick the cheapest option, you'll be doing the job again in a month if you're lucky.. 😮
You make a valid point re old vehicles and expectations but I don’t think the consumer is to blame. I think this 30 day return and 6 month consumer protection has dealers by the nads and makes customers believe they automatically get that cover from a dealer. I know I pay a premium and buy from a dealer for that reassurance. The law needs changing to define a difference or age limit because your argument is spot on…clear definitions based on how long a car is warrantied based on its age after which point the risk becomes the buyers, so say a 5 year old = 6 months and a 10 year old 3 months. A 15 year old covered but after say a month warranty ends to rule out dodgey bodge fix dealers. Your 92 reg if it was sold as a trade sale would be a clear cut no… but polished up and sold off your showroom is he not right to say it was clearly on its way out when I bought it? Perhaps that’s a sign to trade out the oldies to auction or someone willing to take on the risk.
You should a very fair & conscious trader, if you still intend to sell older cars either point out faults @ point of sale & discount or put your prices up 😣
Warranty, nothing about that older than 7 years, and cars with more than 120 miles. Above that, it's a high risk warranty, and it's kick you in your back.. Short profit (500 pound) never give them warranty, bad customers find there way always (court).
I do feel for you. Some of those do sound genuine but customers all too often create faults in their head because they are determined to get anything they can out of you. I think it stems from them thinking that you made £3000 from that £4000 car 😂
the saab, surely it will cost him half that to come here from ireland plus accommodation or is he expecting you to pay that? or get it fixed there at your expense?
Hi James. I've been watching your channel for some time and believe you go over and above for customers which is good. But maybe you need to slow it down a bit mate 😉
Am from lreland and i would come over to buy my next car off this man and am going to tell him stick your warranty up your blah 😂were would u get a car dealer like this man big 👍👍👍from me
I use reco turbo at Doncaster, bet they'd re build it for 350 quid, tell him you'll pay for the turbo if he gets it off and posts it, let's hope oil supply and pressure is good or it'll not last long(!)
My car's 18 years old & has a few niggles. I didn't buy it from you James but if i lived near you I would've done. I think that covers me, can you fix it for me? 😉👍
The solution is simple!! Sell only reliable Japanese cars. You make money, and not having to worrying about warranty claims, and the customer won't bother you.
It was a failure at point of sale but there are some things that are so old.. hard to sell with a warranty, milage high or low and are at buyers risk. Handbrake failings and clutches.. need fixing imho. I have to say you have a lot of broken down cars.. Good guy buy crap cars. You should up your quality of cars to match.
I'm sure the answer is 'no' but just wondering if you can run a small car businees and instead of offering warranty, just get all cars sorted for advisory free MOTs? I was thinking of giving this kind of thing a go at some point, but this warranty stuff seems crazy to me - the fact that they can come back to you months after and reject the car and all that stuff. Makes me wonder how you survive to be honest?!?
You could buy legally they could still come after you for 6 months, even longer. The issue is people will.sign anything but when reality strikes and they need to spend they forget all that.
At least you have peaks , for people who buy cars they mainly have troughs . I bought a car last year and so far it's cost me £1600 in repairs. Everything went tit's up a few months after the warranty period..😢😢
Because trying to agree what is a major component and what’s not for claims. Why not consider it in cost instead. I.e anything up to £1000 the customer pays, if it’s over £1000 you cover it (as by then it’s likely major) but you have control over who does the job. (Or choose the £ threshold yourself)
Turbo should absolutely be covered, one long journey and it’s failed I’d say it was definitely on its way out, that’s the risk selling a car if that age, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole!
@@ChopsGarage I must’ve heard that wrong fair enough but within 6 months I’d definitely say it should be covered. Maybe time to start selling newer cars…too much risk in the older ones.
3rd party warranties ain’t worth a wa#k ! Customer think they have warranty to cover the car for a year . Something goes wrong after 3 months. . Warranty company says no , and customer comes back to you !
Have you done a stats check ie; out of say 10 punters how many are coming back with issues, it seems like lots of your punters are indeed coming back......
I think you’re completely unreasonable with your warranty claims issue James , I think you should buy them a new car and pay them say 5thousand pounds a week for life if they have an issue with one of your cars Perhaps they would be happy then.! Respect 👍
I mean I don't know how you quantify the turbo going as "not an issue at point of sale". Clearly it was ready to go, luckily got the person home to their destination. It absolutely was about to give up the ghost, but the car is super old with a wedge of miles on it. The buyer should be expecting things to happen as the car is actually super old so like you said in the beginning components do wear. The problem is with the people who are buying 2 or 3 grand cars, they're mostly spending all of the money they have on the car, and don't leave any room for getting things sorted. It's a sad state of affairs to be in..... moral dilemma for you really.... Maybe instead of taking the full hit you could offer a small contribution towards the rebuild, I guess it depends really on how well it sits with you ?
Sorry, SAAB guys got to eat it, with the age/type of car you've got too expect problems and not expect It to be covered. As for the trim piece missing, well didn't they check the reclining/lumbar part of the seat was working, I would have, that's a no. Suspension noise, got to be more than bushing but, I'd say customer contribution can be expected. Forgot the rest. I'd say you buying a car 3-5 yr old with no more than 12k/year 6 months, major mechanical, engine, gearbox, suspension and major electrical things like ECU's. Over that mileage or age then you on the slope towards just major only within 3 months. I've never expected any more of a dealer. One thing any customer can do though I ring and see what/if parts maybe covered and if not, just simply ask if they can get their garage to sort it at buyer expense. Hopefully this way there will be some discount on labour rates at least and that's always a win.
As everyone says you give to much warranty . I purchased a 19 reg focus from arnold clark last year with 22000 miles and only got 2 months warranty and you give more than that for much older cars with 5 times the mileage
@ChopsGarage no didn't try anything . Which I was quite suprised about but all the big dealers only give 2 or 3 months so I think your customers get way to much for the money they spend with you yet still want more
I think you need to stop giving advisory free mots as a ten year old car I would expect at least one or two due to the age regardless of how well maintained the car is
All these cars are getting on here. People are taking the piss. 3 months warranty max. You will need to spend some sort of money on a car at some point.
Its not opinions,its legal requirements when selling used cars. If for instance the reclining lever is missing,and you dont know if it was there at the point of sale....you did not inspect the car properly before selling. If its not financially viable to sell 10 year old cars..and comply with the relevant laws..dont do it.But...everybody knows it is...that,s why you do it. You can inform customers that in your opinion..all cars that have reached say 80k...will probably need major work in the near future..(turbo,s etc).But of course you wont....you will say it in this video.
What does any of that mean. What's with all the extra full stops? If lever is missing a point of sale on a 11 year old car and you miss that at viewing it's on you, the cars don't have to be like brand new. They need to be safe, reliable and as described.
With the Saab, you can't buy a car of that age and expect a warranty on the turbo, unless the turbo was changed beforehand. If this is even a question, then the terms and conditions of sale need updating.
But if he said the turbo was only going to last one trip to Ireland, he wouldn't of bought the car. If chops had driven it more than a trip around the block, it would have blown with him.
Lol!!! I drove it for 3 days, and he did a month's worth of old car driving in one trip , then went on to use it repeatedly over another month so at least get your facts straight. But your not type of person to politely ask for facts are you.
With regards to none obvious reported “ defects” as a mechanical friend I worked with mantra for such occasions was LID - let it develop. In relation to some of the other issued raised I guess you have to filter through them with due regard to the relevant legislation and common sense. I would not imagine your margins are massive and your customers in general are buying older cars.
God mate, terrible, on fiat 500 it's probably a drop link, water leak, taste it to see if its anti freeze (!) best a full clutch at 50k,itd ready for one, if it's a diesel, hopefully not a dual mass as well, say a full new clutch helps them going forward, quote full retail for the job and go half, don't go in at the price you pay, chain, obviously bad news, leaver on seat, main dealer only be a few quid, just take up handbrake, do both yourself, re the saab, it's a classic car, bit cheeky to moan about it, I'd just say no, it goes with running a classic car, buy an i10 if you don't want trouble, expecting you to run somebody's classic is a bit rich. I've just sent a guy 500 to get a turbo done on a quasgui I sold 2 mths ago, his garage said turbo, hopefully it is, 60 plate, 100k on, sold at a reasonable price, as you say people expect virtually everything covered. I drive my cars a lot tbh, back from auction, greggs a couple of times (!) usually most things flag up, I get very few warranty claims tbh, but yes it's very disheartening when you've tried your best. Re the saab, just say sorry you don't warranty classics, tbh bud you want to avoid your barn finds, they haven't done you much good.
@@ChopsGaragethat’s fair, I have worked in customer service for years and the customers tone and approach certainly changes the services and solutions I would offer. Even something like paying the difference between a used and a refurbished unit might be reasonable
