Warranty concern over suspension creak
I bought a 17-plate Skoda Octavia from Rainworth Skoda in January. The day I took it home, I heard a creak from the suspension as I pulled onto my drive.
I took the car back to the dealer, but it didn’t creak during the drive with an engineer. However, the creak is now persistent and much louder, and I have made a clear recording of it, but the garage is now closed due to the coronavirus.
The car came with a 12-month approved used warranty, but its original manufacturer’s warranty expires next month. My concern is that any necessary repairs won’t be covered because the warranty will have expired by the time I’m able to get the car checked over by a Skoda workshop technician.
I know some garages are doing repairs for key workers (which I am), but I don’t think this would be seen as an urgent repair, so I’m sure I’d have to wait to get the car looked at.
Any advice would be appreciated.
David Wright WHAT CAR? SAYS…
All the car makers we’ve spoken to have said they will honour warranty claims where the lockdown has prevented work from being done before the warranty has expired.
Skoda states that it will cover valid warranty claims for up to 90 days after the expiry date of its manufacturer warranty; this should give you enough time to have the car examined by the dealership once the current restrictions have been eased. If you are able to get through to the customer services department at present, we’d advise you to inform them of the problem with the car, so they’ll have a record of it for future reference.
Because you are a key worker, if the fault worsens or you are concerned about it being a safety issue before the lockdown is over, we’d recommend that you contact Skoda’s customer services team on 0114 450 3302 to find a service department near you that is servicing cars for key workers.