General Chuffed to Bits

[LouiseAS]

I picked up my used 1.3 MJ Pop on Saturday and I'm absolutely chuffed with it. I used to own a Classic Mini and after driving other cars for 4 years this is the first car I've loved as much as I did my Mini.

Just a quick couple of questions though, hope you can help.

When I turned on my daylight running lights it's come up with a fault so I've arranged to go back to the dealers service department on Monday. Should this have been something they checked before they sold the car? Am I right in thinking that whatever they do on Monday should be FOC as I've had it under a week?

Thanks.

 

[RUI]

Yes the dealer should do it for free, your car has a 3 year warranty from new.
If your car is over 3 years old the dealer usually puts a years warranty on it.

 

[LouiseAS]

Thank you, it's only 18 months old. I just hope it's only a bulb or something simple.

I do think they should have checked it when they serviced it prior to selling though.

 

[jrkitching]

Most likely something simple that will be quickly fixed.

 

[RobinPJ]

In theory they should have found it, but it is not surprising that they did not - especially if the previous onwer had the DRLs off so that the problem would not have manifested itself on start up.

Assuming that you are not mechanically minded, you may want to bear in mind, especially as you do not "know" the car, that the warranty is much more limited in the third year. Therefore you might want to invest in having an independent mechanic crawl over the car when it is, say, 22 months old, to identify any faults that are covered by the warranty - but which won't be after 24 months.

I intend to do this as I do not know one end of an oily rag from the other.

 

[LouiseAS]

I did buy it from a Main Dealer but I know that they probably didn't thoroughly check it over.

Thanks, that's really helpful about getting it checked over I may do that next year.

 

[jrkitching]

Therefore you might want to invest in having an independent mechanic crawl over the car when it is, say, 22 months old, to identify any faults that are covered by the warranty - but which won't be after 24 months.

I intend to do this as I do not know one end of an oily rag from the other.

One way to do this for a reasonable cost is to have the car MOT'd just before the end of the first 2 years warranty. One advantage of this approach is that the car will be examined by someone who is professionally trained in examining vehicles for faults & is doing this every day. MOT testers are themselves trained to agreed standards & are generally well experienced in their trade.

You can also send off a sample of your engine oil for spectrographic analysis. This should identify any premature engine wear & will cost you around £35.

The two together will buy you considerable peace of mind for less than £100.

 

[LouiseAS]

Thanks jrkitching that's a great tip. My local garage (who will be servicing the car using genuine parts) have a really strict MOT guy so I may get them to do it when it's serviced which should coincide with just before the 2yrs.

 

[jrkitching]

Thanks jrkitching that's a great tip. My local garage (who will be servicing the car using genuine parts) have a really strict MOT guy so I may get them to do it when it's serviced which should coincide with just before the 2yrs.

Many independent garages will also give you a free or discounted MOT if done at the same time as a full service, too.