[Lincsmark]

Kia 7 year warranty sounds great, but is it really that good.

I looked at a review of electric car reliability, Kia came out well, but some cars were off the road for a week before repair, and this reflects my own experience with Kia. When my car broke down they couldn't even look at it for a week.

Over my working life I have had various makes of car and none have been off the road for a week before they could be looked at, even had same day repair on occasion.

What is your experience? Does your dealer offer collection service at service time, or courtesy lift home and pick after service? Mine doesn't and isn't on a bus route, I know that some other dealers in town do. Wasn't happy waiting in unheated showroom last service in January!

Just little niggles that put me off Kia in the future, perhaps I expect too much from customer service.

 

[iooi]

Kia only have one direct owned garage. The rest are franchises. But that is pretty much like every other marque out there.
Things like collection service & courtesy car varies between dealers. Currently with Covid hanging around. Dealers are short of courtesy cars as it is a lot of work to simply have to fully clean the interior after each customer.
I can get a courtesy car if I book far enough in advance. But would rather daughter pick me up & take me back, even though it is a 10 mile trip.

All dealers, not just Kia seem to be busy and getting a issue sorted may/will require a wait till they can book you in. Then there is the issue of parts supplies.

Would you rather have a 3 year warranty and have a car fixed straight away in that 3 years (maybe), but then have no warranty or a 7 year one, but have to wait a bit and have cover for that 7 years?

You have to remember that in the rest of your life. You will never have faced a worldwide pandemic & the resulting supply issues it has caused.

 

[JB18]

I do not think that it just Kia garages who suffer from having to wait for parts. My last car was a Vauxhall and when it was about 1 year old it developed a coolant leak and needed a new shaped rubber pipe (one of the two that connected engine cooling to the heater system). The garage did not have one; there were none in the UK parts system; and so it had to come from Germany. It took two weeks to arrive with the vehicle off the road (VOR) during that time.

In the old days that part would have been cut from a roll of 1 inch (25mm) rubber pipe and fitted in minutes, but nowadays all such pipes are preformed and individual parts. Progress!?

Garages carry very little parts stock these days as the investment needed would be too high and the multitude of models makes it too difficult to carry everything or even the most commonly needed parts.. Manufacturers have centralised parts warehousing (some parts held in country with the rest on the continent or somewhere in the world) and no longer seem to prioritise VOR needs. Also if there is global parts shortage then priority often goes to the factory to build new cars.

 

[Bedders]

I've experienced my local dealer not even stocking service parts. They had to have my car for two days as it needed new front brake pads. You'd get better turnaround from a local independent garage (but voids warranty if genuine parts not used).

All the problems on my 3 year old petrol Kia have been electrical:- fly by wire throttle pedal failed, electrical lumbar support failed in seat, rear lights filling with water & now the keyless entry boot antennae needs replacing. To say Kia are going to electrical powered cars could be interesting to say the least. From my experience it doesn't seem to be their strongest area.

 

[mr.macspot]

On my second Kia, and to date I have no complaints about either Kia or the dealership. Our local dealer has been happy to provide a courtesy car when ours was in for a service, on one occasion they even apologised for not having a Sportage available and gave us a Ceed instead. Last service they collected the car and dropped it of again. When our last car suffered from the noisy steering, they raised the issue on my behalf and called me in as soon as the fix was identified.
Things are getting desperate with parts, BMW are now selling cars without touchscreens.

 

[Lincsmark]

Thanks for all the replies.

I thought that manufacturers (within a group) were trying to standardise on parts, am I wrong. But surely, warranty is more than "free" repairs. For those who need a car for work, a "free" repair can be expensive.

Just my thoughts, retired now so no longer need a car for work, BUT was very inconvenient being without, particularly with disabled wife.

 

[Indalo]

Just little niggles that put me off Kia in the future, perhaps I expect too much from customer service.

Not all KIA dealers were created equal!

Perhaps your experience has been with one of the poorer franchises? In any event, every other car forum throws up complaints about dealer dissatisfaction, even Toyota and Lexus, the most reliable mass-market cars in the world.

 

[iooi]

You also have to be aware that any warranty work does not entitle you to a car while the work is being done. most manufactures have that gem in their T/C.

 

[Lincsmark]

You also have to be aware that any warranty work does not entitle you to a car while the work is being done. most manufactures have that gem in their T/C.

Yes, I am aware of that.

I just hoped that a little more priority would be given to warranty repairs. How long would it take to connect diagnostics to look for error code? Just seem to give poor service in other ways, at service they only appeared to be prepared to carry out the service, any faults would require another visit. Dread to think what would happen if car fails MOT.

 

[Blue60]

Hi

It is not the first time I have heard of warranty claims being rejected. Some have fallen foul because they were unable to get there cars serviced during Covid 19 and there is the issue of buying second hand and the previous owner missing or late with a service or having a service completed by a garage not recognised by Kia. You may not agree with it but it boils down to buyer or owner be aware.

 

[iooi]

Yes, I am aware of that.

I just hoped that a little more priority would be given to warranty repairs. How long would it take to connect diagnostics to look for error code? Just seem to give poor service in other ways, at service they only appeared to be prepared to carry out the service, any faults would require another visit. Dread to think what would happen if car fails MOT.

As a customer that had booked a car in for some work. Would you be happy if they turned round & said. Sorry can't do it today as we have to fix this other car?
Dealers use software that schedules work in on known time taken for the job. They have had this for a long time as I had a old Clio that clutch went on. Local ind had it and told me 6 hour job, which was more than car was worth...

Yes they could put the car on diagnostics if they have a staff member free. But, you know the fault they still can't do anything? As well as the cost of doing it to you as a customer.

Far better for them to be open and upfront with timescales.

It's also well known that warranty work is not the best of payers.

Failed MOT, been there done that. Never wait till the last day. You have a months grace to get it in. So get it in early to factor in any delays.

 

[ArthurCollins2]

As a customer that had booked a car in for some work. Would you be happy if they turned round & said. Sorry can't do it today as we have to fix this other car?
Dealers use software that schedules work in on known time taken for the job. They have had this for a long time as I had a old Clio that clutch went on. Local ind had it and told me 6 hour job, which was more than car was worth...

Yes they could put the car on diagnostics if they have a staff member free. But, you know the fault they still can't do anything? As well as the cost of doing it to you as a customer.

Far better for them to be open and upfront with timescales.

It's also well known that warranty work is not the best of payers.

Failed MOT, been there done that. Never wait till the last day. You have a months grace to get it in. So get it in early to factor in any delays.

Exactly, if they're notified beforehand, they can schedule the extra time needed. You can't expect them to ditch other customers and prioritise repairs they probably don't have parts for.

Only thing I would say is it doesn't matter when you fail an MOT, if it's officially logged, your car is immediately not road legal. A failure cancels out any period outstanding on the previous MOT. Now if you're talking about a friendly garage doing a 'pre-MOT', then yes you have a month to bring it up to standard.

 

[iooi]

Sadly not quite true.

If your vehicle fails its MOT before your old MOT certificate expires: ... You can drive your vehicle with a major fault if your old MOT is still valid, because you took your vehicle in for an MOT early. But your vehicle does have faults that may make it unroadworthy, and if stopped by the police you could be prosecuted.

This is a take by a Insurance company..

Autonet Insurance

Autonet Insurance

www.autonetinsurance.co.uk

 

[ArthurCollins2]

Sadly not quite true.



This is a take by a Insurance company..

Autonet Insurance

Autonet Insurance

www.autonetinsurance.co.uk

That's not how I've been told it works. The MOT is a check that the vehicle complies with the required standard at that moment in time. If it fails, by default the vehicle is not fit for road use. The police can then fine you and regardless of what that articles states, your insurers will laugh at any claim if it can be linked to a fault.
I was actually advised by an MOT centre that a fail cancels the old cert completely but after reading a bit more, I'm not sure that is true. According to the below, it is recorded as a refusal to issue a cert which will flag the vehicle to the police in the same way an expired MOT would.

DVLA warns against early MOT testing - Tyrepress

Many drivers put their car in for an MOT early in order to find out if any faults need repairing, in the belief they can still use the vehicle until the old test runs out despite any discovered issues. However, if their car fails the MOT, it is immediately deemed to be no longer road legal...

www.tyrepress.com

Regardless, by failing an MOT and continuing to drive, you leave yourself open to prosecution. However that relies on there being police around to do something about it.....

 

[Dubs]

That's not how I've been told it works

You've been given wrong information I'm afraid.

A failed MOT does not cancel a previous pass that has remaining validity.

Eg car with 6 months MOT remaining goes for another MOT, major fail with a bald tyre. Your previous MOT is still valid.

Your is car is unroadworthy. Regardless of this extra MOT it still has a bald tyre....you are open to prosecution purely for the bald tyre as you would if you'd not had this additional MOT. Not the 'lack' of a valid MOT.

MOT isn't linked to insurance validity as you can quite legally drive a car with no MOT to a pre booked MOT appointment.

 

[iooi]

@ArthurCollins2
It really should be how it works.

You are right that you can be prosecuted for unroadworthy vehicle.

 

[Blue60]

Hi

You could fail a MOT with a blown bulb and how many cars do we see on the road but a fail due to a car being un-road worthy is different, especially if found during an MOT and driving a vehicle without an MOT or if you know that it is un-road worhty is likely to leave you un-insured, certainly you would be giving the insurance company a reason not to pay out.

With regard to warranty repairs and time delays, we are always at the mercy of the garage regardless franchise or not. Finding 1 you can trust and who charge a fare price. If you have to wait, then we have little choice but I would recommend that if you are able to drive away confirm; preferable in writing; that it is safe to do so and will not cause any damage to the car while you drive around until they can fix it. My daughter has had to make 3 return visits to have an issue identified, parts ordered and fitted over a 3 month period.

Obviously if you buy a new car every year from the same garage, I'm sure that any delays would be minimal.

 

[ArthurCollins2]

I probably extrapolated incorrectly. 🙄 Iirc, he said it updates the database with a fail. His talk of being pulled etc is correct but it doesn't technically cancel the old cert. Either way, as he falls into the category of people not to p/off, I'll consider myself educated and not push it next time I'm there.

As for insurance, isn't there a basic commitment to keep your car in a roadworthy condition? If you've been told your vehicle is no longer roadworthy by a trained assessor, and you continue to drive without rectifying the issue, I would assume that's a violation of the insurance contract. I hope never to be in a position to test that though!