[James Murphy]

Hi Everyone, last February I paid cash for a 2017 Rio from what I thought was a franchised Kia dealer. But after speaking to both them and Kia today apparently it was from the used car clearance wing of said dealer which doesn't count as a Kia approved used.
On the dealers who I'm not sure if i can name, so i wont for now the advert said full service history and balance of manufacturers warranty which at the time of purchase was just short of four years, now this is where I'm at fault as I didn't check the service history but the salesman assured me this car had first been a demo car and then a pool car for office staff at the dealership, so the entire ownership of the vehicle before me was all with the same pretty big east midlands car dealership (who have since sold their Kia franchise to another large group).
Today I went to book a service as the sticker in the car says it is due next week, upon finally reading my service book despite the dealer owning the car for two years it only had a service last year the week before I bought the car, upon speaking to the dealer that has bought the franchise, the dealer that I bought the car from and Kia, they have all said that this pretty much invalidates the warranty as it missed its first service, which is not much more than an oil change but according to Kia a very important one.
Surely in this situation I am the victim and between the three parties (although to my view the dealer i bought the car from) they need to find some sort of solution.

 

[Indalo]

Surely in this situation I am the victim and between the three parties (although to my view the dealer i bought the car from) they need to find some sort of solution.

Welcome to the forum, 'James Murphy'.

I'd like to be able to give you something positive to ease your mind but your sad tale is a salutary reminder to forum members that they must never imagine that any car salesman has any ethical code when it comes to relieving a potential punter of a large chunk of money. The bigger the chunk of money, the bigger his monthly bonus if he is on target.

You may have purchased in good faith from Mr Nice guy at the dealership but in so doing, you were seen by him (or her) as just another sucker.

Hopefully, you won't have any need to make a warranty claim but in answer to your question about fault, I'm afraid you didn't do your homework pre-purchase and you were unlucky enough to have dealt with a shyster.

Perhaps other members may be able to offer something more positive but I'm pessimistic about your present situation.

Good luck!

 

[James Murphy]

Welcome to the forum, 'James Murphy'.

I'd like to be able to give you something positive to ease your mind but your sad tale is a salutary reminder to forum members that they must never imagine that any car salesman has any ethical code when it comes to relieving a potential punter of a large chunk of money. The bigger the chunk of money, the bigger his monthly bonus if he is on target.

You may have purchased in good faith from Mr Nice guy at the dealership but in so doing, you were seen by him (or her) as just another sucker.

Hopefully, you won't have any need to make a warranty claim but in answer to your question about fault, I'm afraid you didn't do your homework pre-purchase and you were unlucky enough to have dealt with a shyster.

Perhaps other members may be able to offer something more positive but I'm pessimistic about your present situation.

Good luck!

Yeah I’m thinking that way too. The only thing on my side atm is that I still have a copy of the ad for the car, that states it has full warranty and service history and that the dealership is a huge operation. View attachment 8943

 

[iuygoig]

The link does not work, but if you have evidence that the vehicle was sold as full warranty then you should go to the supplying dealer and talk to them about it. Do you actually have a warranty issue at present? What are you hoping to achieve? What would it take to make it right?

 

[James Murphy]

The link does not work, but if you have evidence that the vehicle was sold as full warranty then you should go to the supplying dealer and talk to them about it. Do you actually have a warranty issue at present? What are you hoping to achieve? What would it take to make it right?

Ah, I don’t know why it hasn’t worked. There’s no warranty issue at present. It’s only come to light as I’ve booked it in for its next service and it’s missing one. I buy Kia’s because of the peace of mind that comes with having a comprehensive warranty. After buying from a Kia dealer and being told that the warranty is null and void because that dealer has messed up previous servicing has shocked me.

 

[SiW]

Can’t see the link, was the car listed as for sale by a Kia dealer?
Either way if a service has been missed surely the dealer must be liable in some way as the car was falsely advertised if the warranty is invalid?
That’s why you paid a premium for the car?
Can Kia carry out a search to see if the vehicle was serviced and someone just forgot to stamp the book?

 

[iuygoig]

Can’t see the link, was the car listed as for sale by a Kia dealer?
Either way if a service has been missed surely the dealer must be liable in some way as the car was falsely advertised if the warranty is invalid?
That’s why you paid a premium for the car?
Can Kia carry out a search to see if the vehicle was serviced and someone just forgot to stamp the book?

Would be nice but it seems that KIA do not have a central service database - records are at the dealer's only. Pants innit?

 

[iooi]

The issue is not a invalid warranty, as that is still in place. The real issue is the "Full Service History" not (possibly) being correct. Which would be grounds to reject the car.

Kia dealers do 2 levels of 2nd hand cars.
Kia Approved Used

All Kia Approved Used cars come with an unrivalled peace of mind package guarantee including:

• 7 year warranty the day you drive away
• All cars under 20 months/ 20,000 miles
• Free driveaway insurance
• 1 year roadside assistance
• Vehicle inspection checklist
• One year free excess return (worth up to £250)

And

Kia Assured Used cars come with an unrivalled peace of mind package guarantee:

• Sourced by Kia Dealers
• Balance of 7 year warranty with optional warranty extension
• Optional roadside assistance from Call Assist
• Driveaway Insurance and Excess Return (worth up to £250)
• Multi-point check by dealer technicians
• Optional 1st MOT Test cover with £1000 claim limit
• Experian checked by Kia Dealer

Which clearly the OP's car is not a "Kia Approved Used car" given it is over 2 years old. So drops into the "Assured" group.

 

[AlanH]

I think a chat with citizen's advice first and small claims court next would be on the cards.
A misrepresentation case would be welcomed by most solicitors on a no win, no fee basis.
Get your facts sorted and mention this to the seller. He might have a sudden attack of conscience.
Or 'oh crap'.

 

[mr.macspot]

I think a chat with citizen's advice first and small claims court next would be on the cards.
A misrepresentation case would be welcomed by most solicitors on a no win, no fee basis.
Get your facts sorted and mention this to the seller. He might have a sudden attack of conscience.
Or 'oh crap'.

I agree, contact Citizen's Advice, or your local trading standards, but I don't think is as simple a mention to the seller. A letter to the seller setting out the facts would be a better course of action, a verbal warning carries no weight. But that is just my thought, get proper advice.

 

[Sporty Joe]

How long overdue in mileage terms was the first service? Kia would have a hard time arguing that if the car was serviced within the mileage, yet outside of the time limit, that it was in any way neglected by its then dealership. It is covered by consumer law which overrides the manufacturer's warranty for five or six years as I understand it.
It hasn't gone wrong yet and it might never and it is up to how bloody minded or helpful the service department at your new dealer is as to whether they pick up on the fact that it somehow missed its first oil change interval. They don't 'have to' notice the omission in the service book and the 'could' always book the warranty to another vehicle if they were minded to ;-). Especially as any fault that might occur is unlikely to be remotely related to the first oil change unless it missed the distance limit by a mile [intentional pun].

The more noise you make currently about it, the less flexibility the dealership has to help you out, should the need ever arise. If Kia's service or warranty manager gets a wind of it, everything will need to be by the book and the book offers no flexibility. A line is drawn and that is that. You need to make your own judgement as to what to do about it at the end of the day but I've given some options and possibilities along with consumer law if it comes to it, which you should check with some professional body if or when the need arises.

 

[iooi]

How long overdue in mileage terms was the first service? Kia would have a hard time arguing that if the car was serviced within the mileage, yet outside of the time limit, that it was in any way neglected by its then dealership. It is covered by consumer law which overrides the manufacturer's warranty for five or six years as I understand it.

As a guide 1000 miles or one month seems to be the guidelines. Either being out is enough to decline a warranty claim if the issue can be pointed to the lack of service. Although in lockdown 1.0, given garages were pretty much closed the leaway was increased.

Warranty is something offered by manufacturers & you have to abide by their T/C to be able to claim on a warranty.
Consumer rights & warranties are totally different & not tied together.
You would not stand a chance on your consumer rights for any warranty claim if warranty T/C are not followed.

If OP wants advice then Citizens Advise is where you go as they took any consumer issues over from TS. But 1st port of call is dealer. Failing to do that and not giving them chance to resolve the issue is going to make anything else down the line very hard to win.

TBH, Full Service History means very little. Other than they have a "Full" service history. Could be one service, could be 10 services. But is in effect telling the truth. It does not mean it has been serviced in line with manufacture schedule. But is what most people believe.. It should be stated as "Fully serviced to manufacture schedule"

Well that is a very pedantic view and would need to be tested in court to prove one way or other.

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[James Murphy]

Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
The car had missed its first service by 12 months or 6k miles.
The new dealership that I’ve taken it to for servicing has given me a service plan and seems to think that would be fine. Sandicliffe who I bought it from seem to have processed it all through their used dealership rather than their Kia one so it doesn’t officially count as Kia Approved used. But they owned the car from new so the lack of servicing falls on them and they sold it to me as with the balance of manufacturers warranty.
🤞🏻 It never needs it, but it’s definitely a lesson learned never to trust car dealers however well known the dealership is.

 

[iooi]

Thanks everyone for the help and advice.
The car had missed its first service by 12 months or 6k miles.
The new dealership that I’ve taken it to for servicing has given me a service plan and seems to think that would be fine. Sandicliffe who I bought it from seem to have processed it all through their used dealership rather than their Kia one so it doesn’t officially count as Kia Approved used. But they owned the car from new so the lack of servicing falls on them and they sold it to me as with the balance of manufacturers warranty.
🤞🏻 It never needs it, but it’s definitely a lesson learned never to trust car dealers however well known the dealership is.

It could never have been a Kia Approved sale as the car was over 20 months old.

What is more surprising (and honest) is they did not simply say it had been serviced and stamp the book....