The consumer’s issue:
“I have owned my car for two years and only covered 12,000 miles when the dual mass flywheel failed. Due to the low mileage, I believe the part has worn prematurely, and I would like the business to cover the cost of the repair as a gesture of goodwill.”
The accredited business’ response:
- At the time of the breakdown, the vehicle’s manufacturer’s warranty had expired and the customer had two years’ worth of use from the vehicle.
- We liaised with the manufacturer who made a contribution of 24% of the repair cost. As there was no evidence to show that we had done anything wrong, we were unable to offer any contribution towards the cost of the replacing the dual mass flywheel.
The adjudication outcome:
- From looking at the evidence, The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator noted that the fault with the dual mass flywheel (DMF) happened more than two years after the purchase of the vehicle and there was no evidence to demonstrate this was an inherent fault.
- The part that had failed, i.e. the DMF, was also considered a wear and tear component. The adjudicator concluded that, if it was faulty at the point of sale, they would have expected it to have a failed a lot sooner than it had.
- The adjudicator therefore decided that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the business, and that the offer that had been made to the customer was reasonable in the circumstances.
Conclusion:
- The customer and accredited business accepted the outcome as recommended by The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator and the case was closed.
