OT: car warranty diagnostic charges

[sm_jamieson]

Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after several tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns out not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to fix it. Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.

Does that situation seem reasonable ?

Anyway, I have sent an email to Vauxhall to try to find out exactly what faults are covered on the CD400 so I can try to second guess the dealer. The dealer says they do not have this information, so I presume they find the fault and then ask the manufacturer if that particular fault is covered.

On various internet forums there are people saying the diagnostic check has not found anything, and they have still been billed ! In my case I would assume it is some type of mechanical fault, and do not want to potentially be charged for a useless run on a diag machine.

Simon.

[JimK]

Having googled the removal procedure I'm not that surprised they attempt to claw a charge back....

How can it not be faulty though? If you can demonstrate the fault to them isn't that sufficient? Or is this good old traditional Vauxhall warranty squirming?

Jim K

[GB]

Post by JimK
Having googled the removal procedure I'm not that surprised they attempt to claw a charge back....
How can it not be faulty though? If you can demonstrate the fault to them isn't that sufficient? Or is this good old traditional Vauxhall warranty squirming?
Jim K

As an example: The heads on the CD player might be dirty. Would that be
a warranty fault, or fair wear and tear, or user error (putting in dirty
discs)? I'd certainly try a cleaning disc before shelling out £96 to
have the radio removed.

[JimK]

/The heads on the CD player/q

Can't wait for the caveats after that start ;-)

Jim K

[GB]

Post by JimK
/The heads on the CD player/q
Can't wait for the caveats after that start ;-)
Jim K

Sigh. Head, then, not heads. The lasery bit that reads the cd. Clean it,
with a disc. Like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-DVD-Laser-Cleaning-Disc-Blue/dp/B00E0HK1MG

Or this.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-CD-DVD-Lens-Cleaner/dp/B000S5UJRQ/ref=pd_bxgy_23_text_z

If you have a *constructive* suggestion, don't let me stand in your way.

[JimK]

/Sigh. Head, then, not heads. The lasery bit that reads the cd. Clean it,
with a disc. /q

Chortle. Lens?

Jim K

[GB]

Post by JimK
/Sigh. Head, then, not heads. The lasery bit that reads the cd. Clean it,
with a disc. /q
Chortle. Lens?

Wow, you really are sad if you find that funny. Was the meaning of what
I wrote in any way at all obscured by my using the word head rather than
lens? Was the suggestion of using a head cleaning disc a bad one?

As I said, if you have anything useful to say, don't let me stand in
your way.

Have you sorted out your duct fan yet?

[JimK]

/Wow, you really are sad if you find that funny. Was the meaning of what
I wrote in any way at all obscured by my using the word head rather than
lens? Was the suggestion of using a head cleaning disc a bad one?

As I said, if you have anything useful to say, don't let me stand in
your way.

Have you sorted out your duct fan yet? /

Hehehe you sour old git :-)

Jim K

[GB]

Post by JimK
/Wow, you really are sad if you find that funny. Was the meaning of what
I wrote in any way at all obscured by my using the word head rather than
lens? Was the suggestion of using a head cleaning disc a bad one?
As I said, if you have anything useful to say, don't let me stand in
your way.
Have you sorted out your duct fan yet? /
Hehehe you sour old git :-)

In a fit of madness, I chose to respond to your post. Anyway, I study
your posts, as I want to see what happens after you connect your duct
fan to a lighting dimmer.

[JimK]

/In a fit of madness, I chose to respond to your post. Anyway, I study
your posts, as I want to /q

..... continue trolling you.

There corrected it for you:-)

Jim K

[Simon263]

Post by JimK
Having googled the removal procedure I'm not that surprised they attempt
to claw a charge back....
How can it not be faulty though? If you can demonstrate the fault to them
isn't that sufficient? Or is this good old traditional Vauxhall warranty
squirming?
Jim K

As an example: The heads on the CD player might be dirty. Would that be a
warranty fault, or fair wear and tear, or user error (putting in dirty
discs)? I'd certainly try a cleaning disc before shelling out £96 to have
the radio removed.

Particularly if you are a smoker.

[bm]

Post by Simon263

Post by JimK
Having googled the removal procedure I'm not that surprised they attempt
to claw a charge back....
How can it not be faulty though? If you can demonstrate the fault to
them isn't that sufficient? Or is this good old traditional Vauxhall
warranty squirming?
Jim K

As an example: The heads on the CD player might be dirty. Would that be a
warranty fault, or fair wear and tear, or user error (putting in dirty
discs)? I'd certainly try a cleaning disc before shelling out £96 to have
the radio removed.

Particularly if you are a smoker.

Shirley that should be "particulate if you are a smoker?"
I'll get me coat.

[Tim Lamb]

Post by sm_jamieson
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit
sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after
several tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns
out not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to
fix it. Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.
Does that situation seem reasonable ?
Anyway, I have sent an email to Vauxhall to try to find out exactly
what faults are covered on the CD400 so I can try to second guess the
dealer. The dealer says they do not have this information, so I presume
they find the fault and then ask the manufacturer if that particular
fault is covered.
On various internet forums there are people saying the diagnostic check
has not found anything, and they have still been billed ! In my case I
would assume it is some type of mechanical fault, and do not want to
potentially be charged for a useless run on a diag machine.

Hmm.. I felt stuffed after a diagnostic test failed to find a fault
after a relay failure required an AA call out and report. Fault
continued through the warranty period with Ford denying any
responsibility. My wife became adept at banging the lid of the relay box
with the tin of sweets from the glove box.

Out of warranty, I replaced the relay (£20.00) and the fault has not
returned.

[Brian-Gaff]

In my experience cd units or dvd units in cars seem to be less than
reliable. Muck is the main problem usually, next is condensation gluing the
dust on.

The problem is even if they put a new unit in, its only a matter of time
till it does the same thing again.

Brian
--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"sm_jamieson" <***@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:4f303943-a4d2-47b7-b566-***@googlegroups.com...
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit
sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after several
tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns out
not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to fix it.
Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.

Does that situation seem reasonable ?

Anyway, I have sent an email to Vauxhall to try to find out exactly what
faults are covered on the CD400 so I can try to second guess the dealer. The
dealer says they do not have this information, so I presume they find the
fault and then ask the manufacturer if that particular fault is covered.

On various internet forums there are people saying the diagnostic check has
not found anything, and they have still been billed ! In my case I would
assume it is some type of mechanical fault, and do not want to potentially
be charged for a useless run on a diag machine.

Simon.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Post by Brian-Gaff
In my experience cd units or dvd units in cars seem to be less than
reliable. Muck is the main problem usually, next is condensation gluing
the dust on.
The problem is even if they put a new unit in, its only a matter of time
till it does the same thing again.

I've got a CD autochanger in both cars. One dates from '97, the other a
few years newer. Neither have given any problems.

[fred]

Post by Dave Plowman (News)

Post by Brian-Gaff
In my experience cd units or dvd units in cars seem to be less than
reliable. Muck is the main problem usually, next is condensation gluing
the dust on.
The problem is even if they put a new unit in, its only a matter of time
till it does the same thing again.

I've got a CD autochanger in both cars. One dates from '97, the other a
few years newer. Neither have given any problems.
--
*"I am " is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. *
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

True. I've had a cd changer in my cars for years and none have ever given me any trouble. Probably because I don't use them. Can there be a worse environment for listening to music than inside a tin box ?

[Rod Speed]

Post by fred

Post by Dave Plowman (News)

Post by Brian-Gaff
In my experience cd units or dvd units in cars seem to be less than
reliable. Muck is the main problem usually, next is condensation gluing
the dust on.
The problem is even if they put a new unit in, its only a matter of time
till it does the same thing again.

I've got a CD autochanger in both cars. One dates from '97, the other a
few years newer. Neither have given any problems.

True. I've had a cd changer in my cars for years and none
have ever given me any trouble. Probably because I don't
use them. Can there be a worse environment for listening
to music than inside a tin box ?

Yes, obviously inside where there is a fucking great diesel generator
running.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Post by sm_jamieson
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after several tries.

Typical with car CD players. The player unit gets dirty through the disk
slot, and eventually the laser optics are impacted. If you wait a bit
longer, it will probably become sufficiently unreliable as to be obviously
faulty every time.

I have found a blast with an air duster through the loading slot can can
improve things for a while, but eventually it won't help anymore.

A cleaning disk might fix it, although the thought of those things with
a couple of brushes spinning in a drive never fills me with confidence.

It probably needs taking out, opening, and properly cleaning out.

[Bob Eager]

Post by Andrew Gabriel

Post by sm_jamieson
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit
sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after
several tries.

Typical with car CD players. The player unit gets dirty through the disk
slot, and eventually the laser optics are impacted. If you wait a bit
longer, it will probably become sufficiently unreliable as to be
obviously faulty every time.
I have found a blast with an air duster through the loading slot can can
improve things for a while, but eventually it won't help anymore.
A cleaning disk might fix it, although the thought of those things with
a couple of brushes spinning in a drive never fills me with confidence.

A cleaning disk with lots of dirt on the brushes. Then you'll have a hard
failure.

[Chris Bartram]

Post by sm_jamieson
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after several tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns out not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to fix it. Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.
Does that situation seem reasonable ?
Anyway, I have sent an email to Vauxhall to try to find out exactly what faults are covered on the CD400 so I can try to second guess the dealer. The dealer says they do not have this information, so I presume they find the fault and then ask the manufacturer if that particular fault is covered.
On various internet forums there are people saying the diagnostic check has not found anything, and they have still been billed ! In my case I would assume it is some type of mechanical fault, and do not want to potentially be charged for a useless run on a diag machine.
Simon.

I think it unlikely that the diags will find anything: on VAG cars the
radios are usually diagnostic capable, and VCDS will read codes, but
fault codes are usually limited to telling you if a speaker output or
the antenna amplifier are disconnected.

[Phil L]

"sm_jamieson" <***@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:4f303943-a4d2-47b7-b566-***@googlegroups.com...
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit
sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after several
tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns out
not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to fix it.
Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.

Does that situation seem reasonable ?

Anyway, I have sent an email to Vauxhall to try to find out exactly what
faults are covered on the CD400 so I can try to second guess the dealer. The
dealer says they do not have this information, so I presume they find the
fault and then ask the manufacturer if that particular fault is covered.

On various internet forums there are people saying the diagnostic check has
not found anything, and they have still been billed ! In my case I would
assume it is some type of mechanical fault, and do not want to potentially
be charged for a useless run on a diag machine.

If they are disks you've burned yourself on a computer, it's normal.
Shop bought CD's normally play without fuss on mine (Citroen) but it doesn't
like home made ones - they do eventually play, but after many reloads.

You've got to ask yourself, is this minor irritation worth spending a
hundred quid on to diagnose, and then possibly another 100 to fix? -
personally, I wouldn't waste even a tenner - it (eventually) plays the
disks, that's what it's supposed to do

[Adrian]

Post by sm_jamieson
Astra just under 3 years old, still "under warranty". CD400 radio unit
sometimes reports an error on inserting a disk, usually works after
several tries.
Dealer says we will have to put it on a diagnostic machine, if it turns
out not to be covered, it will cost you £96 and obviously a charge to
fix it. Even bloke on the phone said it's a Catch 22 situation.
Does that situation seem reasonable ?

That non-warranty faults are chargeable?

Yes, absolutely.

For all the dealer knows, the CD player's been fed a diet of jam-smeared
biscuits by a feral 3yo.

[JimK]

/For all the dealer knows, the CD player's been fed a diet of jam-smeared
biscuits by a feral 3yo/q


Well the ops alleged surname is 'jamieson'......

Jim K

[sm_jamieson]

Post by JimK
/For all the dealer knows, the CD player's been fed a diet of jam-smeared
biscuits by a feral 3yo/q

My own Feral is not yet 2 years old ...

Post by JimK
Well the ops alleged surname is 'jamieson'......

Ha !

An email to Vauxhall UK elicited the response:

The diagnostic fee will also be meet by the customer until the cause of the fault is found. If the fault to the unit is due to a failure of part, or a breakdown of a part over time, the diagnostic fee would be reimbursed to you. The fault would have to be due to miss-use, or caused by yourself for diagnostic fee to be chargeable.

So if they cannot find a fault (it is intermittent), the owner is left with the diagnostic fee, which is unavoidable I suppose.

Since the warranty runs out in July, I think I will just have to fix it myself when it gets bad enough. It has actually been OK for the last few insertions of the disk "The Wheels On The Bus" !

Simon.

[Vir Campestris]

Post by sm_jamieson
Since the warranty runs out in July, I think I will just have to fix it myself when it gets bad enough. It has actually been OK for the last few insertions of the disk "The Wheels On The Bus" !

Seems to me it might be nice if it didn't play it! (It's 25 years since
my kids wanted that, and I still shudder...)

Andy

[Chris French]

Post by Vir Campestris

Post by sm_jamieson
Since the warranty runs out in July, I think I will just have to fix
it myself when it gets bad enough. It has actually been OK for the
last few insertions of the disk "The Wheels On The Bus" !

Seems to me it might be nice if it didn't play it! (It's 25 years since
my kids wanted that, and I still shudder...)

I didn't mind WOTB, we used to invent sillier and sillier verses.

I did burn a copy of a cd with a couple of annoying songs removed
though.