Should I fight the engine repair cost on my Hyundai i30?
QUESTION
Hi John,
My wife purchased a new Hyundai i30 premium petrol hatch in January 2013. It’s done 42,000km, has an “impeccable service record” (quote from local Hyundai service manager) however was diagnosed with piston slap 3 weeks ago.
To repair the engine the local Hyundai dealer installed a short motor with Hyundai paying for 75 per cent of the parts only. I had to pay the balance of $2200 (25 per cent parts and 100 per cent labour).
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I feel a modern petrol engine that has been service regularly should have lasted longer than 42000km. I have spoken to Hyundai customer service on at least four occasions asking them to pay more of the repair costs however with no success.
Can you help me with what I should do next, or do I just accept the outcome and move on?
Regards
John Rowe
AFFORDABLE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
ANSWER
Hello John,
They would probably say that engine wear was accelerated by virtue of the high number of cold starts which the engine has endured, as a proportion of it’s total operating time.
Bottom line: you could write them a stern but polite letter of demand referencing the points below about poor durability, using the ACCC’s complaint letter generation tool and if they come back with a better offer, great.
If not, it’s probably not worth fighting for because you’ll need a solicitor and an expert, and it’ll cost you more than $2k for that (and parties in civil court typically bear their own costs).
JC
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