This all happened to my Altea-NO JOKE!

[Goblin]

My wife and I are at out wits end! Everything you are about to read has happened to our 3 year old Altea and would love to hear if anyone else has had such a problematic car.

Since we bought the car as an ex-demo from a Seat garage in Forfar, Angus with 1500 miles the following has gone wrong:-

1. Warped back disc brakes - replaced

2. Climate control broke down. Just made a noise - was told the wrong compressor had been fitted to my car - replaced

3. Radio switched itself on when noone was in the car - replaced

4. Interior lights switched themselves on when car was locked up - sensor was replaced

5. Back passanger side window would go down when car was locked up - door lock fault blamed and replaced

6. Climate control failed to work at long motorway drives. Again just made a noise - motorised fan blamed and was told that it was fixed but as of yet it has not been

7. Car switched to limp mode for no reason luckily on a quiet A road - Fault blamed on the rain!! Fault was logged on the car so switch was replaced

8. 2 weeks later the car went into limp mode at 80mph on the M8 in Glasgow at rush hour! This was the last straw as my wife is 7 months pregnant and our 2 year old was in the car at the time. Both were very scared.

I have spoken to Seat 3 times and emailed them 3 times. The last time I spoke to them (yesterday) I was told that they had NO RECORD of me ever emailing them and although they have a records of my calls my case had been closed!?

I need your help!! Neither my wife nor myself trust the car anymore or Seat.

 

[JonTelfer]

Hmmm, rings a fairly depressing note for me. There are a few people around who have had a similar Friday afternoon car. Mine's been into the dealer every month since I bought it with an ECU problem. Currently the car goes into limp mode every other time I start it and my wife is 2 days away from being 9 months pregnant, so I can really do without this.

No idea how to handle Seat UK, generally though if you want to take claims further you need to be using a communication method that has a proof of delivery - either get them to acknowledge emails or send letters via recorded delivery.

Good luck,

Jon

 

[Goblin]

Do you think it would be worth contacting Watchdog or 1 of the weekly motoring mags to make Seat sit up and listen? The worst thing is my warranty ran out today!

 

[AndyHazza]

I agree with Jon, you need to have some way of proving that they have received your letters or emails etc. Have you spoken to Seat UK or just your local dealer?

 

[Goblin]

I have spoken to Seat UK 3 times and although the have a record of my calls they don't have a record of the contact emails I sent from Seat UK homepage. I now have a direct email address and the customer care managers name so I will be getting in contact with them today. To be honest the garage has been as much use as pushing water up a hill with a rake!! Yes the have carried out the work, but most of the problems have reoccurred at some point. And with my warranty expired I have a funny feeling I may be out of pocket sometime soon.

 

[BMH 25]

Sorry to hear your troubles but it may have gone wrong when you bought a demo car ! i used to work for a car garage and every demo car gets treated worse than a HIRE CAR ( really ! ) that would explain the warped discs as well.


To be perfectly honest id sell the car ASAP and find an alternative, i know it may sound a bit drastic but i think if there are women and children involved it may be the best.

 

[Goblin]

Well BMH the test drive we had with the garage was like a rollercoaster ie the aged salesman thought he would be clever to drive like an arse! Alarm bells should have rung then!

As for selling the car; I would love to but with 1 year left to go on the HP I could get more for it then. However it boils down to safety and I agree with you when it involves my wife and kids then it is a different ball game and selling is the right option. I would like to see what Seat UK will offer me for all the faults and hassle the car has caused. An apology would be nice!!

 

[FR+TDI]

Really sorry to hear all your problems. It appears that there are some really crap dealers out there! I am very lucky that my local dealer has won dealer of the year for years and are absolutely fantastic and that despite the dogs life I give my Altea, its been pretty much faultless! For example a friend of a friend bought a Leon 2.0TDI Sport which had problems, ecu, squeaks & rattles, etc. After three visits to the dealer with all the problems they gave her a new car! Its a pity that we're in Wales and so far from you! Saying that they openly tell local people who buy cars elsewhere (especially off the net) and do not 'support' them that they will give them a service which reflects this! Their choice & perogative I suppose and I can't blame them!
Goblin, with the winter approaching with snow & ice, I know where my Altea would be going if I was experiencing what you are!!! ;-)

 

[Goblin]

Good to hear that you have had no problems FR! I have been looking on the net to see if the faults I have had are common place on Seat cars but with not much luck really certainaly not to the extent I have experienced. A Friday afternoon car for sure!

The dealer has openly said that the faults are known to Seat but not on the same car. If only they would offer me a new one but that is never going to happen. What I would like to know if anyone has had any of the problems I have listed on their cars and any new ones that I have'nt listed?

 

[Goblin]

Update...update...update...

Just got off the phone with Seat UK customer services and guess what.... yes you are right not interested in anything I have told them regarding the car. I even had to demand an apology from them!!!

So any ideas on my next course of action as I am certainly not backing down from this? As my car has had so many faults I requested they extend my warranty for a further 2 years which they said no (well 1 of their callcentre staff said she couldn't do that). Not an unreasonable request due to the hassle I have had and even the girl agreed she would have asked for the same! So I will email the head of Seat UK customer care and let you know. But if anyone has any other ideas let me know.

 

[Adam R]

i would make a call to watch dog etc.

also there is something in the law that states, if the goods are not up to standard then they can be refused and can be refunded how much it is currently worth.

how long you had the altea for now ?"

 

[Alanovich]

Really sorry to hear all your problems. It appears that there are some really crap dealers out there! I am very lucky that my local dealer has won dealer of the year for years and are absolutely fantastic and that despite the dogs life I give my Altea, its been pretty much faultless! For example a friend of a friend bought a Leon 2.0TDI Sport which had problems, ecu, squeaks & rattles, etc. After three visits to the dealer with all the problems they gave her a new car! Its a pity that we're in Wales and so far from you! Saying that they openly tell local people who buy cars elsewhere (especially off the net) and do not 'support' them that they will give them a service which reflects this! Their choice & perogative I suppose and I can't blame them!
Goblin, with the winter approaching with snow & ice, I know where my Altea would be going if I was experiencing what you are!!! ;-)

Hi there - which dealer is it that you are speaking of? I live in Reading but my mum's near Carmarthen and is thinking of a new car so I'd like to steer her towards a SEAT and a decent dealer! Also, I'd probably be able to get them to service my car etc whilst I'm down there as I don't have huge amounts of faith in/love for my local dealer!

 

[BMH 25]

Well BMH the test drive we had with the garage was like a rollercoaster ie the aged salesman thought he would be clever to drive like an arse! Alarm bells should have rung then!

As for selling the car; I would love to but with 1 year left to go on the HP I could get more for it then. However it boils down to safety and I agree with you when it involves my wife and kids then it is a different ball game and selling is the right option. I would like to see what Seat UK will offer me for all the faults and hassle the car has caused. An apology would be nice!!

Bloody hell just read your other posts from when you replied to mine, thats very bad.

true about the alarm bells but its what goes on behind the customers backs which is wrong, thats one of the main reasons i left..

Regarding the HP for 1 year 90 % of companys will take an extra amount of credit on. I.E, so if you purchase another car you can add your exsisting HP to it. ( just a thought )

I would contact trading standards and they can send you several legal formats of how to write complaint letters quoting different laws and rights.


try this site mate http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/.

Hope this helps !!!!





OOOO forgot to add if you send anything via post to SEAT make sure it is done by recorded del and you keep a copy of everything you send and all receipts.

 

[Goblin]

i would make a call to watch dog etc.

also there is something in the law that states, if the goods are not up to standard then they can be refused and can be refunded how much it is currently worth.

how long you had the altea for now ?"

Thanks for getting back to me. I have had the Altea for 3 years now so I am out of warranty. When I spoke to Seak UK they told me that in EXTREME circumstances they would pay a complimentary payment towards any work done outwith the warranty. When I pressed them on how much of a percentage they would pay they went all shy on me and wouldn't disclose that information!!

So I am going to email the head of Seat UK tonight and see what happens but if I get no joy then I think Watchdog or a few car mags may be informed of this disgrace

 

[Goblin]

Bloody hell just read your other posts from when you replied to mine, thats very bad.

true about the alarm bells but its what goes on behind the customers backs which is wrong, thats one of the main reasons i left..

Regarding the HP for 1 year 90 % of companys will take an extra amount of credit on. I.E, so if you purchase another car you can add your exsisting HP to it. ( just a thought )

I would contact trading standards and they can send you several legal formats of how to write complaint letters quoting different laws and rights.


try this site mate http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/.

Hope this helps !!!!





OOOO forgot to add if you send anything via post to SEAT make sure it is done by recorded del and you keep a copy of everything you send and all receipts.

Thanks BMH for the links to trading standards. It is definately an avenue I am willing to go down thats for sure. Seat UK backed by VAG Group seen to be of the belief that they are above us mere consumers; all I want is to be safe in the knowledge that when my wife and kids are out in the car that they are safe.

Is that too much to ask???

 

[FR+TDI]

Hi there - which dealer is it that you are speaking of? I live in Reading but my mum's near Carmarthen and is thinking of a new car so I'd like to steer her towards a SEAT and a decent dealer! Also, I'd probably be able to get them to service my car etc whilst I'm down there as I don't have huge amounts of faith in/love for my local dealer!

Raymonds Garage, Pontyberem (01269 870285). Top guys, top service! Speak to Roger the service manager, he'll sort you out. Perhaps you could tell him how much I have been bragging them up on here! If you do say Colin from LG Fasteners!
Cheers.

 

[MORTON2525]

had the same sort of problem as you ,my radio came on by its self,left it in to my closest dealer took them 4 attemps to fix it and they left an airbay light on which i think in turn depolyed my airbags.now i am in talks with seat uk who in turn just wipe their hands of the problem by saying that there is crash data and its nothing to do with there equipment,even though there isnt a mark on the car
the only good bit of news i got was from a meeting with the owner of the dealership who said he would try his best to help me get a replacement
if this doesn t work i think i ll have to go down the same road as you with watchdog and then my lawyers
i think your best bet is to go after your dealer as it was them who sold you a heap of sh*t,they are liable if they new what they were selling you was scrap
get your own private engineer to have a look and give you the details then produce them to your dealer
best of luck

 

[Adam R]

Goblin.

just as a quick brain wave from this morning. PLEASE PLEASE when you write your letter to the head of SEAT uk. make sure you include that if the problem persists you would be taking the matter to consumer direct / watchdog or car mags about these issues.

a LEMON car is acceptable as its always going to happen , but constent persistant problems after they have 'fixed' it. bad publicity is expensive and if SEAT know you will be taking this further and they may be a bit more willing to help you out.

 

[ceepan]

I have been having problems with the alarm on my Altea. It was in the garage for 4weeks before they managed to resolve it. It turned out to be th door lock, but that was after the door control module was replaced 4 times. This was at the request of the Seat technical team, as there was a revised part but there were none instock.

I reported my dissatisfaction to Seat Customer care, but theay weren't interested. I said that I felt that they should review their procedures as, supplying 4 identical parts to fit to the car didn't seem like a sensible thing to do. I was told that there was nothing wrong with their procedures, although Ashley (whom I was speaking to) admitted to not having any technical knowledge.

I have to say that I am very disappointed in Seat, the lengthy delay in getting my car repaired was bad enough, but the failure to look further into this to see if they can avoid a similar situation in the future is just not acceptable.

 

[cardaft]

Your not having much luck at all ar you

I had loads of problems with my 2003 Arosa 1.0S, it was still under warranty then though.

The dealers are complete rubbish IMo and they dont want to know, soi got onto SeakUK and they seemed fairly helpful, i rang up most days to see what was going on (as the dealer ha dmy car for 3 months!).

They firstly started off by getting the dealer to try other things to fix the problem, but everything they did just put more wear ont ehengine imo and i kept on having togo back tothe dealer with and test drive my own car to see if it was right, it never was.

But in the end SeakUk eventually came down hard on the dealer and said they must put in a new engine, although the delaer later told me it was their idea, but i know different .

So it got a new engine and the service adverser got demoted i also got a free service.

So it worked out ok in the end, but i was still back to the dealer every other week for bits and pieces they had broken or couldnt fix when they had it for the 3 months!.

Luckily i had a brand new loan car, an ibiza SX, so atleast i wasnt without a car, and it had a good few miles on when i gave it back

So SeakUks service must have got worse, as i found them ok, just keep puching your dealer and SeatUK, its sounds like you have a really bad example there, and im not sure what can be done other than fix the problems, if it was a bit newer car or you had just bought it them id be pushing for a replacement but its not.

Ive just thought, my Arosa TDi is an ex demo , although its a 2002 car and its fine up to now. But its the quickest TDi Arosa ive been in, others seem not as nippy, so i dont know if thats something to do with how it was treated new

Good luck with it though, im sure you will get somethng sorted with it