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Hi- I have a 2007 VW Passat which I purchased from Grant McClellan European in Christchurch Nov 2014 as a fresh import. Since buying new with proper WOF etc I have had the car serviced mostly by Dubworld in Christchurch. Dubworld have also done a WOF in 2014 at purchase, another in 2015. My most recent one was done by a local garage Premium Tyre and Auto as I couldn't get booked into Dubworld.
Yesterday I had Miles Continental service my car as Dubworld were booked up. They identified a fault in the drivers side head lamp as a non compliant unit.
At no time have I ever had any work done on that so I am not sure how this could happen??
I rang AA who advised me to get a second opinion.
I went to Dubworld as they know the car. They actually confirmed the issue.
I asked them why they didn't pick this up or why it wasn't picked up as part of the compliance- they fobbed me off and said that I needed to go back to Premium as they did the most recent WOF- they implied that somehow the unit must have changed in that time!
Premium were not helpful either- in their view the headlight was the original factory fitted one and all was fine.
My problem is I need to get the car wof so that I can trade it. I am worried that this is a real issue that I am going to be left paying for it. Surely either the dealer, the importing inspectors, or Dubworld should be responsible?
Hope you can help.
Hi there,
I believe we spoke yesterday, I have left a message on your phone.
Because many hands have inspected the vehicle over the three years you have owned it, it would be hard for any one person to accept responsibility. However the most recent wof inspection pass would be responsible for the last failing and I would be asking questions of how they tested the beam pattern in order to pass. to get the wof, you may need to fit a second hand light and seek retribution in a tribunal for your losses. Just making sure but your vehicle hasn't had any frontal repairs recently?
Hi- no frontal repairs or any damage. The front LH headlight was replaced underwarranty in 2015 due to a failure in the automatic adjustment. I would assume that in the course of replacing an entire LH headlight assembly the very least you would do is make sure the RH one worked correctly too!
This is becoming a cautionary tale for members: never believe anyone and don't rely on the law to protect you even when buying from a dealer.