NSW Cost of Hire Car while Car Is Under Warranty

[JED]

Hi there,
My car broke down and had to be towed to the dealer where I normally service the car. It was purchased in August 2012, so within the 3 year warranty period. The NRMA technician diagnosed the problem as an issue with the alternator not charging (ie not a flat battery).
When I towed the car there, I was told that they had a queue of cars waiting to be serviced, but that they would see if they could fit mine in (no promises though). I stressed that the car had totally broken down and that I had no alternative car and being under warranty, it was reasonable to expect for some urgency on their part. The dealer did not make a loan car available and I was told to call the manufacturer to obtain a loan car from them - suffice to say, there was a vicious circle where the manufacturer would not provide a loan car until the dealer provided a diagnosis.
23 days later, I have a bill for $1025 for car hire. I think it is fair that these costs incurred as a result of the car being unavailable should be reimbursed under the warranty - where do I stand legally on this?
Thanks in advance.
JD

 

[Sarah J]

Hi JED,

Have you tried contacting Fair Trading NSW about your concern? They may be able to tell you what would be a reasonable solution here.

Otherwise, what did the dealer/manufacturer tell you when you bought the car? Did they say they would provide you with a replacement car if your car was being repaired during the warranty period?

 

[John R]

Hi @JED,
I agree with @Sarah J. You may also want to check if your car insurance or roadside assistance policy covers some of your car hire costs.

 

[JED]

Thanks guys,

I did ring Fair Trading but they said it would be more a point for negotiation and hope that the dealer or manufacturer is reasonable and they agree to pay costs..... But it doesn't seem fair that they could potentially just say no and I get stuck with the bill - alternatively if they had their act together, they would have looked at the car and dealt with it within a week at most, and they would put me at ease that any car hire costs would be covered by warranty.

As it turns out, it looks like the manufacturer may put the car hire costs against the warranty claim (at least they asked me to send them a receipt), so fingers crossed that they pay it. It's just not great to have to hope that they play ball, when I haven't done anything wrong and I would potentially be out of pocket for over $1k for a car that is under warranty.

At the time of purchase we didn't discuss the eventuality of what would happen in the event of a warranty event. I have cover from the NRMA for towing etc, but not for the car hire under the policy I have. I can double check my insurance, but once again, even if I did have cover, I would blow my excess and no claim bonus etc...

Cheers

JED