8 week old S60 - electrical problem not covered by warranty

[Lexman8]

As stated above, get the leasing company involved if you haven't already.

Seems to me that this so-called 'tampering' would most likely have taken place at the factory when the nut was (badly) refitted after the earth connections were made.

There is no evidence that you were responsible for it and therefore the dealer is wrong to refuse to correct the problem.

[Sphinx2000]

It looks like the bolt installed at factory, but no fully tightened. This explains why the top of the bolt is red and the thread is still unpainted. The wiring loom is then installed afterwards and bolt is tightened down. This explains the spanner marks on the bolt. I would push to say this is normal. Maybe the volvo mechanic is new or inexperienced?

[Sphinx2000]

Did you have any optional extra fitted to the car?

[Fursty Ferret]

I would actually be rejecting the car to make a point.

The dealer will be stuck with a car that’s lost 25% of its value and you’re free to get another of your choice (potentially not a Volvo I would imagine?). Might motivate them to think about their customers and respect their statutory rights in future.

[cheshired5]

OP's contract is with the lease company to supply X new and presumably working vehicle for Y pounds per month over Z period of time.
If the lessor isn't honouring that contract, the OP's complaint should be to the leasing company.
Any rejection would also need to be notified to and dealt with by the leasing company.

In turn, the leasing company should be dealing with whoever they have their agreement with, either Volvo UK or the supplying dealer if purchased directly or yet another finance company who supplied the leasing company with the funds to purchase the car.

If I rented a car from Enterprise for a couple of weeks and it broke down, I wouldn't go to the car manufacturer's main dealer demanding redress, I'd call Enterprise because that's who I've contracted with.
Leasing, contract hire, contract lease, daily rental, it's all the same. You ain't the owner so you deal with whoever you rent it from and let them do the work.

If I buy a Panasonic TV from Curry's which fails within a couple of months, I would deal with Curry's because that's who my agreement is with. I would not contact Panasonic to demand a resolution.
Dependant on how Curry's source their stock, it's then Curry's business to deal with their wholesale supplier or Panasonic directly to achieve their redress.

OP doesn't own the car so I'm confused as to why the OP is dealing with any Volvo main dealer before kicking off with the leasing company.
One of the biggest benefits of renting is that 99% of the time the problem isn't yours to solve so the end user arguing with a servicing dealer is completely the wrong way to solve the situation.

Let the vehicle owner and seller deal with it otherwise you're left with a pair of fighting monkeys whilst the organ grinders sit back and do nothing.

[S60D5-185]

A leasing company will always have far more clout and leverage than a private individual due to sheer financial numbers involved.

As Chesh say's, take it up with them and get them to sort it, after all it's their car.

[soupytwister]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

.....I'm confused as to why the OP is dealing with any Volvo main dealer before kicking off with the leasing company.

Thanks cheshired5. I'll get to the leasing company soon enough. The car broke down. I simply called VOC as one does and put the car into the Volvo dealer in the expectation the problem would get diagnosed and fixed quickly - don't feel the need to involve the leasing company at that stage in what should be a straightforward warranty investigation/repair - would just involve another party to the conversation unnecessarily *at that stage*. It's 8 weeks old. Shouldn't be a problem, right! I know I don't own the car, but as part of the contract you are obliged to get it serviced as per manufacturers schedule and to keep it roadworthy. It doesn't oblige you to liaise with the lease company for them to broker all warranty work. However, it needs must, I will be pushing it back to them!

Obviously things took a different turn on Friday. I called Volvo Customer Care to outline the issue to them, and they said they'd phone all 3 dealers the car has been through and come back to me Tuesday. Depending on what that response is, I'll then call the lease company if need be. Hopefully everyone sees sense before that.....and the car will get fixed free of charge asap!

[soupytwister]

Originally Posted by S60D5-185

A leasing company will always have far more clout and leverage than a private individual due to sheer financial numbers involved.

As Chesh say's, take it up with them and get them to sort it, after all it's their car.

Introducing the lease company adds another layer of communication to the whole process which can go 2 ways - it either resolves things quickly, or it adds more comms which take more days. Hoping Volvo themselves see sense and authorise the dealer to just get on with fixing it free of charge.

So....I've given Volvo a few days to sort it out between themselves and their franchisees. If they don't, I'll take it up with the lease company. Don't feel the need to go to the lease company quite yet. Tomorrow though.....

[soupytwister]

Originally Posted by Sphinx2000

Did you have any optional extra fitted to the car?

No. Was the factory spec S60 T5 Edition model. No Volvo extras added, either then, or since.

I should add though that since new, I've added some of my own optional extras which I'm unsure if Volvo will deem to be warranty impacting. 5 x humans, a pair of old sunglasses, a USB charger cable, an ice scraper, a Vodafone SIM, and a couple of reusable bags in the boot for the shopping. I didn't connect any of these to the earthing point, although maybe it would have helped? No doubt I'll get told that some of these would affect the warranty. Haha.

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by soupytwister

Introducing the lease company adds another layer of communication to the whole process which can go 2 ways - it either resolves things quickly, or it adds more comms which take more days. Hoping Volvo themselves see sense and authorise the dealer to just get on with fixing it free of charge.

So....I've given Volvo a few days to sort it out between themselves and their franchisees. If they don't, I'll take it up with the lease company. Don't feel the need to go to the lease company quite yet. Tomorrow though.....

I'm not for one second suggesting that the leasing company should have been involved when the car broke down but when you have had allegations made against you it really is time to pass the problem onto them.

Interested to see if Volvo do the obvious right thing .