Rubbish Altea

[Steve74]

I bought a second hand Altea from a main dealer in October and have had nothing but problems with it and Seat.

When I bought the car it had windscreen wiper issues, a water leak and loads of rattles and wind noises - it had done 5500 miles and was a year old.

It's been into the dealer 6 times, a total of 6 weeks off the road.

Everytime they try to order a main part the response is: the part is on back order from Spain and no time can be given for it to be repaired.

Three times the car has been in for a water leak and every time it has come back (weeks later) the water leak is still there!!!

I suggested they check the condensation dump from the air-con and guess what - that is what they say is wrong with it now! Well that will be the reason it lets water in when it rains then!!!!!!

The car now has to get a new carpet but guess what - that's on back-order too!!!!

The dealer wont take the car back, no other Altea is available and Seat has been rubbish in dealing with any problems, basically not doing anything apart from saying take it to another dealer (about a 100 mile round trip) or that "the contract is with you and the dealer".

It's totally a pane in the backside and nothing seems to come of it no matter what I do!!!

If I could get rid of this piece of junk I would! I just can't believe there are no parts available for a new car and Seat just don't do anything to sort this out.!!!!

 

[Fast_Eddie]

I am trully sorry you have a bad car, but I have to say all I have had with dealers is grief so you are not alone!!!!
Not much consolation but they are the reason I will not be spending anymore money on a SEAT car for a long time.
Have a hunt around on here, there are a couple of decent dealers mentioned, but it is only a couple and not the norm.
Good luck!!

 

[Steve74]

It's absolutely crazy - Seat won't be around long if they don't get the product and aftersales right.

 

[P0LKR]

hi steve,

If you are still in the edinburgh area I highly recommend Livingstones in Uddingston nr Glasgow. They are excellent in every way.I have nothing but positives for them. Give them a try. Sandy is the head techie

 

[Steve74]

Hi paul, thanks for the recommendation. Seat had told me Stirling!!!

The workshop manager at the dealer called me and is trying to get another carpet and will water test the car again. He said he would be very unhappy if the car came back the same way!!

Failing they fix it I will try livi as it is much closer!

 

[Tell]

It sounds like you got a good solution from the board which is good and all very snappy.

I can't say that I have had that many problems with my Altea DSG TDI 2.0 bought in 2004. No water leaks.

Dealers piss me off since I get a price hike in the service cost when I arrive and they are an unfriendly lot. When I bought mine, the dealer who sold it to me, when out of business [LOL] and the order was completed somewhere else, it took five month from order to arrival in UK, so atleast it feeled like an over due baby.

That water leak aircon thingey has been reported on here before.

 

[nick radwell]

im having a bit of trouble myself with seat cos im just over 2 years into my warranty prob!! well i live in germany in army (got car in england from new) and get this my car broke down on the way back to england fair enough got towed to garage etc but they were tryin to tell me i got to bring my car to a seat garage in england to get my warranty work checked so they can pay for it.

As if i can just pop over to engalnd for an inspection how ridiculous!!!!! are seat working practices not the same all over europe ??!!

 

[Steve74]

Seat are being a little daft I think as if they dont look after their customers and get their act together people will just buy another make of car next time around.

 

[Tell]

Nick, think you will find that the warranty covers Europe, have a read of your warranty small print. I am pretty sure of this. That is why people import cars from Europe since they know that they are in warranty here. It's an EU thing. Pretty sure of that one.

 

[Colin]

I was reading something in a paper this weekend which said that if you have had to take your car back more than about 3 times then you are legally entitled to a full refund as the dealer has sold something that is not fit for purpose. Might be worth looking in to.

 

[Gregor]

I bought a second hand Altea from a main dealer in October and have had nothing but problems with it and Seat.

When I bought the car it had windscreen wiper issues, a water leak and loads of rattles and wind noises - it had done 5500 miles and was a year old.

It's been into the dealer 6 times, a total of 6 weeks off the road.

Everytime they try to order a main part the response is: the part is on back order from Spain and no time can be given for it to be repaired.

Hi Steve - which dealer did you buy this car from? Arnold Clarke, by any chance?

 

[Steve74]

Tried rejecting the car - nop chance with such a big retailer - yup AC!!!

They offered to swap my car for another but all they had were ex-rental ford focus and peugeots. Nothing came close to the size and price of the Altea.

I called again on Friday and finally spoke to the Service Manager who said they would not let the car come back un-fixed. When they fix it I'll believe them but it is a complete joke and nobody returns your calls or emails. I will never buy a car from that dealer again or Seat for that matter as their customer service department was rubbish too!

Next time I'll buy the Golf as their back up with our Polo has been great.

 

[P0LKR]

Hi Steve,

I bought my car from Livingstones and my mum bought one and i have now bought one for my wife. AC have a shocking rep especially the edinburgh one.

I now love SEATS. It shows you that the car companies must get their dealers right.

 

[Steve74]

The dealer does make a difference. Already had my Boxster replaced under warranty and took my new one in a couple of weeks ago and they chipped the paint!!

 

[Gregor]

Did you purchase the car as part of the SEAT used car package (i.e. with 24 months warrantly). If so, then I think you are able to use any SEAT dealer. I can vouch for my local dealer in Earslton (45 minutes south of Edinburgh, down the A68). They get an awful lot of trade from disgruntled AC Edinburgh customers.

Susan or Brian in the service dept. should be able to give you some advice - 01896 849 326

 

[Steve74]

Yup, it has full warranty.

Is AC a big problem then? There seems to be a big problem in terms of customer service and attitude.

 

[P0LKR]

I had a bad experience when i bought my peugeot from AC. i vowed never to buy from them again even if it cost me another £500.

There even used to be a website dedicated to complaints about them.

They do well cos they can do the best deals as they are such a big outfit and they advertise a lot. Basically they are high profile in Scotland

 

[Steve74]

I think that site was close down!!!

Just going to call them now...

 

[Norway]

You are legally entitled to reject the car and return it for a full refund. According to "The Sale and Supply of Consumer Goods Regulation 2002", if the goods have a fault at the time of sale (yours seem to have numerous), you are entitled to complain once the fault is discovered. After complaining you have a number of options open to you. If it is discovered within a "reasonable time", you can choose whether to reject the goods for a full refund, or to have it repaired or replaced. Sounds like your complaint started shortly (days, at least not more than 2 months) after buying the Altea. That is considered a "Reasonable Time". Consequently, the dealer CANNOT reject your request for a full refund. You can find a copy of the "Traders Guide" to the Regulations on the DTI website. This guide is what retailers/dealers often use to see what their rights and responsibilities are. Don't take no for an answer. The dealer will most likely roll over after you start to threaten with small claims court, etc. Hope this is of help. By the way, the fact that the car is used is irrelevant. A one year old car can still be expected to be without faults (Just in case the dealer tries to fob you off!) Hope this is of help!

 

[andycalvia]

ARNOLD CLARK do i have a story about them! In the first 3 months of me having my brand new 1.2 Ibiza bought in the Elederslie (now Paisley) branch i drove it for a week then ECU problems! After that i was in an Arosa (not excatly the same)! I tried to refuse the car but they wouldnt allow it saying they had a legal right to fix it, no matter how many government leaflets and Trade Description Acts stuff they refused to budge! When i finally got the car back was driving down the A9 when the electrics of the Car cut out! Car was towed back to my house by AA then the following morning was picked up by Arnold Clark! I went with the car to the Dealers and when the car was being offloaded from the transporter a support strap had gecome caught in the Wheels wishbone and the force of the reversing car snapped the cars wishbone!

Arnold Clark then refused to fix this as they said it must of been weakened my accident damage, likely from pot hole damage! I therefore kicked up stink and refused to take the car from them! about 2 weeks later after being Carless and numerous phone calls to them in which they were rude and arrogant! I received a bill from Arnold Clark in Paisley for TWO WEEKS storage of my car coming to just over £500!!!

That was the Final Straw and took them to the small claims court where the judge ruled on my behalf and got compensation off Arnold Clark! When i got my car back my TOM TOM sat nav and Bluetooth Car kit were missing, they refused it was thier responsibility and said they must not have been in the car! I then requested the CCTV images under the data protection act we are entitled to them if we have valid reason! So i informed the police of the Theft! 2 days later Arnold Clark Call saying they had found my propert which they had locked away in an office for safe keeping and had forgotten about it! YEAH RIGHT!!

I vowed from that day forward that Arnold Clark would never see my business Again, Arnold clark said that was my choice and actually had the cheek to tell me that 1 customer wouldnt matter to them! HOWEVER when my dad then Cancelled his Fleet order of 100 vehicles a week before delivery we got grovelling letters from them, which my dad returned with a simple phonecall saying "with your customer service, No thanks!" Thats the REAL Arnold Clark, not the caring man you see on Tv!

Even Amy his own daughter (my friend goes to uni with her) had a bad experiance with them...but thats for another day!