Battery Warranty: What You Need to Know

Hi,

I have a question, and I'd like to get your opinion on the following case.

We bought an A3 from a VW dealer at the end of February (it had only 19,000 km on the odometer, belonged to an elderly man, had a complete service history, and was in like-new condition), but it was already quite old (manufactured in late 1996). That's why the price was still relatively high.
After 4 months, the battery was defective (it wouldn't start after work, and this was in the summer, without any consumers being turned on). I removed the battery and charged it overnight, but it was so damaged that the engine wouldn't even turn over, even after being charged.

We had a new battery installed by the dealer, and now we are being asked to pay the purchase price of the battery. Is this okay? Doesn't the assumption apply that the defect already existed at the time of the sale? The battery must have been so bad that it couldn't even be charged.

Hi.

The dealer definitely had a used car inspection done before selling the car.

It probably also states that everything is incredibly great and perfect.

That's the worst of it.

Especially when it comes to the battery, which can sometimes fail quickly and cause problems (he might imply this, and you might not be able to prove otherwise), he has a good chance.

It would be generous to give you the batteries for free, but if he doesn't want them, I think he's right to refuse.

m;
I also had a long dispute with the warranty provider and a dealer... but it was about the flexible pipe, which cost 700 EUR!

Hi,

Search the forum for: 'Sudden battery drain is normal.'

'At 8 years old, the battery is already old - sorry, but you shouldn't expect it to last much longer. If it still works for you, be grateful. However, I suspect the battery is still much more expensive than one you could buy at a hardware store or from a company like A-ber-T-otal-U-nfähig.'

As mentioned above, you can also damage a battery yourself, but given its age...

It's more likely to break down due to inactivity than due to being driven frequently.

I would also say that you probably have a difficult situation ahead of you.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure whether the product liability law could be applied here. If that's the case, the dealer must prove within the first six months that everything was working properly at the time of delivery. You could always try it and see.


Otherwise, I would also prefer to go to a hardware store or other 'institutions' because of the price.

Sure, thanks for that.

Sure, it's quite common for a battery to be retired after just 8 years of use.
What bothers me is that we bought the car four months ago at a reasonable price. In my opinion, the battery shouldn't be so worn out that it causes the car to break down in the summer, when you're driving without headlights or a rear window defroster.

Furthermore, I wanted to point out the product liability law, which means the retailer has to prove that the battery was still in good condition.

Let's see, maybe he'll think about it more carefully. After all, we have two cars there. Either the battery is the problem, or he'll never see those cars again.

Product liability issues can be quickly addressed with the used car inspection I mentioned.

But a good business relationship shouldn't fail because of a single battery.

m;

The battery is a wear-and-tear item, so there's no legal warranty for it. And if the car is 8 years old and the battery is the original one, you have to expect that it might fail.
I doubt that the battery falls under the product liability law because it was used. It would be different if the battery was purchased new.
I think this whole argument is ridiculous.