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LDV collapse leads to warranty worries
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
LDV’s slide into administration spells woe for many owners of the company’s products because the factory-backed warranties covering their vehicles will no longer be honoured. Around 35,000 LDV light commercials are believed to be still under warranty.
The crisis has left LDV dealers in an awkward position. If they honour the warranty themselves then they will be left out of pocket because they will not be able to reclaim the money for any warranty work from the manufacturer. If they fail to honour it, however, then they risk losing the customer’s goodwill; and future business. Many LDV dealers represent other makes too.
“It’s put us in a real quandary and all we can do is to treat each case on its merits,” one dealer told What Van?. “We don’t want to let customers down, but we don’t want to lose any more money either,” he continues. “LDV’s collapse means that some dealers have been left owed thousand of pounds that they’ll probably have to write off because they’re unsecured creditors.”
Formerly owned by Russian manufacturer GAZ, LDV will close for good unless PricewaterhouseCoopers can find a buyer for the business. The administrator says it has had several expressions of interest in the company and is now reviewing them. In the meantime all but 40 of LDV’s 850 or so employees have been made redundant.
On the positive side, spares availability for LDVs is unlikely to be an issue because Multipart is continuing to provide dealers with parts support.
It’s also worth noting that car and van supermarket Motorpoint is supporting all the late-registered LDV Maxus vans it has for sale at its five sites with a free 12 month parts and labour warranty covering all mechanical and electrical faults. An additional year-long warranty can also be purchased giving the owner protection for 24 months.
Motorpoint made a similar gesture in 2005 following the demise of MG Rover, whose collapse may now be the subject of a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. There are Motorpoint outlets in Burnley, Derby, Glasgow, Newport and Peterborough.
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