Need help - Clutch Blown on DB9 after 8k
 

Sooo my GF's Aston Martin has a blown clutch, after only 8000km. We took it into the dealership and they said they would have to remove the tranny to check if there was a faulty clutch or just normal wear and tear.

A week goes by and they call back today saying it was normal use, and that we're on the hook for the full cost.

Now our local mechanic called B.S., he said the tread on the rear tires proves the car has been babied, and that there is nothing normal about an Aston blowing a clutch at such low mileage, and that it must be a faulty clutch.

My reply to the dealership involved stating that she has previously owned a 2008 DB9, and traded the car in a 28,000km with no clutch issues, this car has had 1 driver, mostly highway, my gf also has a 2009 911 Turbo with 60km that hasn't needed a new clutch.

So to me there is nothing 'normal' about a clutch for this car blowing at 8000km, i've asked for pictures to be e-mailed to me, as well as a letter stating they won't cover the repair, and their claim that this clutch was blown under normal useage.

Any other suggestions? What can I do to hold the dealership accountable? She has also purchased a 2010 Range Rover from them, and is a repeat customer, I'm shocked she is being treated this way when they have so much potential business to lose...

So your gf has a 911 Turbo, a Range Rover, and a DB9 and replacing a clutch is such a big deal? How much is an aston clutch, like $20,000?

So your girlfriend has a DB9 and a 911 turbo? count your blessings and fix the clutch :p

that sucks... How much is a new clutch on that car. i can't imagine it being more than 1k...

:icon18::icon18::icon18:

wrong forum maybe?

how old is your gf... or did she win the lottery?

and why does 1 person need 3 cars of that caliber..

Yes she does, that doesn't mean she likes getting raped on faulty parts. :shakes head:

It's the fast that the clutch is 15-20k and something that she babies so she shouldn't be responsible to replace it when it was obviously not her neglect that caused the failure...

can i date her(her cars) for the weekend? O.O

I am not on any Aston Forums and figured maybe you guys would have enough experience fighting crappy dealers on similar issues to give me some pointers....

I knew this was coming :stirthepot:
subscribed.

She started and sold a very successful company in her late 20's. She has the Porsche in our house in Florida, and Range Rover for winters here in Canada, and the Aston for summers.....

If you were young, successful and could afford to treat yourself after selling a company, wouldn't you?

I want jjaden's girlfriend! :D Hot, rich, has nice sets of wheels, and drives stick. Who said perfection isn't achievable?

Seems kind of odd to blow the clutch with that low a mileage. You would really have to beat on it pretty hard to have it wear out that quickly. I'm talking about hard launches, drifting, that sort of stupid stuff. I don't suppose Aston Martin has a corporate center you could contact? Even if I had that much loot to blow on cars, I'd certainly fight the dealership out of principle. No one deserves to get ripped off, even if you can afford it.

i meant in the other vehicles forum...

Does she have a sister? :tup:

Is there another dealer reasonably close that you could go to?

Look up the TSBs, might be able to help out in case you see one that describes the issue. Dealers tend to be a lot more cooperative(albeit grumpily) when you have a TSB in hand.

It's such a tease, with my driving record her insurance company made me sign a release saying I would never drive her cars or her insurance was void...:driving:

And he only has a $40000 Datsun. :icon18:

What do you mean? Is that mileage or price? You said the clutch blew after 8000 km. Did she buy the car new? Or was it used and she just added the 8000 km to the car? And please don't tell me a clutch is $15000. Even for an aston.

Repped,

Thank you, this is what I'm looking for, maybe i'll dig around and see if there is a corporate contact center, I just don't know who to deal with at this point once the service department has said 'too bad'

:icon18:
Wow, that sounds draconian. What did you do? Get drunk and run over a pack of schoolchildren or something? :roflpuke2::bowrofl:

She bought it new, the 8000km is the mileage, all put on by her, and she drives very responsibly.

I will find out the price but with labour etc.. I think they said it's 12-16,000 for a new clutch.

5 tickets, 2 years,, damn country roads.....

:shakes head:

yea probably. I'd only buy 1 high end car tho, probably an Aston or a high end Benz. Maybe a Zr1 or something. Seems like a lot to pay taxes and maintain 3 high end cars.

What was the company/what did it do if you don't mind me asking?

Does she ride the clutch when driving or slip it excessively when shifting? How about the adjustment of the clutch. It should be adjusted such that there is about 3-4 cm of free play from the pedal before it begins to disengage the clutch. If it wasn't adjusted properly from the factory it is possible that the clutch wasn't completely engaged when the pedal is all the way up. This will lead to slippage and burning of the clutch material. DId she ever notice clutch slippage or the smell of burning material?

How on earth can a clutch cost 12-16k? That's more than the cost of a twin turbo kit and a set of coilovers for the z. Even with labor costs, there's no way a clutch will cost that much. Maybe it's gold plated or lined with precious gems or something :rolleyes:

Well, if all else fails, you can tell her to trade in that p.o.s. aston for a 2012 nissan 370z. 44000 km on my car, including a ton of spirited drives and over a dozen track days, and the clutch is still as good as new :tup:

Normally you would go corporate at this point. I'd be surprised if they don't have a North American office.

Here you go:

Aston Martin of North America

wow. how much is your insurance for the z?

yeah i wanna know too, so i can make my own company and buy myself some supercars :driving:

How does she like to get raped? :yum: I'm only kidding!!! :tiphat:

My ex was quite wealthy and bought high-end cars. Well, not DB9 high-end but a brand new Lexus SC430 just for those 'summer days' as an example. ;)

She had a couple issues with cars and we always found that the high-end dealerships treated you completely different. She went through a set of brake pads on the Lexus in 10k miles (don't ask) and they were replaced for free, just because she's a good customer. She ran over something and it ruined the wheel & tire. They gave her a new wheel (free) with the purchase of a new tire at a good price.

I'm surprised your lady is having this issue.

No worries, to each their own. She co-founded a cosmetics (hair care) company which was eventually sold to Estee Lauder....

If the clutch was driven under "normal" conditions, why would it blow then? If it was driven outside of "normal" condition then I can see it being blown but as they stated... it was from "normal" driving.

Wow, we've had a completely opposite experience. It's quite surprising since there are only 2 official Aston Dealerships in Canada so you would think they would want her to be a return customer....

Maybe since there are only 2 they figure she has no other options so they can treat her as they please...

THIS, the clutch was driven under normal conditions, we suspect it blew because of a factory defect. She drives the other vehicles hard but has always babied the Aston. Yet the other cars have no problems, and the Aston is having issues... lame...

i dont understand how a clutch disc (which i'm assuming is the part that is damaged) could be 15k. makes no sense. The entire dual clutch transmission in the GTR is 20k if i'm not mistaken. get an aftermarket clutch or something. Theres plenty of high performance clutches that are around 500-1000

It hurts too much to even talk about. :mad:

Is she your sugar momma????? LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Yea, and I wouldn't be whining on an internet forum about replacing the clutch on my Aston Martin either.

I'm calling B.S. on this one.

I've never noticed her riding the clutch at all when I'm with her. This is her second Aston DB9 and her third Supercar and she's never had any clutch issues so I would guess she's pretty solid at driving standard.

One day the car was fine, the next all we could smell was clutch and the shifts where slipping and it was blown. It was very strange...

Sorry about the price, I spoke with the dealership since, and they estimate it between 8-9000$

:ohsnap1: You know what this means right??? Pics of her across the hood of each car.

even that is too much. i'm assuming its just a clutch disc, so it shouldn't be more than 1000 or 2000 at most. and labor should be no more than 1000. really, it shouldn't cost more than 3000 or 4000 at the very most. what is the breakdown of parts and labor cost? and what exactly is being replaced?

If the dealership insist the clutch is damaged by the driver, there's not much you can do because you are claiming coverage from them and they are the one who make the call. Sadly, they can say whatever they want.

Unless, you can find proof about the faulty part is caused by manufacture-defect AND they approve it.

But it won't happen most likely.

Talk to the your sales rep and Business Manager of the dealership might help.

Good Luck.

Has the dealership already taken it apart? If not, how would they know the clutch was damaged by the driver?