Used car

[codlessone]

We decided to buy a used car in March, the 26th to be exact.

Full spec, air con, climate control etc, electric pack. We looked at a couple of others before i spotted this on the WWW, low milage,48.320 approx, complete with warranty. Great lets have a look, test drive no problem, Sale agreed. £2.995.

Three weeks down the line, no charge to the battery, called the RAC out and he informed me that alternator was busted. I'll call the garage.

I did the fallowing day and explained what had gone on!!!. Sorry wear and tear said the used car sales owner. I decided not to argue with the bloke. New alternator, £160 fitted. BUT !!! And then the mechanic said the fan belt tensioner was knacked, another £90 to replace ! I asked the mechanic to check the tyres, No good he said, !! the salesman said he would put new tyres on, !! because they needed replacing, I had a hunch that he did not because it went thru the MOT, but when he said he would replace two tyres you would expect them to be !!wouldnt you ?? or is it just me being niave

The temprature warning lights came on, alarms going like the clappers. Anyways got it to the garage and he had a look at it, water pump gane and the cylinder head is knacked !!! To replace the broken bits and reair the damage cused by it £400+ !! I called the bloke who we got it off and explained our plight. When did you buy it, i told him and he said " I ONLY GAVE YOU A MONTHS WARRANTY " !!!!!!!!!!!!!. Anyways what do you want me to do was his next reply, At which my head went bonkers. He then said i DID NOT BUY THE WARRANTY !!
As you may gather i WILL not be getting any sympathy or help from the garage owner.

We bought it off this garage. Oh well not to worry, maybe i'm not the first to have had dealing like this with the garage owner.

[Norman]

Lets hope everyone remembers that name then ..... and where NOT to go
excellent information (although that don't help you I'm afraid)

norm

[jonny_s]

I personally think you do still have a case for the seller to either refund ( possibly less a small charge for usage ) or to pay for repairs. There was obviously a number of problems there at the moment of sale. Some of these may have been difficult to spot, however the tyres should have been spotted and the car should have been safe to drive.

The following was lifted from Citizens advice :-

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You bought the vehicle from a dealerYour consumer rights when you buy a vehicle from a dealer
If you bought the vehicle from a dealer, you will have certain rights under consumer law.

A secondhand vehicle must match its description, be fit for its purpose, and be of satisfactory quality. However, the standard for meeting the requirement that the vehicle is of satisfactory quality will be lower because it is secondhand. A secondhand vehicle should be in reasonable condition and work properly. When deciding whether a secondhand vehicle is in reasonable condition it is important to consider the vehicle’s age and make, the past history of the vehicle and how much you paid for it.

If a secondhand vehicle needs more extensive repairs than seemed necessary at the time it was bought, this does not necessarily mean that the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality. A secondhand vehicle can be of satisfactory quality if it is in a useable condition, even if it is not perfect.

If the vehicle develops a problem soon after you bought it, you may have a right to return the vehicle to the dealer and get your money back. This would probably need to be within about three to four weeks at the most of buying the vehicle. The problem would need to be fairly major, and you would need to take into account the age, mileage and price of the vehicle when deciding whether it is reasonable to take it back.

You must stop using the vehicle at once and contact the dealer. If you traded-in a vehicle, you are entitled to have it returned if it is still available, or to have the full value allowed on it, if it has been disposed of. If you have left it too late to claim a refund, or you don't want one, you may be entitled to ask for a repair or replacement. The fault must have been there when you bought the vehicle. If you do agree for a major fault to be repaired and the repair turns out to be unsatisfactory, it's not too late to ask for your money back.

If the dealer won't agree to put the problem right, you can take legal action up to six years from the date you bought the vehicle (five years in Scotland). However, it is probably unrealistic to take legal action for a fault in a secondhand vehicle, especially an older vehicle, once you have been using it for a reasonable length of time.

If you take the vehicle back within six months of buying it, the dealer should accept that there was a problem when the vehicle was sold and offer to repair or replace it. If the dealer doesn't accept that there was a problem when the vehicle was sold, they will have to prove this.

After six months, it will be up to you to prove that there was a major problem with the vehicle when it was sold. You will have to provide evidence of this so it may help to get an independent report which could establish the condition of the vehicle when it was sold.

If the dealer agrees to repair the vehicle, the repairs have to be carried out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you. The dealer must pay the costs of the repairs. If the repair has taken a long time, you may be able to use a service loan car or claim compensation, for example, for the cost of hiring a vehicle. If the dealer refuses to repair the vehicle, you are entitled to get it repaired elsewhere and claim back the cost from the dealer. If the vehicle can't be repaired or replaced or this is considered too expensive, taking into account the type of fault, you may have the right to get some or all of your money back. You will have to negotiate with the dealer to decide on what would be a reasonable amount. In deciding what is reasonable, you will need to take into account how much use you have had out of the vehicle.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I personally would pursue for repairs to be done for free or more likely a refund. You may have a fight on your hands but bad publicity for the dealer may cost him more.

Good luck

Jonny

[Tonyc]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I had a similar experience years ago (different garage) and took the garage to the small claims court and they were ordered to cough up in excess of a £1000. They never did pay me any of the money though and my solicitor said I had to take them to court again to force them to pay. I didn't bother as it was just so much hastle. The law is an absolute joke sometimes.
Lesson learnt. - Since then I have never bought from a garage again, I always buy privately. I am sure there are some good dealers out there, but you hear so many bad stories.

Hope you manage to get something sorted

[codlessone]

Thanks lads.
I have sent the trading standards office an e mail explaining everything. With luck they will get back to me and advice me.

This is on their website

We strive to go that extra mile to make buying one of our used cars a more friendly & enjoyable experience for all our customers.

[fisherman58]

Good Luck on getting it sorted,nothing worse than being conned by a dealer

[ohpollocks]

Hi Mate,

Jonny S thats good feedback. the citizens advice are really good if you can get them on board. We had a similar problem this year. with used cars its a dodgy situation and verbal discussions carry no weight. but fortunately like everything the car has to be fit for purpose (yours obviously wasnt). as far as wear and tear goes, you have not had the car long enough for them to use that as an excuse, the wear and tear happened previously. It might be a long fight but dont give up, the thieving ******

[codlessone]

Thanks lads

[09gmarsh2009]

id ov just punched the f****r m8,i hate rip off merchants.

[codlessone]

We have just had a rather long and sometime heated chat.
Anyways he has agreed to pay up.

A mix up in dates when we bought the car, my bloody fault, terrible with times and dates etc.

Car is being fisxed and he wants to see the itemised bill and we will be reimbursed,

Result.

[Topfly]

when it's fixed, sell it on, too many bad vibes.

[jonny_s]

Great result m8 glad you stuck to your guns and got a fair result.

Really bugged me when I first read you post, well done.

Jonny

[codlessone]

when it's fixed, sell it on, too many bad vibes.

Ditto mate, i was thinking the same, even our lass said get it flopped, LoL LoL

Thanks Jonny s

[boatangler33]

glad to hear you got a result

[ohpollocks]

great result.....