Sold a faulty second hand vehicle

[Bargin Betty79]

Hi Guys,
I hoping you can give me some advice on my rights as a consumer and the next steps to take!
Four months ago I purchased a second hand 'P' reg vehicle from a local garage with a good reputation. The vehicle was sold to me with a 12 month MOT and 6 months tax.
In the four months I have had it, I have topped up the oil and water on a monthly basis. On Friday the vehicle broke down and had to be recovered to a local garage who have informed me that the engine has siezed due to no oil and will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth!
I have contacted the garage I purchased the car from and they have said it was only sold with a 7 day waranty, they also had the cheek to say its possibly due the age of the car, I don't care how old it is, I expect it to have lasted longer than four months!
I feel I have been sold a faulty vehicle as no oil warning light has ever come on to show me that the oil needed topping up more than I did!
I'd be glad to any advice on how to proceed with this as I feel that the garage should take some responsibility!
Thanks
BB xx

[vikingaero]

Sometimes it's possible to get the garage to contribute.

But I feel that at the end of the day you bought a 14 year old banger and you checked the oil/water on a monthly basis. The fact that oil/water was needed should have made you check it far more often.

I drive a 2 year old car and check under the bonnet 2 or 3 times a week - before every long journey.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

not know or really care whos in the right or wrong, but if you were topping it up monthly didnt you think something was up?

I check my car at least 2 times a week manually and study the dash reports when i turn it on each time

[uktyler]

lots of older cars don't have an oil level warning light, you have to check under the bonnet. I, like the others on here check the oil more than once a month. How many miles did you drive each month? How low was the oil?

Can you get a secondhand engine, and get someone to fit it?

[Hintza]

I suspect taking the age into account, your lack of maintenance etc you are stuffed. Best hope in my view is to go back to them and ask for some goodwill if you buy another car.

But at the end of the day it's a banger and I am pretty sure a court would agree.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

lots of older cars don't have an oil level warning light, you have to check under the bonnet. I, like the others on here check the oil more than once a month. How many miles did you drive each month? How low was the oil?

Can you get a secondhand engine, and get someone to fit it?

I never trust them anyway, like air bags you only really know if its too late

THere is also a lot of confusion about that an oil warning light actually is, level and pressure are different thigns

[steveo3002]

the oil light isnt a warning to "top up" its for low pressure

id imagine the handbook will suggest a weekly check of the oil level , if you didnt bother checking it then its kinda down to you

even new cars can use alot of oil, its down to the owner to check it

how much were you topping up each month? for how many miles , theres usualy around 3-5ltrs of engine oil , thats alot of oil to use up completely

[Bargin Betty79]

I'm obviously rather naive when it comes to cars and expected the oil warning light on the dash (there's deff one there!) to show up when something was wrong, I've only ever had to top the oil up by small amounts so it never gave me any reason for concern.
I've only done about 800 miles in the four months I've had the vehicle and would have expected a fault that causes an engine to sieze up to have been going on longer than that!
Looks like I'm not really going to get anywhere with this problem, so its back to the bus for me!
BB

[TiTheRev]

I think the basics have been covered here. The car is 12years old (not 14), but still, if you've been checking and needing to top up the oil/water regularly, you should have reported that after the first or second time, you may have had more come back then.

The other trouble is, that you dont know anything about previous owners and use. If it had have been sold on by a 17year old, you may have suspected mis-use, but sold by a garage you presume all is ok. In fairness to the garage they may not have known either...?

[tinkerbell84]

Were there no obvious leaks under the car (after parked etc?)?

[Bargin Betty79]

There were no leaks found when my garage checked it but my mechanic did say it could have been burning oil which resulted in it using so much.
I suppose its just down to my inexperience as a car owner, I assumed a car with a larger engine than what I was used to would need topping up more regularly than the small one's I owned previously.
I take into account everyone's comments about the garage,I'm not asking them for a refund, but being a bit more understanding and helpful in the situation would have been nice!

[Conor]

Its a 12 year old second hand car. No guarantees. In addition to that oil,water, screenwash and tyre pressure level checks SHOULD BE DONE ON A WEEKLY BASIS. You didn't and now its cost you.

[TiTheRev]

Full of sympathy as ever ;) :rotfl:

[Wig]

OP,
Are you sure you know what you are doing when you checked the oil level?
Was the car on a flat horizontal surface when you checked the oil?
Can you describe your method of checking the oil? & topping up
How much is a "little" that you topped up by & how many times?

It all souns a bit suspicious to me, a car that didn't need topping up by much suddenly has an unnoticed huge loss of oil to cause engine seizeure :confused

I'm not thinking you have much comeback against the seller, I'm actuially more concerned with your car maintenance skills......... for your next car.

[Bargin Betty79]

I'm no qualified mechanic, but am more than able to check the oil correctly, when the engines cold etc, I've done this will all the cars I own with no problems
This one need topping up once by about a quarter of a can of oil and the second time (about 5 weeks ago) not even by that much.

Your not the only one confused by this whole thing, as there's been no visable oil leaks, smoke coming from the car or noticeable 'odd' noises, I'm at a loss as to whats happened but as it seems that I've no come back to the garage I brought it from I'm now £2,000 out of pocket or paying for an engine rebuild!

BB

[TiTheRev]

£2000 for a P reg car??? :shocked:

[Wig]

I'm no qualified mechanic, but am more than able to check the oil correctly*, when the engines cold etc, I've done this will all the cars I own with no problems
This one need topping up once by about a quarter of a can of oil and the second time (about 5 weeks ago) not even by that much.

Your not the only one confused by this whole thing, as there's been no visable oil leaks, smoke coming from the car or noticeable 'odd' noises, I'm at a loss as to whats happened but as it seems that I've no come back to the garage I brought it from I'm now £2,000 out of pocket or paying for an engine rebuild!

BB

* I'm afraid I will only believe that when you have spelled out exactly how you check oil, what makes you think "it needs some oil" and which oil you use, and your method of topping up. - I'm no longer surprised when I find out people who have no idea about the most basic of things car-related.

1/4 can of oil, is that a 4 litre can or a 1 litre can, i.e. a top up of 1 litre or of 250ml?. I'm afraid we still don't know how much a "little" is.

[Bargin Betty79]

I take the following steps:

Make sure the vehicle's on a level piece of road with a cold engine.
Remove the dipstick and wipe it clean with a cloth then put it back in.
Take it out again and check the level. If the oil is below the "L" mark, pour in some oil and then recheck the level with the dipstick. If its still low add more oil,wait a few mintues then recheck.

It was a one litre can of oil, the correct type checked in the hand book,
and it took about a quarter of it to bring it back up to between the H and L, the second time it was showing as on the L line so I added just enough to bring it back up, as I said before I'm no qualified mechanic and only check the oil the way I was shown by my dad.

[JimmyTheWig]

I think a lot of people have been really harsh on the OP in this instance.

I, too, would be cross if I were in his position. I don't think there is much you can do about it, but maybe a bit of sympathy would have been better than what's being dished out...

[Wig]

Ok, well we can safely assume then that the car should still have had plenty of oil in the sump.

What symptoms were there whem the car broke down & attempting to restart, were you driving at the time?

So my question for the garage would have been -
How do you know it has seized
Why do you think that happened, given the amount of oil in the sump?

Did you go to the garage and check the oil level yourself. Logically there should have been oil in the engine.

[Ginger Nuts]

I think it's ridiculous, they should at least replace the car with a much newer one,guarantee it for the length of time you own it and give you some satisfactory conpensation. Cowboy traders as usual :(











:D:D:D

[photome]

£2000 for a p reg car?

For that price i think the garage should contribute something, but I to fail to undersatnd where the oil went. It was full one day and empty and seized the next it doesnt make sense

[anewman]

I think OP was saying £2k is the likely repair cost - not the cost of the car.

I'd just get another of the same car and strip this one and consider it a spares donor. Get yourself a haynes, some tools, and take out as much as many bits as you can store.

[photome]

I think OP was saying £2k is the likely repair cost - not the cost of the car.

I'd just get another of the same car and strip this one and consider it a spares donor. Get yourself a haynes, some tools, and take out as much as many bits as you can store.


She said she was £2000 out of pocket or having to pay for an engine rebuild

[sportage1kia]

Hi Guys,
I hoping you can give me some advice on my rights as a consumer and the next steps to take!
Four months ago I purchased a second hand 'P' reg vehicle from a local garage with a good reputation. The vehicle was sold to me with a 12 month MOT and 6 months tax.
In the four months I have had it, I have topped up the oil and water on a monthly basis. On Friday the vehicle broke down and had to be recovered to a local garage who have informed me that the engine has siezed due to no oil and will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth!
I have contacted the garage I purchased the car from and they have said it was only sold with a 7 day waranty, they also had the cheek to say its possibly due the age of the car, I don't care how old it is, I expect it to have lasted longer than four months!
I feel I have been sold a faulty vehicle as no oil warning light has ever come on to show me that the oil needed topping up more than I did!
I'd be glad to any advice on how to proceed with this as I feel that the garage should take some responsibility!
Thanks
BB xx
Hi there
Just happen to see your thread. I do not believe in this so called 7 day warrenty. I would call in your local trading standards office in the area you purchased the car and see what they say. If the car was purchased with a new mot then its up to the garage to help to put it right. Good luck
Regards

[TiTheRev]

Hi there
Just happen to see your thread. I do not believe in this so called 7 day warrenty. I would call in your local trading standards office in the area you purchased the car and see what they say. If the car was purchased with a new mot then its up to the garage to help to put it right. Good luck
Regards
+1

Unless you've signed up to this 7day warrenty, with full knowledge of the fact, then it's a SOGA issue and in reality you have at least a few months unwritten warrenty. Check trading standards or the CAB. You will have more come-back than 7days!

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

Hi there
Just happen to see your thread. I do not believe in this so called 7 day warrenty. I would call in your local trading standards office in the area you purchased the car and see what they say. If the car was purchased with a new mot then its up to the garage to help to put it right. Good luck
Regards


do you have any idea what an MOT actually is?

[MrsTine]

Age of the car aside - I had a fab old Landrover (Series IIa for those car nuts out there ;) ) and it lost nearly an engine full of oil over night once. Bear in mind I drove this car daily and because of it's age I always checked it. A mate of mine was there when I'd checked it the night before so I KNOW it had plenty of oil. 3 miles down the road next day VERY loud and odd clunking - long story short - no oil... We spent days taking that car apart to find where the oil had gone - and I mean we stripped that engine ALL the way down (well we had to anyway to fix it...) - the only thing we could find that MIGHT have let it out was the seal between the gearbox and the engine... to this day we still don't know where it went - there was no sign of where it might have gone, no sign of burning, leaking or nicking...
However - only checking your oil once a month, regardless of age... well sorry but it is kinda asking for trouble... :)
I can understand the garage not being willing to refund you anything - you've been driving it for 4 months - they have no idea of whether you have even checked the oil in that time (I'm sure you did but how would they know?) And if it's burnt that much oil then you WOULD have seen it... plumes of blue smoke at the back of the car is a dead give away :) even if only when you first start the car up - the smell is very distinctive :)

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

Age of the car aside - I had a fab old Landrover (Series IIa for those car nuts out there ;) ) and it lost nearly an engine full of oil over night once. Bear in mind I drove this car daily and because of it's age I always checked it. A mate of mine was there when I'd checked it the night before so I KNOW it had plenty of oil. 3 miles down the road next day VERY loud and odd clunking - long story short - no oil... We spent days taking that car apart to find where the oil had gone - and I mean we stripped that engine ALL the way down (well we had to anyway to fix it...) - the only thing we could find that MIGHT have let it out was the seal between the gearbox and the engine... to this day we still don't know where it went - there was no sign of where it might have gone, no sign of burning, leaking or nicking...
However - only checking your oil once a month, regardless of age... well sorry but it is kinda asking for trouble... :)
I can understand the garage not being willing to refund you anything - you've been driving it for 4 months - they have no idea of whether you have even checked the oil in that time (I'm sure you did but how would they know?) And if it's burnt that much oil then you WOULD have seen it... plumes of blue smoke at the back of the car is a dead give away :) even if only when you first start the car up - the smell is very distinctive :)

exactly, garages would NOT sell old cars if they were expected to give refunds/replacement cars etc 4 months after selling them, i just would not be worth their time/risk.

You said you only checked it once a month and topped it up a lot, that should of set alarm bells ringing, it didnt - not the garages fault

[TiTheRev]

exactly, garages would NOT sell old cars if they were expected to give refunds/replacement cars etc 4 months after selling them, i just would not be worth their time/risk.

You said you only checked it once a month and topped it up a lot, that should of set alarm bells ringing, it didnt - not the garages fault
But I still think they should have some kind of comeback on this. It's not the norm for a car to dump it's oil and seize the engine...?

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

But I still think they should have some kind of comeback on this. It's not the norm for a car to dump it's oil and seize the engine...?

but fourmonths afterwards, not 4 days or weeks

Anything can happen to a car in that time

They could offer some money off another car or something, but if i was them i wouldnt be offering money towards repairs, she admitted that it was leaking oil and didnt do anything about it.

Its not the garages fault that she didnt know much about cars

If they had to offer help on all cheap cars 4 months down the line they just wouldnt sell them, or would inflate the cost to cover themselves

[TiTheRev]

Sounds like, at 2k, the price was inflated anyway...

[Bargin Betty79]

I'm not asking the garage to give me a new car or even fix it free of charge despite what some of you may think, just the decency to at least have it in their workshop to find out what went wrong,if its my fault and they can prove it, fine, case closed!

hewhoisnotintheknow - I never admitted to it leaking oil, which is part of the problem - where did all the oil go as TiTheRev stated its not norm for a car to lose that much oil with no visable or apparent leaks and that's what I'd like to find out!

If I'd have had the car for a longer period of time I wouldn't even consider going back to them, but I feel that after only owning it for four months, their behaviour shows serious problems with the after sales services they offer, regardless to who's actually at fault!

I take into account the fact that its an old vehicle but not all off us have thousands to spend on new cars, nor do we have the mechanical knowledge to fully inspect vehicles, that's why we go to reputable garages rather than Joe Blogs selling his motor on the side of the road!

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

I'm not asking the garage to give me a new car or even fix it free of charge despite what some of you may think, just the decency to at least have it in their workshop to find out what went wrong,if its my fault and they can prove it, fine, case closed!

hewhoisnotintheknow - I never admitted to it leaking oil, which is part of the problem - where did all the oil go as TiTheRev stated its not norm for a car to lose that much oil with no visable or apparent leaks and that's what I'd like to find out!

If I'd have had the car for a longer period of time I wouldn't even consider going back to them, but I feel that after only owning it for four months, their behaviour shows serious problems with the after sales services they offer, regardless to who's actually at fault!

I take into account the fact that its an old vehicle but not all off us have thousands to spend on new cars, nor do we have the mechanical knowledge to fully inspect vehicles, that's why we go to reputable garages rather than Joe Blogs selling his motor on the side of the road!

You said you had been topping it up - it doesnt matter where it went

you neglected it by only checking it once a month

[Jamp]

Crikey most of you are being quite harsh and snobs too. Yes you should check your oil more often than monthly but I bet there are many people who don't check anywhere near that frequently! The OP should have done, given that the car was losing oil before the break down, but he/she admits their failing so shall we try some support?

OP, who told you there was no oil in the sump when it broke down? Had it been a month since you last checked it/topped up? Do you know if (before the break down) the oil loss was due to a leak or burning of the oil? In what manner did the car break down? What car is it?

[JimmyTheWig]

Well said, Jamp.

[Conor]

Full of sympathy as ever ;) :rotfl:

I have no sympathy for people who cannot be bothered to read the operating instructions and follow advice which has been doled out to motorists for decades along with those who don't service their cars regularly either.

Considering not many vehicles come with an oil level warning light, the OP is likely to become very unstuck again in the future.

[Conor]

Crikey most of you are being quite harsh and snobs too. Yes you should check your oil more often than monthly but I bet there are many people who don't check anywhere near that frequently!

I check the oil, water, washer level, lights, tyres, wheel nuts, horn, wiper and washer operation on a daily basis on my lorry along with 100,000's of other drivers. If I change trailers, the lights, tyres and wheelnuts get checked again on that too.

[Conor]

But I still think they should have some kind of comeback on this. It's not the norm for a car to dump it's oil and seize the engine...?

For an old P reg, quite common to lose enough oil over a 4 week period or less sufficient enough to seize it.

I used to drive a X reg Volvo FM12 which lost nearly a gallon of oil a day. As a professional driver, daily checks are part of the routing so it was never a problem.