Fusco's Car Sales - have you used them?

x12yhp

pgilc1 wrote: »

No, they are not.

They are obliged to 'warrant the condition of the car'. ie, everything they say is working, should be working. Should any faults arise within the next six months it would be up to the dealer to prove they were not present at the time of sale. For example, say an ABS pump went after two months, it would relatively easy for the dealer to prove that it was not faulty at the time of sale as there were no warning lights on, etc, etc. However, it could be argued that the car should last longer than that without developing a major fault.

It then all becomes a grey area under the Sale of Goods Act which is in no way explicit. Areas of consideration would be price paid for the car, age of the car, mileage on the car, price paid for the car relative to market value, the duration afterwhich the fault occurred (ie, the level of responsibility diminishes over time), how the dealer has handled other claims, how the dealer has handled the dispute thusfar, etc.

This all has to go through a formal legal route, ie, its not a matter of ringing some body and they do all this for the agrieved customer.

Sadly, customers expectations often exceed what the dealer can / will / is obliged to deliver.

What further compounds the problem is that whilst for example £1995 is a huge amount of money to save up and spend on one item, in the grand scheme of things you are buying a car that is in the twilight years of its life, and is long after even the manufacturer or a franchised dealer is prepared to stock and support (they sell cars over 3-4 years old on to 'the trade' as they are not prepared to have to stand over subsequent faults themselves) YET small time dealers get squeezed to provide that level of warranty, based on misguided customers expectations.

Also very often customers will sit like nodding dogs as the trader explains the conditions of sale with regards to any warranty provided, what it covers and what it doesnt cover, they will sign up to that and no doubt have negotiated a price based on that, yet will be up in arms some months later when something goes wrong that their mate or their mechanic says the dealer must sort.



Often though an older car with a full years MOT will develop faults later. For example it could have a subsequent gearbox failure, etc that even an inspection wont pick up.

It sounds like you have extensive experience of this so I stand corrected.

My point on the inspection is that many problems CAN be picked up. Most people won't even know where to look for rust, won't know that the gearbox 'feels' a bit strange or that the clutch is coming to the end of its life. It is always possible that things go wrong later but a great many of the problems will be underlying.

motorguy

x12yhp wrote: »

It sounds like you have extensive experience of this so I stand corrected.

My point on the inspection is that many problems CAN be picked up. Most people won't even know where to look for rust, won't know that the gearbox 'feels' a bit strange or that the clutch is coming to the end of its life. It is always possible that things go wrong later but a great many of the problems will be underlying.

I'm a motor trader.

Yes, you're right. If someone isnt totally confident then paying for a formal inspection is a good idea.

Also, clarify exactly what any warranty offered covers before signing on the line.

x12yhp

pgilc1 wrote: »

Also, clarify exactly what any warranty offered covers before signing on the line.

This is difficult because you actually need to know a bit to know that a warranty has all shades of provisos. In most uses of the term, a warranty means that the item is covered if something goes wrong... you buy a tv and the warranty means it gets fixed if anything goes wrong. You buy an exercise machine and any fault gets fixed. You buy a new car and anything that goes wrong... well it gets fixed. There is never any thought that if the remote control dies that it is not covered by a warranty so this inevitably leads to consumer confusion...

I think the industry has to take equal blame for this because the sales pitch is always that there is a warranty on the vehicle... not that there is warranty only for major mechanical malfunctions (etc). So the consumers often don't know and the sellers are not really that forward with the limits of the warranty.

motorguy

x12yhp wrote: »

This is difficult because you actually need to know a bit to know that a warranty has all shades of provisos. In most uses of the term, a warranty means that the item is covered if something goes wrong... you buy a tv and the warranty means it gets fixed if anything goes wrong. You buy an exercise machine and any fault gets fixed. You buy a new car and anything that goes wrong... well it gets fixed. There is never any thought that if the remote control dies that it is not covered by a warranty so this inevitably leads to consumer confusion...

I think the industry has to take equal blame for this because the sales pitch is always that there is a warranty on the vehicle... not that there is warranty only for major mechanical malfunctions (etc). So the consumers often don't know and the sellers are not really that forward with the limits of the warranty.

Oh very much so.

And dont get me wrong, there are times things *should* be covered but the motor trader conviently says they arent.

micky_mo

Yes I have used them recently, when I went to pick the car up , just as anyone would I asked could I have a luck penny for good luck, no he replyed are you going to give me one he said,not even a fiver, we don't do that,
he was only interested in counting the money I give him.the car could have done with a clean but I done this myself.so I won't be going back, not even a hand shake, has anybody else experienced ignorance like this?

dmxdave

micky_mo wrote: »

Yes I have used them recently, when I went to pick the car up , just as anyone would I asked could I have a luck penny for good luck, no he replyed are you going to give me one he said,not even a fiver, we don't do that,
he was only interested in counting the money I give him.the car could have done with a clean but I done this myself.so I won't be going back, not even a hand shake, has anybody else experienced ignorance like this?

Now why would a brand new member go to the trouble of digging up such an old thread? Almost 2 years since a post!

suki1964

Well I bought from them this year. A 10 year old corsa with low mileage for my daughter. Came with 3 month warranty. Old car but good body work and inside. Argued for new tyres which he gave us. Took to our own mechanic who gave it the once over and agreed sold as seen. We spent possibly 300 on it this year getting new discs and drums and a cracked brake fluid pipe repaired. All consistent with age and history of car so not bothered with chasing warranty s As it happened there were three people in the queue at coleraine all with fresco paper work getting their cars registered. They deal in older cars. It's a case of buyer know what they are buying I think

tabascosauce

In April 2013, we bought a 2007 Vauxhall Agila from Fusco. On delivery it was noted the car had no service history so the oil and filter were changed ASAP. The car was excellently valeted by a firm from Coleraine; the car looked new in and outside. Although the car had a long MOT, an early MOT in August the car failed, due to unbalanced front brakes. Examination revealed that the friction material on all front pads was non existent and the discs deeply scored. The repair cost £230 and the £18 retest put the car back safely on the road. Our subsequent claims under the Sale of Goods Act 1975 against Fusco for £248 recompense proved they did not want to play. The action then was to make parallel claims against our credit card company under Consumer Credit Act 1974 and Fusco under Sale of Goods Act 1979, through the small claims court in Newtonards. Bingo we got our expenses back.

Fusco are running a tight ship: selling cars with little profit and trying to maintain as small an overhead as possible. If buying from them 1. inspect well, remembering the MOT is no guarantee that the car is safe at the point of sale, 2. pay by credit card and 3. be determined if you have a subsequent problem.

Spatt

I bought a car from fusco vehicle sales, i had seen the car i loved online through their website and although they had great pictures of the car on the site it was a blind sale as i lived far away and couldn't travel down to see it in person, i rang and left a holding deposit over the phone so the car couldn't be sold to anyone else until i arranged viewing, i looked up reviews later that evening of fusco and was shocked to find some off putting remarks. i rang fusco straight away and confronted the staff to say i was now worried etc they reassured me the car would be 100% and the reviews were on a lot older, less vaule cars that only had their old warranty on it so only covered gearbox and engine, the warranty i would get was a platinum warranty covering all things just not wear and tear, this gave me peace of mind. they accommodated me and had the car delivered to me FREE off charge, the car arrived and just as i had been advised the car was spotless inside and out, no damage and drove perfectly and 6 months later still is, i am more than happy with the service i got

ballyblack

Now why dig up this old thread Mr Fusco/SPATT??


sounds like a Spam post :eek:



.