Bought used car 2 weeks ago, clutch pedal snapped,Whats my legal right?

hartcjhart

I think that is a fair offer, no one can guarantee every tiny component on a car wear and tear happens:mad:

vaio

after only 10 days I'd expect the dealer to repair it.

On the other hand, betterment comes into it in that you have a car with a new clutch rather than a 90k old clutch so maybe £100 is a reasonable price to pay for that

asking04

hartcjhart wrote: »

I think that is a fair offer, no one can guarantee every tiny component on a car wear and tear happens:mad:

I don't think 70 miles could be described as wear and tear

iolanthe07

I don't think 70 miles could be described as wear and tear

It's not 70 miles. It's 90,000 miles. IMHO the dealer has made a fair offer.

asking04

iolanthe07 wrote: »

I don't think 70 miles could be described as wear and tear

It's not 70 miles. It's 90,000 miles. IMHO the dealer has made a fair offer.

To clarify -I meant I had only driven 70 miles in it since. I also know that I paid more for it than What Car's estimate. He did well with me.

I want to be fair to myself tooas well as him. I am considering it all - some people seem to think it is totally up to him as SOGA says the burden of proof is on him to prove it was 'fit for purpose' etc - and was it nay?! It broke down within days on a busy road- suddenly -quite dangerous. The inconvenience again - here I am no car. It is hard to believe he did not have a clue about it. £2,800 is still a fair whack of cash.

I have a good warranty - after 90 days this would have been covered. Would they say it was an improvement to do this?

Or is it a factor that would have lowered the original sale price, -I mean days ago, had I known about this defective entire clutch system estimate £5 hundred odd?

hewhoisnotintheknow

get another opinion

asking04

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

get another opinion

Hi hwinitk

Do you mean about the amount of work that needs to be done ? There's no dispute there as dealers acknowleged it as did the AA .

Thanks

CFC

The dealer is responsible for any faults that appear when the car is roughly under 6 months old. This also applies to second hand cars, ie it must be able to get you from a to b. You do not have to prove that the goods were faulty at the point of sale provided you return the good in the first six months from the date of sale and request a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In this situation, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale. It is important that your request is for a repair or a replacement to fall under this legislation. If the dealer cannot repair or replace economically, then he can offer you a partial or full refund. (If he's a smartypants he will try to refund but deduct what he might claim is the cost of two weeks worth of car hire to represent the benefit you have had from the car - however you will need to point out that the two are not comparable as old cars are not available for hire and counter suggest a figure.)

The dealer probably will not want to pay a third party to repair the car and you cannot insist on this. The dealer must have the opportunity to repair the car himself.

If the dealer wants to repair the car himself, you are responsible for getting it to his premises. The dealer must either repair or replace the car. If he refuses to do so, and has offered 50% of the cost, then your next step is to go in with a witness and ask him if he is seeking to remove your legal rights. That's a criminal offence these days so he'll probably at that point cave in lol

The relevant acts are:

Sale of Goods Act 1979, as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 and the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.

Although you do not expect a used car to be perfect, a clutch that lasts 70 miles obviously is not fit for purpose, because the car is totally inoperable without the clutch. (To those who say the clutch has done 70k miles not 70 - that is irrelevant, as the car is inoperable without a clutch assembly)

Just to advise you I had a similar situation with a used car that I bought 2 years ago; the timing chain went after a few weeks. The dealer had to repair it. They do know the law and they hope that you do not - like you, the first offer I received was 50-50.

Under the Regulations where a fault occurs with goods within 6 months, starting on the date you took delivery, and you request a repair or replacement, or if that fails, a full or partial refund, then you do not have to prove that the fault exists. The trader must prove that the goods were not faulty in disputed cases. After 6 months has lapsed, you will have to prove that goods were faulty when supplied.

Whatever conversation you have with the dealer, take someone with you as a witness to what was said and then follow up the conversation with a letter detailing the conversation/agreement/disagreement and quoting the relevant laws, sent recorded delivery. Keep a copy, of course. If the dealer fails to play nice your next stop will be small claims court, via the advice of Trading Standards or Consumer Direct advice line.

This is all far more straightforward if a clutch is not involved, because an argument could be made that the clutch is a 'consumable' - but from the price you are quoted to repair it, it's obviously not just the 'consumable' element of the clutch that has failed.

(PS the RAC dont know about AA will do a double tow, to one place and then onwards to a place of repair.)

vaio

asking04 wrote: »

........The clutch master cylinder, clutch and clutch bearing are bust..........

To be honest I'm struggling to think of a cause that would make all three fail suddenly

If you do get it repaired then get them to fit a slave cylinder too as they often go when matched to a new master

Hintza

We are talking a 6-7 year old car here. I think OP has to be reasonable here. I have seen case law on older cars so might be worth having a hunt around for that to help decide.