Need some Advice!

projectxy

Ok here goes...

Approx 6 weeks ago my partner was driving our car (a 2006 Citroen Picasso) when basically it made some hideous noises and lost all power. We had it recovered to the garage and who said they would look into it. After not getting much info for a couple of weeks we were told that the engine was a complete write off. A nut from inside the Turbo had come loose and travelled through the engine, damaging everything from the injectors to the pistons and causing follow on damage to the catalytic converter.

Now the car was 3yrs old at the end of march and when the above happened it was approx 3 weeks out of warranty. So the dealer said they would put a claim into Citroen and find out what they would be willing to contribute.

Today I recieve a call from the dealer saying they had heard back from Citroen Uk and.... the total cost of damage to my car was £7,050 (gulp!) and Citroen would be willing to contribute 40% to the cost. Leaving me approx £4000/4200 to pay.....

Now we cannot afford this or a new car. Also we are still paying for the car through citroen finance with approx 18 months or so left.

I am at my wits end and totally unsure what to do. Our insurance company will not assist as its not a accident etc and looking on the web my car is only worth around £4500 in street value. I know that the finance company will value it higher and there could be a shortfall.... our gap insurance to cover this expired in march!

Sorry for the long post... if anyone has some good advice it would be very welcome.

Thanks

scullster

I'm summising that you bought the car from a Citroen dealer in the first place, brand new.

Couple of additional snippets of info required:
- Has the car been serviced according to the service schedule, by (in order of preference) the dealer you purchased off, any citroen dealer or a any garage? This will demonstrate hopefully that you have maintained the vehicle to the manufacturers strict standards.
- How many miles has it done?

First of all, Citroen UK (the manufacturer) are offering you a goodwill gesture - they recognise that the car should not have developed such a significant fault.

Your contract is with the dealer you purchased the car from (Citroen dealers and Citroen UK are not one of the same - usually dealers are franchises). You're initial reaction may have been one of thanks to the dealer in that they are approaching the manufacturer on your behalf but they are sidestepping their statutory obligation (Sales of Goods Act) because it will potentially cost them money.

You certainly need legal advice on this and I think you're on excellent ground - contact Consumerdirect.

Under SOGA, the car / engine is expected to last for a reasonable period of time - modern day engines can run well into the 100k miles, even longer. However, it will be up to yourself to prove that the car was not of satisfactory quality at the point of sale because more than 6mths has elapsed - an independent expert will be required to support this, if it were to go to court. I think though that this would exceed the remit of small claims court and would result in county court so you'll need to read up on that.

HOWEVER, you also purchased the car on credit - you're credit company is as liable as the retailer in this case (Credit Consumer Act Section 75).

I think you're in pretty decent position, and it is not as bad as it may seem. Other forum members should be a long shortly, but Consumerdirect would be well worth a call too (http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/), government funded - they will even help you with the formal letters.

Best of Luck - I had to delve into similar matters over 10y ago and I managed to avoid court - the manufacturer stumped up 60% of the cost, the independent dealer coughed up the balance to avoid court.

I'll watch this with interest

projectxy

scullster Many thanks for indepth reply to my query. In response to what you asked about the car...

It has been serviced and maintained by the dealer we purchased from and one other.. It has done approx 57k miles.

Also the dealer (wyatts of winchester) we purchased from went in to administration recently but was purchased by another local dealer (Freebourne in Southampton). The car was initally with wyatts but 4 weeks in we were told they were going under and Freebourne had been approached to assist us. At the time we were not told that they has actually taken over the business.

I will try ConsumerDirect tomorrow.

scullster

projectxy wrote: »

scullster Many thanks for indepth reply to my query. In response to what you asked about the car...

It has been serviced and maintained by the dealer we purchased from and one other.. It has done approx 57k miles.

Also the dealer (wyatts of winchester) we purchased from went in to administration recently but was purchased by another local dealer (Freebourne in Southampton). The car was initally with wyatts but 4 weeks in we were told they were going under and Freebourne had been approached to assist us. At the time we were not told that they has actually taken over the business.

I will try ConsumerDirect tomorrow.

The dealership changing hands shouldn't be a problem. It may depend on whether the Freebourne's officially took over from Wyatts, or whether they simply stepped to take over the premises - eitherway here, I'd imagine you'd have come back on the franchise. BUT regardless of this little niggle, you've still got the credit company ticket - they are as liable.

:j10/10 for servicing from the dealer, thats the best position for you to be in. Was the car always serviced on time (usually 12mths, or 10k miles whichever is sooner) - the service book will define the schedule.

The only downside is the mileage - the car is high mileage for its age. Most Picasso's and other MPVs do relatively low mileage so I was expecting to see 20k to 30k mileage. Based on the high mileage, I'd expect the servicing to have been carried out on the mileage interval, not every 12mths.

That being said, 60k is still premature failure. Let us know what ConsumerDirect say.

projectxy

Quick update on the situation:

Called consumerdirect and they argree that the liablity is with the retailer who in this case is the HP company. Our case is that as the sold goods are faulty and have failed through no fault of of ours, and that we have incurred damages (repair costs) they should foot the bill. They have breached the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973

We havent had a chance to talk to them yet about this but will update as soon as we can.