Lease Car - URGENT ADVICE NEEDED -

Poppy9

Ring your insurers and explain to them and ask if they can give you some advice.

harveybobbles

If it's a lease car with maintenence included then you'd have nothing to pay...?

The plastic rivets that hold arch liners on are crap anyway! Sometimes they last for ever, sometimes they just don't last very long! And it's not really a warranty issue either.

The arch liner came loose, you drove on til it was safe to stop, you found a big mess and now it neds fixing lol.

Arch liners aint dear and a dealer will probably want half hours labour to fit it.

RICK..._2

SueSueSue wrote: »

Wheel nuts that are properly secure dont just fall off. Kwik Fit clearly damaged the nuts/tread or didnt tighten them.

And how do you know that? Garages always take the chance to milk business for minor service items every chance they get.

What did they say about the damage to the front? Was it front tyres kwik fit did? Wouldnt put it past them having !!!!ed something up.

The actual wheel nuts didn't come off the car, just the wheel nut caps (the shiny chrome things that go on top) - the technician words were "They definately do not just fall off - you must have done something to them" I could hear them falling off onto the road as I drove off after i'd been to Kwik Fit :mad: I would probably of gone back to pick them up but it was literally rush hour and i'm not running into the middle of the road for a few poxy wheel nut caps.

harveybobbles wrote: »

If it's a lease car with maintenence included then you'd have nothing to pay...?

The plastic rivets that hold arch liners on are crap anyway! Sometimes they last for ever, sometimes they just don't last very long! And it's not really a warranty issue either.

The arch liner came loose, you drove on til it was safe to stop, you found a big mess and now it neds fixing lol.

Arch liners aint dear and a dealer will probably want half hours labour to fit it.

It doesn't have maintenance included according to the lease company, this is another argument I have with them because they never even mentioned it when we took out the contract so I didn't even know it existed. But apparently we have roadside recovery, which again neither of us knew anything about :mad:

Thing is they want it fixing at one of their approved garages = genuine parts and massive labour. There's not just the arch lining, there's the rest of the plastic which is connected to it which it pulled out, like wind deflectors and the bottom of the bumper trim.

Another thing, the radiator and the support bracket is bent, which I can guarantee we have not caused, we haven't had the car long so it must of been done by the previous user. But they are using this ontop to say we've crashed it into a kerb or something. Thing is there is NO damage to the front bumper not even a scrape (apart from where the plastic has come away from the lining etc) and there's no scuffs on the wheels or tyres to even prove we have hit anything (even though we haven't)

So frustrating because we have done nothing to the car, it's gone from something falling off to them saying we've crashed it :mad::mad::mad: and now they said they want EVERYTHING fixing, radiator etc.. even though this hasn't been caused while we've had it!

So we have a choice of either to keep fighting it, find £400-500 (im guessing) to fix the car ourselves or find £300 to go through insurance and having the premium wacked right up.

They have also said that if we're adament we haven't crashed it, they will get a surveyor out to look at it, if it turns out he says we haven't crashed it they'll pay for everything, but if he says we have crashed or gone up a kerb or something, we'll have to pay the surveyor fee AND pay to get the car fixed ourselves.

Again sorry for the MASSIVE post... :eek:

plane_boy2000

RICK... wrote: »

They have also said that if we're adament we haven't crashed it, they will get a surveyor out to look at it, if it turns out he says we haven't crashed it they'll pay for everything, but if he says we have crashed or gone up a kerb or something, we'll have to pay the surveyor fee AND pay to get the car fixed ourselves.

Again sorry for the MASSIVE post... :eek:

Sounds quite fair to me.They must get people trying it on all the time, so if you are sure you didnt cause the damage they let them get the surveyor in and he will find in your favour. Job done.

dieselhead

Can you give us a comprehensive list of what they think the damage is I'm getting a bit confused.

I think you need to read your lease contract in detail to try to get a grasp of what your rights are but also what you are responsible for.

photome

RICK... wrote: »

Another thing, the radiator and the support bracket is bent, which I can guarantee we have not caused, we haven't had the car long so it must of been done by the previous user. But they are using this ontop to say we've crashed it into a kerb or something. Thing is there is NO damage to the front bumper not even a scrape (apart from where the plastic has come away from the lining etc) and there's no scuffs on the wheels or tyres to even prove we have hit anything (even though we haven't)

Again sorry for the MASSIVE post... :eek:

I assumed the car was new to you. Can you be sure the previous owner didnt crash it, but the damage has only just come to light, unlikely I guess, but is it possible?

LandyAndy

photome wrote: »

I assumed the car was new to you. Can you be sure the previous owner didnt crash it, but the damage has only just come to light, unlikely I guess, but is it possible?

I was going to post that but then thought that the lease company would have inspected it before leasing it to a second customer.

It's still an argument with some possible merit, though.

RICK..._2

Thanks for your replies.

The car is on a 57 plate and we've only had it since the end of October last year. The damage to the rad etc has not been done whilst it's been in our posession, that I am certain of.

Basically the cars sit in a compound and the people at the compound deliver/collect the cars and do the inspection. All they inspect is the bodywork, nothing else. Stupid eh? Maybe this would of been spotted and I wouldn't have them trying to screw us over now. I should of done an inspection myself but being new to it all I just didn't think. :mad:

When we signed up to the scheme originally we were given a focus with the exact same spec etc, except it had MASSIVE dents, scratches, wing mirror covers missing and engine on it's last legs (quote by ford). We only had it a week then it got exchanged for the current one we have.

But anyway, damage is as follows:

Please find below a description of the damage found on your Ford Focus, Registration number ---- ---.

List of components.


NSF Wheel arch Liner
Front bumper lower trim.
Air con.condensor. -Nothing to do with anything we've done
Coolant radiator & support bracket. - As above!
Wind deflector.

:rolleyes:

RICK..._2

Missed dieselheads post.. We have read the contract over and over, apparently alot of it doesn't even apply to us (yeah thanks for telling us). But the problem we have is ford telling them we have crashed it, which goes against anything we're entitled to anyway.

Now it's just a case of getting it proven we haven't crashed it and in the process of doing so looking like a pair of idiots lol.

It's just the principal of it tbh, we don't want to end up in a financial mess for something which isn't our fault.

If it wasn't for the rad etc I don't think they'd have a leg to stand on because there's no evidence other than that which could suggest it's been in an accident but because it is there, they have all the ammo they need.

Smokeyoakey

Tell the lease company that you are unhappy with what has happened to your vehicle and that you want to get a written report on the condition of the vehicle from an independent motor engineer, as you are now concerned about the safety of the car. They all do this when a customer has a dispute with them and as it is their asset they should take an interest in the condition of the vehicle. They should also pick up the cost for the report.

However if the motor engineer report comes back and says you are at fault you will be liable for the damage to repair it. You will probably have to pay something anyway from what you have posted so far but I would put it in writing and say that you will accept what the independent motor engineer says.:cool: