Second hand car problems

*Anna*_3

Hello, One week ago bought a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 club, X Reg which came with 3 months warranty, 12 months MOT and pre collection service. I also negotiated that I would pay full screen price if they replaced the front 2 tyres and changed the cam belt which was agreed. I collected the car on Tuesday evening and the salesperson said it had been done and 2 new tyres fitted. However when I checked the next day i found they had not replaced any of the tyres just swapped the worst one for the spare. I took it for a drive and noticed the engine warning light was on, also the code for the stereo was incorrect.

I telephoned them the next day and they told me to take it back on Saturday which I did the mechanic said he had fixed the warning light and he would fit 2 new tyres and sort the radio out next saturday, I agreed to this and drove home. Halfway home the engine warning light came on again and a couple of miles further on the ABS light came on. When I arrived home I carried out a quick inspection of the car. To my horror I found the car has no oil in it, I took the dipstick out wiped it put it back in and it was dry. (I did a cold test this moring and the dipstick has a tiny bit of oil on the end.)

I telephoned the garage straight away and spoke to the person who sold me the car and she basically said it is impossible for there to be no oil in the car, now I am a complete novice when it comes to cars but even I can check the oil level. she agreed for me to take the car back monday morning (will have to miss work) what I need to know is will it be ok for me to drive to the garage in this state and also what are my rights if they continue to say they have carried out work they blatantly have not done.

Thank you for reading this post and any help would be most appreciated.

computershack

Sale of Goods Act tells you all you need to know. I've gone round looking at cars on forecourts with no oil or water in them so it doesn't come as a surprise.

TBH, I'd want shut of it and my money back. Its not a good start.

Anihilator

No do not drive it without Oil.

If need be ask them for permission to put a temporary top up in of cheap oil to transport the car for them to replace when fixing the problems.

Ensure they agree that they are telling you to drive it though and any problems as a result are theres. Alternately they collect it.

*Anna*_3

Thanks for your replies, I will telephone them and see what they say.

Wig

If there is a bit of oil on the end there is going to be quite a bit of oil in there probably about 3 litres (Vectra 1.8 oil capacity is 4.3 litres AFAIK) which shouldn't be causing any immediate damage. The lady is right it would be impossible for there to be no oil in the engine, you wouldn't have made it home.

Depending how far you are from the garage I would be tempted to drive it back as it is straight away so they can see they supplied a vehicle with low oil. But you might be better off buying the right oil, and putting in 1 litre repeat 1 litre no more no less, assuming you checked your oil when it was on flat level ground & also assuming the oil really was on the very tip of the dip stick and not reached the "measured area". Keep your oil receipt for a possible refund by the garage - obviously check your oil again before driving, 15 minutes after adding the 1 litre.

Ok, get the tyres fitted, and the radio code - job done.

Ask him what he did to fix the engine management light. Tell us what the light symbol looks like (on the dash) and what colour it is. Ask him what fault code is being returned by the ECU for the management light to be coming on. Again now the light is on again, ask him what fault code is being returned and what he proposes to do to fix the problem.

Ask him to show you the fault code reading machine, because you'd like to see the returned code for yourself.

Let him repair it, wait and see what happens. You could also hand in a letter saying you are not accepting the vehicle under the Sale of goods act until you are satisfied the car has been supplied to you in reasonable good working order, that you are therefore reserving your right to reject the vehicle if the repairs are not satisfactory.

However, whether you actually have a right to reject the car is not guaranteed, given the age of the vehicle. And to go to court over it could get complicated. So I am certainly not advising you to reject the car, just to give them a shot across the bows so to speak.

*Anna*_3

I have just spoken with the salesperson and she said she could not understand why the engine was low on oil because it was meant to have had a service and a 50 point check, she then advised me to buy some cheap synthetic oil and top the car up and take it to the garage in the morning.

Regarding my oil check (on level ground) I took the dipstick out and cleaned it completely I did the test and when I removed it there was a tiny little bit like a smear right on the end it could even have been from the sides as I inserted it, it certainly was not covered.

The engine light is orange in colour in the shape of a car with a spanner going through it, the ABS light is also orange and is a circle with ABS wrote in the center with two brackets around the outside.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer and advise me, I am a complete novice when it comes to cars.

Wig

Still, only add 1 litre of oil and then recheck after 10 - 15 mins. Buy a larger container of oil 4 - 5 litres, you will need it for future top ups anyway But only add 1 litre initially. If you stil cannot see any oil on the dipstick add 1 more litre, and repeat until you do see oil on the dipstick.
When you finally see oil on the dipstick, if it is below the measured area, add 3/4 litre
If it is within the measured area depending on where it is you add a little or nothing at all
The measured area represents 1 litre from bottom to top
if it is half way or above no need to add any more.
if it is below halfway add 1/4 - 1/2 litre
You are aiming to get it between halfway and 3/4
Don't fill over 3/4 on the measured area.
Obviously keep a tab of how much oil you have to put in to bring it up to the level.

The engine light in question is not a fault that will cause damage to the engine when you drive it. Does the car accellerate properly or does it feel slow....? If it is slow it is because that light will sometimes put the car into "limp mode" which means acceleration is limited (no high revs allowed).

The ABS light could be a dodgy sensor or just a dirty sensor, still needs fixing though.

*Anna*_3

It seems to accelerate ok, it does not feel slow or sluggish. I will do as you recommend with the oil.

Thank you.

DaveMacD

If you find out what the car and spanner icon means, let me know, since my van has been showing that on and off for a few weeks now

Just_Incredible

Get in your car and press down on both the brake and accelerator pedal, Put your key in the 'on' position which will be II (and keep your foot on both pedals) and the engine spanner light should now start to flash, count the number of flashes it does. if it records a '0' it will flash ten times, any number from 1-9 will give the corrosponding flash to the number, and after each number it waits 2 seconds for the next number

so for example if it recorded a code of 0163, it will flash 10 times first, wait 2 seconds then flash once, wait another 2 seconds, flash six times, wait another 2 seconds then flash three times, then stop if there are no more codes, (however if there are other codes it will start the code sequence again)

take a pen and paper with you and once you've recorded the code, just google it and you can find answer to rectify it

Premier_2

*Anna* wrote: »

I have just spoken with the salesperson and she said she could not understand why the engine was low on oil because it was meant to have had a service and a 50 point check, she then advised me to buy some cheap synthetic oil and top the car up and take it to the garage in the morning.....

I wouldn't put any oil in other than meets the manufacturer's specification.

(unless you are rejecting the car for a full refund)