Not sure what to do next...

laura_d

Back in September I bought a car from my local used car yard. The yard is part of a 3 yard family owned private chain which had been recommended to me by friends who have bought from them.

The car is a Ford Ka, 2001 plate with 78k on the clock. It was priced up at £1,795 but the garage accepted £1,600.

I know very little about cars so asked a mechanic friend of mine to come and give it a test drive and let me know what he thought. After a brief drive, he thought it seemed ok but said it was hard to know without having a look under the vehicle. Out of all the cars we had looked at, he thought that one seemed the best quality and under the bonnet seemed ok from what he could see and access.

A week later and the clutch went. The yard sorted out a replacement and I paid £150 being half the cost. This was perhaps a little stupid of me but as they'd already given me a discount on the asking price I thought it was a fair thing to do. At the time, I suppose I also felt a little bullied into the idea that I may have been a bit heavy on the clutch despite never having had a problem in that area before.

40 miles later, end-November approached and it was time to renew the MOT. Took it to a reputable local MOT centre where it failed on several points - mostly corrosion which affected 3 out of the 4 seatbelt anchorage points. The Macpherson Struts were also damaged and needed replacing.

I instantly took it back to the yard, together with the failure certificate, and asked him to speak to his mechanic to get an idea of costs. I let them know that I wasn't happy and that if it was going to cost more than £100 I would seriously consider asking for a refund.

I got a call yesterday advising that most of the work had been completed but that the remaining welding would be finished by Monday. He wasn't able to give the total cost of the work but indicated it will be around the £600-700 mark (struts = £150 welding = £500).

The yard has suggested that I can contribute what I feel appropriate towards to the cost of the work and that the yard will pay the rest.

Back to bully boy tactics he then went on to advise that if my mechanic who test drove the car was any good, he'd have spotted the corrosion even without getting it up on the ramps. I thought that was a tad unfair as they had already advised that their mechanic gives every car a once over before going on sale and they would have also spotted the corrosion when replacing the clutch.

I suggested that perhaps he take the car back, give me a full refund then he can sell the car on for a higher price that incorporates the work completed but he said that would be like suicide as he'll make an even bigger loss on it.

The thing is, I don't think it would be appropriate to contribute anything towards the work but fear he'll pressure me into handing over the cash.

At this stage, 3 months on, would I be within my right to ask for a refund?

Given that the car now has a brand new clutch and has had all corrosion repaired would I be stupid to get a refund and risk it all again on another 2nd hand car?

I feel like I've been totally ripped off on this one and confused how I should go forward!

Can anyone offer any guidance...?

many thanks & sorry for the lengthy post.

mollycat

Hi. Short answer is you have not been ripped off. Pay the repair, keep the car and run it into the ground. Next time dont buy a car with a short MOT, maybe check it over more thoroughly as well.

Good luck.

laura_d

Within 3 months of sale (and very little use) it's needed £1,000 of work done to it - I can't help but feel I have been ripped off, short MOT or not.

Can anyone offer any advice from a SOGA point of view?

claire0710

Surely it has to be 'fit for purpose' and if it was structurally unsafe, hence the MOT failure, then its not. I think you are within your rights to reject the car but I would check with trading standards tomorrow: 08454 04 05 06

Anihilator

Sorry but for a 1600 car the dealer has given you excellent service on the faults and you should be very grateful

claire0710

I don't think the price she paid takes away her rights. Taken from trading standards website:

If you buy a used car from a trader it must be of satisfactory quality, fit for the purpose, and as described. Obviously a very old car with a high mileage will not be as good as a newer car with a low mileage, but it should still be fit for use on the road, in a condition which reflects its age and price, and reliable.
Traders cannot take away consumers rights by using terms such as ‘sold as seen’.
If you have a problem with a used car you have a short time after buying it to reject the car. If the fault was present when you bought the car, you do have other remedies such as repair or replacement. you have a short time after buying it to reject the car.

harveybobbles

laura_d wrote: »

Within 3 months of sale (and very little use) it's needed £1,000 of work done to it - I can't help but feel I have been ripped off, short MOT or not.

Can anyone offer any advice from a SOGA point of view?

Use a Council run MOT centre next time as they wont fail it on things that KwikShit type places will...

Also, the clutch failing after one week could be down to your driving style? Seeing as your mechanic friend drove it and deemed it to be ok.

You'd be surprised at how many people I do test drives with who use the clutch to hold the car still at traffic lights etc...

laura_d

Thanks for the comments guys. I think I'll give trading standards a call tomorrow to see what they say about it.

I think £1,600 was a reasonable price for the car - I certainly wouldn't have paid any more given it's age and mileage. Having spent considerable time looking at simlar cars via private sales I actually feel I paid a little over the odds for it for the security of buying from a trade seller!

blue_haddock

Ford KA's are VERY prone to rust - a good mechanic should have looked over the common area's that these rust and noticed the corrosion.

ozvaldinho

It sounds to me that the garage have been very reasonable with you. To put it bluntly, your mechanic friend sounds like a muppet. Clutches don't usually go instantly, especially on small cars. 40 miles after being test driven, something is either wrong with your driving or your mechanic' judgement.
I'd never put £1600 into a car from a scrapyard.

And get some advice from someone a bit more knowledgeable before getting any more work done. If it's needed welding around three seatbelt points this year, after another salty winter you'll have hole in the floor.

You can forget about getting much more out of the garage. My advice? Do your research next time you want to buy a car. Ask questions on here or honestjohn.com. And leave your friend at home.

ukjoel

Several different questions raised.

Its hard to comment on whether you got a decent price as we dont know spec of the car - if it was entry level, steel wheels, no air con, ka1 then probably paid a few hundred too much but if it had air con, alloys, cd player etc then probably about right or even a bit of a bargain.

In terms of selling cars like these - many garages will MOT them before they go out to you (mainly to cover their backsides over issues like this).

The faults with the car are all things you would expect in a Ka that age and mileage.

Appreciate its not nice getting a bill like that but you cant expect an 8 year 80k car to be problem free motoring.

My view on it is that the car was a px they took in precisely because the seller knew that these issues were there. If it had gone to auction it would have gone for around £900 to £1200 and whoever bought it would have done repairs in house.

They have asked you to contribute what you feel is appropriate.
It sounds to me like they are not expecting anything.

I would probably give them a nominal payment (maybe £100) and then get on with your life. Not being funny but if they gave you a refund and you went shopping with £1600 the chances of you finding a car that needed no work doing would be slim.

Better the devil you know.