New (used) car, having problems already

kevinbooth83

Hi, i recently bought a used car from a dealer on the 12th december, a 1999 ford focus manual petrol 1.8, and have had a number of problems already, the first of which is the biggest;

an intermittent but increasingly regular problem which usually happens when travelling on the motorway (the vast majority of my travel is on the motorway), the engine loses power and the dashboard pretty much shuts down, the speedo drops to zero, the rev counter stays fixed at whatever point it was when the power goes, and the mileage counter goes blank, as i say the engine loses power, but as i am usually on the motorway, putting my foot down keeps the car going, but if i have to slow down while this is happening, for traffic lights or a roundabout for example, the engine loses power completely and i have to restart, this has almost caused me to crash twice now as it has happened while i slowed down for a turn and as the engine shuts off so does the power steering, meaning i have unexpectadly had to struggle to follow the road.

The dealer who sold me the car says the 1 month warranty he has given me (for which i have received nothing in writing) only covers mechanical problems and as he beleives this to be electrical there is nothing he can or will do about it.

Incidentally I owned a focus a couple of years back that started to develop the same problem but the car was in an accident shortly after it started to happen and was written off.

The second problem is that I was never given a wheel locking nut so in the event of needing a tyre change there wouldn't be anything i could do, after speaking to the dealer he said he didn't have it and i should ring the number of the service centre where it had its MOT as they might possibly have, I told him I shouldn't have to running round chasing this up and he needs to do it, eventually he agreed and I just need to give him their number, we only spoke about this yesterday and i've been working flat out and won't get chance until tomorrow so thats still up in the air.

The third, and really annoyingly given the current weather we are having, the internal heaters have stopped working completely, so I had to drive nearly an hour this morning and half hour back in the freezing cold, comfort issue aside, this means if the windows steam up, i have no way of clearing them other than to stop and wipe.

I'm really not happy with this car and dealing with the dealer is very difficult, he seems to have a "i've got your money now so whatever happens is your problem" attitiude and i'm not the best at confrontations/arguments. I would like my money back to buy a car i feel safe and comfortable in, do I have any rights in this instance, and where do i go for support?

Apologies for the long post and thanks in advance for any help offered

Regards
Kevin

korny88

I believe when you buy from a dealer, the car must legally be roadworthy and not have problems that affect the driving. I can't remember where I saw this, but think it was on the DVLA or citizen's advice website, will google it again. Show this to your dealer if he refuses to refund you.

Hope this helps.

korny88

Found it. Here's the link, it's at the Citizen's Advice Bureau: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/buying_second_hand_vehicles.htm#you_bought_the_vehicle_from_a_dealer

kevinbooth83

Thanks for the link, will have a study of it and go from there, best gear up for an argument with the dealer i think too.

aqueoushumour01

perhaps you could have it diagnosed by somebody independent i.e. a ford garage. I suspect they'd charge around £50 for a diagnosis check and they will tell you what's wrong with it. If it turns out to be mechanical, you can go back to the dealer with that evidence at least.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The dealer is lying. He has a duty to repair the vehicle, no matter what the fault, as long as it isn't wear-and-tear.