Advice on a car I have bought

Antony09

Hi All. I am hoping someone here can offer me some advice with a situation we have.

I purchased a car from Arnold Clark in Accrington last Friday. It is a Vauxhall Astra 1.3 06 Plate. I part exchanged my vehicle, a Peugeot 206 Sport, for £3300 and paid £2100 in cash for the Astra which was in total £5488 (originally £5788 had £300 off it)

Anyway we went to go and pick the vehicle up, and before even driving off the forecourt noticed that the central locking button wouldn't work and turned on the hazard light every time you pressed it. The dashboard was ripped. All made aware to the Sales guy at the sales centre, he stated he would get it fixed. I have no idea about cars but was guaranteed the car was good (originally on the website for £6200)

Since then, every day we were on the phone finding out new problems, rear bumper was out of place, the light inside the vehicle when on door mode just stayed on continuously. I was assured all of the problems would be fixed by their service centre and when the new dashboard arrived, I could take it in and they would fix everything.

2 days after getting the car, I unluckily was in a small bump on the ice which snapped my front right bumper. I got it repaired by a family mechanic and it cost me £400. I have been to pick the car up today and he said he's had a look in the engine of the vehicle and there are numerous, major problems. He said the vehicle looks like it has been in a large front end crash (no results on the HPI report) and there were various problems inside the engine that Arnold Clark Mechanics should have noticed when they were sold the vehicle.

The bumper is 2nd hand, and a completely different colour underneath. There are nuts loose, which haven't been put back into place. A filler has been slapped in various parts of the engine. Some sort of binding liquid has been put on wires to hold them together, above the window that area has been filled as it hasn't even been sanded the same shape as the other side and has silver parts on it (the car is champagne silver). Parts were out of place. The engine has been rusting away (he said it looks like its been sat around for some time) and for an 06 plate vehicle with 36,000 miles on the clock it is obvious something serious has happened and when they have fixed it, it has been done on the cheap and very poorly fixed.

I am now in a situation whereby I have had this car 1 week, My mechanic noticed the issues straight away yet Arnold Clark Mechanics must have seen it when it got took to their service dept when they got given it? As when I took in my Peugeot they had noticed some radiator damage inside the bonet and said it looks like mine had been in a mini bump before I had got it. They are now using the excuse they only test it to be legal on the road and do HPI reports. But the faults, even to me, someone has no idea about cars, are point blank obvious. My mechanic is saying this is more than likely the reason for the dashboard cracking due to it being in a front end crash, and also probably a reason for the electrics not working.

I made the person who I bought it off aware, he said any further problem that was there they would have at if I brought it in and look at solving it.

I have a 28 day warranty on the vehicle. I rang the service mgr today who told me I needed to speak to the general manager and we have arranged an appointment on Monday.

Can anyone advise me legally, where I stand? They have my old vehicle which was perfectly fine, and I have been given a big pile of rust which I have been told is going to cause me countless problems in the future. I really don't want the car anymore, and infact I feel unsafe to drive inside it, especially with my Girlfriend and her 2 year old son being in their 90% of the time with me.

Can someone advise me where I stand and what I can say to the General Manager on Monday? I am happy to get legal advice if required but wanted to know if anyone here had similar incidents (i've since read many bad reviews about Arnold Clark).

Thanks for your help.

Antony.

continualdiamond

Surely you'd be okay as you're covered under the garage warranty?? (though do check what is and isn't covered)

I am only saying this as when i bought my car 2 years ago (02) plate, i had it 3 days and then the turbo went. It was late at night, id just done food shopping, i rang the garage the next morning and had to arrange to get the vehicle to them (i used my RAC cover).

It was all sorted within a couple of days and nothing was said to try and get out of fixing the turbo, i had a 28 day warranty with them which included the turbo being covered so they had to honour it. Granted when i did ring up and say i have a problem, my turbo has gone, they weren't too happy, but of course they wouldn't be.

(i appreciate i only had 1 problem and you have a considerable list, but just sharing my experience of garage warranties)

emmell

I bought a brand new Punto some years ago and after I had had it a week or so I noticed it had a slight dent on the front. On closer examination I found it had been painted in lots of places, so I rang trading standards who told me I would probably be relying on the good will of the dealer and they would try to help me by phoning head office. The next day I got a phone call from the dealer (JCT600) asking me if I would like the full amount back, my p/x and balance back or a replacement car. So I can only say JCT preferred to sort it out rather than have their reputation damaged which was good news to me.
The difference is mine was a brand new car so that may have made a difference.
How many owners has the car had? can't you check with the previous owner what damage (if any) the car has sustained. If the car has been a hire car and been damaged, some of the hire companies don't claim and have the cars repaired themselves so they never appear on the HPi register.
ML.

harveybobbles

Only if a car is written off will it show up on HPi register...

andygb

Anthony, sorry to say this, but after reading the list of things wrong with this car, I think even Stevie Wonder would have been able to pick up some of the faults.
A 1.3 Astra is a bottom of the range vehicle, and an 06 plate could be considered four years old. When spending that amount of money, you really have to get someone experienced to go along with you, because finding just one of the many faults you mention, would have seen me and many other people just walking away.

Antony09

andygb wrote: »

Anthony, sorry to say this, but after reading the list of things wrong with this car, I think even Stevie Wonder would have been able to pick up some of the faults.
A 1.3 Astra is a bottom of the range vehicle, and an 06 plate could be considered four years old. When spending that amount of money, you really have to get someone experienced to go along with you, because finding just one of the many faults you mention, would have seen me and many other people just walking away.

Thanks Andy - The faults I highlighted when I first got the vehicle were things I believed could have been repaired (the central locking,dashboard and rear and was promised by A/C they would repair them and provide me with a courtesy car. I was advised the car was in very good condition too. Not knowing anything about cars, the only thing I would have probably seen is the 2nd hand bonet, the other things I wouldn't have spotted myself.

I appreciate now that I have made a mistake and am more looking for advice on what they can say yes or no to, and if I actually have any type of case should they point blank refuse to do anything for me. I've had the car, now 8 days.

The fact its the bottom of the range really doesn't have much to do with the problems that are in the engine of the vehicle as this is from the previous repair when it has been in a front end crash. I specifically chose the 1.3 Astra.

Thanks, Antony.

Inactive

Have a look here;

http://www.arnoldclark.com/customer-services/treating-customers-fairly.html

I am sure most of it is spiel, but it does give some info.

Good luck.

Thunderbird_2

Why don't you try to part exchange it for another car of theirs? Since it is few days since they sold it to you, I wouldn't imagine they will knock off alot of its price, if any. It might be the most peaceful solution. Let us knnow how you get on.

Good luck

hethmar

Antony, go to the meeting and put forward a list of all the points you have made. Surely the manager will want to settle the matter quickly and amicably. Either giving you back your old car or offering you another. If not, ring trading standards.

Good luck.

sheslookinhot

This car should be rejected. Couldn't have been worse than if it was sold by a back-street cowboy.

emmell

harveybobbles wrote: »

Only if a car is written off will it show up on HPi register...

I thought it wouldn't appear on the HPi register if it hadn't been subject to an insurance claim.
ML.