clutch gone after 4 days

reesn

I was wondering if anyone has any idea of any rights I may have in regards to a car Ive just bought.

I bought a R reg Nissan Almera on Monday 8th Feb, from a registered trader. When driving it home, I noticed the clutch seemed a little high to 'bite'. Took it out for a first spin on Saturday, and low and behold, the clutch died on me. On checking with a mechanic, the friction plate had burnt out, and he told me seeing as Id only done 40 miles from buying it, then the dealer would have known the clutch was on its way out. Ive been in touch with the dealer, who seems to insist its my fault, but as a gesture of 'goodwill' he will pay half the 270 hes been quoted to fix it. Is this fair? Have I got any comeback at all?

Thankyou to anyone who replies.

newfoundglory

Dealer will have to pay the full amount for the repair, and is legally required to fix the car. Except no less. He is just taking a chance that you might pay some.

reesn

Thanks. I think he is trying to pull a fast one becuase he sees me as some ditzy female. He's saying that I must have been slipping the clutch, and because its an old car with the original clutch in it, then I should accept that it would go at some point. Obviously I do know cars develop faults, but I wasnt expecting it within less than a week. Any advise on what I should say to him exactly? Should I use the sale of goods act?

kelly2285

yeah id take it straight back, ditzy female or not!

Anihilator

I don't really agree.

Its an R reg Almeria. It wont be in perfect condition and a clutch will burn out. You really should have test driven it and raised these concerns. He will likely just claim you burnt it out with poor driving very quickly

Now yes you could take it to a court and yes you probably could win but for £135 and likely months without the car is it worth it

I'd put it down to a lesson.

Kilty_2

If it was a private sale then yes, it's a lesson, but a trade seller can't just get away with selling a car knowing it's shagged - it'd take some abuse to burn out a reasonable condition clutch in 40 miles.

Anihilator

Kilty wrote: »

If it was a private sale then yes, it's a lesson, but a trade seller can't just get away with selling a car knowing it's shagged - it'd take some abuse to burn out a reasonable condition clutch in 40 miles.

Prove they knew.

Secondly yes it would, but it would also take a complete and utter idiot to buy a 12 year old car without test driving it all the whilst it had a knackered clutch.

If the dealer doesnt want to play ball then the OP would have to use the courts and that could be a lot of hassle for £135.

Its also arguable that on a 12 year old car needing a new clutch isnt commensurate with age and condition hence acceptable.

Kilty_2

Anihilator wrote: »

Prove they knew.

Can they prove they didn't ? This is far more important to a consumer.

Inactive

I think the best the OP can do is take the dealers 50% offer, a clutch is a replaceable wear item, it was obviously OK when the OP first drove it, so it could possibly be down to driver abuse.

Crabman

Inactive wrote: »

I think the best the OP can do is take the dealers 50% offer, a clutch is a replaceable wear item, it was obviously OK when the OP first drove it, so it could possibly be down to driver abuse.

It should be possible to get the full repair cost as it's hardly reasonable for a clutch to fail just 40 miles after purchase without a mention from the dealer at point of sale.

He probably knows this, hence the 50% offer. Given that you have an independent mechanic's report in your favour you should be able to get this resolved with the dealer.

I'd ask for the full cost of repair or failing that, reject the vehicle for a full refund (small claims court being the fall back option).

maninthestreet

It's a 12-13 year old car - a test drive would have surely revealed that the clutch was very near the end of it's serviceable life.