Bought a car, noticed a few defects, opinions wanted!

DebtHater

Hi all!

Purchased a 54 plate Vauxhall Vectra about 2/3 weeks ago. Got it serviced on 17th April and got the mechanic to check over 2 problems I had noticed.

The suspension is making a "springy" noise when at low speed and when turning the steering. Also noticed a bit of play on the rear wheels (which I put down to wheel bearings, although there is no noise coming from them yet)

The mechanic defined the following problems:

• Front Suspension top struts need replacing / stiff bearings
• Rear bushes most likely cause for the play in wheels (found out it isnt actually the wheel bearings)
• Injectors 2 & 3 blowing past the seals (I didnt even notice this - I had him check the engine because the car doesnt like starting from cold)

The mechanic advised me that these faults wouldnt have happened in the very short time I owned the car and advised me to contact the seller.

The seller is actually a self-employed car dealer from home, has loads of cars coming in and out, and trades under a business name (not sure if it is ltd or not though, I presume it is just as a sole trader)
Found the ad in the Auto Trader (wont use eBay due to the amount of con artists on there!)

When I telephoned the dealer, he seemed very helpful and said he would deal with the problems. He asked me to get my mechanic to make a list to provide to the dealer, so he knows what to advise his workshop to do. He even gave me a lift back home after dropping the car off to his house in order to get the work done first thing in the morning.

Had a phone call just recently from the dealer who has had chance to look at the list of things to do, only the 3 things listed above. He said the car is only having the injectors doing, the rest he thought I was going to pay for. I did not say this, what I did say to him is if it had turned out to be wheel bearings causing the rear wheel play, I would have been happy to sort this myself just to save any hassle. So the dealer is now twisting my words around to get out of the responsibility.

The point is, the suspension fault was definitely there before because I heard the springy noise when I was driving the car back home, so made a note of it to get it checked.
I did do a pretty full walk round the car, but I am no mechanic, so these things I obviously dont have the know-how to spot. Other than these 3 issues, the car is fine, runs near perfect. If these issues get sorted, the car would be 100%!

So its been left with the dealer that the injectors are getting sorted. I have provided him with the seals, so all he has to do is sort the labour. That will solve the problem of the slight loss in power and the problem starting from cold.
HOWEVER, he is denying responsibility for the other issues. Apart from saying "he would get his workshop to have a look", I havent been left with a lot of faith that this will get sorted.

I have been down the route ages ago where I took a seller to the small claims court, its a lengthy process and can be avoided. So how can I get the dealer to take me more seriously?

mollycat

Take a mechanic with you to view cars.

Take a test drive with mechanic in car.

Then you will notice these problems before you part with your cash, instead of a few weeks later, and then can either;

1. Negotiate to have problems fixed.
2. negotiate a decent discount.
3. Walk away.

I dont really understand people going to buy a car for decent sums of money when they dont know what they're doing; then when it goes tits up it's everyone elses fault.

Sorry you've got problems, thats my personal view though.

DebtHater

mollycat wrote: »

I dont really understand people going to buy a car for decent sums of money when they dont know what they're doing; then when it goes tits up it's everyone elses fault.

Hmmm indeed. Thankyou for the very helpful post. Its people like you that dont see the issue with selling dodgy motors! Wouldnt surprise me if you have scammed a fair few in your time!

Let me tell you something. I dont carry a mechanic in my pocket, to pull out as and when I need one. When I go to view a car, I know the majority of the signs to look for, such as checking the colour of the oil, check the colour of the exhaust smoke (if any) and all that. Dont get me wrong, I am no mechanic myself, but I know what to look for.
I dont take a large vehicle ramp with me to check every single part of the car. The way Trading Standards look at it, you arent expected to have a "mechanic" level of knowledge when buying a motor. The motor is either decent, or its not. And its the dealers responsibility to make sure it is decent!
Equally, you would expect someone to be honest with you, as honest as possible. When you say "is there anything I should know about" and they say "no", you expect the car to last more than 2-3 weeks before something goes wrong.

So before you brand people as useless and stupid when parting with "decent sums of money", read my post again and engage your brain!

harveybobbles

Play in rear wheels will be the rear suspension arms - we do loads of them on the Vectra/Saab crap.

The leak off pipes on the injectors will be leaking - also another thing we do lots of on Vectra/Saab crap.

mollycat

DebtHater wrote: »

Hmmm indeed. Thankyou for the very helpful post. Its people like you that dont see the issue with selling dodgy motors! Wouldnt surprise me if you have scammed a fair few in your time!

Let me tell you something. I dont carry a mechanic in my pocket, to pull out as and when I need one. When I go to view a car, I know the majority of the signs to look for, such as checking the colour of the oil, check the colour of the exhaust smoke (if any) and all that. Dont get me wrong, I am no mechanic myself, but I know what to look for.
I dont take a large vehicle ramp with me to check every single part of the car. The way Trading Standards look at it, you arent expected to have a "mechanic" level of knowledge when buying a motor. The motor is either decent, or its not. And its the dealers responsibility to make sure it is decent!
Equally, you would expect someone to be honest with you, as honest as possible. When you say "is there anything I should know about" and they say "no", you expect the car to last more than 2-3 weeks before something goes wrong.

So before you brand people as useless and stupid when parting with "decent sums of money", read my post again and engage your brain!

I did read you post.

You said,

"I did do a pretty full walk round the car."

I would have done a bit more than that. If you had done so you might have noticed some of the issues you are now trying to get resolved.

No need to become unpleasant, i wasnt to you; i merely expressed an opinion, which i prefaced with the word sorry.

I certainly didnt brand you stupid or useles; how could i, i dont even know you.

If you want to make judgements about people you dont know, (as you did in your last post) fine.

All im saying is check a car properly before you buy.
Im also saying i dont understand people who dont.

Finally, i have never "scammed" anyone.

DebtHater

harveybobbles wrote: »

Play in rear wheels will be the rear suspension arms - we do loads of them on the Vectra/Saab crap.

The leak off pipes on the injectors will be leaking - also another thing we do lots of on Vectra/Saab crap.

Thanks for the helpful info.

The mechanic did tell them about the suspension arms etc, was all in the list of things to be looked at. Although there were 3 main points, he did expand and suggest 1 or 2 things he thought may be causing it. I wasnt prepared to pay him the labour to take the car apart and find out exactly what the problem was.

But, I'm at a loss as to how to get the dealer to actually take this seriously. I know exactly what it will be tomorrow. "Oh yeh, the garage looked at it and decided we wont do it, its down to you" - judging by the attitude on the phone tonight when he read this list by my mechanic. I dont know, maybe he is just trying his luck?

DebtHater

mollycat wrote: »

I did read you post.

You said,

"I did do a pretty full walk round the car."

I would have done a bit more than that. If you had done so you might have noticed some of the issues you are now trying to get resolved.

No need to become unpleasant, i wasnt to you; i merely expressed an opinion, which i prefaced with the word sorry.

I certainly didnt brand you stupid or useles; how could i, i dont even know you.

If you want to make judgements about people you dont know, (as you did in your last post) fine.

All im saying is check a car properly before you buy.
Im also saying i dont understand people who dont.

Finally, i have never "scammed" anyone.

OK, but it was the presumption that I didnt know what I was doing, as you implied in your statement.

I did do more than just a walk round, when I said "full walk round" it was a figure of speech. I looked everywhere. The only thing I didnt do is rock the wheels and jack the thing up on a ramp. Hence the reason these issues have now been noticed.

And, I dont think I would have ever noticed injectors failing. My mechanic even had to search around and rule things out to get the diagnosis spot on.

I will admit I am no mechanic, but I know my way round a car.

The argument with the dealer is not what the issues are with the car, but will he be willing to do anything about it? I am merely asking for advice as to convince him to adhere to the Sale of Goods Act, I am not asking for criticism as to my motor inspection

Takoda

DebtHater wrote: »

Hmmm indeed. Thankyou for the very helpful post. Its people like you that dont see the issue with selling dodgy motors! Wouldnt surprise me if you have scammed a fair few in your time!

Let me tell you something. I dont carry a mechanic in my pocket, to pull out as and when I need one. When I go to view a car, I know the majority of the signs to look for, such as checking the colour of the oil, check the colour of the exhaust smoke (if any) and all that. Dont get me wrong, I am no mechanic myself, but I know what to look for.
I dont take a large vehicle ramp with me to check every single part of the car. The way Trading Standards look at it, you arent expected to have a "mechanic" level of knowledge when buying a motor. The motor is either decent, or its not. And its the dealers responsibility to make sure it is decent!
Equally, you would expect someone to be honest with you, as honest as possible. When you say "is there anything I should know about" and they say "no", you expect the car to last more than 2-3 weeks before something goes wrong.

So before you brand people as useless and stupid when parting with "decent sums of money", read my post again and engage your brain!

That was a rather rude post. Don't take it out on her just because you made a bit of a schoolboy error.

I take it you didn't test drive the car otherwise you would've heard the springy noise and walked away.

mollycat

DebtHater wrote: »

OK, but it was the presumption that I didnt know what I was doing, as you implied in your statement.

I did do more than just a walk round, when I said "full walk round" it was a figure of speech. I looked everywhere. The only thing I didnt do is rock the wheels and jack the thing up on a ramp. Hence the reason these issues have now been noticed.

And, I dont think I would have ever noticed injectors failing. My mechanic even had to search around and rule things out to get the diagnosis spot on.

I will admit I am no mechanic, but I know my way round a car.

The argument with the dealer is not what the issues are with the car, but will he be willing to do anything about it? I am merely asking for advice as to convince him to adhere to the Sale of Goods Act, I am not asking for criticism as to my motor inspection

Okay, okay...lets not fall out, any offence or insult given is retracted

Im not sure about SOGA to be honest, is your car "fit for purpose" and if not proving it will be the issue.

Good luck in anycase

Takoda

mollycat wrote: »

Take a mechanic with you to view cars.

Take a test drive with mechanic in car.

Then you will notice these problems before you part with your cash, instead of a few weeks later, and then can either;

1. Negotiate to have problems fixed.
2. negotiate a decent discount.
3. Walk away.

I dont really understand people going to buy a car for decent sums of money when they dont know what they're doing; then when it goes tits up it's everyone elses fault.

Sorry you've got problems, thats my personal view though.

Agree totally - if people don't know a mechanic they can always pay for an RAC inspection. I would if I was buying a second hand car.

DebtHater

mollycat wrote: »

is your car "fit for purpose" and if not proving it will be the issue.

Now that is where Consumer Direct says that it is up for the dealer to prove it was roadworthy. And if the fault occured within 6 months of purchase, it is presumed that the faults were there at the time of sale.

But, is that going to be the case if relied upon within the small claims court?