Faulty car out of dealer warranty

Maloric

I bought a Vauxhall Meriva in January from a local dealer. The car is only 5 years old and only had 29,000 miles on the clock, so I figured it would be largely problem-free. Unfortunately that isn't the case - a few weeks ago the steering started to "judder" when turning right, and then the EPS started to cut out completely. Restarting the engine will fix it temporarily, but the judder continues.

When I bought the car, my girlfriend and I traded in our old cars and paid an additional £400 by Mastercard. We were given a three month warranty, which of course has long passed. I called the garage who were willing to put me in touch with someone who could do the necessary repairs, but at a guess this is going to cost at least £400, possibly a lot more.

I have read of a lot of people trying unsuccessfully to get Vauxhall to pay for these repairs or do a recall, though haven't seen any success stories yet. I know the Consumer Credit Act (1979), Section 75 covers purchases over £100 if made on a credit card, but am not sure if it applies here because I am past the dealer's warranty. I'm not keen on the idea of spending £400+ to repair it only to have it fail again a few months down the line (which again, I have read reports of whilst researching the problem).

This is a very worrying problem, as my girlfriend, who uses the car to commute to work, can't manage the steering if it fails, which it has done three times in two days, narrowly avoiding an accident. This leaves her unable to get to work easily, and stuck with a car that isn't safe to drive.

I would appreciate any advice from anyone who knows my rights better than I do.

Jamie.

davidjwest

I had a problem with my old Vauxhall Corsa, the timing chain snapped when it only had around 30k on the clock causing around £1k of damage to the engine. It was just out of warranty but I tried contacting Vauxhall HQ who were quite helpful and paid for 75% of the repairs.
Not a total success but better than nothing - I had bought an extended warranty so that may have made a difference to their attitude. Got shot of the car soon after that and never bought a Vauxhall since.

Kilty_2

MrCEO wrote: »

Cars breakdown and need repairs. Why would your car be any different?
You have absolutly no recorse under SOGA or CCA for the cost of repairs of this size or nature. If the car was a write off then you might have had a slight chance.

I assume this is about 20-30% of the car's value, a 5 year old Meriva can't be worth much can it?

Strider590

http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?97438-Meriva-fault


Some references in there of possible simple fixes.

Equaliser123

MrCEO wrote: »

Cars breakdown and need repairs. Why would your car be any different?
You have absolutly no recorse under SOGA or CCA for the cost of repairs of this size or nature. If the car was a write off then you might have had a slight chance.

Yet again, absolute rubbish.

The test under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 14 is whether the car is of satisfactory quality. This applies to second hand cars as well as new although the test of is adjusted to take account of age, price paid, etc. Any warranty which the dealer provides is ON TOP OF the rights under SOGA.

Depending upon the fault, there may well be recourse under SOGA.

Maloric

MrCEO wrote: »

Cars breakdown and need repairs. Why would your car be any different?
You have absolutly no recorse under SOGA or CCA for the cost of repairs of this size or nature. If the car was a write off then you might have had a slight chance.

Sorry, I missed out a crucial detail, which is that this is a common fault that Vauxhall are aware of. If it were a one off that happened to my car alone, I might just think "well hey, that's just bad luck". But this fault has been reported by many before me. It isn't just a one off mechanical or electrical fault, and doesn't fall under normal wear and tear (a 5 year old car with 30,000 miles on the clock shouldn't need a new steering column). I reported the fault to VOSA, who although they are aware of the fault, said that it didn't pose a risk of catastrophic failure, since the car can still be steered, albeit with significantly more effort. The danger, I would argue, isn't the lack of power steering, but the sudden lack of power steering whilst driving or manoeuvring.

Would you expect to pay for a repair on an item that was caused by poor design or testing by the manufacturer? I'm aware that cars break down, but an identical fault on so many cars suggests that Vauxhall should claim some responsibility for the cost.

@davidjwest - thank you for the suggestion. I will try contacting Vauxhall directly, as reports suggest they are pretty reasonable about contributing to the costs of a new steering column. My problem may lie in the fact that the car wasn't serviced in November 2009, 3 months before we got the car, and thus doesn't have a full service history. Still, can't hurt to try...

motorguy

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Yet again, absolute rubbish.

The test under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 14 is whether the car is of satisfactory quality. This applies to second hand cars as well as new although the test of is adjusted to take account of age, price paid, etc. Any warranty which the dealer provides is ON TOP OF the rights under SOGA.

Depending upon the fault, there may well be recourse under SOGA.

I would very much doubt it. Five year old car with a fault 8 months after it was purchased? SOGA covers six months tops - and even then the dealer would only have to prove the fault wasnt in it when the car was sold.

oldagetraveller

Even more about this common EPS failure http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?179713-Vauxhall-wants-campaign-to-recall-Meriva-EPS-light-problem&highlight=merive+eps+campaign 8 pages of it!
Your's is showing the symptoms of the usual torque sensor failure which requires a complete new steering column. Been there, done that! Vauxhall are fully aware of this fault but deny all knowledge when confronted.
There's also a known problem with the steering rack too which also requires a complete change. Fortunately mine was still under warranty when it happened.
Looks like Maloric's been down the same route too.

Equaliser123

pgilc1 wrote: »

I would very much doubt it. Five year old car with a fault 8 months after it was purchased? SOGA covers six months tops - and even then the dealer would only have to prove the fault wasnt in it when the car was sold.

No, SOGA doesn't cover 6 months top at all - at least not when I was at Law School.

All of this totally depends upon the nature of the fault and how severe it is.

motorguy

Equaliser123 wrote: »

No, SOGA doesn't cover 6 months top at all - at least not when I was at Law School.

All of this totally depends upon the nature of the fault and how severe it is.

Well thats what i have been advised of as a car trader.

And it MOST DEFINITELY only covers faults that were there at the time of sale - which this wasnt.

It would never stand up in court.

Equaliser123

pgilc1 wrote: »

Well thats what i have been advised of as a car trader.

And it MOST DEFINITELY only covers faults that were there at the time of sale - which this wasnt.

It would never stand up in court.

Afraid it isn't correct.

It also doesn't just cover faults at the time of sale. What it does is assess the compliance of the car with the implied warranties under SOGA at the time of sale. One of the requirements under s.14(2) is that the car is of satisfactory quality. This expressly requires the car to be reasonably durable - something which cannot be assessed at time of sale.

We don't know if it would stand up in Court or not as we dont have all the facts. However, I would potentially run it.