Used Car Nearly Killed Me! Any Advice Please..

gmbunn

Hi folks,

Im looking for some advice about a very serious issue Ive had with a used car. Here's the background..

3 weeks ago I purchased a 06 plate Mondeo from a car dealership (i think its a family business). The advertisement I initially saw for the garage stated "A1 condition, drives superb. All our cars are sold HPI clear, prepared to a high standard and are faultless". I went and saw the vehicle and purchased it. Up until last week I had only ever driven the vehicle with me in it. Last week I took my family (4 in total) for a drive and as I approached a junction the brakes failed to stop me effectively and the nose of the vehicle ended up in the junction. Luckily the oncoming driver was aware and took evasive action.

I took the vehicle to a garage the following day to have it inspected and I was told ALL brake discs and pads, all the way around the vehicle, were substantially worn to the point they suggested it would have failed and MOT and should not have been driven on until its repaired.

Considering I purchased the vehicle in the midlands and live in Devon and also noting what the mechanics said about safety, I had the work done there and then and kept all paperwork showing the inspection result. It cost £363.

I am absolutely horrified this has happened as it could have been a serious accident. To add insult, as my car crossed into the junction, even by a few feet, I activated a red light camera and now have recieved a penalty ticket from the police!

Can anybody please tell me where I stand on claiming my money back from the dealership? Maybe under the Sale of Goods Act?

Thank you for any help

Meepster

Unfortunately, brake pads and discs are classed as consumables, so you wont be able to claim any money back...

Hintza

gmbunn wrote: »

Can anybody please tell me where I stand on claiming my money back from the dealership? Maybe under the Sale of Goods Act?

Thank you for any help

You should have given the selling dealer the opportunity to rectify/repair the car. You haven't done that so there is nothing you can really do now except see if they will offer you something by way of a goodwill gesture. Do you have the offending parts?

It sounds though that you misjudged the weight you were carrying in the car and it could all be down to that misjudgement. The rest will now just be heresay.

gmbunn

I see what you're saying however the car would have needed to be moved over 250miles back to the garage and I paniced after the near miss. I have had mondeo's in the past so it isnt as though driving with the weight would have been totally new to me.

I had the garage write me a report stating that in their opinion it was not roadworthy in its condition and that safety may very well have been compromised due to poor breaking efficency.

I get it that brakes and pads are consumables, but would you not think that as the car was advertised as 'A1 condition and sold faultless with MOT until July 2011' that the vehicle is not fit for purpose or as described?

Thank you for taking time to reply guys

bap98189

gmbunn wrote: »

I took the vehicle to a garage the following day to have it inspected and I was told ALL brake discs and pads, all the way around the vehicle, were substantially worn to the point they suggested it would have failed and MOT and should not have been driven on until its repaired.

Where did you take it Kwik-Fit??? Something doesn't sound quite right to me. If you drove it before you bought it, and the car was OK for the next few days, it seems extremely unlikely that all four pads/discs would suddenly fail.

DealCruncher

So sorry to hear this, it's always really scary when something like this happens!

You could look into Sale of goods act, did you sign anything saying sold as seen or similar? Were the brakes faulty when you trialled it?

Meepster

All an MOT proves is on the day the MOT was issued that the car was road worthy. It doesn't mean it will be road worthy for the next 12 months.

What you need to do is prove that on the day you bought the car, it wasn't road worthy. Only then will you have any recourse with the seller.

gmbunn

bap98189 wrote: »

Where did you take it Kwik-Fit??? Something doesn't sound quite right to me. If you drove it before you bought it, and the car was OK for the next few days, it seems extremely unlikely that all four pads/discs would suddenly fail.

Please dont misunderstand me, I'm not saying the brakes failed completely, they just had me almost standing on the pedal to get the vehicle to stop. I did keep the parts and the front are worn down to expose a bit of metal that im told means theyre totally dangerous.

I had kwik fit look at it and they quoted almost £500 so I took it to another garage called AMS and theyre comments were very similar, just a little less oppressive!

gmbunn

Meepster wrote: »

All an MOT proves is on the day the MOT was issued that the car was road worthy. It doesn't mean it will be road worthy for the next 12 months.

What you need to do is prove that on the day you bought the car, it wasn't road worthy. Only then will you have any recourse with the seller.

Thanks for the advice. Surely this will be difficult as the technicians who replaced them will say yes they would have been, while the technicians who work at the garage I purchased from will say no it wouldnt have been?

anewman

If you had the old parts proof would be easy.

Could even be something like the brake fluid boiling up as it needs replacing.

Hammyman

Sorry but I have an issue with the drama queen thread title. Brakes worn to the point you claim would actually stop you FASTER than normal ones. You say you had your family with you. Is this the first time you've driven it full of passengers? I'm just asking because the stopping distance of a fully loaded car is CONSIDERABLY LONGER than one with just the driver in and I think its been more to do with your failure to take this into account. If the passengers were all chunky monkeys, you could increase the weight of the vehicle compared to just you in it by up to one third. That takes longer to stop.

Basically, the brakes will still stop you even if its metal on metal. It'll not make a nice noise whilst its doing it but they'd still stop you fine.

Your only recourse is to get the garage that replaced them to write you a report and then use that to reclaim the cost of the work you've had to have done.