Had 2nd hand car for 16 days and its broken down, what are my rights?

life_in_termoil

Bought a 2nd hand car from a reputable garage 16 days ago.
On Sunday the engine warning light came on and the car lost power and is running on 3 cylinders. Been recovered to garage but as of yet they havent found the fault, They have tried coil/ht leads/spark plugs but this hasnt fixed the problem yet.

Im hoping all this will be covered on the warranty I purchased with the car. If not would I be able to return the car to the dealer on grounds of Not fit for purpose?

I paid 4500 pounds for this ford focus 1.6 zetec and Im extremely upset that its broken down.

Any ideas?

motorguy

life_in_termoil wrote: »

Bought a 2nd hand car from a reputable garage 16 days ago.
On Sunday the engine warning light came on and the car lost power and is running on 3 cylinders. Been recovered to garage but as of yet they havent found the fault, They have tried coil/ht leads/spark plugs but this hasnt fixed the problem yet.

Im hoping all this will be covered on the warranty I purchased with the car. If not would I be able to return the car to the dealer on grounds of Not fit for purpose?

I paid 4500 pounds for this ford focus 1.6 zetec and Im extremely upset that its broken down.

Any ideas?

Older cars break down. You have a warranty and the dealer is working to resolve it.

I think you have to give them time to do so. I expect that they will.

vaio

£4.5k and 16 days, I'd say that's Sale of Goods rather than warranty so whether the warranty covers it doesn’t matter.

If they try to get it through as a warranty claim I’d resist if the warranty has limits on number of claims or costs

wealdroam

vaio wrote: »

£4.5k and 16 days, I'd say that's Sale of Goods rather than warranty so whether the warranty covers it doesn’t matter.

If they try to get it through as a warranty claim I’d resist if the warranty has limits on number of claims or costs

I agree.

I also think you need to have a clear understanding now just who is going to pay for the work being done.

Unless you do this then the dealer may ask you for the money. :eek:

life_in_termoil wrote: »

Im hoping all this will be covered on the warranty I purchased with the car.

"Hoping" simply isn't good enough.

jd82

If the ignition side of things are fine (e.g coil pack, HT leads, and plugs) then I would be worried it is something more serious causing a lack of compression on one of the cylinders.

If it turns out it is an engine problem then I would really consider rejecting the car as there may be problems further down the line.

I also agree the sales of goods act comes into this. I also understand why you are upset.

I usually have no sympathy for these threads as its always I paid £500 for a car two months ago and now the brake light has failed, I want my money back.

This case seems genuine and I wish you all the luck.

life_in_termoil

Thanks for all the replies.

Im beginning to hate this car more and more.

Sunday....broke down on Motorway 137 miles from home, didnt have handbook with me in car so used breakdown service from my bank.
Breakdown was only for 10 miles anything over that I would have to pay for so got car delivered to greenflags garage 2 mins walk from my mums where we had been staying.
Monday.....phoned hartwells at 8.30am informed them of the problem, told me to get it transported back to them via hartwell assist.
phoned hartwell assist at 9am to arrange pick up....to be told wouldnt be able to be collected till 5.30 that evening.
5.30pm car collected and we were taken home. garage was closed recovery refused to leave car at garage as wasnt secure and nowhere for keys so taken another 15 miles and dropped off at our home. (10pm)
Tuesday....phoned hartwells who told me i needed to get the car to their garage and it would cost me £120!! Refused to accept that and asked if it could be taken to my local garage to which they agreed. Car taken to local ford garage who gave me a courtesy car.
Today.....ford phoned and said that the car was going back to hartwells and they were collecting it as they wouldnt authorise the repairs to be done and that hartwells would do the repairs themselves, therefore courtesy car had to go back. I phoned hartwells to find out what was going on and to ask for a courtesy car so I could get to work to be told couldnt have a courtesy car till Monday as they didnt have any available. Told them I would be contacting trading standards and putting in a claim for loss of earnings and tadaaaaaa 30 mins later I had a courtesy car delivered to my door!!!
Now I just have to wait to see whats happening with the car but there is NO way I am going to be paying for any of it.

poe.tuesday

I had the same issue with a car that I bought a few months ago, it basically broke down on the way home, but this was not from a big dealer but more of a part time second hand car sales man - initially he was dificult but when I mentioned the car not being fit for purpose and that I would be returning the car to him he changed his tune and paid for it all to be fixed.

you do have rights but I would say that there looks like there is no reason to mention them at the mo as it would seem that your dealer is sorting out the issues, however, I would suggest that you do inform them in writing/email that you will not be paying for any of the repairs etc that they carry out to get the car to a state where it is fit for purpose

life_in_termoil

Day 4 and still no idea as to what is wrong with the car!!!

peterbaker

I sympathise with the OP.

Views like "Older cars break down." are completely unhelpful.

"Abused, badly maintained cars with suppressed histories" regularly break down, yes. Age has absolutely nothing to do with it in 2010.

My 11 year old base Audi has done nearly 200,000 miles and runs as sweet as a nut. In the last 50,000 it has had a few minor easily rectified faults associated with wear and tear but nothing like this total mystery that the OP is expected to swallow within days of being sold a pup.

Are Hartwells really still playing dumb after 4 days?


I'd be seriously questioning their famous "The Hartwell Commitment":

• 30 day exchange
• FSA regulated company
• Manufacture backed finance packages
• Same day delivery available
• Full after sales support
• Manufacturer trained technicians
• Customer Loyalty Programme
• All cars fully prepared
• Part exchanges welcome
• Independent mileage check

and I would be homing in like a smart missile in a desert full of scuds on those I have marked in red.

I think it is a joke in 2010 that a company like Hartwells should treat its customers like unsuspecting punters arriving at Butlins - i.e. those that complain loudest eventually get something decent, but those that say "The room was a bit grubby and smelled a bit but it was close to the bar and the cabaret so we counted ourselves lucky we didn't have far to stumble back" are just what they love.

Same with the motor trade: "It's a used car - it's just one of those things and my bad luck" makes me cringe as the sort of thing you hear from a rising majority with more money than sense. Those are the group that companies peddling junk depend upon for their profits.

The OP paid four and a half grand. In my book that's still serious money for a middle lane motor (if they fix it, it is not of course, because those Zetec Engines make 'em go like stink and it'll push anything in the outside lane!).

Keep us posted OP.

I'd be expecting to have been told EXACTLY what is wrong with it by now so that I could make a decision about whether I will be satisfied with an attempted repair, or whether the actual problem is symptomatic of more general abuse e.g. the engine having been allowed to run short of oil by some idiot in its history, in which case like jd82 says, I'd reject it because they'll never properly fix it without a new engine - who is to say they'd source and fit that properly?

If they offer you a replacement motor under their exchange plan and you are tempted, do test drive it / thoroughly inspect it with someone that "knows" cars and can spot warning signs on the motor itself and in the offered service history.

There's no reason why you shouldn't haggle your way to a good 'un now you have them so obviously on the back foot.

Having their name on a thread like this in MSE isn't yet doing them much good is it? Maybe they might yet redeem themselves ... we are all looking in daily now for the Hartwell Happy Ending

Good luck!

life_in_termoil

It just seems really strange that the lovely man from Ford said that after inspection he needed to strip the engine but Hartwells wouldnt allow it. Why wouldnt hartwells authorise it? Why since they have now had the car 24 hours have they not looked at it? Is it all a ploy to get me over the 30 days? Fair enough I have a courtesy car so I can get to work and back but its still costing me money!!!

I think the next time Im thinking of buying a car I will get 1 with high mileage thats been ragged rather than a 7 year old car with 35 thousand miles on the clock, full service history and 1 previous owner that was an oldish bloke who only used the car to run to and from the shop.

life_in_termoil

Hartwells phoned earlier and have told me that the car is now at an engine specialist company and the engine will be replaced. I asked him who exactly would be paying for all the work done on it and he told me not to worry and that I will not be paying for anything. He said I should get the car back at the end of next week but they will phone me with updates.

Once I get the car back I will be taking it to get checked over at the ford garage just to make sure nothing else is wrong with it.

I will keep you updated.