Consumer rights after buying a faulty used car from a dealer- small claims court now!

Strider590

Why on earth would anyone buy a 15 year old bucket as a "second car"?

Surely a set of winter tyre's would have been cheaper?

Flyboy152

minibbb wrote: »

Right....after two months of silence from the court I received a letter from them yesterday saying that the Judge has finally looked at the paperwork. A hearing date has been set for the 17th September- still months away!! :mad: Oh, and they want another £165 for the "hearing fee"!

The letter urges me to try mediation which is apparently done over the phone in some sort of conference call to try and come to an agreement. Not sure if this is worth it now, the dealer hasnt offered any help now and I dont really see why I should have to accept anything other than a full refund due to all the the trouble/expense caused.

The Judge did say in his letter that the vehicle should be made available for inspection by the dealer at their own premises (which is 60 miles away from me)

I dont believe that the vehicle is roadworthy, its now not taxed or insured (as I was wasting more money) and to insure/tax it just for the day would cost me £120, plus fuel plus my time to get it up to Surrey. Surely the defendant should come to me?

Im planning on paying a local independant garage to inspect it and prepare a report detailing its mechanical condition.

Not really sure what to do now, any ideas/advice welcome!

Isn't that the dealer's responsibility to arrange that?

minibbb

Strider590- I wanted a second car of a decent size (as my main car is a mini) I also wanted a 4x4 and the jeep appeared to satisfy both of these needs.

Premier, thankyou for your reply. I guess Ill have to give mediation a shot, shame they only suggest it now when they've already had £120 out of me!! Im loathe to accept any less than a full refund however.

Surely the garage cant now say they'll repair it? They refused this from the start and I was under the impression that the SOA gave me the right to reject the car for a refund, something I most definately wish to do now. Ive been stuck with a lemon of a car for the last seven months and I dont want it clogging up my parking space any longer.

If the judge wishes for the vehicle to go to Surrey to inspected then the dealer can blooming well pay for it, theres no way im forking out £300 or so for it to be taken up there and back. The local garage I use are always excellent and I trust them implicably, so ill most probably commision them to do a report- im sure they'd attend court if needed.

Im starting to feel a bit like the character off the underdog advert. Nothings ever easy and it seems so wrong that the consumer is allowed to be treated like this and end up out of money!

s_b

its a lot of car for 1500 nicker
personally i would neither buy nor sell something this complicated for what amounts to banger money
buyer should have returned the car and asked seller to repair months ago in my opinion
never mind letters emails and smoke signals
ode to other people, buy banger buy local, easier to take back see:)

s_b

The local garage I use are always excellent and I trust them implicably, so ill most probably commision them to do a report- im sure they'd attend court if needed.

i wouldnt use this in court because if i was the judge i would suggest you should have taken it for an inspection there much sooner seeing as you have such a good relationship with them

really interesting this seeing it from the other side of the fence

Flyboy152

It doesn't matter what the OP paid for the car. There are basic things one would expect the car to have and one of those is to have roof that doesn't leak.

s_b

Flyboy152 wrote: »

It doesn't matter what the OP paid for the car. There are basic things one would expect the car to have and one of those is to have roof that doesn't leak.

its probably a 5 minute fix due to blocked down tubes or a new gasket needed,would a washing machine not need a new gasket on the door at this kind of age if purchased second hand? im sure the buyer would just return it to seller and ask for rectification to be done

Flyboy152

s_b wrote: »

its probably a 5 minute fix due to blocked down tubes or a new gasket needed,would a washing machine not need a new gasket on the door at this kind of age if purchased second hand? im sure the buyer would just return it to seller and ask for rectification to be done

In which case the dealer should have taken the opportunity given to fix it. But that doesn't explain why a four wheel drive doesn't work in all four wheels.

s_b

Flyboy152 wrote: »

In which case the dealer should have taken the opportunity given to fix it. But that doesn't explain why a four wheel drive doesn't work in all four wheels.

the 2wd/4wd selctor is very hit and miss as to whether it will work.

could be operator error
lets put it this way, if you were buying a 4x4 for its capabilities off road etc you would confirm it worked perfectly prior to purchase wouldnt you?
i know i would, just like if i bought a second hand toaster and i liked my toast well brown i would make sure it could achieve this even if it meant bringing my own bread to bread traders sales emporium

minibbb

s_b wrote: »

its a lot of car for 1500 nicker
personally i would neither buy nor sell something this complicated for what amounts to banger money
buyer should have returned the car and asked seller to repair months ago in my opinion
never mind letters emails and smoke signals
ode to other people, buy banger buy local, easier to take back see:)

When I put the claim in I was directed by the court to wait until directed to obtain any expert reports. The latest letter seems to give me the go ahead to do this.

Before the letters etc started I called the dealer asking it to be repaired or replaced and was refused from the start. I then sent all my letters via recorded delivery should they be needed (which they now are!)

The leaking roof is not due to blocked downtubes or a new gasket. Btw do car roofs have either?
There was some rust above the windscreen when I bought it, it looked superficial and to be expected on an older car. The dealer said "I think thats where its had a new windscreen and the paint was nicked when they were fitting it). This was acceptable to me at the time, the fact the I subsequently found out that the roof leaked as a result is not. The dealer is trying to say that I was fully aware that the roof leaked. Like anyone in their right mind would buy a car if they knew this?!

Lastly, the 2wd/4wd selector in a jeep is a simple lever. There is no user error involved here. My parents have a newer jeep with the same mechanism which works just fine. I very much doubt ANY car dealer would allow you to drive their 4x4 off road, nor would a kitchen shop let you use a toaster to toast some bread before buying it!

Yes in hindsight I was a wally to buy an old car. Nonetheless I deserve the rights of any consumer and am annoyed that these have been completely denied to me. If you read the whole thread you'll see ive tried everything possible just to sort this out.