Help! I think we've been had!

silvertree

We bought a cat D car a year ago which came with a full MOT. We have just taken it in for a renewed MOT and it turns out that there are no airbags and the wiring to the warning light has been cut. Well, we are obviously pretty upset at this as we have been unknowingly driving a potential deathtrap and have been deliberately deceived. Please could you advise where we stand on this? Do we have any comeback on the centre it was tested at at all? They do have a set up with a website so are clearly still operating. They should not be allowed to run a business! What on earth (if anything) can we do?

We just feel horrible about it all, clearly it was too good to be true and have well and truly been bitten - but legally - these people should be shut down shouldn't they?

Thanks for all advice - much appreciated.

Strider590

"Deathtrap" is a tad extreme don't you think?

Firstly, airbags haven't been around all that long.... Are older cars deathtraps because they don't have airbags?
Secondly, if you sit too close to the steering wheel an airbag can cause serious injuries and even death.

From a quick Google search "Transport Canada found that airbags reduced the death rate for men by 11%, increased the death rate for women by 9%"

The most effective safety device you have is the seatbelt.

I don't think you have any come back on the first MOT, it is not their job to take the car apart in order to find faults. In fact for the MOT it's not allowed, they can't even take your wheels off and in the past they shouldn't even have opened the bonnet.

JQ.

I can't answer your question but my first line of enquiry would be Trading Standards. But first, get the garage who discovered the issue to write a letter stating what they've found and get them to state how easy it would have been for the selling garage to spot the fault. Because you know the garage's first response will be they knew nothing about it and have been conned themselves.

colino

You may have a claim if you bought the car from a trader who notified you that it was a Cat D, but failed by omission to inform you the car wasn't repaired to original spec. MOT sadly doesn't come into it and it could be a straighforward "you said/he said" dispute.

bifold

You wont have a come back on the mot as the air bag and warning light were not part of the test,cat d cars are cheap for a reason they can often be good buys ,but you do have to check them over with a fine tooth come.
you should have noticed the lack of air bag warning light when you turned on the ignition.(most warning lights light/flash for a few seconds)

Strider590

Thinking about it........... Cars never fail the MOT when done by the selling garage prior to sale.
If you can get hold of the previous history, see what advisories were issued prior to that MOT, then get the car inspected..... If the new inspection finds that the advisories were not fixed AND that the garage passed the car without mentioning them, then you MIGHT have a case.

Example

2009 MOT - Advisory for brake discs
2010 MOT - Blank
2011 MOT - Advisory for brake discs

The gap will show that the car was not repaired and was not tested correctly in 2010.

liam8282

Strider590 wrote: »

Example

2009 MOT - Advisory for brake discs
2010 MOT - Blank
2011 MOT - Advisory for brake discs

The gap will show that the car was not repaired and was not tested correctly in 2010.

Or that it was repaired in 2009, Ok 2010, same fault occurred 2011.

Very difficult to argue as the MOT is only specifically on the day of the MOT. They could argue any faults occurred after it had left them.

bigjl

Don't forget the fit new airbags for the test trick, you can't prove they weren't fitted then removed after the sale.

But to buy a CatD recorded vehicle without making sure the airbags works?

Seriously! The biggest reason for a car being a Cat D is the price for a set of airbags in a low speed RTC.

I would think you have little comeback against the testing garage, or the selling garage, you bought a CatD car without checking it correctly. After all you never noticed that the airbag lights where non functioning.

Though I read somewhere that a car can pass an MOT with non functioning airbags, and therefore an illuminated or or non functioning airbag light, the same isn't true for ABS. I can't remember where I read that so the next time I go past my mates MOT garage I will ask him.

I believe that airbags are not compulsory in new vehicles yet, as the TX4 Taxi still doesn't come with any airbags.

This may seem harsh, but then life sometimes is.

This a good reason for those with little or no car knowledge should stick to main dealer or similar.

How many times do we see threads about a car bought as auction, then the buyer coming on here saying the auction sold them a dangerous car and should be closed down?

BugsyBrowne

silvertree wrote: »

We bought a cat D car a year ago which came with a full MOT. We have just taken it in for a renewed MOT and it turns out that there are no airbags and the wiring to the warning light has been cut. Well, we are obviously pretty upset at this as we have been unknowingly driving a potential deathtrap and have been deliberately deceived. Please could you advise where we stand on this? Do we have any comeback on the centre it was tested at at all? They do have a set up with a website so are clearly still operating. They should not be allowed to run a business! What on earth (if anything) can we do?

We just feel horrible about it all, clearly it was too good to be true and have well and truly been bitten - but legally - these people should be shut down shouldn't they?

Thanks for all advice - much appreciated.

You buy a Cat D motor then have the nerve to call it a deathtrap that their were no airbags in it.

Some people hey!

mcjordi

airbags are not tested atm.. the srs/aibag light illuminated is only an advise at present (due to change in jan 2012)

sniper666

Not part of the MOT test so no, you knew you were buying a cat d vehicle and should have chcked it over properly really to be honest, thats the risk you run when buy such cars really and should only consider doing it if you dont mind things like this.

To be honest I would not be bothered about no air bags myself and used to be a mechanic so have a good idea on what to look out for so cat d cars for me would be fine.