Car Giant - Taken them to small claims, but what will happen now?

sabz3008

I was wondering if someone could provide some insight into this.

1. Bought BMW 318d Car for my mum from Car Giant July 2010
2. She drove it maybe 400 miles and complained of clutch judder
3. I thought it was her driving and not being used to manuals
4. Took it up to Scotland myself, and I noticed yes, it's judder
5. Contacted Car Giant (car driven 1200 miles) - September 2010
6. They asked me to have it inspected by BMW
7. BMW Said - Clutch and Flywheel need replacing: cost: £1800
8. Car giant offered £500 'gesture of goodwill'
9. About 30 e-mails have been passed back and forth, RMI contacted, no help, they won't budge...Told them about SOGA and 'faulty within 6 months' thing, even if it is a used car...they still, won't budge...Eventually they asked me to book the car with an independent garage, I did - Independent garage charged £1200 , Car Giant sent their 'independent mechanic' to 'inspect' the vehicle - Independent mechanic said it's driver induced error . My mechanic said "there's NO way to tell that"...
10. Asked car giant for money, they said no, absolutely ridiculous customer service...At this point, they even 'withdrew' their 'gesture of goodwill' £500
11. I've took them to small claims court (money claim online), they filed a defence, been a few months but court has now transferred it to wandsworth county court, and I'm awaiting - well, I don't know what I'm awaiting, I've never been to court before.


What are my rights here, what would the judge see in this? Am I in the right, or are they? Is it reasonable that a car's clutch and flywheel fail within 2 months and they don't pay out? I spent £6300 on the car with STUPID gard-x which is a load of rubbish too!

I gave them so many opportunities, asked them to repair it themselves, asked them to inspect it themselves or provide refurbished parts...Even managed to find a garage £600 cheaper than the main dealers.

I'm £1200 out of pocket right now, and I'm praying the courts go in my favour, but I just want to see what you guys think about this as well? There's no way I could have told that a clutch and flywheel is faulty due to 'wear and tear', and there's no way that it could have been driver induced error - (Though they said this to me, they did NOT put this on their court defence - they only put 'wear and tear')... If it were tyres or something, fair enough, but a £1800 clutch and flywheel? - In BMW's opinion, they said the car should not have been sold and that fault would have been detected in car giants '134 or however many parts mechanical check' The car's a 54 reg, 80,000 miles on the clock...The only reason I went to car giant in the first place is because I presumed they'd sort problems out and I'd have someone to go to if problems arose. I just never expected ...this...

Oopsadaisy

Is wandsowrth your local court??? if not you can ask for it to be assigned to your nearest county court [as opposed to their's].

Secondhand dealer car failures are a minefield [personal experience].

However you seem to have decent evidence [have you got it in writing???] in your favour...BMW say it shouldn't have been sold and should have been detected in the 134 pt check and it was only 400 miles so you have a pretty good chance.

Good luck.

neilmcl

What documented evidence to you have to support your claim, other he said this, they said that etc?

sabz3008

Yes, Wandsworth is my local county court - They originally transferred it to Central London but I asked that it be transferred to Wandsworth.
I don't have this evidence in writing, and I can't remember who I spoke to at BMW either...So basically, I don't have any documented evidence... My mechanic isn't registered as an 'expert witness' either, and although I can ask that he writes a little letter or something, I don't know what else I can really do...I do however, have all the e-mails back and forth, with them just being a brick wall...

What happened in your case @Oopsadaisy if you don't mind me asking?

neilmcl

Not exactly in a strong position then are you.

sabz3008

I'm relying more on the SOGA - 'unfit for purpose' I suppose

pug_in_a_bed

I think you definately need a official mechanics report; you need to be able to prove there is a problem, you can't just turn up and hope the judge hears soga and goes in your favour. If i were you I would be getting three quotes to take to court with you as soon as poss.

Without any document evidence I suspect the judge will just throw it all out.

Get all your emails together etc, perhaps a statement from your mum about how the car drove, receipts etc - anything you think will help.

sabz3008

Thanks. Do you think its worth buying an independent report, I found a company through the IAEA's website but they want £250 and said they can inspect the old clutch component (I still have it) - They're apparently registered as 'reliable witnesses' - if I do spend the £250, will I be able to claim that too?

pug_in_a_bed

You can apply for costs I believe so that could be added to your claim, I'd crack open the yellow pages and ring round a few garages to see if they'll do a report cheaper.

You really need to weigh up how sucessful you'll be with how much effort you want to put into this, best of luck

What you could do is ring the court for some advice, and see if they can give you any pointers

sabz3008

Thanks - Much appreciated.

Main reason I decided to go ahead with the small claims case isn't because of the loss of money, but more to prove my point against that ridiculous, unreasonable company. They can't treat customers that way, better off buying private in that sense.

pug_in_a_bed

Just remember that if you lose then you're responsible for their costs too:o