Used car advice - HELP PLEASE!

BaconandEggs

Equaliser123 wrote: »

I think your friend doesn't know what he is talking about.

You wouldn't be able to reject the car after this period of time and with such minor defects.

How old is it?

This is what I thought.

It is between 6 and 7 years old although I have had it between 3 and 4 months.

Although I agree the problem is "minor", a head replacement would have cost £800 - although hypothetical - would this have been "major". If water gets in spark plug well it can cause
-engine to misfire
-spark plugs to become seized and snap off - expensive to have removed
-corrosion of core plugs, and entry of water via that route.
-corrosion of engine head
-spark plugs to corrode and glow out of engine.

vax2002

Why did they not test a sample of the water for gravity (antifreeze) to investigate where it came from ?
First job on any leak is to establish if you are looking at water from the engine or outside leak.
Incredible incompetence on the garages behalf.
Other causes are block drains in the bulkhead under the bonnet near the windscreen, they are 2 rubber bungs that block up with road dirt and the water runs down the cables from the bulkhead to the engine, it is a service item to clean them on every service .

BaconandEggs

vax2002 wrote: »

Why did they not test a sample of the water for gravity (antifreeze) to investigate where it came from ?
First job on any leak is to establish if you are looking at water from the engine or outside leak.
Incredible incompetence on the garages behalf.
Other causes are block drains in the bulkhead under the bonnet near the windscreen, they are 2 rubber bungs that block up with road dirt and the water runs down the cables from the bulkhead to the engine, it is a service item to clean them on every service .

Yes - I thought that would have been possible to do. To be fair, at the point I became aware of problem - the core plugs were corroded anyway. So needed replacing - regardless of initial cause of water ingress.

neilmcl

BaconandEggs wrote: »

However, a friend at work is astonished at the effort I've gone to - stating the sale of goods act and that he would have simply returned it at the onset of the problem for a full refund.

Not after 3-4 months he couldn't.

BaconandEggs

neilmcl wrote: »

Not after 3-4 months he couldn't.

That's what I thought.

However:

"where the consumer returns the goods in the first six months from the date of sale and requests a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In that case, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale."

from:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38071.html#Q1Ihavejustboughtanewsecondhandcarandamunhappywithitwhataremyrights

Equaliser123

BaconandEggs wrote: »

It is 6 1/2 years old.

It definitely helps writing things down. My concerns can be boiled down into 2 questions:

1) Which options in thread number 9 are possible and which should I go for?
2) Should I have been charged for the work done on the vehicle by the dealer?

Very few options available for a car of that age.

You may be able to insist on the selling dealer fixing it without charge but I think you may struggle.

s_b

Its a well known in the trade problem that washers leak.
Ford did do an alternative washer repair kit.
Seems seller of vehicle was not aware of the issue but still sorted the end result for you rather than the cause,i think thats very decent of him and he should be applauded.
Suggest you either fix the washers permanently yourself as you are doing ask seller if he can do it for you or get it booked in at a local garage for them to do the necessary

BaconandEggs

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Very few options available for a car of that age.

OK.

It's funny that you say "a car of that age".
Of course, youre right in saying it is fairly old now - but I look at it as being really new. Certainly the newest car/least old I've ever had. Always had small bangers in the past. Got this car thinking it would be nice to have something larger now that we have more stuff to cart around and it would come in handy if we have a family.

It's a lovely car otherwise, as far as I can tell.

I think alot of people don't know that much about cars and probably feel like there is a potential to be ripped off when going to a garage/buying a car. Buying a new car with warranty removes those risks but obviously there is the price/depreciation/possible credit costs to consider. That's why I've always gone for old cars. Anything in between and you're a bit exposed.

BaconandEggs

s_b wrote: »

Its a well known in the trade problem that washers leak.
Ford did do an alternative washer repair kit.
Seems seller of vehicle was not aware of the issue but still sorted the end result for you rather than the cause,i think thats very decent of him and he should be applauded.
Suggest you either fix the washers permanently yourself as you are doing ask seller if he can do it for you or get it booked in at a local garage for them to do the necessary

I know. I was actually thinking how nice of him it was to do it - until my mate mentioned what I wrote above.

He's a nice bloke and as I say - I would have assumed there would be no responsibility on his part. I was going to drop him off a 4 pack in fact!

BaconandEggs

Yeah - going to proceed with fixing it myself. I think I should be able to stop the rest of the leaking. If not, I'll take it into Ford - since it's a known common problem. They might suggest changing the connector on the passenger side jet - as I think this is where the leak is.

For those that know your cars - you all sound like you do:
How much of a problem do you think water dripping on to the battery case is?