Second Hand Car Fault

jdbenton

Hi All,

I bought a second hand car from a dealer in July this year. I first saw the car in June and stated my interest and requirements for the car, e.g. it would be doing 80 miles a day commuting has to be reliable as we can't afford to get it repaired and it was the only means of getting to work. Before we actually took the car off the dealer in July he had the car for about a month with our intent to buy it and as they state:

Every vehicle we sell is thoroughly inspected and checked prior to being sold. This includes a thorough safety inspection, full service, valet and MOT test if applicable.

On the purchase date it was reiterated the fact that it needed to be reliable and we were given an "extended" warranty of 6 months to cover the engine, gearbox internal components. Within about 3 weeks of having the car (Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 Diesel 05 plate) we had trouble turning the car on, informed the dealer of the fault and the necessity we had for the car and that we couldn't be without it. He said he would arrange a time and a suitable car for us to use when available. After three weeks of waiting and not hearing anything, we rang again to remind the dealer. After a total of 7 weeks from reporting the fault we took the car back to the dealer at great expense (we moved since buying the car so included a 100 mile round trip plus insurance for the other car) and had the fault 'repaired'.

After receiving the car back it seemed better and we accepted that as we couldn't afford any more time sorting it out. A few weeks later, still within the three month period of the Sales of Goods Act applicable to second hand cars a major fault with the Turbo arose which had to be replaced. At the time of repair we informed the dealer of the cost and had it fixed at a local garage at a cost of £561 to ourselves. Subsequently after asking the dealer if he will pay for this he has refused.

We are proceeding to send a letter to both him and the credit card company, however because we got the car repaired without offering him the chance to do so, due to our previous experience, potential damage to the car and doubt on quality, can we still claim for a full refund?

N.B. the car was paid on credit card but the repair was not

Thank you for reading this, I understand it is a bit of a rant, but it felt good to vent.

harveybobbles

Regardless of where you moved to, you should have taken the car back to the garage for them to sort the turbo out.

Your credit card compnay may be able tp help under Section 75.

But as for the SOGA then you didnt really give the dealer a chance to look at the turbo problem as you just had it fixed else where. So i'm not sure you will be able to claim that money back.

vaio

As above, you should give the dealer a chance to fix it but tied in with that responsibility on you is a responsibility on the dealer to fix things in a timely manner and with significant inconvenience to you.

I’d argue that the previous experience of the dealer fault fixing was so bad that it absolves you of the responsibility to return there to get the turbo fixed.

jdbenton

Thanks for the above. As you said vaio I think that is the route we'll go down. After taking a significant amount of time previously to correct a fault I would have dreaded to think how long he would have taken to arrange for the car to be transported the 50 miles in order for him to look at it.

So although we didn't give him a chance to fix this fault, he had had ample time to fix a previous fault and we depend on the car. Under the SAGA since we stated our requirements on purchase, I feel we have a right to claim as it is not fit for purpose or of satisfactory quality.

It's good to hear your thoughts so thank you.

motorguy

jdbenton wrote: »

Hi All,

I bought a second hand car from a dealer in July this year. I first saw the car in June and stated my interest and requirements for the car, e.g. it would be doing 80 miles a day commuting has to be reliable as we can't afford to get it repaired and it was the only means of getting to work. Before we actually took the car off the dealer in July he had the car for about a month with our intent to buy it and as they state:

Every vehicle we sell is thoroughly inspected and checked prior to being sold. This includes a thorough safety inspection, full service, valet and MOT test if applicable.

On the purchase date it was reiterated the fact that it needed to be reliable and we were given an "extended" warranty of 6 months to cover the engine, gearbox internal components. Within about 3 weeks of having the car (Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 Diesel 05 plate) we had trouble turning the car on, informed the dealer of the fault and the necessity we had for the car and that we couldn't be without it. He said he would arrange a time and a suitable car for us to use when available. After three weeks of waiting and not hearing anything, we rang again to remind the dealer. After a total of 7 weeks from reporting the fault we took the car back to the dealer at great expense (we moved since buying the car so included a 100 mile round trip plus insurance for the other car) and had the fault 'repaired'.

After receiving the car back it seemed better and we accepted that as we couldn't afford any more time sorting it out. A few weeks later, still within the three month period of the Sales of Goods Act applicable to second hand cars a major fault with the Turbo arose which had to be replaced. At the time of repair we informed the dealer of the cost and had it fixed at a local garage at a cost of £561 to ourselves. Subsequently after asking the dealer if he will pay for this he has refused.

We are proceeding to send a letter to both him and the credit card company, however because we got the car repaired without offering him the chance to do so, due to our previous experience, potential damage to the car and doubt on quality, can we still claim for a full refund?

N.B. the car was paid on credit card but the repair was not

Thank you for reading this, I understand it is a bit of a rant, but it felt good to vent.

Firstly, the SOGA recommendation is not three months. There is no set time for it, and its effect diminishes over time.

You should have given the dealer the opportunity to repair irrespective - at very least a call to say what had happened and given them the opportunity to respond.

Cant see you winning this one.

motorguy

jdbenton wrote: »

Under the SAGA since we stated our requirements on purchase, I feel we have a right to claim as it is not fit for purpose or of satisfactory quality.

We're talking about a 6 year old car here thats probably got 70K+ miles on it. Faults happen. The SOGA is there to ensure that both the seller and the buyer are treated fairly.

Its not the dealers fault you moved.

It is up to the dealer to warrant a cars condition at the time of sale, NOT provide a warranty. The dealer will argue that as the turbo functioned correctly for three months, then the fault was not present at the time of sale.

He will also argue that he was not given the opportunity to inspect the car - or even be told about the problem - until after the remedial work was carried out.

They will also argue that the last time you had a problem they even lent you a car for the duration - something i dont think they are obliged to do.

Just because you can quote the SOGA doesnt mean you're in the right by doing so.

jdbenton

Firstly the dealer was informed of the problem before any work was carried out on the car, however as with a previous experience he took a considerable amount of time to respond and we required the car.

Secondly the car had only 40K miles on the clock when we bought it, well under the average mileage for the age of the car.

I understand that faults happen, however if a fault happens shortly after the purchase the car was obviously not up to standard. I am not trying to screw the dealer over and had it been a minor repair on the car then I would have accepted it, however this was a considerable repair job for a car we had just paid over £3000 for.

I will see what happens and what will be will be.

forgotmyname

You didnt give them the chance to repair it. Old cars break down.

Even new cars break down... Eeehh i remember late 80's tons of new cars with modern new fangled electrical
systems breaking down everywhere. Funny to see cars with the latest reg broken down as i drove past in my
15 year old mini.