Getting a refund (second hand car)

n3il_2

Hi all, need a bit of advice.

Bought a second hand seat ibiza 2 days ago, tuesdays night, paid £1,995 for it (51 plate, with FSH, years MOT etc) when i got it, it came with half a tank of petrol, the night i got it i did about 7 miles, the next day (yesterday) i did about 14 miles, 7 miles each way to work..

On the way to work this morning the car broke down, i got recovered by green flag and the mechanic didnt know what the fault was and put it down to a suspect petrol pump, he towed meto the garage that i purchased the car from, whilst waiting the 40 mins for the gaffter to arrive i nipped to the shop, when i returned the car was in the workshop with 3 mechanics and the gaffer there, he told me that he had found the fault(s)

A) i had let the car run out of petrol, even though when i broke down it had over a quarter of a tank in (the recovery guy can vouch for this)
because i had tried turning it over whilst it was supposedly run out of petrol it had made the crank sensor fail, which he said was a common fault on seat ibizas..

i told the guy that i wanted a full refund as i wasnt happy with the car breaking down after just 2 days, especially as it clearly got sold with a fault on, after being told that it wasnt company policy to give a refund he said that he would get it sorted for me, i told him i would take this further and i contacted trading standards straight away whol told me that i deffo had a case because of how quiclkly it broke down and he obviously sold me the car with this fault..

After having a few more conversations with him he asked me what my problem was and that he had fixed it (changed the crank sensor) when i asked how he had fixed the fuel gage/tank he told me that it didnt need fixing because there wasnt anything wrong with it..

I also contacted a few "big" mechanics in my area to ask about the common problem he diagnosed they said that thjey had never heard so much rubbish in there lives..

Anything like this ever happened to anyone before? did u get a refund? how long did it drag out for?

I plan to fight this all the way, my next step is to make some big signs saying "dont but a car from this !!!!" etc and stand outside his showroom with a few members from my family, ive heard this can be quite successful

Alexis27

So the fault has been fixed for free? Sounds reasonable to me. Why do you want a full refund?

n3il_2

Alexis27 wrote: »

So the fault has been fixed for free? Sounds reasonable to me. Why do you want a full refund?

That's it though he hasnt, he changed the crank sensor, but this doesnt explain why it was empty of fuel even though the petrol gage was showing over a quarter of a tank, and he's refusing to touch that cuz he said that it isn't broke.
Besides I don't want a car that breaks down after 2 days.

passatrider

The garage have fixed it for you so there's not much else you can do I. It's an 11 year old car so you can't expect a car that old to be perfect. If it goes wrong again then go back to trading standards to see where you stand but I doubt you will get a refund.

neilmcl

Alexis27 wrote: »

So the fault has been fixed for free? Sounds reasonable to me. Why do you want a full refund?

Because he has a right to a refund, and tbh he's probably best shot of these bunch of cowboys.

Hazel1980

I have the opposite problem, my petrol guage shows empty when I still have quarter of a tank :-/

I would just put it down to a quirk of being an old car and from now on you know to fill up when it shows quarter of a tank.

AlexisV

n3il wrote: »

That's it though he hasnt, he changed the crank sensor, but this doesnt explain why it was empty of fuel even though the petrol gage was showing over a quarter of a tank, and he's refusing to touch that cuz he said that it isn't broke.
Besides I don't want a car that breaks down after 2 days.

Sounds like the fuel gauge is faulty then? Could be the tank sender.

Post your problem on cupra.net

What happens when you fill it up? Does the needle work?

forgotmyname

Nearly £2000 for a 51 plate??? I would be looking at 05 plate or newer for that money.

2007/56 reg on autotrader for £2100.

Bit late now, Getting your money back for a gauge that doesnt quite read right will be hard.

Its old and it runs. When the gauge gets to 1/4 its really empty.

Soon get used to that. Or get the sender/gauge changed.

n3il_2

Trading standards seem to think I've got a good case considering the car broke down on me after only 2 days because he clearly sold me the car with a fault (which he's admitted to in a letter) but he's refusing to try and fix because he's saying it's alright now. I will be following it up and taking it all the way.

Notmyrealname

The advice from consumer direct is that even though a used car has faults, when taking into account the age and price it doesn't mean you automatically have a right to a refund. A fuel gauge that doesn't read right is not going to be sufficient reason.

From the CAB website:

CAB wrote:

A secondhand vehicle must match its description, be fit for its purpose, and be of satisfactory quality. However, the standard for meeting the requirement that the vehicle is of satisfactory quality will be lower because it is secondhand. A secondhand vehicle should be in reasonable condition and work properly. When deciding whether a secondhand vehicle is in reasonable condition it is important to consider the vehicle’s age and make, the past history of the vehicle and how much you paid for it.
If a secondhand vehicle needs more extensive repairs than seemed necessary at the time it was bought, this does not necessarily mean that the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality. A secondhand vehicle can be of satisfactory quality if it is in a useable condition, even if it is not perfect.
If the vehicle develops a problem soon after you bought it, you may have a right to return the vehicle to the dealer and get your money back. This would probably need to be within about three to four weeks at the most of buying the vehicle. The problem would need to be fairly major, and you would need to take into account the age, mileage and price of the vehicle when deciding whether it is reasonable to take it back.

Its an 11 year old car. It is in a usable condition with the mis-reading fuel gauge. You had a cause to claim when it broke down but as the garage repaired the cause of that fault - the crank sensor - you now have no further case to claim.

Hintza

n3il wrote: »

I will be following it up and taking it all the way.

You must give the garage the opportunity to fix it, which they have done. Trading Standards are incorrect here or are you just hearing the bits you want to.

Pursue this unreasonably and it is going to cause you a lot of hassle, time and potentially money. Accept it has been repaired an move on.

You have bought an 11 year old banger OP.