Near Miss in New Car

callansdad

Ok folks ..... my brother bought a brand new car a few months ago (peugot)

A couple of days ago, whilst driving, the brakes failed! Luckily he was travelling very slow near to a junction in town but i'm sure you can imagine the consequences had he been driving at a higher speed!

My question is would it be wise to write to peugot and explain the near drastic consequences in the hope of getting some compensation out of them, i was thinking along the lines of a 'near miss' which is used in health and safety law.

I know helath and safety is for the workplace etc etc and i am expecting a critical reply about the world turning into a compensation culture but i would like some advice and if possible some direction to a possible form of words?

DavidHM

What do you mean by a near miss and by compensation?

If you want the car repaired under warranty so that the car is safe and fit for purpose, then no problem.

If however you want financial compensation for the fear or upset, then I'm afraid there's no chance: he didn't hit anything, he hasn't suffered any financial loss and he hasn't suffered any psychiatric injury, i.e., he's not suffered any impairment to his mental state.

Any claim for compensation would have to be based on his having suffered some form of loss - either financial or physical - and you just haven't described that.

Incidentally, what do you mean by the brakes "failing." Are you sure that they actually failed or could he have misjudged the distance, or simply that he felt a vibration through the break pedal because the ABS kicked in and he then panicked and backed off?

If there is a fault then the priority has to be to get the car repaired, without cost to your brother, for the sake of his safety and his wallet.

callansdad

I understand what you mean by having not suffered a 'loss' as such. The car is being repaired under warranty as we speak.

The brakes did not work when he applied them and neither did the handbrake when he tried that ... the only way to stop the car was by the gears.

I dont know if i agree with the fact that he has not suffered any psychiatric loss .... if it were me then i would be very wary and indeed scared to a certain extent of driving ... certainly for a while since this happened. It would always be in the back of my mind 'are the brakes going to work the next time'? and not just for that vehicle but any future vehicle.

Also at the time of the incident the car was full of kids who also got a nasty fright!

When i speak about compensation i dont mean 'take them for every penny you can get', i am talking more along the lines of a goodwill gesture ... maybe free servicing for life of the car... or even to the extent of offering a new replacement vehicle due to the fear of a reoccuring fault?

What do you think?

DavidHM

A vague sense of unease about the car is in my opinion not a diagnosable medical condition that would constitute a psyschiatric injury, although I accept that it is a grey area and you might receive a different opinion elsewhere.

The supplier's contractual duty is met by repairing any failure within the existing vehcile, which they are doing - and if there were an identifiable injury then you could claim for that. However if you were serious about claiming for injury I cannot imagine that you would get anywhere without a serious battle - although there is obviously no harm in asking for a goodwill gesture as long as you accept that it is that: an offer made out of a sense of "doing the right thing" rather than out of any legal obligation.

DealDrivers_company_representative

I might have missed it but I cannot see any reference to you having taken this car into a Peugeot workshop to be inspected which is the first thing I'd have done...or even an independent inspection by the AA/RAC etc. It would seem incredible that both the brakes and handbrake failed at the same time but are both now OK again ...without any attention from a mechanic. I assume he drove away from the incident?

David has given good constructive advice, as always, but from what I've read you seem a little quick to jump to the thought of compensation for various things/free servicing/replacement car etc without anyone from Peugeot having a chance to see if there is something amiss, so has not been diagnosed by a mechanic, and the car is currently fine by the sounds of it?

callansdad

Thanks for your replies.

FYI The car was inspected by peugot and is currently being repaired by them.

I'm certainly not a person that always jumps down the 'compensation' route and you have given me some important points to consider ... i'll definately let my brother know what to expect and i dont think that he'll want to pursue anything formally.

But will still advise him to write to peugot expressing his concerns.

Thanks for adivce.

saintjanet

I agree with DEALRIVERS on this and will be very interested in what caused these faults.I hope the op will keep us informed.

Lorian

All the brakes failing eh, maybe he should buy a lottery ticket this weekend.

callansdad

Just to keep u informed ... apparently the problem was caused by a faulty solenoid?

I dont know how this would affect the handbrake though (ive not asked yet) ..... surely the handbrake is operated by just a cable?

Will keep you posted.

zorber

there is no claim for comensation to be had here. Nothing would stand up as no loss has occured