Urgent advice needed .. Car sale

anuksultra

Hello I hope this is the best place to ask this, but were in need of some urgent advice of what to do next or where to turn next.

My friend brought a car 11 days ago. He brought it from a local small dealer in leicester. The car was priced at 1300, and he paid 700 cash and they accepted his old car for 600 trade in.

The car has been going wrong since he got it home. Some small faults that he wouldnt mind fixing himself under 40 quid for example but the main issue is a large issue, with the engine. A large tapping noise from the engine, and when he got a mechanic to look at it, even though the problem cant be diagnosed it needs the engine to be moved etc, new engine maybe ( sorry im not good with teck stuff on a car, but basically his mechanic friend said to take it back where he brought it from, it would cost far to much to repair.

So he rang the garage all weekend and got fobbed off boss not there etc. Finally this morning he got in touch with the boss. He got very nasty on the phone, said that he will not be doing anything to help and basically get stuffed. When my friend said i have rights this is only 11 days old, the manager got smart and said , oh i see you have been in touch with trading standards, well if you go that route ill keep it going for months....

So my angered friend came off the phone and rang trading standards.

They advised he has to prove the manager is refusing the do anything and that they are changing these systems at the end of this month and that yes its going to be a very lengthy process and he is not to use the car again now until resolved if he wants to pursue anything.

So he cant afford to buy another car and keep this wreckage on his driveway insured and mot, the manager knows he is going to keep things going slowly...so where does my friend turn??

How can this guy get away with this? what is the best course of action to pursue next, what order etc as we seem to be getting no where from the advice given and the trading standards phonecall admitted because of change of system not much they can do as its all changing at end of month anyway....

please if any one can help please do...

kizkiz

For one thing, if he has a driveway he can sorn it, so no need for tax and insurance

stuntwomble

Try motoring.

anuksultra

motoring? whats that sorry?

somethingcorporate

Probably means the motoring forum although I agree this is a consumer rights issue.

I would start by constructing a letter outlining the faults and asking for a remedy. If they refuse then secondly it should be a letter before action, giving them a deadline by when to comply by and finally then take it to small claims court.

However, my initial concern is this mechanic "friend" - are they a real mechanic, trading etc and will happily put pen to paper to professionally confirm the faults? If not and it is just a mate then you will need to get something to confirm that there is actually a problem here rather than just a noisey engine.

bod1467

Motoring

Hintza

You will need more than a mate down the pub. Get one of the motoring organisations to prepare a report on the car. Then follow somethingcorporates advice.

This will cost money an a lot of time and hassle. He could very well fold the company so you need to move fast.

mattyprice4004

If the car is still being used you will royally screw up any claim you have - engine knocking does get worse and can do very quickly.

1. Don't use the car.
2. Get a proper report from the AA / RAC
3. Send a copy to the garage via recorded delivery, and give them 14 days to rectify.
4. If no response or not willing to rectify, then file a claim with the Small Claims Court.

That's the quickest option, there's no easy way.

vax2002

tapping from the engine ?
this is not a vauxhall 1.6 petrol is it ?

anuksultra

The mechanic is a friend of mine, who is a qualifued mechanic, we only asked him to have a look so we didnt have to pay anything for a car my friend has only just brought.

Trading standards say to stop using the car while we write to car manager asking for repair, refund or replace, but my friend cant stop using it as its the only way he can get to work and doesnt have any cash to have one car sitting on the driveway while trying to get another one.

I rang the manager on my friends behalf and the manager was very rude and dared me to take it to small claims court and said he would make us wait months... but tbh i guess this guy has won, as now my friend is ringing around garages to try and get it fixed..

As for the problem its something to do with big ends /little ends.... i have no idesa what this means but im told parts are not expensive but at least 19 hours required to strip the thing down and confirm its that.

its a fiat punto.

This manager seems to know we cant wait to take it through small claims court as no money to get to work etc, so apart from filling in bad reviews about how he has treated my friend we dont have much where to turn...

vax2002

The Company he bought it from does it have LTD in the name.