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Car Not Fit for Purpose but Dealership Refusing to Refund Our Money?
Less than a month ago we purchased a 2 year old car from a well known dealership for £7202.
There was a delay in them releasing the vehicle to us as they said they had discovered a leak which they were going to sort before handing over the car to us. A week later we picked up the car and noticed it was stinking of febreze which they said they did as standard to all sales. We now realise this was done to mask the stench of the damp within.:(
After 2 days the febreze wore off and we noticed a damp musty smell. On further inspection we noticed the leak had not been fixed at all and all the carpets were soaking. We took the car back to them and they agreed to repair it again the following week but no courtesy car was offered.
After picking the car up again we noticed the carpets were still all damp and although they said they had repaired the leak which we do not know if they did or not, the carpets had not been dried out so the car is still damp and smelly.
We have a 2 week old baby and a 3 year old toddler who have never been in the car as we are afraid for their health, after driving it we are left with a sore throat and our clothes stink so it has been left in our garage unused whenever it has not been back at the dealership. Of the 4 weeks we have had the car, we have only had 3 days use out of it and that was the initial period before the febreze wore off.
So this time instead of taking the car back to have another botched repair done, we advised them by letter that we were rejecting the car under the Sale of Goods Act as it was not of suitable quality or fit for purpose. The letter was dated less than 2 weeks after the date of purchase. It has been completely ignored.
Numerous phone calls, emails and visits to the show room regarding this have all met with a negative result. When we contacted CAB they advised us to hand the car and keys back in to the dealership with another letter again advising the vehicle is rejected and a refund is required. We did this but then when we spoke to Consumers Direct they said we shouldn't have given them the car back and to go pick the car back up! When we went to collect the car withourt prejudice the dealership said to leave the car with them and they would attempt to dry it out. We said this is fine but we are still rejecting the car and require a full refund to which they replied the maximum they would offer us is a part exchange to another vehicle, and the most they would offer us for our car is trade in of £6200! So not only have they sold us a dud car but they want to rip us off for £1000 as well?:eek:
The garage is refusing to accept our right under the SOGA to a full refund so the dispute just seems to be dragging on and on no matter how many times we contact them or go up the line to their parent company, our letters are all completely ignored.
We contacted a lawyer last night who advised us to email again our wish for a full refund or part exchange to the full value of what we have paid and a reply within 7 days to prevent legal action.
We are both ill with the stress of it all and having a new baby as well. Do you think we'll have to take them to court? How do we go about this and how much will it cost? All we want is our money back to draw a line under the whole nasty episode but they are just laughing at us. We thought we were protected under SOGA but how can we hold them to account if they refuse to interact with us?:mad:
Please please please can somebody advise us, thank you so much for reading...
Diane Ross
There was a delay in them releasing the vehicle to us as they said they had discovered a leak which they were going to sort before handing over the car to us. A week later we picked up the car and noticed it was stinking of febreze which they said they did as standard to all sales. We now realise this was done to mask the stench of the damp within.:(
After 2 days the febreze wore off and we noticed a damp musty smell. On further inspection we noticed the leak had not been fixed at all and all the carpets were soaking. We took the car back to them and they agreed to repair it again the following week but no courtesy car was offered.
After picking the car up again we noticed the carpets were still all damp and although they said they had repaired the leak which we do not know if they did or not, the carpets had not been dried out so the car is still damp and smelly.
We have a 2 week old baby and a 3 year old toddler who have never been in the car as we are afraid for their health, after driving it we are left with a sore throat and our clothes stink so it has been left in our garage unused whenever it has not been back at the dealership. Of the 4 weeks we have had the car, we have only had 3 days use out of it and that was the initial period before the febreze wore off.
So this time instead of taking the car back to have another botched repair done, we advised them by letter that we were rejecting the car under the Sale of Goods Act as it was not of suitable quality or fit for purpose. The letter was dated less than 2 weeks after the date of purchase. It has been completely ignored.
Numerous phone calls, emails and visits to the show room regarding this have all met with a negative result. When we contacted CAB they advised us to hand the car and keys back in to the dealership with another letter again advising the vehicle is rejected and a refund is required. We did this but then when we spoke to Consumers Direct they said we shouldn't have given them the car back and to go pick the car back up! When we went to collect the car withourt prejudice the dealership said to leave the car with them and they would attempt to dry it out. We said this is fine but we are still rejecting the car and require a full refund to which they replied the maximum they would offer us is a part exchange to another vehicle, and the most they would offer us for our car is trade in of £6200! So not only have they sold us a dud car but they want to rip us off for £1000 as well?:eek:
The garage is refusing to accept our right under the SOGA to a full refund so the dispute just seems to be dragging on and on no matter how many times we contact them or go up the line to their parent company, our letters are all completely ignored.
We contacted a lawyer last night who advised us to email again our wish for a full refund or part exchange to the full value of what we have paid and a reply within 7 days to prevent legal action.
We are both ill with the stress of it all and having a new baby as well. Do you think we'll have to take them to court? How do we go about this and how much will it cost? All we want is our money back to draw a line under the whole nasty episode but they are just laughing at us. We thought we were protected under SOGA but how can we hold them to account if they refuse to interact with us?:mad:
Please please please can somebody advise us, thank you so much for reading...
Diane Ross
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Comments
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if car 2 year old it should be under manufacturers warranty so why not take it to dealer and ask them to investigate and this way you may well have reason to reject if they find say major structural damage caused by say an accident0
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Thanks for your reply but the main Ford dealership in the area is this shower of crooks we bought the car from:mad: thanks anyway:o0
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get an independant garage to look at it for you then
is it a new fiesta by any chance or a ka?
they have front window leak problems i read
or find another ford garage other than these and see if its been repaired before under warranty for this issue
also it might be a pollen filter issue thats not been fitted properly
hope that helps a bit sorry to hear your woes0 -
.......We contacted a lawyer last night who advised us to email again our wish for a full refund [STRIKE]or part exchange to the full value[/STRIKE] of what we have paid and a reply within 7 days to prevent legal action......
Gets my vote and if you have to go legal don't forget to add consequential costs like alternative transport etc0 -
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Notmyrealname wrote: »Its a Ford? They come with a 3 year warranty.
My mistake yes you are right. In fact they did put a new windscreen in under warranty in an effort to fix the leak. Our issue is the fact that they have tried to repair it 3 times now under warranty and each time we get the car back the fault has not been fixed. We now have no confidence in the car or their repairs.What if we accept the car back from them then in 6 months the leak appears again? You just don't expect a 2 year old car to have all these problems do you. It's not on.0 -
get an independant garage to look at it for you then
is it a new fiesta by any chance or a ka?
they have front window leak problems i read
or find another ford garage other than these and see if its been repaired before under warranty for this issue
also it might be a pollen filter issue thats not been fitted properly
hope that helps a bit sorry to hear your woes
Thanks for your reply, it's a Ford Focus and yes one of the repairs they did to try to fix the leak was to fit a new windscreen. We have no way of knowing if this fixed the leak or not as the carpets are all still damp and smelly due to them not being dried out. If this had been a one off, ie the fault arose so we took it in to them and they fixed it, then no problem. However we've been back and forward so many times trying to get the car fixed and they have failed so many times to do this that we've just had enough and just want our money back, which I believe we are entitled to. The car is only 2 years old and I had less problems with my 10 year old banger that we traded in! It's not what you expect of a newish car is it? Thanks again0 -
...We have no way of knowing if this fixed the leak or not ...
Therefore you cannot claim the the vehicle is not fit for purpose.
Unfortuntately for you, your beliefs are not supported in law....we've just had enough and just want our money back, which I believe we are entitled to..."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Therefore you cannot claim the the vehicle is not fit for purpose.
As I read it, the windscreen replacement hasn't solved the problem so why not?Unfortuntately for you, your beliefs are not supported in law.
Unfortunately for the dealer, (if the leak still exists) I believe they will be.PLEASE NOTEMy advice should be used as guidance only. You should always obtain face to face professional advice before taking any action.0 -
join a forum dedicated to the car model. There is always a community out there for popular car models. Then post your concern or do a search. If it's a common fault someone can tell you exactly how to fix it. In most cases, the enthusiasts know more about the cause and fixes than a mechanic who doesn't specialise in your paticular car model.
It sucks to pay 7 grand and still have to make fixes yourself. But at the end of the day do you want to have a car you can drive or not. Get the car looked at by a trusted mechanic and then get it fixed, and get the fixing cost and mould removal/hygiene wash fees paid to you via small claims court by the garage.
Their bad for not sorting the problem in house, doing a botch job, so now they have to pay retail rates for the work.0
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