New Car Has developed Fault

bod1467

There was a BBC TV show with Dom Littlewood earlier this year (can't remember the name of the show - sorry) where a girl was having major problems with Citroen UK regarding her new DS3 - they were being very evasive and procrastinating, and she had real problems exercising her legal rights. (She had all the documentation, summaries of ALL calls and correspondence etc. but STILL had problems).

Might be worth searching Youtube or Iplayer to see if you can find it, just for reference.

bazster

I sympathise, difficult to know what to do for the best. Good luck.

AquaJen

Update:

Had a call from Citroen on Monday, they cannot find any visible fault with the car after checking all the joints/bushes etc. They are replacing the drop links today though.

The service manager said that if that doesn't work then I will just have to accept that my car makes that noise! Apparently they had another berlingo that they took for a drive and that makes a slight noise too. I replied that if the car had made that noise during the test drive then I wouldn't have bought it. It developed the noise after several weeks usage, and my Dads car (exactly the same model) is as smooth as silk.

I have made them aware that if they are unable to cure the noise then I will be seeking a refund or replacement vehicle. I think that by working on it already then they have admitted there is a problem and they are trying to squirm out of it now by saying it is a characteristic of the vehicle...

They will contact me today as to whether or not replacing the drop links made any difference, they have let me keep the courtesy car for now. If they cannot cure it then I may be looking for advice as to the best way to ensure I get my refund or replacement as I have heard that citroen can be notoriously difficult.

Thanks
Jenny

bazster

I agree, that's nonsense. If it's just "one of those things" then why have they already spent what sounds like thousands of pounds of their money trying to fix it? The logical conclusion to the process of spiralling fixes is, ultimately, to replace the entire car!

Since the problem arose after only 5 weeks I would think you have a strong case for rejecting the vehicle completely and getting a full refund.

If they do try to wash their hands of it you might need to get an independent engineer to confirm that it isn't right. Are you a member of the RAC or AA?

AquaJen

I have Green Flag membership as part of my Natwest bank account, but we have an excellent 'local garage' near us who I go to whenever I have a car problem. He is a bit of an expert at diagnosing rattles

As the car is partly financed, do I need to make the finance company aware of the problem? Also, if I get an independent garage to look at the vehicle (which may involve removing parts to diagnose) will I forfeit my right to a replacement or effect my warranty?

Aaargh :mad:

P.S. Thank you Bazster :beer:

bazster

AquaJen wrote: »

I have Green Flag membership as part of my Natwest bank account, but we have an excellent 'local garage' near us who I go to whenever I have a car problem. He is a bit of an expert at diagnosing rattles

Sounds useful! But I think a report from a consulting engineer would carry more weight. I don't think he/she needs to diagnose the problem, merely needs to confirm that it shouldn't be making that noise!

AquaJen wrote: »

As the car is partly financed, do I need to make the finance company aware of the problem?

Sorry, I don't know.

AquaJen wrote: »

Also, if I get an independent garage to look at the vehicle (which may involve removing parts to diagnose) will I forfeit my right to a replacement or effect my warranty?

No, not if they do their work competently. But if your independent man manages to fix it I don't think you then have any right to ask Citroen to pay his bill.

AquaJen

They have called. Replacing the drop links didn't work - they have contacted the head office and they are sending a head technician out tomorrow morning to have a look/listen. They have admitted over the phone that there is definitely something wrong, possibly with the sub frame :eek:

They are sorting a like for like courtesy vehicle while they investigate so I'm going to let them take their time as long as I'm not majorly inconvenienced. I would rather they sorted it properly as if I opt for the replacement vehicle, if its a design/production fault it may occur again!