Faulty brand new car on Personal contract Hire HELP PLEASE!

sdlaw2905

Hi,

I am hoping you guys can help me please!

On July 30th I collected a brand new SEAT Exeo sports tourer from a Vehicle Contracts office, this is the firm who secured the price, ran the credit checks and handled the agreements (Brokers I suppose is the correct term?)

Just 2 days later I noticed that the passenger floor well was sodden with water so made a call to my local SEAT main dealers and booked the vehicle in. I also contacted SEAT UK and they arranged for a hire car to be provided.

Vehicle delivered to main dealer on Friday 3rd August, in the afternoon I received a call to advise that the fault had been located and it was due to incorrectly fitted / incomplete air con drain pipes hence the reason for them discharging inside the vehicle.

On Tuesday 7th August I received a call to say vehicle was ready for collection, I arrived at the garage, parked the hire car and took the keys for the 'repaired' brand new car. As soon as I opened the door I took a look at the floor and unbelievably it was still soaking wet so I went back into the service area and complained, I took back the hire car keys and left.

I also commented on the damage to the paintwork that had occured whilst the vehicle was in their care, this was obvious as it was a brand new car and I had actually only had it in my posession for 3 days! but thats a separate issue.

By this point I am upset that the vehicle has been left with sodden carpets for 1 week and have made the decision that I am now going to reject the vehicle.

My question now is in my mind a little complex but for some of you guys probably quite straightforward (I hope!!)

Ultimately it will be LEX Autolease who are responsible as they are the ones who have provided finance

I have informed LEX that I am rejecting the vehicle under the sale of goods act and stated that I wish to either receive a brand new identical vehicle (minus the leak!!) OR cancel the agreement

I would like to think they will not make any charges as I actually only had the vehicle for a matter of days and then had to cover the costs of getting the train from the garage to work and a taxi to the car hire office!

I am aware the car could be dried out BUT I am not happy with having a vehicle that has sat with water inside for a week, how am I to know the effects of this in months / years to come?

Important points to mention, on 21st August LEX are supposed to be collecting by Direct Debit approx £1230 from my bank, this represents 3 months rental followed by £410 per month for 34 months, I have cancelled the Direct Debit so they cannot collect the deposit, I cannot afford for this to screw up my credit rating BUT I also am not prepared to give them £1230 when I am expecting either a new car OR to cancel the agreement.

Any advice / tips / pointers gratefully received.

Many Thanks
Simon the Newbie

Any advice?, I am expecting a company the size of LEX to push me around and ultimately win but I do want fight as I genuinely would be demanding a full refund from the dealer had I of purchased the vehicle myself.

Hintza

Have a look around at the honestjohn website and others.

The general feeling is you should give them the chance to repair it and that rejecting a car is a very time consuming process best done as a last resort.

Best gird your loins for this one.

visidigi

I wouldn't be pushing for rejection, I would be pushing for a replacement of all carpets and linings affected by the leak.

These things happen, I take it you own the car at the end or is a lump payment due?

If you really think you have ground for rejection then if you don't want to screw up your credit rating, reinstate the DD and advise LEX you will pay under protest and make sure they note this on their systems.

sdlaw2905

visidigi wrote: »

I wouldn't be pushing for rejection, I would be pushing for a replacement of all carpets and linings affected by the leak.

These things happen, I take it you own the car at the end or is a lump payment due?

If you really think you have ground for rejection then if you don't want to screw up your credit rating, reinstate the DD and advise LEX you will pay under protest and make sure they note this on their systems.

I had already suggested this to the dealer but they wont even remove the carpets to dry them let alone replace them, I have made the same suggestion to SEAT and am awaiting there response.

I am aware these things happen and had it of been a fault of a different nature (minor electrical or similar) I would accept repair BUT this is not minor matter and involves water.

After the 3 years I will have to hand the vehicle back to the leasing company and am responsible for any damage (other than fair wear and tear)

Thanks

CKhalvashi

If it's documented that you've been to the dealer, there should be no problem.

I had the same problem with a Mondeo ('53' plate, so 9 years ago), and it was fixed straight away under warranty, with carpeds removed/dried, so I don't see what the problem is.

CK

arcon5

If its a brand new car I wouldn't be happy either and would be looking to reject it after their failed attempt.
However you can only reject for a refund within 'reasonable' time. What date did you take the vehicle in to them? What date and by what method did you notify them you was rejecting the vehicle?

Can we assume the car is for personal use and not business?

Have the finance company responded yet? If you are cancelling the DD and entering in to a new contract elsewhere then be careful in case they report the default. They may well not make it easy to do so and if you are deemed to have accepted the vehicle they would be entitled to repair, making the default notification rightful.

It may well be easier (as advised) to allow them to repair

meer53

My brand new Toyota Aygo (on lease) went back to the garage 5 times with a leak and sodden carpets.

I never once thought about rejecting it. The dealer liaised with Toyota head office and got to the bottom of the problem. If there are any problems when i hand it back, everything is documented and i don't expect to be charged.

What damage do you think will occur in 2 weeks ?

neilmcl

arcon5 wrote: »

If its a brand new car I wouldn't be happy either and would be looking to reject it after their failed attempt.

What failed attempt? By all accounts the problem has been rectified, what they didn't do is to take out the carpets to dry them. Also, the OP has been very clear with the timeline in his intial post.

Personally, I wouldn't reject the car just because of this.

OP, tbh if you pat dry the carpets with some absorbent paper they will dry soon enough with this warm weather. It's not going to cause any long term damage.

sdlaw2905

Thanks for all the comments, I have to say SEAT and Lex have been very helpful in trying to resolve, they have finally agreed to strip out the interior and dry fully.

As mentioned above, this matter has now been fully logged with LEX and as such I am covered in the event of any subsequent damage occurs as a result of the water at a later date. Whilst this is unlikely I am a big believer that it is better to be safe than sorry!

All that remains is for the garage to repair the damaged paintwork properly, they have attempted to touch up the area but the finish is far from invisible, this is a minor issue compared to the interior and one I can cope with.

Due to the short length of time between taking delivery and notifying all parties of an issue I think I can safely say that everything has been done as swiftly as possible and there can be no question of 'reasonable time'.

Thanks again for the posts, agreed with LEX to retain the vehicle on a trial basis and again this has all been noted.

One huge final word of thanks to SEAT as they have been great, provided a large hire vehicle from the moment I notified them (of course you would expect this but I did not even have to ask!)