New car, problem, want it replaced!

chubsta

Bought a brand ne car last September from the main dealer. Within a couple of days and about 50 miles the abs light came on while driving. Notified the dealer who asked us to bring it in, when we did so the light had gone out and no fault could be found so they were unble to diagnose the fault.

This happened a few more times and the car spent a week or so back at the dealer, although each time it went in the fault did not re occur so again they couldn't diagnose it., although they did replace the abs module, it still didn't fix the problem.

This went on for a few months until 3 weeks ago it happened again, I took it back to the dealer, telling them to just fix the damn thing!

Fortunately the fault is now occurring regularly so they have seen it nd actually believe it happens, as for a while I think they thought we were making it up. However, despite changing and checking many things they still cannot fix it, despite being in contact with the manufacturer for advice. When speaking o the service manager today he basically inferred that he doesn't think they will find a solution and made reference to me saving certain 'rights' without actually going so far as to point me in a certain direction!

I have basically had enough now - I bought the car for cash, it has done under 600 miles since the 1st September, at least 250 of which have been taking it back to the dealer, and it has spent around 6 weeks back at the dealer in this time. I either want the car fixed quickly as it is pid for and causing us a lot of problems being without it, or a new car as this one is clearly not fit for purpose - I could put up with a dodgy radio in a car but not something like malfunctioning brakes!

Anyone got any advice as to how I can get the car replaced? I'm not after any compensation etc, I just want what I paid for, a fully working car, and as the problem started straight away I feel a new one is the only appropriate replacement. I don't have the time or money to go through a court or anything So any help r advice would be much appreciated...

Tilt

I am assuming that they are providing you with a courtesy car while your's is with the dealer? I which case, I would stipulate that you will give them a further 14 days to sort it or you will be asking for a replacement (so basically you will be formally rejecting the car).

What is it btw?

forgotmyname

Get yourself an OBDII code reader that also does ABS faults for your car or take it to a garage when the light is on.

Unlike engine codes that get stored some ABS faults can clear themselves when you switch the ignition off. Making tracing a fault almost impossible.

MX5huggy

It will be a broken wire or dodgy connection, no fault code reader will find it.

I had similar with a fan that was always on, 2 diffrent dealers went through 2 fans, 2 fan control units, 3 thermostats etc etc, then they replaced 1 wire.

chubsta

we havent got a courtesy car - we didnt ask for one because my other half has just passed her test, this was her first car, a gift from me, and she is too nervous to drive anything else! Of course, one wasnt offered either...

The dealer has done a lot of work on the car to try to fix the problem but nothing seems to be working and it has got to the point where i either want it fixed or a new replacement. I drafted a letter last night which i will deliver later today and get them to sign a receipt for, basically stating that they have a further 7 days to fix it - bringing it up to a total of 28 days for this stay at the dealer - or i require it to be replaced. I think i have been patient enough to be honest. I have also emailed the head of the UK Division in an effort to get it resolved.

As i said above, im not trying to get anything out of this other than what i paid for, if they turn round next week and say they have solved the problem then i will be as happy as you like and wont even trouble them for a free service, i just want it sorted!

andygb

First things first.
You have a right to demand a courtesy car for as long as it takes them to fix/replace your vehicle. You should not have to pay anything (not even insurance excess) on this courtesy car.
Next, as someone else has suggested, give them 14 days at the very most to fix or replace, and then report them to Trading Standards/Motortrades.
Can you name and shame the make of car for us, just so that others can avoid this sort of "service"?

chubsta

A small update, having delivered the letter to them on Friday I hadnt heard anything back so contacted Trading Standards this morning - they said i was doing things the correct way and to wait and see what happened on Friday, which is the deadline i gave the dealer for repairing the vehicle.

I decided to phone the dealer anyway to see what was happening and was told the car was currently being worked on again, and someone would get back to me. I wasnt satisfied with this so asked to speak to someone a little higher up, this was done straight away.

I explained the situation and that if it wasnt completed by friday coming then i would be taking action to have the car replaced. To be fair to the guy on the other end he went through how that would work, potential time-scales involved i.e.. i wouldnt be given a new car the next day. He said the only potential issue would be if the manufacturer stated they knew a way to finally fix it and that the relevant part had been dispatched for the repair to take place on saturday morning, but he was aware of just how unlikely that would be, so realistically the process of finally resolving the issue should commence on Friday afternoon.

I have already drafted a letter to reject the vehicle, quoting all the relevant law etc, and having spoken to the guy today I am hopefull that this can be resolved amicably.

I am loathe at this point to name the dealer/manufacturer as despite the fact it has dragged on and communication has not been very good, they havent absolved themselves of any responsibility etc, they have just been unable to fix it.

I have searched the internet for this particular model and issue and have not found a single reference to it so i do beleive it is unusual and hard to track down so will give them the benefit of the doubt on it...

fivetide

Sometimes you get a lemon.

My mate had this with a bike that had a throttle fault (it would rev it's self quite hard. Not what you really want in any vehicle never mind a bike.

anyway, many trips back to the dealer, this sensor changed, that sensor changed. Whole fly-by -wire system re done they finally replaced the ecu. Mate wentt to collect it and the dealer fired it up... it immediately went mad, revving its nuts off. Dealer switched it off again and told him they get him another.

New one, which was supplied from stock and is the next one off the line going on the framenumber has been faultless and the dealer still says no other bikes have reported the same fault.

Just one of those things.

I say this to give you some hope OP! Good luck.

chubsta

Well, it has been a long and tortuous journey, but it appears to have reached a resolution - the dealer is going to provide a new car 'like for like + a couple of extra options' in time for the new registrations at the beginning of March.

Throughout we feel we were more than co-operative in terms of giving the dealer time to fix the issue but in the end had no choice but to formally reject it. Within 4 days of issuing the final letter to them stating our case the dealer got back to us with their offer. Prior to this we had given them 2 letters stating a timescale that we thought was acceptable to fix the vehicle, and our intentions to reject if this wasn't adhered to.

Regarding the dealership themselves, they genuinely did do everything to fix the car, but it is still not fixed, the problem cannot be tracked down and remains a mystery to all concerned, but i guess that is not our problem now.

I have learned a few things from this though - mainly that you get much better results from people by remaining calm, friendly and willing to discuss issues. Also, that Trading Standards offer a very good service over the telephone, giving very good advice at no charge - definately recommend them if you ever have any similar issues.

Things do go wrong, and this was a pretty extreme example of something that appears to be unfixable, but it hasn't put me off the dealer or manufacturer so I wont name them here, ultimately everyone tried to do their best and fix it, we just wanted a fixed car, but when it became apparent this wasn't going to happen there were no issues in getting a replacement. The only bad service came from the manufacturers 'Customer Service' department who were very poor at communication and phoning back etc, however the dealer said they found them very good so i guess they just didn't like me!

Still, a happy ending!!

iolanthe07

Could you at least tell us the car's source? Europe, Korea, Japan, USA?