Bought a lemon. Lets see if I get a refund.

steve-L

patman99 wrote: »

Issues include -
1) Excess wear on discs/pads on every wheel
2) 3 fault codes assocciated with the EGR (previous owner knew there was a problem and had the sensor replaced without luck)
3) Diesel fuel leak
4) Rear exhuast hanger no longer attached to back box.
5) Error code for engine preheater (Zafira's don't use glow plugs)
and quite a few other issues as well.

1,4 are both replaceable parts. So long as the brakes are not immediately dangerous (then this is a different issue as it is road worthiness) you can add a empty screen-wash reservoir as illegal to sell a car.

2,5 will depend what the codes are.... a near 10yr old car is expected to have faults be these mechanical and obvious like scratches/bumps, mechanical and not obvious or electronic.

You can try and REJECT in which case you need to prove the faults are significant and prevent the car being driven and present at time of sale... (the later is easier than the former)

or

you can ask the dealer for REPAIR, REFUND, REPLACEMENT

as they will probably opt for REPAIR then they will try and dismiss the EGR and fault codes unless they are simple as 'not preventing use of the car'.

With a 10yr old car what is viewed as a serious fault really has to be something stops it being used at all.
You might want to read OFT1241 and OFT1242 (google it will find them on the OFT website)

Summary,
The might change the disks and pads for the cheapest possible, weld the exhaust and look for the fuel leak....

arcon5

fishybusiness wrote: »

Vehicle still has to be fit for purpose i.e. safe and roadworthy.

Who says the car is not roadworthy?

I think the op sounds like a blithering idiot. Not only have they admitted to paying more than the book price but they also didn't bother to do any basic checks before buying.

Think you've just said what most us was thinking :rotfl:

espresso

patman99 wrote: »

I am not a blithering idiot.

That is not the consensus of opinion on here. You obviously don't service your cars because you were driving around in an MOT failure that you decided not to get repaired.

There seems to be a letter missing from your user ID.

TrickyWicky

patman99 wrote: »

Btw, Tricky, I am not a blithering idiot. I actually took the thing on a lengthy test drive that included speed bumps & could not detect any nasty bangs or rattles. But then again, I'm not a mechanic so the faint sqeek the trained ear of my mechanic picked-up, I didn't.

Test drives mean nothing these days. If a car has been bodged, it's can carry on for a couple of months. Get someone who knows a bit about cars to look it over after researching the common faults and never pay more than the book price. Sorry but I stand by my comments because as far as I can see, the dealer saw you coming.

@fishy: Yes the vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition to use it on the road but that doesn't mean its automatically the dealers responsibility. Anyone who owns a car has a duty to ensure their car is safe. While I agree its good ethics for a dealer to sell a safe car I'm afraid this isn't a perfect world. Any dealer asking for more than the book price should be treated with caution imo.

Not only does patman not think its a good idea to check the car over before sale, he's openly admitted to leaving it a WEEK before getting his mechanic to look at it. That clearly says something about his priorities doesn't it. This guys attitude sucks if you ask me.. he comes here and the first thing he writes is:

Right,

He's not at all friendly, no "Hi, hello, howdi", just 'Right'. Sounds a bit millitant if you ask me. I think he's the sort of customer that just looks to pick a fight and tries to entrap people so that he can give them a hard time. Then he's smuggly banging on about how he's either going to get it fixed or refunded with no ifs or buts.

Sort of customer most of us would hate to deal with. I don't think any dealer is opposed to helping to rectify a few faults but this guy seems to expect the car to be like new!

RichardD1970

TrickyWicky wrote: »

He's not at all friendly, no "Hi, hello, howdi", just 'Right'. Sounds a bit millitant if you ask me. I think he's the sort of customer that just looks to pick a fight and tries to entrap people so that he can give them a hard time. Then he's smuggly banging on about how he's either going to get it fixed or refunded with no ifs or buts.

Sort of customer most of us would hate to deal with. I don't think any dealer is opposed to helping to rectify a few faults but this guy seems to expect the car to be like new!

Have to say that was my initial thought.

Apples2

Right, OP - Are you a Secret Shopper too?

How good is your mechanic that spending £2,200 on a new car was a better option than fixing the Octavia?

StrongWork

I'm with Trickywicky on this one.

I think the OP needs to reassess his/her definition of the word 'lemon' in car terms. A couple of fault codes and worn brake pads does not a lemon make. It's a 10 year old car !!!!!!.

Best of luck getting a refund. :money:

steve-L

arcon5 wrote: »

Who says the car is not roadworthy?

Leak in fuel system = MOT failure

James1968

Apples2 wrote: »

Right, OP - Are you a Secret Shopper too?

How good is your mechanic that spending £2,200 on a new car was a better option than fixing the Octavia?

Do we know how old the Octavia is ?.
It could be from 1999 or it could be a 2009 model. What did it fail the MOT on ?. We don't know that either. Neither do we know the mileage, or whether the OP continued to drive it after bringing it home from the MOT test.

Something like, for instance, ABS pump failure could be £200 for a refurb pump. On a 1999 car this could be seen as a massive expenditure, but on a 2009 car it would be a minor outlay.

The OP pays-out £2,200 for an 03 Zafira from a dealer & takes it for a test drive (don't we all ?). We presume that as no nasty rattles & squeaks were detected, he then had no reason to examine under the car.

As a 2nd-hand car purchased from a dealer has a legally enforceable 3-month warranty, the OP decides to make sure there is nothing that is on the verge of failing, with the view that he can get any such part repaired under warranty.
The OP could have simply driven the car until it reached it's MOT expiry only to then be presented with a failure list as long as your arm and then opened a thread moaning about the dealer in question.

The issues with the EGR codes are very common on the 2.0 EcoTec engine (which is why so many have had blanking kits fitted). This can be fixed by using a fuel-based cleaner which you squirt in the tank prior to a nice long run.

Brakes - around £120 per corner for pads/discs. Exhaust would probably be around the £200 mark if no DPF is fitted (not familiar with Zafira's, so wouldn't know). Codes could be 'left-overs' from an earlier repair and left uncleared by the garage.
Fuel leak could be anything from a leaking injector cap through to a split fuel line or corroded connection on fuel pump (these are by all accounts very expensive).
I guess the OP has given the dealer the 3 options and will update us once s/he has something to report on.

motorguy

James1968 wrote: »

As a 2nd-hand car purchased from a dealer has a legally enforceable 3-month warranty.

No. It doesnt.

A car can be sold without a warranty