Bought car from dealer with (very) worn brakes

phey708

Hi,

Just over 2 weeks ago, I have bought a car from the dealer however recently I have discovered that the rear pads are very worn down and will need replacing urgently. The disc on one side also appears to be warped as it is making a grinding sound when the brakes are applied.

Should this of been done by the dealer prior to purchase of the car as it could be deemed as dangerous. They have mentioned that they have serviced the car when I picked the car up so they should of easily picked this up. It can't really be classed as wear and tear if its only been in my ownership for 2 weeks can it?

Should I push for them to look at this problem and for them to fix at their expense? Surely they can't get away with selling a vehicle with such low brake pads and warping discs can they?

Another thing, there is an annoying crack on the A zone of the windscreen and they have had a company to repair this, however the crack is still visible and it is very annoying. Can I get them to fit a new windscreen as I am worried the crack can still expand.

Cheers.

arcon5

phey708 wrote: »

Should this of been done by the dealer prior to purchase of the car as it could be deemed as dangerous.

"Could be" or is unroadworthy? It's common for brake pads to be legal to a very low pad with, Mondeo for example I *think* is just short of 2mm.

If it's unroadworthy and it wasn't described as such then you may be able to argue they have sold you the car illegally and have them replace the brakes, although I suspect most garages wouldn't entertain the idea. Especially if there's the possibility you've damaged the discs by continuing to drive it.

But "could be" dangerous is not the same as 'dangerous/unroadworthy'.

They have mentioned that they have serviced the car when I picked the car up so they should of easily picked this up.

Servicing a car often involves oil and filters. Not renewing pads and discs.

It can't really be classed as wear and tear if its only been in my ownership for 2 weeks can it?

But presumably the car itself is more than 2 weeks old, so the brakes have not been subjected to 2 weeks of use, but x months/years/miles.

Another thing, there is an annoying crack on the A zone of the windscreen and they have had a company to repair this, however the crack is still visible and it is very annoying. Can I get them to fit a new windscreen as I am worried the crack can still expand.

Did you not inspect it before collecting the car?


To be honest, if your only problem is the pads on a used car then you're doing okay.

As for the scraping sound... could be one of two things, the pad has completely worn away and now just the metal part running on your disc - and damaging it in the process OR it has a metallic strip/indicator in the pad which indicates when it's running low.

You'd need to check the runout rate of the disc to determine if it needs replacing.... although if you've been using the car without decent pads i'm betting they will be gone.

scotsbob

If you had checked before you bought the car you could have got new pads as part of the deal. You didn't and now it's up to you.

At least you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your discs and pads are going to last a long time.

forgotmyname

The pads were legal at the time of the sale. Possibly still legal now.

Warped disc, How much runout do you get?

Jamie_Carter

The grinding noise doesn't necessarily mean that the discs are worn.

As Arcon5 says it could be a wear indicator. Or it could be that they have just reached metal (If they were worn out when you bought it, then you would have heard the grinding then). However on some cars the metal back plate on the pads will start to scrape on the unmachined cast part of the disc as an early warning, when you still have a couple of mm left on the pads.

The windscreen is up to you if you didn't check it when you bought it.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Problem here is lack of thorough test drive i expect, car supermarket not far from us operates like this, nip up the dual carriageway one junction and back, a car with brakes made of cheese and shock absorbers missing would feel OK in that time.

Some of the answer is don't buy from high pressure finance houses masquerading as car dealers.

Have you asked the dealer you bought it from to sort it?

motorguy

phey708 wrote: »

Hi,

Just over 2 weeks ago, I have bought a car from the dealer however recently I have discovered that the rear pads are very worn down and will need replacing urgently. The disc on one side also appears to be warped as it is making a grinding sound when the brakes are applied.

Should this of been done by the dealer prior to purchase of the car as it could be deemed as dangerous. They have mentioned that they have serviced the car when I picked the car up so they should of easily picked this up. It can't really be classed as wear and tear if its only been in my ownership for 2 weeks can it?

Should I push for them to look at this problem and for them to fix at their expense? Surely they can't get away with selling a vehicle with such low brake pads and warping discs can they?

Another thing, there is an annoying crack on the A zone of the windscreen and they have had a company to repair this, however the crack is still visible and it is very annoying. Can I get them to fit a new windscreen as I am worried the crack can still expand.

Cheers.

Chances are the car got an oil and filter and a quick run round the block to identify any obvious issues. Unless you've bought from a main franchised dealer, very few will start pulling the car apart to look for worn items.

You could say you've a problem with the brakes and would they have a look - say its been making noises since you got it. If you go in and 'demand' they fix it or come out with lines like 'my mechanic says...' or use phrases like you used above you are likely to get their backs up and entrench the situation.

Presumably you accepted the repair to the screen before hand over, so theres little you can do now RE: that.

phey708

Ratboy wrote: »

If you were unhappy with the car, why buy it?

If the fault has shown itself on a test drive, and you didn't mention it..so how does a 'severe issue', raise in 2 weeks? Surely you saw that before buying?

It's called buyer beware; you are obviously deluded regarding life.

If you test something before buying it, and find no fault. DO NOT COMPLAIN AFTER BUYING IT due to faults you did not find.

SOLD AS SEEN; or rather; BUYER BEWARE;

In this case; Idiot buyer, buying blind. You get what you deserve

Why don't you get off your high horse before you fall off and hurt yourself. You don't have the audacity to call me deluded at life you jumped up little prat.

You deserve nothing judging by the tone of your voice. Why did you even bother to post if you had nothing constructive to say?

There was no grinding noise when I test drove the car but it has started very recently which suggests they sold a car with very low pad wear.

tommyjj

kick up a fuss.

Dealers often just punt on cars they know are substandard because most buyers won't bring them back and complain. Even if they do a firm 'not our fault mate' usually secures capitulation.

Get an proper garage to do an inspection done ASAP and ask for a breakdown of everything that's wrong. If the brakes are grinding there's a good chance that the pads have worn away, in which case the vehicle was not in roadworthy condition when you bought it.

Make it clear to the dealer that they are going to fix the problem, which will not cost them much, and keep the pressure on.

in the meantime, have a read of this

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/the-second-hand--car-i-bought-has-a-problem/