Rogue Car Dealer - has my car and my cash! HELP

swinglow

I recently bought a car from an independent Dealer; cost £3200, 3 weeks later it was subject to a turbo charger failure, the AA recovered the car to my home. Despite my leaving 5 voice messages, sending three emails and a recorded delivery letter the Dealer has failed to reply to my request for him to repair the vehicle under the warranty or the Sale of Goods, basically he is ignoring me. In desperation I had my son ring him on the pretence of viewing a car he has for sale and he immediately called him back. I kept the appointment, having to travel 50 miles to his showroom. On my arrival he denied knowing of the situation with the car, despite having signed for the letter! He said he had been on holiday and not caught up with his mail or messages. I know this to be untrue as my son made contact with him on a number of occasions without any difficulties, during the period he did not contact me or pick up my calls. When I cornered him at the showroom he said I had to get the car back to him to 'investigate the alleged fault' so I paid to do that on the 18/06/13 (Tuesday). He has failed to contact me subsequently. I rang him on day four of his possession of my car 21/06/13 (Friday) and he said the turbo had failed as I had not kept the oil topped! That’s poppycock; the engine oil is down a pint, as it was blown out of the exhaust when the turbo failed. This event was witnessed by a police patrol. Further the AA patrol diagnosed the turbo failure as oil loss is a direct consequence, not a cause; he is attempting to duck any responsibility. He said he would get back to me with a plan, I am still waiting as of today 23/06/13. He has my car and my money and is hoping I will go away.

What action should I now take? Recover the car and get it fixed and chase him for the repair cost via?? Court, or ask for a refund?? Any advice appreciated

frugal_mike

swinglow wrote: »

I recently bought a car from an independent Dealer; cost £3200, 3 weeks later it was subject to a turbo charger failure, the AA recovered the car to my home. Despite my leaving 5 voice messages, sending three emails and a recorded delivery letter the Dealer has failed to reply to my request for him to repair the vehicle under the warranty or the Sale of Goods, basically he is ignoring me. In desperation I had my son ring him on the pretence of viewing a car he has for sale and he immediately called him back. I kept the appointment, having to travel 50 miles to his showroom. On my arrival he denied knowing of the situation with the car, despite having signed for the letter! He said he had been on holiday and not caught up with his mail or messages. I know this to be untrue as my son made contact with him on a number of occasions without any difficulties, during the period he did not contact me or pick up my calls. When I cornered him at the showroom he said I had to get the car back to him to 'investigate the alleged fault' so I paid to do that on the 18/06/13 (Tuesday). He has failed to contact me subsequently. I rang him on day four of his possession of my car 21/06/13 (Friday) and he said the turbo had failed as I had not kept the oil topped! That’s poppycock; the engine oil is down a pint, as it was blown out of the exhaust when the turbo failed. This event was witnessed by a police patrol. Further the AA patrol diagnosed the turbo failure as oil loss is a direct consequence, not a cause; he is attempting to duck any responsibility. He said he would get back to me with a plan, I am still waiting as of today 23/06/13. He has my car and my money and is hoping I will go away.

What action should I now take? Recover the car and get it fixed and chase him for the repair cost via?? Court, or ask for a refund?? Any advice appreciated

How did you pay for the car? Did you use a form of credit (such as a credit card or finance specifically linked to the car purchase, not a bank loan that you could have spent on anything).

The reason I ask is that under the Section 75 Consumer Credit Act the credit supplier is equally liable with the seller and you can make a claim against them. You don't even need to have used the credit to cover the whole cost of the car.

If you didn't use any form of credit and you can't get any response from him then you will have to take action against the seller. You will need to send a Letter Before Action (google for templates) where you will tell the seller what your demands are and give a reasonable time for him to meet them. If he doesn't you will start a claim with the small claims.

Send the letter recorded (not signed for) so you have proof of postage. Also keep a copy of all correspondence. Other posters on here will be able to help you more with the small claims side if things. Success or failure will depend on various things such as the age and mileage of the car and its declared condition. I don't know much about cars, but I imagine the failure of a major component 3 weeks after purchase of a car in supposedly good condition would not be reasonable.

If he ceases all contact and doesn't give you your car back then you may want to contact the police as it could be considered theft.