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Used car faulty but garage refusing responsibilty
Hi All,
I'm hoping this is the right area to post in and someone can help me.
Three weeks I bought a used automatic renault espace from a small garage, it came with new MOT and 3 months warranty.
Once we brought the car home we noticed that when accelerating dark smoke was coming out of the exhaust and the car seemed to 'judder' when accelerating around 18mph and does not like hills, also the intermittent wipers weren't working. We phoned the garage up and told them the problem, their first action was to try and blame the way I was driving. After explaining that I was driving normally they said to bring the car back in - 2 days after first bringing it home. That was a Wednesday and they said they would ring later that day, we had no phone call and finally were allowed to collect the car on Saturday. I was told there was no problem with the driving, the smoke was fixed and was due to the injector valve needing cleaning, it would still produce some smoke for a while but it would clear up. They hadn't looked at the wipers and I was told I would received a phone call the next week.
I never received a phone call and a week later smoke was still coming out. The week later the brakes started making a grinding noise. I decided to take the car into my own trusted local garage, we paid £50 for them to tell us that there is a pipe missing, the filters are all filthy, there is something wrong with the fuel filter and we need four new brake pads and one new disk. He told us that there is no way that car should have passed the MOT as the disks could not have gotten so bad in 3 weeks and 200 miles. We were advised to contact the garage as the warranty would not cover it but they should have to sort it.
We phone the garage we bought the car from and tried to explain but they got very annoyed when we told them it should not have passed it's MOT saying it's general ware and tear, all down to the driving and is not something they will be sorting out.
What can we do?
I'm hoping this is the right area to post in and someone can help me.
Three weeks I bought a used automatic renault espace from a small garage, it came with new MOT and 3 months warranty.
Once we brought the car home we noticed that when accelerating dark smoke was coming out of the exhaust and the car seemed to 'judder' when accelerating around 18mph and does not like hills, also the intermittent wipers weren't working. We phoned the garage up and told them the problem, their first action was to try and blame the way I was driving. After explaining that I was driving normally they said to bring the car back in - 2 days after first bringing it home. That was a Wednesday and they said they would ring later that day, we had no phone call and finally were allowed to collect the car on Saturday. I was told there was no problem with the driving, the smoke was fixed and was due to the injector valve needing cleaning, it would still produce some smoke for a while but it would clear up. They hadn't looked at the wipers and I was told I would received a phone call the next week.
I never received a phone call and a week later smoke was still coming out. The week later the brakes started making a grinding noise. I decided to take the car into my own trusted local garage, we paid £50 for them to tell us that there is a pipe missing, the filters are all filthy, there is something wrong with the fuel filter and we need four new brake pads and one new disk. He told us that there is no way that car should have passed the MOT as the disks could not have gotten so bad in 3 weeks and 200 miles. We were advised to contact the garage as the warranty would not cover it but they should have to sort it.
We phone the garage we bought the car from and tried to explain but they got very annoyed when we told them it should not have passed it's MOT saying it's general ware and tear, all down to the driving and is not something they will be sorting out.
What can we do?
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Comments
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We phone the garage we bought the car from and tried to explain but they got very annoyed when we told them it should not have passed it's MOT saying it's general ware and tear, all down to the driving and is not something they will be sorting out.
What can we do?
How much was the car?0 -
Send a Letter Before Action setting out what you expect them to do, and if they don't do it get a detailed estimate for cost of repairs from your trusted garage and start a Small Claims action (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome), and/or contact your local Trading Standards.0
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LBA, give them the option to repair it themselves give them 7 days.
If they don't want to know after that then get an independent vehicle inspection report from the RAC or AA, then get it repaired yourself and take em to small claims.You may click thanks if you found my advice useful0 -
LBA, give them the option to repair it themselves give them 7 days.
If they don't want to know after that then get an independent vehicle inspection report from the RAC or AA, then get it repaired yourself and take em to small claims.
Sorry, what's LBA?
Do I need to get the report and not just a garage diagnosis?
So it's definitely them at fault and not 'general wear and tear' in peoples opinion?0 -
LBA - Letter before action :-)
Any guildlines for this?0 -
Three weeks is not wear and tear, an independent inspection is just that, it is impartial - it could be seen a garage quote would be touting for work.
LBA http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_going_to_court_e/before_you_take_someone_to_court/letter_before_action.htmYou may click thanks if you found my advice useful0 -
If your mechanic has said it shouldnt have passed an MOT then phone VOSA and tell them. They will inspect the car for you. You wil have to pay a small fee, but this is refunded should the car not be road worthy.
Why bother with LBA and threat of Small Claims/MCOL? This will just annoy the garage you bought it from and they wil be less than happy to help you.
Take it back, maybe offer to drive the car with them in it to demonstrate the faults.
If you take a car into a repair garage and say how unhappy you are, then to be honest they will find everything wrong with it. Hence the £900 estimate.
Basically you have gone there and invited them to find work.0 -
harveybobbles wrote: »If your mechanic has said it shouldnt have passed an MOT then phone VOSA and tell them. They will inspect the car for you. You wil have to pay a small fee, but this is refunded should the car not be road worthy.
Why bother with LBA and threat of Small Claims/MCOL? This will just annoy the garage you bought it from and they wil be less than happy to help you.
Take it back, maybe offer to drive the car with them in it to demonstrate the faults.
If you take a car into a repair garage and say how unhappy you are, then to be honest they will find everything wrong with it. Hence the £900 estimate.
Basically you have gone there and invited them to find work.
They are aware of the faults, they are just claiming that it's wear and tear, not that they are not there at all, and therefore not their responsibility and therefore they are refusing to fix them.
I don't feel my garage has over quoted me as they have only looked at the faults I told them and they knew they weren't going to be paid to fix it as they knew the situation with the other garage and the warranty. I just asked them to tell me what was wrong so that I could show the other garage.
What am I suppose to do if they are refusing to claim and responsibility, saying it is not their problem other than to try a LBA and small claims. It won't be a threat as I will have no other choice if they are refusing to help.0 -
Officially reject the car as it's not fit for the purpose it was bought for.
Take it back to them and inform them what you are doing and why.0
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