Faulty Car - what are my rights? What should I do?

weegie_2

We bought a Vauxhall Antara 58 plate on Hire Purchase from Arnold Clark at the beginning of March (£9998, less deposit of £1700). After a couple of days my husband was aware of several faults and so began the frequent phonecalls with customer services and trips to Arnold Clark/Vauxhall to get the car fixed. Arnold Clark customer service have been helpful with this and every time my husband has complained or highlighted another issue they have ensured that the repair is carried out and that we have had a courtesy car while the Antara is being fixed. Our warranty has also been extended given all the faults. To be honest it’s been in the garage more times than we have used it.

Faults that have been rectified are as follows:

Front hub nut loose
rear wash wipe
track control arm bushes
top strut mountings
top strut bearings
Bottom ball joint
air bag module
Exhaust front pipe
wiring harness
fuel pump
both fuel sender units
Front calliper slide bolts
All brake fluid replaced due to recall


It is now in the garage for yet another problem which has been there since day one and which my husband has frequently pointed out to them. We’ve been told that the ECU (the brains of the car – the computer) needs to be replaced. This part alone costs £1200. The manager from the Arnold Clark store has said if vauxhall could guarantee the ecu would fix the car then they would go ahead with the repair, Vauxhall can't guarantee it will fix it, so AC want to change the car. My husband has explained we need something similar size so we have to go tonight and have a look at their stock and take it from there. The manager has said he hasn't got anything like our car currently in stock.

As much as we do love the Antara, this has been extremely stressful for my husband and we are totally fed up. I’d love to hand it back, walk away from the finance and be refunded the deposit we paid (we traded in our 53 plate Grand Vitara). I know that can’t happen though. My worry is that we go to discuss with Arnold Clark tonight and see a car that would suit but that it will be more expensive or less expensive and we somehow end up talked into something and out of pocket.

So I’m looking for a bit of advice on what I can ask/demand be done to resolve all this. The car has not been of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. It has not been safe to use, has not been in good working order when we bought it and is not durable. I have made several claims for repairs as is my right under the sale of goods act but can I demand that they carry out the replacement of the ECU at a cost of £1200 and hope this solves it, if it does not can we still go back to them again? If we see a car at a slightly greater price (say £1000 more) that fits our needs can we ask for it given all the stress/inconvenience this has caused?

And I have no idea what happens with our HP agreement. I’ve phoned the car finance company last night to explain the problems we have had and my husband is waiting from a call from quality standards team today. Is there anyway to get out of the HP deal at this stage given the problems?


I'd be grateful for any advice or a steer in the right direction of what my next steps should be.

Slowhand

Arnold Clark can and do transfer their cars between their different sites. Search Arnold Clark online and see if they have a suitable vehicle elsewhere and request that they get it for you.

spacey2012

If you want some advice, keep away from vauxhalls made between 2004-2010, as you will have already found out, they are just one thing after another after another after another.
Look for a Skoda.

weegie_2

Good to know about transferring the cars between sites. Thats what we thought. My husband did mention this to the manager who said that they didn't really do that!

We have had a vauxhall in the past (mind you that was a wee corsa). Never had this amount of problems with a car before!

dalesrider

weegie wrote: »

And I have no idea what happens with our HP agreement. I’ve phoned the car finance company last night to explain the problems we have had and my husband is waiting from a call from quality standards team today. Is there anyway to get out of the HP deal at this stage given the problems?


I'd be grateful for any advice or a steer in the right direction of what my next steps should be.

If this is a Hire purchase agreement then remember this also falls under CCA 75.
So the hire co as jointly liable.

But it would appear that the retailer are doing their best to resolve the issue.
So play nice and you may get that great deal, you could not afford