Used car from dealer issue, can we insist on a fix?

pulliptears

In a nutshell....

10 Plate Ford Focus purchased from Arnold Clark just over 3 weeks ago. We've had lots of niggling problems with it from a cracked windscreen to the central locking breaking the day after we had the car. It's now been into AC for repairs twice and will need to go in yet again as the car is showing a DPF fault now.

The day after we took the car we went on a run and for the first time got the car up to 50mph+ where a judder was VERY apparent. The car has been back in to AC again today to have this judder looked at. It transpires one of the front alloys is buckled. Arnold Clark have not replaced the alloy but have moved the buckled wheel to the rear of the car and balanced the front wheels. Obviously not particularly happy with this solution as we still have a buckled wheel that was on the car when we bought it, albeit now on the back rather than the front.

Can we demand a replacement alloy wheel or do we have to be content with a buckled wheel?

visidigi

Typical Arnold Shark.

I would refuse to drive it and return it to the dealer. If they will sign a document that the car is roadworthy, and passed an MOT (which it should need its first by now) with a buckled wheel then you will drive it again (they won't unless they are stupid), until then you consider it not roadworthy and require a refund of the entire purchase price.

shaun_from_Africa

Personally, I wouldn't consider driving any car that has a buckled wheel until it had been repaired or replaced and a good examination had been carried out on the rest of the car.

The previous owner may only have gone into a pothole or they could easily have hit a kerb at a reasonable speed, and this can cause suspension damage or wheel alignment problems but more importantly, if the impact was bad enough, it could have twisted the chasis which may have been the cause of the broken windscreen.

arcon5

You sure the DPF is actually faulty? The light often comes on when it hasn't burnt off the carbon - usually where it's been used for a lot of local driving or short journeys. Sort it by driving at about 3000rpm for 10-20 minutes. Quite common.

pulliptears

visidigi wrote: »

Typical Arnold Shark.

I would refuse to drive it and return it to the dealer. If they will sign a document that the car is roadworthy, and passed an MOT (which it should need its first by now) with a buckled wheel then you will drive it again (they won't unless they are stupid), until then you consider it not roadworthy and require a refund of the entire purchase price.

I believe it passed its MOT just before we purchased it, so it passed with buckled wheel. It also passed with a cracked windscreen which completely cracked from side to side the day after we got the car home....

The car is with them currently, OH is due to take back their courtesy car in the morning but isn't willing to accept ours back unless the wheel is replaced or some agreement to replace is undertaken. Whilst all this pizzing about is going on we are being charged £12 a day for a courtesy car.

So very tempting to try and reject the entire thing at this stage.

pulliptears

arcon5 wrote: »

You sure the DPF is actually faulty? The light often comes on when it hasn't burnt off the carbon - usually where it's been used for a lot of local driving or short journeys. Sort it by driving at about 3000rpm for 10-20 minutes. Quite common.

Yep, they have tried to fix it before (regeneration) but the light is back on. OH does 130 mile round trip daily, motorway miles, believe the car did similar with its previous owner.
AC reckon the pipe is faulty, but once again have failed to fix that and so the car will need to go in AGAIN and we get to pay another £12 for the courtesy car.

spacey2012

A "buckled" wheel is a fatal accident waiting to happen.

pulliptears

My concern is what do we do in the morning? Courtesy car is supposed to go back to them, there is something in the small print of the courtesy car that states you have to return it within 24 hours of being told your car is ready to collect (they told OH it was ready at 5pm tonight).

Do we go in there, refuse to accept the car back and drive off in their courtesy car? OH needs to get to work, its 60 miles from the garage.
I'm not at all comfortable with him driving on a buckled wheel.

Help!

spacey2012

He must not drive on a buckled wheel, if there was to be an accident and knowingly drove on it then he will be in very serious trouble indeed.
If they will not replace the buckled wheel, inform them the car is rejected as not fit for purpose under the sale of goods and will be staying where it is and you will take them to court.
They have had more than enough opportunity to redeem the situation

George_Michael

If they will not replace the buckled wheel, inform them the car is rejected

But as mentioned by shaun from africa, a buckled wheel may not be the only problem.

a cracked windscreen which completely cracked from side to side the day after we got the car home....

Unless the windscreen was hit by something (a point which I'm sure that the OP would have mentioned), for it to have cracked from side to side certainly implies that it was being stressed, something which could easily happen if the car chasis was deformed even a small amount.

earthstorm

If you drive off with a buckled wheel and it is spotted by the boys in blue.

1) who do you think will get points on their licence?
2) who do you think will also get a fixed penalty fine?
3) what do you think will happen to the car?

answers.
1) You
2) You
3) Towed away to a pound or garage at your expense until this is fixed.