Section 75 - Do I have the option

appalledandhelpless

Hi All,

I bought a car just over 3 weeks ago and I'm having intermittent gearbox issues. The dealer stated that the gearbox is covered under a 3month warranty and sent 'a man in a van' to look. He started the car, shined a torch under the bonnet, messed with the gear stick and then reported that there is no fault with the gearbox despite me explaining it's intermittent... Yet 2 days prior to this the gearbox seized on me mid motorway. I managed to pull in and after switching the engine off the gear stick shifted to neutral. Thankfully I managed to nurse the car home.
After a bit of playing with it my self i noticed that the gearbox gets harder the warmer the engine gets then eventually won't change at all. Despite explaining this he still reported no fault found :mad:
That's not all either. After getting the car home I discovered that the boot is wet and smells damp, the rear lights are leaking water and the suspension is not right on the passenger side. None of this was apparent on the test drive, which is annoying because I gave the car a good looking at (tho I am no mechanic).
Now the dealer won't do anything and I'm stuck with a car that I now cannot drive and potentially a big repair bill after just 3 weeks!

I paid for the car on my Lloyds credit card and have now cleared the balance. I have the receipt and statement to prove this and wondered if you think I have a case to go down the Section 75 route? I need to get my money back so I can get myself a right car that I can trust.

Thanks in advance!!

InsideInsurance

You have equal rights against your card issuer as you have against the dealer and both have the same rights on how to deal with it - in otherwords if repair is cheaper than refund & sell vehicle then either can do this.

One key difference is that your bank is likely to ask you to provide an engineers report to substantiate the defects, his opinion on repair costs etc and to a lesser extent if these would have been noticable if "bought as seen"

In most cases of buying from a dealership is that you can take the car to them and they get their own person to review it

jonesMUFCforever

How old is the car - how much did it cost?
You might have a case if say you paid £5k for a 3year old car but not much for a £500 banger.

appalledandhelpless

£2100 for 04 reg.

Had an independant garage check the car over yesterday and the mechanic has reported several faults with the car.

-Clutch Release Bearing knackered
-Flywheel Knackered
-Nearside Suspensions Shocks need replacing
-Brakes all round 80-90% worn
-CV boot split and leaking oil/grease
-Engine Breather pipe disconnected and covered in masking tape.
-Boot seals worn causing water to enter the boot

So yeah cars knackered and not safe to drive. Now I'm faced with a big repair bill, an uncooperative dealer, a car i can't/don't want to drive, a hole in my wallet the size of £2100 and all this in less than a month of purchase.

It seems this is not a quick fix so now due to my circumstances I have to go a buy another car at my own expense to get me mobile again!!

forgotmyname

Nothing on that list is out of the ordinary for a 10 year old car.

Its got worn parts its not knackered. It needs general maintenance. Unless your buying a brand new car the brakes, Shocks etc will all be worn to some degree.

appalledandhelpless

No! It has knackered parts that need replacing immediately they are gone, finished, end of. This is not slightly worn that may or may not need replacing they are done!
I know I'm no mechanic but I am not an idiot, I appreciate that a ten year old car is going to have some wear and tear and if the car had been sold to me as in ok condition or needs a bit of work etc then I'd accept that (actually I wouldn't have bought it!)

It was sold to me as in 'great condition' and actually was priced as such! This is not great condition this is barely drivable and is now sat at the independant garage totally unuseable.... How is this not knackered?

Ant.Evs

I Agree, Its knackered. Id be kicking right off if i had bought it. You need to speak to the credit card company. I cant really offer much help with your situation but i do however agree with you.

jonesMUFCforever

Did you get it examined BEFORE the purchase?
How much of the warranty will cover these repairs?