Conditional sale agreement with Close

Gedmul

On 22nd June 2013 I bought a 2004 BMW 730D using Close Motor Finance on a conditional sale agreement. The car had 59000 miles on it and cost £7995 (36 months at £272.65 6%apr, charge for credit £1820.40, total cost £9815.40) Now ten months and 6900 miles later it has suffered a swirl flap failure that means the engine needs replaced. I am out of the initial six months but do I have any recourse as the vehicle has not lasted a reasonable amount of time? Any advice would be appreciated, cheers, GED..

burlington6

Common issue. Try google

colino

Unfortunately the swirl flaps failure is very common on unmodified BMW diesels. Too old to even waste your time with BMW and you'll have no luck getting the finance company involved. Search locally for a recommended BMW repairer and get a quote; your really going to have to fix what you've got, because a 10 year old 730D with a blown engine isn't sellable for worthwhile money.

Gedmul

Thanks for the replies. I am aware of the swirl flap issue and my question was more to do with a conditional sale agreement. I have spoken to Citizens Advice and they state that the Sale of Goods Act 1979 states goods supplied should be free of minor defect and be reasonably durable in account of age and mileage of the vehicle. Given in mind I paid £9800 for 60000 mile car it's reasonable to expect it to last longer than ten months.
I have taken their advice and written to Close, I'll keep you updated.

fivetide

Gedmul wrote: »

. Given in mind I paid £9800 for 60000 mile car it's reasonable to expect it to last longer than ten months.
I have taken their advice and written to Close, I'll keep you updated.

Good luck, honestly. the important detail you are missing there is "a 10 year old car with a known (and preventable) fault"

The age goes against you in terms of a judgement I think.

forgotmyname

As above, The car has been fine for a good 6 months+. So you will need to prove that the fault existed before you bought it.

On a 10 year old car with a known issue. They could ask when you got the flaps checked last.

Inner_Zone

Gedmul wrote: »

I am aware of the swirl flap issue and my question was more to do with a conditional sale agreement.

Why on earth did you not get them taken out and blanked then?

£30 to £34 plus fitting.*

* Not a recommendation but they were suggested in a recent Car Mechanics issue

burlington6

So you were aware of the fault but did nothing about it? Nobody to blame but yourself

Hoof_Hearted

burlington6 wrote: »

So you were aware of the fault but did nothing about it? Nobody to blame but yourself

You can always rely on helpful comments from some of the inadequates who post on this site.

arcon5

burlington6 wrote: »

So you were aware of the fault but did nothing about it? Nobody to blame but yourself

And the manufacturer of course for making a crap car

vaio

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

You can always rely on helpful comments from some of the inadequates who post on this site.

Yep, comments like that seem increasing common these days which for a consumer advice site always strikes me as a bit strange

On the OP....assuming he bought as a consumer from a dealer then SoG applies. 10 months/7k miles isn't a reasonable amount of time for a £10k car to last, as it's outside the six months it's down to the OP to prove that the fault existed when he bought it. That shouldn't be too hard given it's a design fault with many reported cases on the web.

I'd be writing to the dealer along those lines with a copy to the finance company in case s75 is needed.

The only fly in the ointment is if the flaps inspection/replacement have now been made a service item by BMW and the OP has had the car serviced without them being attended to. Having said that, after only 10 months/7k miles it's entirely possible that the car hasn't been due a service yet

Be interested to see how it turns out, hopefully the OP will update