Bought car with faulty engine - dealer refuses to return money!

aa111

Hi all. About 4 weeks ago I bought a car from an independent dealer ("A Car 2 Go" in Aylesbury) for around £8000. It was advertised as "in excellent conditions, very well looked after". Les than a week later I complained to the dealer about number is engine related issues (unusual noise when cold, high fuel consumption, etc.) Initially they tried to convince me there was nothing wrong with the car, but after lots of phone calls, wasted time, and going back and forth, 3 weeks later, the car was inspected by an official manufacturer's garage. They found that engine had a major damage and needs a very expensive repair or a complete engine replacement. They think the car was probably running without oil at some point, or was not serviced properly.

Dealer refuses to refund my money, also refuses to get the car repaired by an approved manufacturer's garage. They are planning to source a second had engine and replace it themselves.

I also spoke to another garage that did some work on the car just before I bough it (they were paid by the dealer), and they confirmed that unusual engine noise was present at that time.

I'm planning a 3000 miles round trip across Europe in a few months time and there is no way I will trust this car. What are my chances on getting my money back?

I already sent an official letter to them requesting refund, but I'm not holding my breath...

topdaddy_2

So they are going to put it right? Why did you buy a car with funny noises?

atrixblue.-MFR-.

topdaddy wrote: »

So they are going to put it right? Why did you buy a car with funny noises?

not everyone is a mechanic, funny noises to someone maybe that their not used to the engine as its their first time owning that brand make and model. he took it back.


Op doesn't have to let them put it right!

Nodding_Donkey

I think you have to give them the opportunity to repair or replace and I can't see that fitting a second hand engine* in a second hand car is a problem. Obviously you would want to know that the replacement engine isn't higher mileage than your car.

* This is in general and yes I know that for some cars e.g. Mazda RX8 it wouldn't be acceptable.

aa111

topdaddy wrote: »

So they are going to put it right? Why did you buy a car with funny noises?

The noise was only prominent when engine was cold. I didn't hear it when doing test drive so I guess the engine was warm at that point. Even after hearing it, for the first few days, I thought it was normal.

Put it right? When I was buying the car we agreed that they will replace front tires. They managed to get one of them facing wrong way!!! And now I should trust them to replace whole engine and drive across Europe?

nobbysn*ts

This always comes up. Get advice on what the garage can do, what you can accept, from the CAB. It's ok for the dealers on here to say you have to accept any old scrapper of an engine they find, and give them a few weeks to have a go at fobbing it off on you again, but in reality what you want is a decent car now, at the sort of price you paid. Rejecting the car is the option you should take.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

I think you have to give them the opportunity to repair or replace and I can't see that fitting a second hand engine* in a second hand car is a problem. Obviously you would want to know that the replacement engine isn't higher mileage than your car.

* This is in general and yes I know that for some cars e.g. Mazda RX8 it wouldn't be acceptable.

OP doesn't have to let them repair..

straighttalker

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

OP doesn't have to let them repair..

You're wrong. You're not even wrong once, you're wrong twice. The Sale of Goods Act states that the buyer has to give the seller the opportunity to repair the goods.

photome

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

OP doesn't have to let them repair..

you have said it twice now, but you havent said what the OP should do.

If it was me I would want to reject the car but not sure if the OP could force the issue

TrickyWicky

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

OP doesn't have to let them repair..

But you fail to state the alternative.

straighttalker

Sale of Goods Act states either a repair or replacement. In the case of cars, a replacement of a like for like vehicle is virtually impossible due to the sheer variation of vehicles availble; age, mileage, spec etc etc.

In a perfect world, the OP would get a refund but this isn't a perfect world. Even if the OP got a judgment against the dealer in the Small Claim's Court, it would be hard work pursuing them if it was a Limited company and folded to avoid the judgment.