Used car refund?

PaulMc81

Hi,

I was hoping someone could give me some advise. My wife and I bought a used car (a 2006 mazda 1.8 mpv) last week from a trader. He advertised the car as being mechanically 100% and it looked and drove great when we went to test drive it. We traded in our old car and paid a deposit then picked the car up a couple of days later, paying the remainder of the balance in cash, being given a receipt.

A couple of days later, I'd noticed the oil on the dipstick measured low. I figured I would top it up (with the manufacturer recommended oil mentioned in the manual) and monitor this to make sure it wasn't just a one off before contacting the trader again. I had to top up again albeit not much, as the car only does 20 or so miles per day.

Then a couple of days ago the car juddered and misfired on changing down from 5th to 4th and the engine management light came on. I'd noticed some smoke coming out of the exhaust too. I read the code with a bluetooth code reader which was reported as "P0304 - Cylinder 4 Misfire"

It was at this point that I contacted the trader and arranged with him that I would have my own mechanic look at it, and if it turned out to be something relatively easy to fix, such as spark plugs / leads - he would send a cheque to cover the costs. If my mechanic found that it was something more serious I agreed to let the trader know and he would arrange for his own mechanic to look at it.

My wife left the car in and our mechanic advised that the cause of the fault was that there was oil around the spark plugs, causing the misfire, indicating that there was potentially a more serious problem. He advised that the fault could be fixed temporarily by replacing the spark plugs but that in all likelihood, was going to re-occur suggesting a new engine or a complete engine overhaul should sort it.

Our mechanic was asked to not do anything further and I explained to him the car had only been bought a week ago and was advertised with a 30 day warranty. He suggested we ask for our money back and to be wary of any quick fix, such as simple spark plug replacement and mopping up of excess oil around the top of the engine block.

On thinking about it and on the back of this advice, my wife and I would prefer a refund to allow us to go buy something else that would hopefully be less of a headache!

A refund was mentioned to the trader who was quick to say "that is not my policy" and attempting to claim we had caused the damage to the car (later backtracked). From what we've read on the Sale of Goods Act, we are perfectly entitled to a refund and he was informed of this - he then said he did not have the money and it would be a couple of weeks before he would have.

We then agreed to have his (the trader's) mechanic look at the car as he assured us he would put it right. Not 100% happy, I told him that as long as it was put right properly (and not a quick-fix) there would be no issue and asked if he would stand-over any repairs, by way of warranty should any issue re-occur. He said we would have his word.

The car was left with him yesterday and he's got back today saying that his mechanic has given the engine a full flush and put in a "special oil" (his exact words!) specially designed to cure piston ring issues, he says the misfire is completely gone but the exhaust is still slightly smokey. His mechanic assures him that this is normal until it begins to work on the engine and after a few miles should subside and if if not he'll have to strip the engine.

I know the trader is not being totally unreasonable, he probably sold the car in good faith - not knowing that it was going to give trouble but to me it sounds like a bit of a quick-fix. Would he not have been better getting his mechanic to strip the engine and repair properly? Really could do without the inconvenience of having to go back to him.

Can anyone advise what this 'special oil' was likely to be and will it really cure the misfire/oil burning issue? Also, I'm still erring towards asking for a refund.

nobbysn*ts

Nope. He sold it knowing it was a clapped out wreck burning oil. He's put in a thick oil, hoping you're be lumbered with it until you give up all hope. A refund is the best option. Trading standards first, then court if you need to.

motorguy

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Nope. He sold it knowing it was a clapped out wreck burning oil. He's put in a thick oil, hoping you're be lumbered with it until you give up all hope. A refund is the best option. Trading standards first, then court if you need to.

Totally agree. Insist on a refund.

PaulMc81

Thanks for the replies.

We've arranged to go and see him tomorrow afternoon (he still has the car, got it back from his mechanic this evening).

If he refuses to give a refund, next step trading standards then? I suspect he'll tell us what he did when we first mentioned a refund i.e. that he won't have the money for a couple of weeks.

When we mentioned sale of goods act to him prior to his mechanic 'fixing it' he went on about it actually being a private sale and that he wasn't actually a dealer and therefore tried to imply we had less rights.

This, despite the fact he'd advertised the car as a trade sale (I've screenshots of his ad) with a 30 day warranty, he has a website set up, and has business cards stating he is a used car dealer!

I've been keeping notes of conversations with him over the past couple of days as I feared something like this might happen when the misfire started and the engine management light came on.

Such a PITA but live and learn.

motorguy

I would contact Citizens Advice in the first instance.

You need to make it clear you are rejecting the car. Hes had an attempt to fix it and theres still a major engine fault.

Be firm about money back. He'll try to palm you off as long as possible and hope you get bored.

Nodding_Donkey

I agree with previous posters on this. You are quite within your rights to reject the car. He will keep trying to mug you off with temporary fixes until he thinks it's too late for you to take any action.

Using 'snakeoil' type fixes is ok if you are running a banger and want to keep it going until the MOT and tax run out before scrapping it but that is about all they are good for.

PaulMc81

Going to be firm and tell him I don't consider his "special oil" a satisfactory fix then ask for a refund.

I wouldn't have called the car a banger, the exterior was in good cosmetic condition and as a layman it appeared to drive fine on the test drive. Also the engine bay looked clean implying the car was well looked after.

Cost us £3000 (£1500 of a trade in for our old car then an additional £1500 cash) - not a huge sum by any means - but plenty when you've two kids and a third on the way!

Thanks again for the advise,

Paul

motorguy

PaulMc81 wrote: »

Going to be firm and tell him I don't consider his "special oil" a satisfactory fix then ask for a refund.

I wouldn't have called the car a banger, the exterior was in good cosmetic condition and as a layman it appeared to drive fine on the test drive. Also the engine bay looked clean implying the car was well looked after.

Cost us £3000 (£1500 of a trade in for our old car then an additional £1500 cash) - not a huge sum by any means - but plenty when you've two kids and a third on the way!

Thanks again for the advise,

Paul

In fairness i think he meant snake oils are ok if its for a banger at a few quid to keep it going, but not acceptable as a solution for a car like yours.

Nodding_Donkey

Wasn't that what I said

motorguy

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Wasn't that what I said

Uh huh but it looks like the O/P mis-read it.

PaulMc81

Nope, didn't mis-read it - just worded my reply badly, my apologies!

Bit of an update; the trader has now relented and agreed to give us our money back, however he says he does not have the full amount at the minute and will have to sell another car first, which could take a few days, therefore we've got no money back yet.

I told him to do whatever he needed to do but in the interim he should expect a call from Trading Standards when I contact them on Monday and left with him a letter clearly stating the car was being rejected and asking for a full refund.

He now has the exact car we bought off him advertised for sale (for more than we bought it for) on a website..

Weather he's trying to get our money back for us or not - Pretty $h|tty thing to do. Trying to sell it onto some other poor soul with full knowledge it's been rejected because of a major mechanical fault that he's not prepared to fix properly.