Bought a car 3 months ago, problems not covered under warranty

force_ten

is the clutch slipping ?

arcon5

Motorguy, doesn't matter how many times you repeat yourself but you are wrong. Proving something was working at the time of sale is totally different to proving an inherent fault.

If you bought a iPad in a shop and it stopped working a week later do you really think the shop can turn round and say 'you saw it working on display before I boxed it up so not liable' ? No they can't.
Based on your interpretation no car dealer, retailer and like would be liable for anything. If you buy a brand new car and the Engine seizes the day after you bought it do you seriously think they can just denounce all responsibility by saying it was checked and worked fine when you drove away?!
That's basically what your interpretation is suggesting.
Same with most products... TVs, sofas etc etc

Of course the dealer isn't liable for failure caused by reasonable wear and tear, but that's not relevant here -- unless your suggesting a life span of just a couple of years and 12k miles is reasonable for a clutch? I'm guessing your wouldn't be happy replacing a clutch that often..

Quiet_Spark

Charliezoo wrote: »

The car was owned by the dealership and this is on the V5 - Glyn Hopkin Nissan was the owner from new. The sales manager of the dealership used to drive the car when it wasnt being used for demos, when we were handed the keys it he even came over to see us just to say how much he'd loved the car when he'd had it. He was an older guy who didn't look like the type to abuse a 7 seater Qashqai 1.5 dci but I guess appearances can be deceptive.

The car could well have had this problem for a long time - it's never been quick off the mark in 1st gear, I said from the start that it was a nice car but it was a shame it was quite underpowered, I had no idea that this was probably the start of the clutch problem, I just presumed it was a bit of a dull to drive sensible people carrier! It's gradually got worse and worse and you have to be careful not to stall it when pulling away now although its still drivable at the moment. It would probably pass the pre sale clutch check easily right now, it's only because we've complained that they've checked it more extensively.

I'll get on to Nissan tomorrow but the CAB has said that everything should be raised through Santander finance.

It has a gross vehicle weight of almost 2 metric tons and only makes 110 BHP, so it's not going to be anywhere near "quick" full stop.


You still haven't said what the actual problem is that you are experiencing either.

arcon5

Op -- if you have finance CAB are basically talking about section 75 protection which makes the finance company equally liable for performance of the contract.

Personally I wouldn't recommend putting everything through the finance company. Nothing wrong in writing to the manufacturer to push for them to pay for it. If they refuse then get firm with the dealer - then get on to the finance company. They though will likely want you to provide them with an independent report. Seems to be standard procedure now with most section 75 claims

Charliezoo

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

It has a gross vehicle weight of almost 2 metric tons and only makes 110 BHP, so it's not going to be anywhere near "quick" full stop.


You still haven't said what the actual problem is that you are experiencing either.

Sorry, I thought I'd explained earlier but I didn't.

We didn't even realise it was a clutch problem, the car has just gradually been getting slower when pulling away in 1st gear and needs quite a bit of gas to prevent it from stalling. As you lift the clutch there was no power there with normal rev balancing. This is apparently caused by the clutch being worn.

sh0597

If the OP had paid £1K for a 12 year old car with 120K on the clock then the clutch being worn out after driving 3K miles would be reasonable.


But a 2 year old car with 12K on the clock sold for £18K, one would expect the clutch would not fail after 3K miles. So it then comes down to the dealer proving the buyer has caused the damage themselves. I would have thought they would have needed to physically inspect before the sale to prove it was in good condition. I doubt they did that.

Bantex_2

Charliezoo wrote: »

Sorry, I thought I'd explained earlier but I didn't.

We didn't even realise it was a clutch problem, the car has just gradually been getting slower when pulling away in 1st gear and needs quite a bit of gas to prevent it from stalling. As you lift the clutch there was no power there with normal rev balancing. This is apparently caused by the clutch being worn.

Never heard of a worn clutch causing a lack of power.

force_ten

Bantex wrote: »

Never heard of a worn clutch causing a lack of power.

that was my thought lack of power sluggish and stalling when pulling away didnt sound like a worn clutch to me

sh0597

When there isn't much clutch material left the bite point is higher and the clutch engages suddenly, this makes it difficult to change gear smoothly and is more noticeable in lower gears. It also makes it easier to stall.

arcon5

Bantex wrote: »

Never heard of a worn clutch causing a lack of power.

If the clutch isn't engaging properly and under acceleration slipping (especially under heavier acceleration) then the engine will be turning over faster but the power won't be transferred to the wheels as it should so would certainly feel to op like the car is losing power