Fuel gauge not working after private sale

Nickyg

Hi all

I bought a used BMW on Friday and drove it an hour home and thought it was odd that I didn't use much fuel. Wife used it yesterday and it still say half tank but the computer says only 50 miles left! I filled up and it hasn't moved. I asked him for any known issues and he said there were none. The fuel gauge can't be checked on inspection so not sure where I stand? Very annoyed! Luckily I have the onboard computer to monitor miles left.

Also would a car pass MOT with a faulty fuel gauge? Guess it's not something you can test?

Many thanks

scaredofdebt

Faulty fuel gauge is not an MOT fail they don't even look at it.

Was it from a dealer or private sale?

If it's a dealer you have more chance of getting recompense as if they tell you there are no faults and there are faults then they have broken the Sale of Goods Act. This still applies to a private sale as well by the way but your average person won't be familiar with it!

I'd ring them and put the complaint in writing, are you happy with the car otherwise?

Marktheshark

Caveat Emptor I am afraid.
You buy private and you own, proving anything otherwise is both expensive and rather difficult to prove.

Seller says it worked when you bought it, then thats really hard luck.
Lets put it this way at what point do you think they stop been responsible for what breaks on a second hand car.
The Law states it is know as Caveat Emptor which is case law and time of sale is that point in a private transaction between private individuals.

The sale of goods act blurbs about misdescription but I have yet to see anyone pull it off in court where the case is defended.

If you want guarantees you pay the premium dealers rates.

scaredofdebt

Sorry, missed the bit about it being a private sale. He can of course state it was fine when he sold it and so you'd have to prove otherwise, not easy with this type of issue, as Marktheshark has stated.

Nickyg

Thanks guys. Thought as much, just got to suck it up I guess. I have the digital miles left display so it's not the end of the world, just a bit annoying and took some of the nice feeling of having a new car away!:(:(

captainawsome

You can do a functional test of the whole dash using the trip reset button. You can also 'unlock' the dash and carry out a software reset to see if that fixes the fault if the dial moves. It's quite hard to explain so have a look on YouTube, try searching BMW instrument cluster test or something like that

Nickyg

Good shout, will try that tomorrow!

Iceweasel

You should also join a BMW owners forum such as:

https://www.bmwland.co.uk

Where you'll get help and advice.

londonTiger

how old is the car?

I think it's more likely to be an old fuel pump if the car is 10+ years old. They get a bit knackered from old age and read the fuel level wrong.

Spicy_McHaggis

londonTiger wrote: »

how old is the car?

I think it's more likely to be an old fuel pump if the car is 10+ years old. They get a bit knackered from old age and read the fuel level wrong.

So the fuel pump measures the amount of fuel in the tank?

Iceweasel

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

So the fuel pump measures the amount of fuel in the tank?

Of course it does. Didn't you know that?

Best to be quiet, Spicy, and stop showing your ignorance of basic motor mechanics.

Hopefully we'll get more helpful tips.