Used car required major repair - Can I make the dealer pay?

stateofplay

I purchased a Peugeot 107 last month for around 2.5k and yesterday the water pumped seized. My local mechanic confirmed today that it had caused damage to the engine and the repair bill might be quite significant.

I understand that I may have a right to reject the car under the Sale of Goods Act - however is there anyway I can request/insist that the dealer refund the repairs that are required?

I like the car and the dealer is based quite some distance from me so returning to them would definitely be my last option...

Thanks in advance

Geodark

Has your local mechanic done any work on the car? You should have contacted the dealer before you got another mechanic to look at the car. you have to give the dealer the chance to put things right. They may turn round and say "Get the repairs done and invoice us" but you need to speak to them before you get anything done to the car.

stateofplay

I originally thought the repairs would be covered by the 3 month warranty provided by the dealer but now it looks like it will go over the £250 coverage limit..

I guess I could ask the mechanic to contact me if it does reach this limit. I am just not sure how I would even get the car to the dealer if he will not play ball with a local mechanic?

wealdroam

stateofplay wrote: »

I originally thought the repairs would be covered by the 3 month warranty provided by the dealer but now it looks like it will go over the £250 coverage limit..

I guess I could ask the mechanic to contact me if it does reach this limit. I am just not sure how I would even get the car to the dealer if he will not play ball with a local mechanic?

As has been said, if you expect the seller to fund the repairs, you need to agree that with him before starting any work.

If the seller wants to carry out the work himself, then you will need to get the vehicle to him.
The fact that the seller is 'some distance' away is not important. Anyway, you chose to buy from a far away dealer.

Having said that, the Sale of Goods Act does say that the seller should cover all costs in providing a remedy if the fault is inherent.

Maybe that means the seller collects the car from you and investigates. This is probably unlikely, as if the fault is not found to be inherent the seller would surely be looking to the buyer to refund the recovery costs... if not more.
More likely is that you have to in some way get the car to the seller and if the fault is deemed to be inherent then your costs in doing that are recoverable from the seller.

Laz123

I'm not sure why it would cause significant damage. I had a water pump seize up and due to the steam billowing out from under the bonnet it told me what had happened. I have worked on cars in the past so it wasn't a huge job for me to replace it. The only problem I had was one of the bolts sheared off so I had to use a metal to metal glue but it was fine. Did you drive a significant distance after the seizure which could have caused more problems?

Geodark

Laz123 wrote: »

I'm not sure why it would cause significant damage. I had a water pump seize up and due to the steam billowing out from under the bonnet it told me what had happened. I have worked on cars in the past so it wasn't a huge job for me to replace it. The only problem I had was one of the bolts sheared off so I had to use a metal to metal glue but it was fine. Did you drive a significant distance after the seizure which could have caused more problems?

Depends on the engine, mine is driven by the cambelt, so if the water pump seizes it can throw the cam belt, which as you can imagine can cause quite a bit of damage!

mattyprice4004

Could it have seized because the coolant froze? If the correct concentration of antifreeze and water isn't in the cooling system, the whole lot can freeze solid.

Guess who found out the hard way!

Geodark

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Could it have seized because the coolant froze? If the correct concentration of antifreeze and water isn't in the cooling system, the whole lot can freeze solid.

Guess who found out the hard way!

You had that actually happen then Matty? I have heard 3rd hand stories but never knew anyone that it had actually happened to. oops.