Used car purchase issues.

In2deep

Hello,

I bought myself a 56 plate Vauxhall Corsa from Evans Halshaw and paid partly on debit card and remainder on credit card.

On picking the car up I checked the interior and bodywork etc and was happy with the look of the car.

On Friday evening I took the car to my uncle who is a mechanic with a car dealership (not Evans Halshaw) to give it an in depth look over. He has discovered the following faults:

OSF Coil Spring Broken
OSR Shock Absorber corroded excessively
Heat shield at Tail Pipe insecure in 2 places and held together by gaffa tape
Tail Pipe Blowing and Mounting corroded and about to break off
Brake fluid at minimum level

The questions I have is, are Evans Halshaw likely to repair all of the above under the 30 day warranty offered with the car and what are my options if they refuse, as I feel that they have sold me the car in a condition that is not as described.

I was told that the car was put through a service by them but surely if they did they would have picked these errors up.

Apparently the car was put through an MOT in April and passed...my uncle says that the car would fail MOT in its current condition.

I phoned EH and they have agreed to look at the car but refused to comment on what the warranty covers until they have seen it.

Any comments/ideas/suggestions are welcomed.

davemorton

In2deep wrote: »

Any comments/ideas/suggestions are welcomed.

Take your uncle along next time you go to buy a car? Would save some hassle.

In2deep

Brilliant. Thanks for the advice. Really helpful! :T

macman

The point he was making is why people only get cars inspected after they buy them. By then, there's no point. The warranty T&C's should be listed on the paperwork you were given. It will normally cover mechanical failure, but not wear and tear.
From what you say you bought the car unseen and your inspection was limited to a quick look around when you collected it?

forgotmyname

When did you buy it?

Does your Uncle work for one of those places that tell people they need their brakes replacing now or they may crash and die on the way home, yet a proper check will find then only 50% worn and good for many miles yet?

In2deep

The car was not bought unseen. I had seen the car the previous week. Looked at the car and asked the salesman various questions about the cars condition and he advised me that the car had been put through a service very recently.

I even had a test drive of the car and it ran fine. It was based on the test drive and the fact that the car was recently serviced and had a valid MOT up to April 2016 that I made the purchase.

Even if my uncle was with me at the time I don't believe he would have noticed the faults as it wasn't until he was able to get the car up on the ramp that he could identify the issues. Do you think that if he was with me EH would simply have allowed him to used their garage to do his own assessment of the car?

i believe I have been sold a car that was not roadworthy and wouldn't pass an MOT so why do EH think it is acceptable to sell somebody a car in that condition?

If They are not willing to fix the car under the 30 day warranty then am I within my rights to return the vehicle to them under the sale of goods act for a refund?

arcon5

The only real issue there is a broken spring.
.

You'll get a shock if you think you can reject a car because its 13 year old exhaust has some corrosion.

In2deep

Thanks arcon 5.

So you reckon the broken spring they should fix (under the warranty) and the rest will be down to wear and tear due to the cars age?

P.s the car is only 8 1/2 years old.

AdrianC

In2deep wrote: »

So you reckon the broken spring they should fix (under the warranty) and the rest will be down to wear and tear due to the cars age?

The spring is wear & tear, too. It's very common.

Why did he not just top the low brake fluid up?

In2deep

So the general consensus is that all of the items/faults discovered are more wear and tear and will not be covered by the warranty?

Does anyone know including labour how much it may cost to rectify the faults?

The brake fluid has been topped up. That comment was more to emphasise the issues discovered with the car after having just bought it.

bigjl

The spring should be covered under the Sale of Goods Act surely?

The heat shield is usually fixed with some large washers as they usually break at the mounts.

Are you sure it was gaffs tape? I would have thought that was a fire risk. I have bodged heat shields with the sticky aluminium tape before.

The shock absorber is not an issue really unless it is leaking fluid or nit providing damping.