Multiple faults on van bought from dealer - small claims court?

andyhm

My daughter bought a van from a dealer for £4500 on a no warranty basis.
Within a few days it developed poor running and difficulty in starting.
The van has been to 5 different garages who have struggled to find the faults, including diagnostics with VW, and has had several sensors changed, a replacement injector and needs another injector as well.
So far it has cost over £1100 and another injector will cost a further £500.
There is no warranty but my thoughts turn to the sale of goods act and fitness for purpose and I would argue that it was clearly not fit for purpose at the time of sale.
We did not contact the dealer initially as there was no warranty and the dealer is 100 miles away and I would not want my daughter driving 100 miles in a van that is not running properly.
My daughter is a surfer and has customised the van as surfers do and has spent over £2000 on it.
We have contacted the dealer and asked him to pay for the repairs as the van was not fit for purpose.
He has offered £500 or a refund if we return the van. Returning the van is not an option as it is now worth around £7000 and £500 is not enough.
So... My thoughts turn to the small claims court and my question to the forum is what are our chances of successfully taking this claim through the court?
Any feedback would be much appreciated

motorguy

andyhm wrote: »

He has offered £500 or a refund if we return the van. Returning the van is not an option as it is now worth around £7000 and £500 is not enough.

I would say you're fairly stuffed.

Firstly, under the SOGA your daughter must give the dealer the opportunity to examine the car and repair, refund or replace the vehicle. She didnt do that.

The dealer has offered £500 towards the repairs. That could well be what he could have repaired the van for, if he had been given the opportunity.

He has also offered a full refund.

If you take it to court, the dealer will say he wasnt given the opportunity to examine and repair, he has offered a payment towards the repairs you did elsewhere and he has offered a full refund.

I'm not sure under law hes obliged to do much more?

Also, the van is now not "worth" £7,000. Its still a £4,500 van with actually possibly devaluing modifications made to it.

andyhm

Thanks Paul, the customization has all been done professionally, carpet on the floor and up the sides, leather seats with Vw stitched into them and a rock and roll bed again in leather plus a window on one side in the back. Surf vans sell for big money if they are done professionally and this van looks gorgeous.
We spent a few hundred on repairs thinking that would be all that was required but it just went on and on and the costs crept up and up

AdrianC

£4,500 is very low-end money for a VW van - on vantrader, there are only three listed at that price or below, nationally. Two are 17yo T4s, the other a newer but 220k mile T5. What is it she's bought? Age, mileage?

How long has she owned the van for?

The fact the dealer is 100 miles away is entirely your/your daughter's choice when she bought the van. It has no bearing on your statutory rights - either way.

usefulmale

So you bought a van that was running fine but a few days later, it started running poorly, so you took it to numerous garages to fix.

During this time, you blew 2 grand on fancy fittings that contribute nothing to the running of the van which, I think, is paramount.

Then, eventually, you contact the dealer, who offers a full refund but now you seem to think the vans value has increased 50% so you refuse.

Now, you want to know the viability of a small claims case?

Seems to me that the dealer has offered everything they are required to, so I think your case will go nowhere.

andyhm

It's a vw caddy 10 plate with 130,000 miles bought 1st august

deanos

was this a business transaction as its a van ? think the law is different in that case ? im sure someone will be along shortly with the relevant information if so

andyhm

No it wasn't a business transaction

AdrianC

deanos wrote: »

was this a business transaction as its a van ?

Just because it's a van doesn't mean it's a business transaction. If the OP, as a private individual, bought it for their personal use, then it's not a business transaction.

OP - OK, so that does raise expectations of it a bit. But the fact remains that the dealer has offered all of the restitution they are legally required to - in fact, they've gone beyond. You are unwilling to let them repair, and you are unwilling to let them refund. They have no other obligation.

There is a strong argument to say that you have not attempted to mitigate your costs, either - taking it to five different garages means that each one has had to repeat the basic diagnostic work, rather than building on their previous efforts. For all anybody knows, the problems you are experiencing were a simple initial fault compounded by misdiagnosis and/or ham-fisted muppetry by the first or subsequent garages - over which the vendor has no control or responsibility.

deanos

AdrianC wrote: »

Just because it's a van doesn't mean it's a business transaction.

yes i know that , thanks :cool:

Muscle750

Within a few days it started running rough etc and it went to 5 garages none of which rectified it totally yet it still had £2k of cosmetics plus sold with no warranty ......................i think youve put good money after bad sadly however i hope its sorted yet in the garage trade a car going to another garage with a fault gives them the option to print money ive seen it many times. But with no warranty a £1000 shed fair enough but from a garage .sorry sounds like they just wanted it gone