Used car is not fit for purpose

millerc

Hi everyone,

For the purposes of anonymity there are three parties involved in this story that I'll call Company A, Company B and a private individual. It might be worth mentioning that they are all closely related.

I saw a vehicle advertised by Company A. I had text message interactions with Company A. This was followed by email interaction with Company A. Their company name was clear on their emails and the car advertisement.

I arranged to view the car.

I was met by the private individual who claimed that Company A apologises as he is unable to attend the viewing and the private individual therefore undertook the viewing on his behalf.

Company A and Company B are both Limited companies.

Long story short I purchased the car and then it has gone down hill from there.

It has been 4 and a half months since I purchased the car and it is now undriveable. I have attempted to contact the warranty company but all I get is an answering machine which I have left messages on and nobody is returning my call.

The warranty was issued in the name of Company A.

I have contacted Company A for assistance and they are claiming that they did not sell the car. In actual fact they are claiming that the private individual that showed me the car was infact the seller and that it was a private sale and private transaction and therefore nothing to do with Company A.

This has come as a complete shock to me. What is even more concerning is that when I have checked the original receipt of purchase it is in the name of Company B and that they took payment for the vehicle.

I still cannot get hold of the warranty company, Company A are stating that it is not their responsibility, Company B is stating that its not their responsibility and the private individual is claiming responsibility and telling me to deal only with the warranty company, whom I can't seem to get hold of.

The private individual is claiming responsibility even though the paper work and receipts show otherwise.

I have read my warranty documentation and it states that I must arrange for the car to be diagnosed, repaired and to pay for the full repair of the vehicle upfront beforehand I can then claim the monies back from the warranty company.

The car is over an hours drive away. I am absolutely at my wits end as to what to do.

Can anybody give me some advice on how to resolve this?

Thanks,

C

forgotmyname

Issue a letter before action naming both company A and company B send recorded delivery and see what they come back with.

What car? age, mileage, price?

Why is it undriveable?

arcon5

Well it seems clear this is NOT a private sale.
So if so called private individual is accepting he sold the car then i'd threaten to pursue him and make it clear you do not believe him to be a private seller and can demonstrate this to a judge.

AdrianC

If your receipt is in the name of B, and you can demonstrate the money was paid to B, then - to all intents and purposes - you bought the car from B, and they're going to have a job proving otherwise.

If the warranty company are unreachable, then your warranty is effectively worthless, so you're back to SOGA rights - and the age and price of the car, together with the nature of the fault, are key there.

The key question is whether it's worth the inevitable time, stress and money to chase B over this issue, and your chances of success have to play an important part in that decision, unless you want a pyrrhic victory.

Even if the warranty company was available, then if the warranty says that you have to arrange and pay for the repair then reclaim, then that's what you have to do. If you didn't like that when you bought the car, you could have negotiated for either a more acceptable warranty to you or for a price reduction in exchange for no warranty, then purchased a more acceptable one yourself.

If the car is in an inconvenient location - presumably you have no breakdown cover? - that is not really something any warranty would cover, unless it explicitly included breakdown cover.

loskie

be very thorough if you are to take action. Name both companies and any individuals tied to those companies.

Get proper advice from CAB or similar

millerc

Hello everyone,

Firstly many thanks to all of those who have replied. I must apologise for the delay in returning to the forum, which I know can be annoying when a newbie signs up for help but my father passed away.

The car is a Peugeout 207 1.6 hdi 2007. I managed to get the car to a garage for independent assessment and the estimated cost of repair is £1,675. I paid £2,200 for the vehicle. The main problem is that the turbo has blown due to faulty EGR and injector seal leak neither of which provide any fault warnings. It appears that these problems may have been present for much longer than I have had the vehicle (just coming up to six months in my possession). I have written to company A and company B who are not interested in helping me.

When I was sold the car, I was told the warranty documentation would be sent to me and it actually took over a month to get it and only after a succession of phone calls and emails. The warranty has been issued on behalf of company A. However, I cannot get hold of the warranty company; I just get an answer phone where I leave a message and get no call back. I have also been told by company A that I have to pay £25 towards each part required and that I have to pay all of the overall VAT for the full repair cost. This was not how the warranty was sold to me upon purchase but of course, this was word of mouth so I can't prove that.

I can't afford to get the car repaired and I am not sure what to do next to be honest. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

AdrianC

Eight year old car.
Engine with serious and widely known problems with turbo failure, due entirely to poor previous maintenance.
Low-end price for trade supply.
Several months use before failure.

No mention of the service history... Is it absolutely fully up-to-date, with the correct oil used AT LEAST as frequently as the interval requires?

Sorry, I think you're going to be on your own on SOGA with this one, especially since you've apparently not given the vendor (undoubtedly B, if all your documentation refers to them) first call on diagnosis and repair.

As for the warranty... Never mind what the person selling you the warranty said - what does the warranty documentation say?

undaunted

Questionable business practices, why not contact your local trading standards & see if they will help / it prompts the companies to show some more interest

arcon5

how was it caused by a faulty egr?

bigjl

arcon5 wrote: »

how was it caused by a faulty egr?

I am not too sure of why that would be.

I would probably consider poor servicing to be the culprit with that engine.

Due to being used locally or short tripped but then the oil change being left as normal or even longer than normal.

I would adopt a severe service schedule on one of those regardless.

An engine or turbo has never been damaged by clean oil that I am aware of.

Mistral001

This sounds like a scam. The OP probably needs legal advice. A solicitor will probably ask the Op what exactly was said to the Op when they person turned up and will try to establish exactly with whom the OP has a contract.


PS. Do you know if the warranty firm actually exists?