Faulty Car Rejection (PCP agreement)

L90A

Hi all

looking for some advice on trying to reject a faulty car that was purchased from a dealership using PCP finance. Heres my story from the last few months...

Ive had the car for around 5 months, and within 3 weeks the car developed a clutch fault, it became noisy and there was quite a bit of smell from the clutch when operated. I returned the car for investigation and the dealership advised from a test drive that its faulty and they would attempt a repair on the clutch by changing the master cylinder, this unfortunately did not fix the clutch problem.They advised on collection that if this did not fix the problem they would change the clutch unit.

I returned the car for the clutch repair but unfortunately it was handled by another mechanic at the dealership and they could not find the fault with the clutch or replicate the issue so they said that it was ok . In the last few months I have been back to the dealership several times to get the clutch fixed because it has gotten worse but they believe there is nothing wrong with it . Unfortunately in this time other faults developed on the car and the dealership could not find any faults and said its fine - one of the faults being that the drivers seat moves on the seat rails intermittently. My last visit to the dealership as a final opportunity for them to put the car right I was greeted by an angry manager who would not listen to my faults with the car (ive never lost my temper with management) and from their test drive around the industrial estate they think the car is fine.

Ive since passed the issue to the ombudsman to look into it and the case handler cannot see my point that the dealership admitted to a fault with the clutch by attempting to repair it. He also believes I have not given the dealership enough time to fix the problems (after several visits to the dealership. Ive also had 2 second opinions on the state of the clutch from other garages as the dealership are arguing its my driving style to which it has been proven otherwise. The case handler is trying to convince me to either accept a car replacement or if i want to get out of the agreement I will have to pay the outstanding balance. Ive asked for it to be passed to the ombudsman for a final decision

I would like to know what I can do to finally reject the car because as far as im aware under consumer rights Im within my rights to reject a car if it develops a fault (proven by an attempted repair) and its not fixed.

Nearlyold

What sort of noise (a squeal?), what sort of bit of a smell (burning?) Why not ask the dealership staff to drive the car with you as a passenger so you can point out the noise and smell when they occur. What did the other garages think the fault was likely to be, were they able to replicate the same problems?

L90A

Hi there thanks the reply

The noise is best described like a droning noise, its apparent when the clutch pedal is lifted to biting point when moving from a standstill, its really smelly like a burning out clutch smell.

At the dealership I test drove with the 1st mechanic and he could hear the noise and smell the clutch and advised of a repair on the master cylinder. Other mechanics since the repair believe its normal.

Other garages from a test drive have said they think its a faulty clutch from the noise and smell and I have this in writing too.

I just feel like ive given them enough chance to fix the problem but the ombudsman dont believe i have

Nearlyold

Have you complained to the finance company (i.e. are they aware of your issues) or only the dealer and then the Financial Ombudsman? Is this a small dealer or a national one.

L90A

ombudsman are involved but its currently at the first stage before a final decision - they are trying to say I have not given the dealership enough time to fix the problem and they have yet to identify one (even though they attempted to replace part of the clutch and they have had 3 inspections on the clutch in the time of ownership - around 5 months)

Yeah national company , name rhymes with the word "CHORD".

Nearlyold

"Chord" don't usually own the dealerships. Is this a local small dealer or one that's part of a larger group like Perrys or Lookers or Evans Halshaw etc?

meer53

My clutch smells if i try to hold the car with the clutch too long on a steep hill. Smells like burning rubber, solved it after the first time by using the handbrake or footbrake instead of the clutch. Luckily my car has hill start assist so i don't need to use the clutch more than normal on hills.

Could the problem be your driving style ?

L90A

yeah i agree with you clutch would smell in that instance but it smells from normal driving usage. Even another mechanic from 2 separate garages had the same problems.