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Problems with second hand car

RosiPossum
Posts: 519 Forumite
in Motoring
Hi there,
we bought a second hand Ford from a second hand dealer in October.
It was newly MOTed and no problems were mentioned.
Within the first week, the engine was heating to dangerous temperatures. I bought a lot of coolant to fill the tank but it didn't work - turned out there was a leak and they fixed that.
Then just over a week ago the alternator went and we needed to use our roadside assistance to pick us up and then pay our garage £200 for the fix.
We weren't given the manual or service book at handover and were told that they'd get them to us. When it was mentioned to them last week, they said that should have happened at handover.
Now the engine temperature dial seems to be malfuntioning, going from the middle after a while of driving then back to the bottom of the scale, then back up.
The car has a 3 month warranty but we're a little fed up. Do we have any grounds to ask for a refund/exchange or do we just have to suck it up?
Thank you in advance.
we bought a second hand Ford from a second hand dealer in October.
It was newly MOTed and no problems were mentioned.
Within the first week, the engine was heating to dangerous temperatures. I bought a lot of coolant to fill the tank but it didn't work - turned out there was a leak and they fixed that.
Then just over a week ago the alternator went and we needed to use our roadside assistance to pick us up and then pay our garage £200 for the fix.
We weren't given the manual or service book at handover and were told that they'd get them to us. When it was mentioned to them last week, they said that should have happened at handover.
Now the engine temperature dial seems to be malfuntioning, going from the middle after a while of driving then back to the bottom of the scale, then back up.
The car has a 3 month warranty but we're a little fed up. Do we have any grounds to ask for a refund/exchange or do we just have to suck it up?
Thank you in advance.
0
Comments
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Alternators fail, even more so in winter so forget about that if they've put it right. With regards to the latest fault, you need more information.
At the moment the first two problems are very minor and can happen on any vehicle0 -
How old is the car?
As far as the cooling problems go - get the thermostat checked.0 -
So a split hose and an alternator... The latter of which developed long after the dealer sold it.
The former the dealer fixed.
so what are you getting fed up with? Nothing unusual here.
what's it's age mileage and price tag?0 -
So a split hose and an alternator... The latter of which developed long after the dealer sold it.
The former the dealer fixed.
so what are you getting fed up with? Nothing unusual here.
what's it's age mileage and price tag?
could have been 3 weeks, is that really long after the dealer sold it and it has a 3 month warranty
reads as the OP had to pay £200 to fix it0 -
RosiPossum wrote: »Now the engine temperature dial seems to be malfuntioning, going from the middle after a while of driving then back to the bottom of the scale, then back up.
Does the heaters go cold when the temperature gauage hits the bottom?
Either air block, faulty thermostate or temperature sender, blocked radiator.
You could try to flush the coolant out, it may of had some radweld or some other rubbish, replace the thermostate and temperature sender, re-fill with new coolant and bleed properly.0 -
foxy-stoat wrote: »Does the heaters go cold when the temperature gauage hits the bottom?
Either air block, faulty thermostate or temperature sender, blocked radiator.
You could try to flush the coolant out, it may of had some radweld or some other rubbish, replace the thermostate and temperature sender, re-fill with new coolant and bleed properly.
I doubt it - I was going 70 on the motorway when it went from the middle of the scale to the bottom within a second and went back up to the middle after a while, but it was a quick rise.
The coolant should have been sorted when they fixed the hose part - would it develop these problems over weeks?
To other questions..
The car is 2007 reg with 130k on the clock, £3500. I'm fed up because this is the third issue in less than 2 months, one of which left me without a car for about 4 days and the other which cost £200 to fix and another £80 in taxi just for work on the Saturday.
I'm not sure they'll cover the cost of the alternator because they ask you to fill in forms and get the go ahead for the garage. This wasn't possible as we're quite far away and were going on holiday 2 days later.
Other things such as no service book or manual, and a replacement carpet, both of which were promised, have not been delivered.0 -
It's an 8yo 130k mile car. Failures due to age and wear are to be expected.0
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RosiPossum wrote: »I doubt it - I was going 70 on the motorway when it went from the middle of the scale to the bottom within a second and went back up to the middle after a while, but it was a quick rise.
The coolant should have been sorted when they fixed the hose part - would it develop these problems over weeks?
To other questions..
The car is 2007 reg with 130k on the clock, £3500. I'm fed up because this is the third issue in less than 2 months, one of which left me without a car for about 4 days and the other which cost £200 to fix and another £80 in taxi just for work on the Saturday.
I'm not sure they'll cover the cost of the alternator because they ask you to fill in forms and get the go ahead for the garage. This wasn't possible as we're quite far away and were going on holiday 2 days later.
Other things such as no service book or manual, and a replacement carpet, both of which were promised, have not been delivered.
Where did you get it from? Just out of interest, since I live very near you and I'm always keen to avoid the dodgier traders...0 -
BeenThroughItAll wrote: »Where did you get it from? Just out of interest, since I live very near you and I'm always keen to avoid the dodgier traders...
A dealer in Stockton. I don't think they're a dodgy trader, but I'm not happy to have three things to require fixing within 2 months. I expect an older car to have problems, but not so soon after buying and having a full health check.
The coolant problem was within a day of buying.0 -
RosiPossum wrote: »I doubt it - I was going 70 on the motorway when it went from the middle of the scale to the bottom within a second and went back up to the middle after a while, but it was a quick rise.
The coolant should have been sorted when they fixed the hose part - would it develop these problems over weeks?
To other questions..
The car is 2007 reg with 130k on the clock, £3500. I'm fed up because this is the third issue in less than 2 months, one of which left me without a car for about 4 days and the other which cost £200 to fix and another £80 in taxi just for work on the Saturday.
I'm not sure they'll cover the cost of the alternator because they ask you to fill in forms and get the go ahead for the garage. This wasn't possible as we're quite far away and were going on holiday 2 days later.
Other things such as no service book or manual, and a replacement carpet, both of which were promised, have not been delivered.
You can't claim for a repair somebody else did. The selling garage have to be given a chance to fix it themselves before you start to think about taking it elsewhere and charging it back to them.
As for the service book, manual etc, the lesson is that you never take delivery of the car until everything is ready. Once the car is out of the door, they put it to the bottom of the things to do.
They'd much rather sell another car than find the service book and manual for a car they already sold.0
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