Do I have to take recalled car?

onlyroz

BykerSands wrote: »

Have you never bought a new computer only to find it needs a software update the first time you turn it on?

Sure but I've never bought one where I was told there's something wrong with it - not sure what, the factory won't tell us, we'll hold onto it for six weeks but we still want the money now. But don't worry, if we find out that it could catch fire and explode any minute we'll sort it right out for you. And no you can't have a different one.

onlyroz

elsien wrote: »

Do you want to back out of the sale, or do you want an alternative car?
Because an alternative may also have been subject to the same recall, depending on what that was.

All we know is that this car, which is part of a small batch made earlier this year, has an unspecified fault, which nobody seems to know what it is, when it can be fixed, or how serious it is, or what caused the fault. We would be happy with a different car from a different batch made to the same spec, and to not have to pay for it until delivery.

All this conjecture is not really very helpful when I have asked quite a simple question. Why does it matter if it's a standard production car or a Ferrari. We want a vehicle that we can be confident will be safe for the family, not some pup that will need constantly taking back to the garage every few weeks.

Browntoa

Mines had 2 recalls in the first 18 months , airbags in the doors and another that eludes me at the moment

Hasn't made me want to give the car back , I'm just glad it's sorted and I don't have to pay

Recalls seem to be part and parcel of owning a modern car

I woul expect the car maker to supply an courtesy car in the mean time , I'd also push for some free upgrades

nidO

onlyroz wrote: »

we'll hold onto it for six weeks but we still want the money now.

On this point, tell them to get stuffed.

My view is wanting to back out of the sale or have an alternative car just because a problem with yours has been identified and is being fixed is totally unreasonable (you seem to be adding 1 and 1 and coming out with 5469083487 in assuming that just because "your" car has a problem that's being fixed means its magically going to have a lot more other problems that other cars wouldn't), but so is the dealership expecting you to start paying for it when they haven't given it to you yet.

Assuming your finance is actually arranged by the dealer, I would be telling them in no uncertain terms that you'll be paying for the car when they're actually in a position to supply it to you, and not before.

onlyroz

Browntoa wrote: »

Mines had 2 recalls in the first 18 months , airbags in the doors and another that eludes me at the moment

Hasn't made me want to give the car back , I'm just glad it's sorted and I don't have to pay

Recalls seem to be part and parcel of owning a modern car

Would it have made a difference if the first recall occurred before they'd even given you the car?

And I don't see why we should just accept that it is normal for cars to develop faults (which are so dangerous that they're refusing to let us have the car for weeks). It would be a different matter if they'd said "it has a small fault with xyz, here have the car but book it into the garage for repair at your convenience". As it is we are totally in the dark.

BykerSands

onlyroz wrote: »

Can anybody actually answer my question?

Why would I want a car which, right out the factory, has a known fault and who knows how many unknown faults? You wouldn't accept that with any other product so why should I accept it with a car?

The first payment is due to go out in a few weeks. Should I really be happy to pay for a car we don't have yet, don't know when we're going to get it, and don't know what unknown faults it might have?

onlyroz wrote: »

Would it have made a difference if the first recall occurred before they'd even given you the car?

And I don't see why we should just accept that it is normal for cars to develop faults (which are so dangerous that they're refusing to let us have the car for weeks). It would be a different matter if they'd said "it has a small fault with xyz, here have the car but book it into the garage for repair at your convenience". As it is we are totally in the dark.

Have you actually spoken to the dealer about your concerns?

Browntoa

onlyroz wrote: »

Would it have made a difference if the first recall occurred before they'd even given you the car?

And I don't see why we should just accept that it is normal for cars to develop faults (which are so dangerous that they're refusing to let us have the car for weeks). It would be a different matter if they'd said "it has a small fault with xyz, here have the car but book it into the garage for repair at your convenience". As it is we are totally in the dark.

Yes, would still buy the car , it's been in production for several years and has no history of major problems

They will identify the problem with the faulty part as they always do and resolve it

zappahey

onlyroz wrote: »

Would it have made a difference if the first recall occurred before they'd even given you the car?

And I don't see why we should just accept that it is normal for cars to develop faults (which are so dangerous that they're refusing to let us have the car for weeks). It would be a different matter if they'd said "it has a small fault with xyz, here have the car but book it into the garage for repair at your convenience". As it is we are totally in the dark.

Have they actually said that it's too dangerous or is this you jumping to conclusions? Surely you would be happy that it's being fixed before you take delivery? All cars have issues to some extent or other, as they are very complex pieces of equipment.

Like others have said, the big issue is the expectation that you pay before receipt of the car.

BeenThroughItAll

onlyroz wrote: »

Would it have made a difference if the first recall occurred before they'd even given you the car?

And I don't see why we should just accept that it is normal for cars to develop faults (which are so dangerous that they're refusing to let us have the car for weeks). It would be a different matter if they'd said "it has a small fault with xyz, here have the car but book it into the garage for repair at your convenience". As it is we are totally in the dark.

Since you've said you don't know what the fault is, how do you know it's dangerous?


It could simply be that they've discovered that the seat stitching comes apart after first use, or that the lights in the radio fail when it's turned on, or that the steering wheel leather falls apart when it's cold.


The dealer/manufacturer appear to be doing the responsible thing, and trying to mitigate the risk of the customer being dissatisfied with their new car by fixing a problem before it's delivered.


I agree that asking you to pay for it is unreasonable, but I suspect the issue here is that you're not communicating your issues to the dealer effectively, and they're assuming you're fine with the situation because you haven't explicitly told them you are not.

Double_V

I sent mine back because of the leaked screen washer bottle.
And that is driving 2 minutes after the garage, washer light came on.
They fixed it the next day and gave me courtesy car. (better than my car)