Help! I was sold a car not suitable for the type of journey I do

Taradiamond1

Hello all,

I probably do not have a leg too stand on here but I need your advice. In November 2014 I bought a used vw Golf diesel from my local das welt vw franchise. Unbeknown to me,( I did do some research and asked around, but being a life long diesel golf driver I kinda thought I knew what I was getting) it has a diesel particulate filter fitted that filters soot out of diesel. All fine if you are doing lots of motorway driving as the filter remains at such a temperature on long constant speed drives that any soot remaining on the filter is burnt off.

I do not do frequent motorway drives....once a week from April to September. The rest is short stop start journeys to and from work, school shops etc round little country lanes.

The dpf light comes on at least once a week...I follow the instructions to regenerate it...40mph forces mins in 4th gear...however for the 3rd time this has failed. The garage I use has done 2 forced regeneration and a special dpf clean, leaving me now no choice but to replace the filter at a cost of around £1500.

This is nuts. I literally do not have the money and am up to my maximum with over drafts and credit. I was wondering whether I could claim any sort of compensation from the car dealership? If they had explained this to me at the time of sale I would not of chosen this particular engine!

FYI. ..car no longer under warranty

Any help would be appreciated and I hope I have given you mechanics and car nuts something to giggle at my attempt at explaining the problem!!

glentoran99

no you cant claim anything, Dealers sell cars that's all, up to you if its the right car for your needs

bigjl

No you can't.

GwylimT

No you have no come back, if the warranty was still on going it would be worthless as your driving has caused the issue.

Poppie68

Also posted in Consumer Rights...

Taradiamond1

Thanks for the advice everyone, I did have a feeling you all might say that but thought it was worth asking! I have always had diesel vw golfs (this is my 4th! ) without any of this issue...my mileage really varies depending on work with high mileage in summer when I am visiting sites and lower in winter. I guess the filters in the newer models need more maintenance!

You can tell I am pretty desperate here as literally cannot afford to fix it now so I will write a letter to them to say that I feel that they should advise prospective purchases of this prior to purchase. It's anot awful situation to be in and would hate it to happen to someone else!

glentoran99

Taradiamond1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone, I did have a feeling you all might say that but thought it was worth asking! I have always had diesel vw golfs (this is my 4th! ) without any of this issue...my mileage really varies depending on work with high mileage in summer when I am visiting sites and lower in winter. I guess the filters in the newer models need more maintenance!

You can tell I am pretty desperate here as literally cannot afford to fix it now so I will write a letter to them to say that I feel that they should advise prospective purchases of this prior to purchase. It's anot awful situation to be in and would hate it to happen to someone else!

Never going to happen, as they would be opening themselves up to be actually liable for issues such as yours

Poppie68

Taradiamond1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone, I did have a feeling you all might say that but thought it was worth asking! I have always had diesel vw golfs (this is my 4th! ) without any of this issue...my mileage really varies depending on work with high mileage in summer when I am visiting sites and lower in winter. I guess the filters in the newer models need more maintenance!

You can tell I am pretty desperate here as literally cannot afford to fix it now so I will write a letter to them to say that I feel that they should advise prospective purchases of this prior to purchase. It's anot awful situation to be in and would hate it to happen to someone else!

It will happen to others if dealers advise them or not, it's not a dealer problem it's a buyer's lack of research.

I'm nowhere near a car enthusiast but before I spend money I spend numerous hours researching potential problems etc, so much so that I have been known to of walked straight to the desk and placed an order without having to ask any questions..My money so I'm going to protect myself.

mark5

How many miles do you do each week?

Changing the topic slightly but make sure your following the 12 month service regime and avoid the longlife service regime as its not suited to your driving style. (Ideally use VW spec oil and if the air filter hasn't been changed for a while, get it done)

I also use BP or Shell diesel and avoid supermarkets, this is because I buy into the theory that it's better quality fuel, it's not a proven fact though so take it with a pinch of salt.

You ideally want longer trips so that the dpf can operate at the correct temp for long enough to regenerate, the cleaner the engine runs will help as well though.

If you plan to keep the car I would look at how you could include a longer run into your regular driving style for example my wife drives about 10 miles to work and her furthest call from work is about another 12 miles further away again. At one time she would have drove the 10 miles to work, picked up her calls, drove the 12 miles to the furthest away call then done her calls working back towards home but by working from the office outwards to the furthest call she has a 22 mile drive home. Same total distance travelled, same time spent travelling roughly. (That's just an example but hope you get what I mean)

thescouselander

Sounds like the car in might have a fault. Yes, the dpf does need to regenerate but it should do an active regen if a passive regen is not possible such as when driving round town.

One thing to do is look out for the car doing an active regen and don't interrupt it by turning the engine off - just drive round the block for a bit until it's finished.

masterlumps

Get the dpf sorted and take it for a run every now and then.

Literally thousands of taxis are Diesel engines and they do more stop, start slow town driving than anyone.