Feeling ripped off by car dealer

ggmad

On 16th February this year I paid £8,495 for a Land Rover Discovery 3, unfortunately with cash borrowed from a good friend, with a supposedly full 12 months warranty. I explained to the garage that I wanted a car I could have complete confidence in and that would not keep breaking down on me. They assured me this car was just what I was looking for.

On the way home from purchasing it the compressor failed, something else also failed but am not sure what it was. It was sent back the next day via Greenflag for repairs and also replace a reversing light bulb that was not working, despite having an MOT the day I bought it!!

On 16th March the bonnet kept flapping when driving, they found one of the cables was wrongly routed and had worn the catch out - this was replaced, paid for by the garage I purchased it from.

On the way to have this done all the warning lights came on - it was discovered one of the two egr valves had failed - the garage again paid for the parts but refused to pay for the labour nor having to put it on the computer to find out what the problem was. Over £100 out of pocket so far. This was replaced the following week, 23rd March.

The following day I towed my caravan 40 miles when it broke down on a very busy M56 motorway. This was towed to Deeside 4x4 who say the clutch has burnt out - I have been towing since 1980 so know how to tow and have never had a burnt out clutch before!!! The garage tried to say it was the fault of towing a caravan - a 350 ton(??) car which was designed for towing!!! It also has a split crossover pipe which was only visible when the gearbox was removed

Both the warranty company, who I paid £500 for their gold cover in my purchase price, are refusing to pay anything, saying they don't cover burnt out clutches, nor any pipes,etc and the garage are also saying the same, so basically, on top of the £1000 I've spent on extras, I've for a £9.500 car which is useless, stuck in a garage workshop, which needs £2,031 to repair, which I don't have the money for, having spent every penny on a useless piece of junk!!!

I have spoken to the Legal Team at the Camping and Caravanning Club and have sent the dealers an email called LETTER BEFORE ACTION demanding my money back and listing all the faults accusing them of being in breach of consumer rights act of 2015 sections 9 and 10 - I've only done 300 miles and towed 40 miles in the thing!!! The Legal Team say the garage knows it's at fault because of paying for all the other problems on it. I have sent them one email on 30th March which was ignored, then on discovering they have 3 email addresses sent a copy to each of those today, along with a printed version by registered email today, 30th March.

Will keep you informed of proceedings but in the meantime I have no transport so that's the end of my caravanning until something is sorted - and yes I am more than happy to name and shame - they are Rogers of Brock near Preston, Lancs.

Where do I go from here? I now have no car, cannot tow m caravan, and am out of pocket for nearly £10,000 because of the purchase price, extras I purchased for the car, and things I had to pay such as diagnostics at the garages due to warning lights showing, and labour for various jobs.:(

burlington6

Your first mistake was buying a Land Rover.

bigjl

For that budget you are going to get a Disco 3 near the end of its life.

And every manual Disco 3 Inlooked at a few years ago where hammered ex work hacks, so I bought a Pathfinder instead. For the price of a 6/7 ye old Disco3 I got a 3 1/2 year old Auto Pathfinder.

It didn't drive as nicely as a Disco3, but was reliable. The gearbox did break 4 months after I sold it, not sure if it was the common cooler problem or if the new owner had broke it by abusing it.

I would have bought a Disco 2 in your position, a Disco 3 is an expensive vehicle to run and they have common issues which yours has got (EGR vales on the 2.7 are a nightmare)

What was the point of your post though?

You have been given legal advice likely better than you will get on a non legal Internet forum?

Or did you just want to "out" the dealer you bought the vehicle from ?

Even a brand new vehicles warranty is unlikely to cover a clutch.

straighttalker

How many miles has the car done? Is there any evidence of a previous clutch change?

arcon5

Just document everything. Get the garage to give you the diagnosis in writing.

jbainbridge

You did send the letter before action by post? And keep proof of posting ?

worried_jim

Not often you see Land Rover and complete confidence in the same paragraph! Op I hope you get this sorted, sounds like you are getting good help from C&C club.

If you are going to replace it go Japanese for reliability.

AdrianC

ggmad wrote: »

On 16th February this year I paid £8,495 for a Land Rover Discovery 3... with a supposedly full 12 months warranty.

So about 10yo? An early Disco3, probably fairly high mileage, and definitely towards the lower end of prices.

replace a reversing light bulb that was not working, despite having an MOT the day I bought it!!

Reversing lights aren't part of the MOT.

On the way to have this done all the warning lights came on - it was discovered one of the two egr valves had failed - the garage again paid for the parts but refused to pay for the labour nor having to put it on the computer to find out what the problem was. Over £100 out of pocket so far. This was replaced the following week

What do the warranty Ts & Cs say?

The following day I towed my caravan 40 miles when it broke down on a very busy M56 motorway. This was towed to Deeside 4x4 who say the clutch has burnt out - I have been towing since 1980 so know how to tow and have never had a burnt out clutch before!!! The garage tried to say it was the fault of towing a caravan - a 350 ton(??) car which was designed for towing!!!

Clutches wear. That wear is accelerated with a higher load. Wear is never covered under warranties.

(BTW, I know Disco3s are lardy old barges, but 3.5t - fully loaded. 350t is more the weight of an intercity train. All of it...)

Both the warranty company, who I paid £500 for their gold cover in my purchase price, are refusing to pay anything, saying they don't cover burnt out clutches, nor any pipes,etc

OK, but you knew that before paying for the warranty, right...?

and yes I am more than happy to name and shame

This thread won't be about long, then.

Where do I go from here? I now have no car, cannot tow m caravan, and am out of pocket for nearly £10,000 because of the purchase price, extras I purchased for the car, and things I had to pay such as diagnostics at the garages due to warning lights showing, and labour for various jobs.:(

You've learned a very expensive lesson. Buying older, very complicated, vehicles with a reputation for expensive problems - and not leaving yourself ANY repair budget - is not a great idea. The clutch was clearly not showing any symptoms before it failed completely - heavy vehicle, heavy caravan, Easter BH weekend traffic on a notoriously traffic-prone m'way...? Stop-start-stop-start-stop-start?

Sure, you can throw good money after bad and take it legal. With the low mileage you've done since purchase, you might have a chance of winning.

almillar

£8,495 for a Land Rover Discovery 3

I wanted a car I could have complete confidence in and that would not keep breaking down on me. They assured me this car was just what I was looking for.

Does not compute.

clutch - unless you can prove it didn't last very long (since fitment, NOT since you bought it second hand), will be treated as a wear part, a consumable. If you test drove it and found it was slipping, you might have got a clue that it was near the end of its life, but I'm sure you know that towing will put a bigger strain on it, it was weak, and it failed. This is one place I think the garage is off the hook.

londonTiger

for the same money a toyota would have been problem free.

londonTiger

werent lard rover discoveries meant to be the more reliable car compared to the range rover footballers wives cars?