Jaguar s type

Sur

Bought s type 19 months ago for 11,000. Cylinder no 5 has blown on engine after only 39,000 miles. Jaguar having nothing to do with it.

neilmcl

Sur wrote: »

Bought s type 19 months ago for 11,000. Cylinder no 5 has blown on engine after only 39,000 miles. Jaguar having nothing to do with it. Paid deposit of £500 on credit card so contacted them. They said I have to prove car was faulty when bought. I have paid £600 for a garage to take engine apart and show there is a hole in cylinder no 5. Credit card company are saying still haven't proved faulty when bought. Even though you would expect an engine to do well over 100,000 miles. I am desperate any advice please.

You've had all the advice you need from your CC company. You need to prove that the fault existed at the time of sale, anything could have happened in the 19mths you've owner the car.

How old is it?

naedanger

Sur wrote: »

Bought s type 19 months ago for 11,000. Cylinder no 5 has blown on engine after only 39,000 miles. Jaguar having nothing to do with it. Paid deposit of £500 on credit card so contacted them. They said I have to prove car was faulty when bought. I have paid £600 for a garage to take engine apart and show there is a hole in cylinder no 5. Credit card company are saying still haven't proved faulty when bought. Even though you would expect an engine to do well over 100,000 miles. I am desperate any advice please.

One suggestion:

Ask the credit card company for the names of some independent engineers whose word they would accept on whether or not the fault, more likely than not, existed when you purchased the car. (By the way, some thought will be needed to define what we mean by faulty - something along the lines of in a condition that was inferior to what would be reasonably expected for a vehicle of its age and condition at the point of sale and taking account of the price paid.) Also get them to confirm that they will pay for the cost of a report from one of those engineers if they conclude the fault probably existed when you purchased the car.

Then if they provide some names, then commission a report. If the engineer finds in your favour go back to the credit card company and claim. (Note there is a risk the report will not conclude in your favour, in which case you will lose your claim and the cost of the report.)

If the credit card company refuse to supply names of independent engineers or are not willing to agree in advance that they will pay for the engineer's report in the event the engineer concludes the fault probably existed when you bought the car, then formally complain that you believe they are being unreasonable and ask for a copy of their complaints procedure. Then follow that, to the Financial Ombudsman if necessary. (Again no guarantee the Ombudsman will rule in your favour.)

[By the way, depending on the cost, I am not sure I would risk paying for a report.]

bod1467

OP states they've already spent £600 on a report, which the CC company have rejected as not proving a fault existed at the point of sale.

OP - can you show us a copy of the report (redacted of any personal or identifiable info)? The key will be in how the report is worded.

Keep_pedalling

On a car that is at least 8 years old, things fail regardless of milage. You don't really have a case.

neilmcl

naedanger wrote: »

One suggestion:

Ask the credit card company for the names of some independent engineers whose word they would accept on whether or not the fault, more likely than not, existed when you purchased the car. (By the way, some thought will be needed to define what we mean by faulty - something along the lines of in a condition that was inferior to what would be reasonably expected for a vehicle of its age and condition at the point of sale and taking account of the price paid.) Also get them to confirm that they will pay for the cost of a report from one of those engineers if they conclude the fault probably existed when you purchased the car.

Then if they provide some names, then commission a report. If the engineer finds in your favour go back to the credit card company and claim. (Note there is a risk the report will not conclude in your favour, in which case you will lose your claim and the cost of the report.)

If the credit card company refuse to supply names of independent engineers or are not willing to agree in advance that they will pay for the engineer's report in the event the engineer concludes the fault probably existed when you bought the car, then formally complain that you believe they are being unreasonable and ask for a copy of their complaints procedure. Then follow that, to the Financial Ombudsman if necessary. (Again no guarantee the Ombudsman will rule in your favour.)

[By the way, depending on the cost, I am not sure I would risk paying for a report.]

The CC company are not going to provide names of independent engineers and they're not disputing the OP's source as an expert. All they are saying is simply stating what the fault is in itself not proof that it existed at the time of purchase.

Complaining to the FOS is a wast of time imho.

naedanger

neilmcl wrote: »

The CC company are not going to prove names of independent engineers and they're not disputing the OP's source as an expert.

Do you speak for the credit card company?

If the cc company are happy with the op's expert then he should ask his expert to "confirm whether or not the fault, more likely than not, existed when [they] purchased the car". If the expert says that the fault, more likely than not, did exist when they purchased the car then they should submit their claim to the cc company. (However, personally, I would not be sure the cc company won't dispute the op's source as an expert.)

All they are saying is simply stating what the fault is in itself not proof that it existed at the time of purchase.

That is all I thought they were saying too. However I would try to preempt any argument about the choice of expert later.

Complaining to the FOS is a wast of time imho.

At this stage yes. But the cc company have more responsibility towards the op than the company that sold the car. They have to ensure they treat their customers fairly and reasonably and not just in line with the law. And FOS will assess the case accordingly i.e. not just in line with the law.

naedanger

Sur wrote: »

Would you not expect a car engine to last more than 39,000 miles, that is the argument .

Yes, I think you would normally expect a well maintained engine, subject to normal usage, in a reasonably premium car, to last more then 39k miles. (Although I am not so sure if this would still be true if the car was 8 years or older.)

If it did not last enough miles you would be arguing the engine was not sufficiently durable when bought.

However the problem may not be lack of durability, but misuse (e.g. being run at very high revs for long periods), lack of maintenance, possibly age related failure etc.

In law, 6 months after sale, the onus is on the buyer to prove, on the balance of probability, that the engine was inherently faulty e.g. lacked sufficient durability at purchase. The usual way of getting this proof is by obtaining an expert's report stating that an inherent fault was more likely than not the cause of the failure.

arcon5

An engine should last 5x that. But they can fail through a variety of reasons.... some due to manufacturing defects, some due to poor maintenance... such as not monitoring oil level, since most cars burn some.

So all you've produced is details of the damage.. they want prove the problem is down to a manufacturers fault.

Keep_pedalling

Sur wrote: »

Shouldn't a car engine last longer than 39,000 miles.

Not nessasarily, if those 39,000 miles had been made up of lots of short journeys then engine wear would be significantly higher than with fewer longer journeys.

bod1467

Sur wrote: »

Shouldn't a car engine last longer than 39,000 miles.

Would also depend on how many miles were already on the clock, the age and general condition of the vehicle, and the price paid.