recently bough a car, need help and advice

sindii_2

I purchased a car on the 10th of september 2007 from a car dealer.
The vehicle is a Volkwagen Polo 1.4l

On driving the vehicle home i had it switch off on me twice which it hadn't done on a test drive. The next day the vehicle switched off 3 times in about 25miles of driving.

I gave the dealer a ring and let them know of the problem and they told me to bring it in for checking. I then found that the horn also didn't function and told them of this too.

When i took my car to the garage on the 11th of september I asked for a refund as the car was faulty but they said I couldn't have a refund and that they would check and repair it so I agreed to this as I had little choice.
They just put fuel injector cleaner or something like that( they were unclear) into my fuel and said it should be ok now. All this without checking the engine other than having the bonnet up and saying it looked ok, they also told me to go and put a fuse in for the horn which i did myself.

The car has been continuously cutting out almost everyday randomly and the horn seems to be going off automatically( sometimes often) now while i am driving.
I have just found out the car had 2 new wishbones put on some time in the past but the tracking hadn't been set so I have now had to pay for this done on the 20th of september and will also have to payup for 2 new tyres due to the tracking problem causing wear on my tyres.
All this in the space of 2 weeks!
I have been on the phone to them a few times and am taking the car in for a check again on Monday the 24th of september, they say they will send it to the garage again but im worried they will just do the same again eg nothing.

What are my rights and where do I stand?

harveybobbles

Sale of Goods Act (1979)

The Sale of Goods Act (1979) obliges car dealers to sell cars of 'satisfactory quality' to which they have good title.
Other important legislation under the Trade Descriptions Act (1968), binding dealers to describe cars accurately; and the Road Traffic Acts which requires all vehicles displayed, offered or sold to be in roadworthy condition.

harveybobbles

Sale of Goods legislation rules that the car must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable, bearing in mind the way it was described, how much it cost, and any other relevant circumstances. Apart from usual wear and tear, a used vehicle must be free from defects - except ones pointed out to you and those which should have been uncovered by an inspection (but only if one has been done).

harveybobbles

What should you do if you are unhappy with the vehicle you have purchased?

Return to the dealer and, if he refuses to take action, contact the following organisations for advice (links open in a new window):

• The Office of Fair Trading
• Trading Standards
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF)
• Society of Motor Manufacturer And Traders (SMMT)
• The Institute of Automotive Engineers and Assessors (IAEA) (for a fee, they will provide an independent assessment)
• The National Caravan Council (for CRiS)

harveybobbles

You can't ask for a refund just becase it cuts out every now and then. You have to let the dealer know this fault and attempt to fix it in reasonable time. Did he give any warranty with the car?

sindii_2

It doesn't cutout every now and then, it does it regularly and sometimes at high speed!

They gave me a 28day warranty and hopefully they can fix the problems. I also got him to sign and stamp a contract i had printed out that stated any faults of the car, make, mileage, if it was a write off etc, the only fault he wrote was about a crack on the windscreen. Can i use this as proof/evidence?

The horn thing is just plain mad and is very embarrasing, driving down the street and the horn honking. Did they know of this fault and intentionally remove the fuse?

If the problem doesn't get fixed though and they keep saying they will fix it but don't i will then contact those links.

Edit: Also, what if they keep trying to fix it and they don't but 4weeks down the line say, well it's too late now?

harveybobbles

They shouldn't. As long as you have pointed out any faults within the 28 days then they should honour them even 5 months down the line if the fault is still there. We do in our garage. But then again, we're Trading Standards Aproved...

Also if the horn is faulty, then the car would probably not pass an MOT. There for making it NOT roadworthy. Which it has to be. (See post #2 above).

sindii_2

well the lights on the rear reg plate dont work either! Does that count in mot?

harveybobbles

It's a grey area. I'd pass it with advice if I knew the person. But it's normally a fail.

tomstickland

Lights and horn will most likely be simple electrical fualts - poor connection or blown bulb etc.
The cutting out is more serious and you should make it clear to the garage that you require it to be fixed.

harveybobbles

Have a spy of this...

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/repository/MOT%20Inspection%20Checklist%20(VT%2040).pdf

You could always have an indipendant check done of the car yourself. Use it as evidence, if needed...