Second hand car issues.

Luke_A

I purchased my first car (second hand) on the 7th April 2016. No issues until the break warning light came on between 15th - 20th Aug 16.
I filled the break fluid up with DOT4 on the 21st Aug 16, after referring to the manual, the warning light went off. As my car was still within warranty I called the dealership who I purchased it from and they said bring it & they will inspect it; so I booked the car in for the 25th Aug 16 to have it looked over.
After inspection, they informed me that the break fluid must have been low & topping it up did the job. All good to go.
AutoProtect warranty expired on 6th Oct 16.
Break warning light has come on twice since the dealer looked at my car, Nov 16 & Jan 17. Both times I topped up DOT4 fluid.
I'm not at all car savvy, & it wasn't until I was talking to a colleague about it that she said that the fluid shouldn't need topping up so much & that her husband is a mechanic, so he looked at the car for me & told me a there was a small leak coming from my clutch pipe.

I havent phoned the dealer, as I'm unsure about where I stand with this & don't want to be made a mug. I have also heard through friends & online reviews that the dealership is pretty unhelpful or cooperative with complaints/issues. So I want to call with strong facts & more knowledge of my rights.

So in a nutshell... I took the car to the dealership after a warning light came on. They said all is fine & good to go. My six month warranty has now expired. The mechanic has told me that the leak has probably been there for a while by the amount I have topped up with over the last few months.
Is this enough to prove the fault was there when I purchased the car?

If anybody has had a similar experience, your help/advice will be gratefully received!

marcarm

What outcome do you want?

Mechanic friend has found the leak and (presumably) fixed it, so there are no more issues?

Pipes can leak at any time and would probably be down to wear and tear.

What do you want to happen?

Luke_A

I want it (& need it) fixed but I before I folk out for it, I wanted to get some advice.
My mechanic friend hasn't fixed it yet, because he didn't have the part on site.

marcarm

If it were me, I would think a pipe failing is down to wear and tear. They can get thinner over time and eventually fail. You have had the car for 9 months or so, so proving a rubber pipe was faulty on purchase is going to be difficult.

You haven't said how old the car is, but if me, I would find a decent independent garage and get them to look at it, or your mechanic friend to sort it. I don't think you it'll have much of a claim against the dealer as parts do fail on cars, sometime you just have to suck it up and get it fixed, but others opinions may vary.