Scammed by used car dealership?

beakysian

debtdebt wrote: »

"it didn't quite constitute a MOT failure" - There you go. Roadworthy at the point of previous MOT.

I should clarify - I meant removed from the advisories as this would have clearly needed work at the time of last MOT. But yes, roadworthy at the time of testing

BeenThroughItAll

beakysian wrote: »

I should clarify - I meant removed from the advisories as this would have clearly needed work at the time of last MOT. But yes, roadworthy at the time of testing

A broken spring wouldn't be an advisory anyway, it'd be a fail.
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/m4s02000404.htm


Why are you so keen to prove it's the selling garage at fault and not your local 'trusted' garage?


You seem reluctant to give details of what they've invoiced you for, whilst being happy to point the finger at the seller.

motorguy

beakysian wrote: »

I bought a 2006 Ford Focus last August with 45k, 10 service stamps and a clean MOT (no advisories). I presented it for MOT and service this week and the MOT work has just cost me £1000 at my regular independent garage (service was cancelled as that is every penny I have at the moment). A huge amount of work has been carried out on the rear suspension that was so heavily corroded that one part had snapped long ago and corroded itself back into position. This is not damage that has occurred during my ownership, it has clearly been in a deteriorating state for a long time.

My question is, do I have any come back against the place I bought it from? I had two small items fixed under the 3 month warranty it came with but have no additional cover on it. However, my feeling and my garage agree, is that the extent of the deterioration would have been very clear to the mechanics in the dealership's onsite workshop and that it has been deliberately omitted from the records as it didn't quite constitute a MOT failure.

Do I have a leg to stand on? It has left me very upset as my previous car was draining my income, I gambled and invested in something I hoped would be more reliable and I'm now even worse off.

Thanks for reading.

£1000 for doing some rear suspension work on an 11 year old car? :eek:

Your "regular independent garage" are frankly having a laugh.

I've had some extensive suspension work done to quite a few cars down the line and they are taking the pee, frankly.

beakysian

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

A broken spring wouldn't be an advisory anyway, it'd be a fail.
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/m4s02000404.htm


Why are you so keen to prove it's the selling garage at fault and not your local 'trusted' garage?


You seem reluctant to give details of what they've invoiced you for, whilst being happy to point the finger at the seller.

The broken spring may be recent, extensive corrosion must have been developing for a long time.

Happy to share the invoice details when I get home. I wouldn't like to try to remember what's on it and get it wrong.

I don't particularly care who is at fault, I just feel that I've been 'had' somewhere here. If you re-check my OP, I haven't said that my garage is 'trusted', It's a busy independent I use because it's the only one in walking distance from my office. I have no idea if I should be trusting them.

davidwood123

Forget about the dealer that sold you the car.

The real cowboy is the guy at the garage

Tiddlywinks

beakysian wrote: »

I don't particularly care who is at fault, I just feel that I've been 'had' somewhere here. If you re-check my OP, I haven't said that my garage is 'trusted', It's a busy independent I use because it's the only one in walking distance from my office. I have no idea if I should be trusting them.

So, a garage has asked for £1000 in work on your elderly car and you didn't try to get a second opinion?

You have no more reason to believe what your garage is telling you the truth than you have to blame the guy that sold you the car.

You're going to have to accept that you won't get any joy in proving fault either with the seller or the garage as the work has been carried out so the 'evidence' of the condition has been removed.

You've got to accept that you should have been more careful in checking the facts before saying 'yes' to both buying the car and to authorising the repairs. Accept your part in it all and move on.

So, now you need to look to the future.... you are someone with limited knowledge of the mechanics of how cars work (just a fact, no blame or shame intended) so you need to work with that from now on.

Speak to people around you and get some recommendations for a trusted garage.

Accept that you might need to travel in order to get that good service.

Next time you buy a car, get someone to carry out an inspection before you hand over your money.

Consider taking some basic car maintenance classes at your local college - this will give you more confidence in dealing with the trade.

Join the owners club for your car - then you can see from the chatter just what things tend to go wrong and when.

Basically, make it harder for people to 'scam' you by arming yourself with knowledge.

Strider590

You absolutely cannot expect ANY dealer to put an honest MOT on a car your about to purchase, they know full well that in 12 months time when it fails, there will be absolutely no come back to them.


It also sounds to me like the garage is trying to simplify the fault in a way you will understand, but has failed miserably.

Why technicians & mechanics lie to customers

beakysian

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

So, a garage has asked for £1000 in work on your elderly car and you didn't try to get a second opinion?

You have no more reason to believe what your garage is telling you the truth than you have to blame the guy that sold you the car.

You're going to have to accept that you won't get any joy in proving fault either with the seller or the garage as the work has been carried out so the 'evidence' of the condition has been removed.

You've got to accept that you should have been more careful in checking the facts before saying 'yes' to both buying the car and to authorising the repairs. Accept your part in it all and move on.

So, now you need to look to the future.... you are someone with limited knowledge of the mechanics of how cars work (just a fact, no blame or shame intended) so you need to work with that from now on.

Speak to people around you and get some recommendations for a trusted garage.

Accept that you might need to travel in order to get that good service.

Next time you buy a car, get someone to carry out an inspection before you hand over your money.

Consider taking some basic car maintenance classes at your local college - this will give you more confidence in dealing with the trade.

Join the owners club for your car - then you can see from the chatter just what things tend to go wrong and when.

Basically, make it harder for people to 'scam' you by arming yourself with knowledge.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I always ask for recommendations and always end up at the wrong end of a huge bill. The last time I took a recommendation my car came back with more problems than it went in with so I haven't been back. When I don't know any mechanics, how do I know that the friends and relatives recommending a 'trusted' place to me aren't themselves being hustled?

beakysian

Strider590 wrote: »

It also sounds to me like the garage is trying to simplify the fault in a way you will understand, but has failed miserably.[/URL]

This sounds very likely. I would normally press for a full explanation but to be honest by the time they put my car back together at 6.30pm I was so upset by how much it had cost me I just left.

Tiddlywinks

beakysian wrote: »

Thanks for all your suggestions. I always ask for recommendations and always end up at the wrong end of a huge bill. The last time I took a recommendation my car came back with more problems than it went in with so I haven't been back. When I don't know any mechanics, how do I know that the friends and relatives recommending a 'trusted' place to me aren't themselves being hustled?

You have to make a judgement call about whether the person doing the recommending actually knows enough to know a good garage when they use one.

That's where car clubs can come in handy for local recommendations as well as finding someone who knows their way around the basics.

With my Mini I drive 30 miles to get work done instead of the four miles to my local dealer basically because of the feedback on the club site.

Similarly, over the decades I drove Volvos I still used my original garage for any work even though I'd moved forty miles away.... it was down to finding somewhere, building a relationship and then sticking with them. Tins of biscuits delivered to the mechanics for Christmas and friendly chats always make life easier too.

Start looking now BEFORE you really need work done so that you're not taken by surprise and desperate.