Second Hand cars/section 75.

Mazzone10

Hi all,
I purchased a 2002 Mini Cooper last Sunday for £1200 from a sole trader dealer. I am happy with the car overall but it does have a couple of faults. The one fault which the dealer told me about was the boot catch sensor needs replacing which I was happy to sort myself and knocked the price down by £90. I did notice though after a few days that the boot wasnt locking correctly. Now after trial and error and checking obvious things, the fuses, replacing keep fob battery its obvious that the central locking isnt at all and hasnt since I purchased it. I can live with this but the bigger issue is that the boot doesn't lock and the car effectively isn't locked, and could invalidate the insurance. This wasnt pointed out to me by the dealer.
I did get a 30 day engine and gearbox warranty from him but this obviously doesn't cover the locking issue. I'm going to call him tomorrow and at the moment will give him the benefit of the doubt but if things do get a bit hairy what am I armed with?
I have been reading a little on this but I did pay on credit card so am I covered with a section 75 claim?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

Mark.

[simon]

Oh dear. Sell it on...

Mazzone10

...is that meant to be helpful?

System

You bought a car with a fault with the boot locking mechanism for which you were willing to accept a £90 reduction. The car has a boot locking mechanism fault. Given you knew it existed, bought the car and were compensated for it with a price reduction how far do you think a claim under Section 75 is going to go?

CRA, like SOGA, requires you to give the retailer the chance to remedy the situation first so first you need to exhaust that and give them the chance to fix it before going any further.

Mazzone10

There are two separate faults...sorry I didn't explain it very well. The boot sensor was the known fault, this

Mazzone10

...sorry posted too early.

There are two faults on the car...

The boot sensor...this is where the car thinks one of the doors is open and the light doesn't go out on the dash. This was the known fault, hence the price reduction.

The second fault is the central locking doesn't work at all, meaning the boot cannot be locked. It can be closed, not locked as there is no manual keyhole. This is the issue I need to contact the dealer about.

Aylesbury_Duck

I think they are the same fault. The fact that the car doesn't register the boot as closed means it can't be locked. I'm afraid it looks to me like you are a bit stuck because you knew of the fault, negotiated a discount but didn't understand the consequences of the fault. Presumably you planned to spend the £90 getting the sensor fixed/replaced, which I think will solve the central locking problem.

Mazzone10

Thanks for the reply.

Maybe you are correct and it could be the same thing. I've spend some time digging around on forums and they appear to be two separate issues. I will see what he says tomorrow but the fault was just explained to me as the boot sensor needs replacing and the light on the dash wont go out. Had I known it was a central locking issue and the boot won't lock I would've thought twice about buying it or at least knocked the price down further.

Aylesbury_Duck

I'd be surprised if they are separate problems. Surely if the car thinks the boot is open, it won't engage central locking? I don't think you're likely to get far with the dealer in the first instance, I think you need to get the sensor sorted out first at your expense, then go back to the dealer if you then have evidence that the locking problem is separate. Even then, at £1200 for a 15 year old car, I'm not sure you'll get anywhere.

rich13348

Sounds like the same problem to me. If the car thinks the boot is open then it will not lock the boot or any door.

Replace the sensor first, then if the problem still exists, go back to the dealer.

here is a replacement locking mechanism for £25

Mazzone10

Thanks mate.

Is your fixed now?