Car repairs while under HP

rach-83

I bought a Ford Focus approximately 18 months ago under Hire Purchase, the total amount payable under the agreement is £3495, with monthly payments of £67.61 over four years. Now the clutch has gone & I've been advised that this will need to be replaced along with some other parts & have been given a quote of £650 which has been backed up by a second mechanic. unfortunately I just don't have that sort of money at the moment. It has been suggested to me that the HP company should pay for a part of the repairs as the car has only done approximately 3200 miles since I've had it. I would appreciate advise as I really don't know what to do for the best!!

getmeouttahere

Unfortunately, it is you that is the one liable for the repairs. If you had bought the car under 'contract hire' then maybe the finance company would pay, but certainly not under HP.

Shaka_Zulu

I could burn your clutch out in an afternoon. Wear and tear.

motorguy

rach-83 wrote: »

I bought a Ford Focus approximately 18 months ago under Hire Purchase, the total amount payable under the agreement is £3495, with monthly payments of £67.61 over four years. Now the clutch has gone & I've been advised that this will need to be replaced along with some other parts & have been given a quote of £650 which has been backed up by a second mechanic. unfortunately I just don't have that sort of money at the moment. It has been suggested to me that the HP company should pay for a part of the repairs as the car has only done approximately 3200 miles since I've had it. I would appreciate advise as I really don't know what to do for the best!!

Nope. Not a mission.

Wear and tear.

waamo

Read your contract. I will bet it says you are liable.

System

A clutch is a consumable item the same as brake pads, oil, screenwash and petrol.

3200 miles in 18 months could suggest a lot of town driving which can wear out a clutch very quickly as it'll be doing a hell of a lot of gearchanges per mile compared to driving on a motorway and if you're the kind of person who sits at a junction riding the clutch or using clutch control to keep it on the bite point when waiting on an incline instead of using the handbrake then that'll kill it in no time too.

AdrianC

You've covered 3,200 miles in 18 months...?

What age of Focus are we talking about? £3,500 - including interest (and I'm guessing it's a VERY healthy APR for a poor-credit deal) - is right down in the shed end of the market. So, no, having the clutch fail is hardly unexpected at all.

arcon5

Shaka_Zulu wrote: »

I could burn your clutch out in an afternoon. Wear and tear.

Just because an item is wearable doesn't mean it has failed because of wear and tear

AdrianC

arcon5 wrote: »

Just because an item is wearable doesn't mean it has failed because of wear and tear

True. It may have failed because of material or production problems, instead of wear. Those kinds of failures tend to be relatively soon after fitting.

So how long has this clutch been in the car?

almillar

the car has only done approximately 3200 miles since I've had it

How many miles in total, though? If it was 100,000, the ol' girl was due a clutch.
If the car only has 5,000 miles in total, it would have to have been driven seriously badly to be put down to simply wear and tear - you'd have a better argument for a manufacturer problem, where you'd be due for some, or all of the repair/replacement to be paid for you. But I guess you've no idea how the previous owner drove it, so how can you prove to them that it's NOT wear and tear?