Diesel car sold to me as petrol car

pete9804

Thank you stator (and one or two others responding in a similar vein) that's all I really needed to hear! Posted originally in a bit of a flap and just needed talking down.

I've learned two things today: (1) it seems you always need to do more due diligence than you think, possibly even than you are aware of and (2) never admit to human frailty on the internet!!

Mercdriver

pete9804 wrote: »

Having never bought a car before (shows huh!) I wasn't aware what I might have to check e.g. V5, never having heard of it. Car was bought on finance and prior to signing on the line had checked thoroughly all the documentation I had been sent. How is the make of car important? They have them in petrol and diesel versions so not sure what that would tell the thread. Also not sure what you mean by "badges" on the back other than the type of car it is?

Apologies if my reply was a little strident.

Usually, there will be some demarkation like 1.8D or similar. I'm surprised there is no diesel written on the fuel filler cap. Is it an original one or a temporary/permanent non-OEM replacement?

You should always check the V5 as it will tell you things the dealer might not want you to know - Cat C/D for example, whether the car has ever been imported, which can affect its resale.

Oh and if you are inexperienced, don't go into the lion's den of a car showroom without someone with experience. It helps to prevent them from blinding you from being observant about important details, or a second pair of eyes to go through the paperwork.

pete9804

Beenthroughitall:

Obvious to you and many others no doubt but not so obvious that it should override the words "Fuel Type: Petrol" on all the sales documents. The badge on the back just say the maker and the model and that's it; no assortment of letters (Ds or otherwise) or anything else to differentiate between the petrol and diesel versions of that make of car.

And yes you are right, but hindsight and experience are wonderful aren't they?

pete9804

Mercdriver: appreciated, thank you. Yes I'm going to chalk this one down to experience!

BeenThroughItAll

pete9804 wrote: »

Obvious to you and many others no doubt but not so obvious that it should override the words "Fuel Type: Petrol" on all the sales documents. Presumably the presence of a capital "D" would render me a naive idiot. The badge on the back just say the maker and the model and that's it; no assortment of letters (Ds or otherwise) or anything else to differentiate between the petrol and diesel versions of that make of car. And yes you are right, but hindsight and experience are wonderful aren't they? Hope you never get in a pickle about something you are doing for the first time, bet you are really unforgiving on yourself.

Yeah, I am. When I spent 25K on a motorhome in 2015, I found a whole load of mechanical and electrical problems when I collected it which cost me another 2+K to resolve.

I didn't blame the dealership and get indignant about it though, I accepted that if I'd done a better job of looking at what I was buying rather than getting seduced by the shininess of it and buying with my heart, I'd have avoided a significant amount of additional cost and subsequent loss when I sold it six months later because it wasn't actually a suitable van for what I wanted to use it for. I call it 'taking responsibility'.

henry24

tho wrote: »

You described a break down as not dangerous, just inconvenient. If it's on your drive I agree. The hard shoulder of a motorway on the other hand is one of the most dangerous places you can be, never mind if it conks out in the fast lane.

That's something I don't understand the hard shoulder is such a dangerous place but the police always stop drivers on it they never take them to a safe place off the motorway.

Mercdriver

pete9804 wrote: »

Mercdriver: appreciated, thank you. Yes I'm going to chalk this one down to experience!

Is the fact that it is a diesel a deal-breaker for you? Would you have bought the car if you knew it was a diesel?

The fact that you didn't notice does weaken your arm slightly, but I still think you have right on your side if all the sales documentation consistently states Diesel.

How many miles do you drive? If you only do short journeys diesel may not be right for you.

Give it some thought. Basically the car isn't as described. You will most likely get these questions from the dealer also about how you didn't notice. It all depends how much you want to fight it.

macman

If you can please tell us the make and exact model, we can advise you how you could have ID'd it as a diesel, and hopefully avoid making a similar mistake in future (or others).
The other crucial reasons for checking the V5C are to cross check mileage, no. of owners, if Cat D, etc etc against the questions you need to ask the seller about it's condition.
I've never known a diesel car that didn't have a sticker or warning printed on or around the filler cap. How far did you drive it after refuelling with petrol? If you've gone any distance then severe engine damage may have occurred, and I would expect the dealer to want to recover that cost from you. Clearly the vehicle was miss-sold, but the dealer may take the view that the resultant damage is in large part due to your negligence in filling it with petrol.

Herzlos

We're certainly being a bit harsh on the guy here. If it's his first car sale, from a large chain dealer, he's presumably expecting some level of competence / professionalism that doesn't exist.

If there's no badge on the back with a 'D' in it, you're not familiar with V5's or engines, or driving characteristics, then it might not be that obvious. Compounded with the fact he used the 7 days free insurance, so didn't have any independent lookup as to the fuel type, and it's just a series of unfortunate omissions running into a problem.

To avoid the sort of thing happening again:
1. Assume the dealer is lying / doesn't know what he is talking about, and double check everything.
2. Get an HPI done, usually costs a couple of quid, and there are services you can text and get an instant response.
3. Look at all of the paperwork yourself, particularly the V5 (which tells you all about the car and it's history) you're looking for: an indication that the seller owns the car, how many keepers it has, what engine/fuel type it is, that it doesn't have a cat C/D write-off, and ideally that the VIN matches the car.
4. Get an insurance quote before buying the car - you'd have been screwed if you were refused insurance or the price was much higher than expected - the dealer wouldn't take it back.
5. Give everything a thorough look over, even if you aren't that familiar with cars. Anything that looks like rust? That wobbles when you push it? Looks particularly tatty? Do the tyres have lots of tread and do chunks missing? Don't feel ashamed to ask the dealer questions like "Is it meant to look like that?"
6. If you're unsure or not confident, companies like the AA and RAC will do an inspection for you for around £99.

Aylesbury_Duck

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

If you want good advice, then it's important to give all the facts, not drip feed them whilst getting indignant when others don't tell you what you want to hear.

Sums up a lot of threads on here, would make a good autosignature.