Diesel car sold to me as petrol car

unholyangel

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Erm, the OP said that the car "conked out on the motorway" and went on to say they were "needlessly put in a dangerous situation".


They're right. Breaking down on a motorway is, indeed, a dangerous situation.

You have to wonder why they entered the motorway when (from what they said in their OP) they were fully aware of the engine problems some time before the car conked out.

I'm not intending to be harsh on the OP, we all make mistakes (especially if we lack the experience to tell us what the sensible option is). But imo OP is wrong to blame that part on the garage. It could have been avoided if they themselves had taken reasonable care and hopefully OP will reconsider if ever in a similar position in future.

As for the car itself, ofc OP is entitled to receive goods that were as described and the dealer remains liable to provide a remedy. OP may also have a claim if they incurred additional costs due to the dealers breach (ie they should be put back into the position they would have been in had the contract not been entered).


OP, I know it doesn't help for now but in future, never trust the say so of someone who has an interest in trying to part you from your money. Always double check what they tell you. Hope you find a car you like without too much hassle and that the garage are making sure you aren't left worse off due to their mistake.

Geoff1963

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2008/05/16/m50_colour_piece_feature.shtml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GuBdvA7Qus

Robisere

The garage where I was a foreman once ran a car & van hire business. We had a Diesel Minibus which the local Angling Club wanted to hire for a weekend fishing trip and the nominated driver was the brother of a filling station owner, so took the bus down to his brother's place for a discount fill-up. I told him it was a diesel engine, there was a large sticker across the dash in block cap's "THIS VEHICLE HAS A DIESEL ENGINE." There was a legend around the filler cap "DIESEL FUEL ONLY."

We had a call to recover the bus later that day from the motorway, they had travelled only a couple of miles on the M1 when the petrol they poured into a diesel fuel tank, caused a breakdown. This cost me a longer Saturday, removing fuel lines, draining, cleaning and refilling the tank, fitting a new fuel pump and clearing all lines. I was not best pleased, but my boss was even less pleased at the overtime he had to pay. Those people were muppets, but I don't believe that the OP would have missed the clues that they missed.

S**t happens sometimes, just one of those things, human error. Move on, OP, a lesson learned.

Mercdriver

kmb500 wrote: »

Well I can only speak from my experience, wouldn't want to speculate. but of the dealers - franchised garages and second hand ones - only one has been half decent. the other however-many were all varying extents of dodgy / lying / scummy in terms of trying to take your money.

Come on then, KMB, tell us how many cars you have bought from how many dealers. We are waiting with bated breath.

Is it two? You're basing your opinion on two experiences? Not a very big sample size is it?

People often speak ill of sales people, and much of it, but not all, is based on urban myth.

I remember telling my younger brother not to go to carcraft on his own. He did, and ended up paying too much for a 6 year old Saxo and was put on a really bad finance package at silly %. I walked out of there when I was with my wife as they tried to sell us an identical car to what she had (red R reg Fiat Punto) a year newer for almost twice what they would give for hers. They kept talking about the cost per week. I asked them was the money taken weekly and was told no, and told them to stop quoting by the week, and when they didn't stop doing this, we got up and walked away ignoring the sales manager's calls to return.

The reason there is pressure selling at car supermarkets is that it is very target driven for the sales staff. It isn't all about the commission, but about hitting sales targets, so staff will do what they can to hit the targets so they will keep their jobs.

I used to be a sales manager for a national mobile phone shop, and believe me it doesn't take long to manage staff out of a job for missing sales targets. It can be as simple as missing target 3 months in a row. Verbal, written warning, then final written warning, then a meeting without biscuits and out the door.

That's the reason some but not all car supermarkets are a hotbed of pressure selling.

I have friends that have been to Motorpoint and according to them, they received decent service.

When I bought my Mazda, from a Franchised dealer (they have a few branches but aren't huge) there was nothing in the way of pressure selling and I asked about targets. I saw charts in the sales manager's office and the targets weren't simple sales. They were rated on service too.

Different staff will have different tactics. Some will not be as pressuring as they can find that they get more referrals and repeat custom that way. Some will take route one and just box sell. Those are the ones to watch out for.

It's the customer's job to educate themselves as much as possible and ask as many questions as possible and if they feel that the sales staff are taking route one and aren't getting decent service, they need to challenge that behaviour and be in control of the interaction.

You also have to remember that they are (mostly) human too. Go in with the attitude that they are all lying thieving bar stewards and you won't get the best out of them. It's a two way street. You want the best deal you can out of them. Being an ar5e is unlikely to get you what you want

Give them enough rope to hang themselves with.

There are bad apples who just want to make as much money as fast as they can, but there are also decent staff that have good aftercare. Much of it is to do with the working atmosphere.

Your straw sample of 2 retailers is pretty poor as far as backing up your generalisation.

There are retailers that want to sell a product on its merits rather than simply box sell, and you'll usually get better service from them, and you'll usually buy more from them in the long term.