Car on finance needs repairs.

Dumayne23

This is a bit of a long story, and I feel like Im not getting anywhere. so,

October 2016 - Bought a used car (on finance)

October2016 - around 1 week after owning the car, took the car back to dealer because of problems with the coolant system. Repairs carried out (still in 28 warranty)

August 2017 (beginning) - Coolant lights comes on. Car taken to local garage. Suspected cylinder head cracked. Exhaust fumes possibly being pushed through the engine. Also suspected head gasket failure. Also assured the fault is not due to a lack of maintenance on my part.

This is where it starts getting confusing...

After hearing from the garage I rang my Finance company who told me - Ring the dealer and see what they say.

So I rang the dealer - They said the repairs were carried out over 6 months ago so they won't do anything unless they have an independent inspection.

Phoned finance back - The said they can't do anything either until I book the inspection.

So the inspection gets booked - costs me £200

Under different advice, I rang Citizens advice. They told me that under the Consumer rights act (2015) I should be entitled to a repair or replacement because I have not had reasonable use of the car, and because of the exhaust fumes the car is potentially unsafe. They also told me that it SHOULD have been the finance company that initially spoke to the dealer, and it SHOULD have been the finance company that booked and paid for the independant inspection, so I could claim back the money in loses.

When I told the finance company all of this they again, said they could help.

I now have the £200 report, that just says there is a problem with the coolant system and could have caused more damage. (well worth £200) The engineer also says that I will need a secondary report once I have paid a garage to dismantle the engine. I will then need to pay more money for a secondary inspection.

The car is a 62 plate and has 55,000 miles. I have just over 4 years left on the finance agreement. I feel like I'm losing my sanity over this, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I don't even know if Im going in the right direction. Can anyone shed some light on what to do next? whether this is all correct? Thanks

wgl2014

I think a claim under the CRA could prove difficult.

The car was repaired and presumably was ok for 10 months. How many miles did you do in this time? You would need to show the fault was already present at the time of sale (which is basically what the CRA covers) and not just that later on a cooling system fault occurred causing further damage.

Bear in mind a 15yr old car will have things wear out, just because you have finance doesn't automatically mean someone else will be liable for the bill.

Out of interest how much is the car worth and what's left owed? Seems like a long finance term for an older car.

Dumayne23

Yes, the car was okay for 10 months. The car was at 38,000 when I bought it, so 17,000 ( we were moving between cities at the time) Surely the fact it had to be repairs almost immediantly shows the fault was present at sale? (I realise in hindsight I should have rejected the car then)

The car is also 62 plate, my mistake, so is only 4 years old.

I still have 4 years left of paying, the car was priced at £3999.

Basically, should I just bite the bullet and pay the £1000 repair bill? Because getting rid the car is obviously not an option.

societys_child

Exhaust fumes possibly being pushed through the engine. Also suspected head gasket failure.

Hum, ok

and because of the exhaust fumes the car is potentially unsafe

:rotfl: Whoever said that really doesn't know what their talking about . . .

Dumayne23

societys_child wrote: »

Hum, ok

:rotfl: Whoever said that really doesn't know what their talking about . . .

Can you elaborate?

You may of already guessed, but I have no idea when it comes to cars

Retrogamer

1) What was the original issue with the cooling system that they fixed?

2) Did the engine overheat when the cylinder head gasket failed?

wgl2014

17000 miles isn't an insignificant amount and showing the fault was present at purchase and following the initial repair will still be difficult.

But... If the garage you bought from are willing to look at the engineer's report that may suggest they could be willing to help. Can you get the report done by somewhere you would be happy to use for the repairs if you have to pay yourself?
I would consider getting the report done and see what the garage says, if they are willing to pay in full or contribute to the cost happy days but if not you can still get the car working again and weigh up your options on claiming the costs back via court.

FWIW I still think the timeframe and use you've had makes the chance of claiming pretty low, if the garage do offer anything I would grab it quick!

Good luck in any case.

Dumayne23

Retrogamer wrote: »

1) What was the original issue with the cooling system that they fixed?

The coolant light came on, took it to the dealer, all we were told is that they replaced the head gasket, skimmed the head, replaced the radiator, replaced the thermostat, there was something else swell but I don't have the paper work with me and can't remember the rest.

2) Did the engine overheat when the cylinder head gasket failed?

I have no idea. The car doesn't have a temp gauge. The coolant light came on again. and when I stopped the coolant take was bubbling away like a kettle. The garage told me it over heats at 50C

Dumayne23

But... If the garage you bought from are willing to look at the engineer's report that may suggest they could be willing to help. Can you get the report done by somewhere you would be happy to use for the repairs if you have to pay yourself?

I had my own report from a garage I chose, the dealer said they would only accept an engineers report from somewhere like DEKRA, which cost me £200. The reports are fairly similar though, so I suppose thats a good thing.

if they are willing to pay in full or contribute to the cost happy days but if not you can still get the car working again and weigh up your options on claiming the costs back via court.

I would be more than happy if they just paid something towards it.

Good luck in any case.

Thanks, I would've just paid the repairs myself if I knew that was the case, would've saved me the £200 at least. I only pursued it because I kept getting told different things.

Retrogamer

Dumayne23 wrote: »

I have no idea. The car doesn't have a temp gauge. The coolant light came on again. and when I stopped the coolant take was bubbling away like a kettle. The garage told me it over heats at 50C

The garage are talking nonsense if they're telling you it overheats at 50C
Normal operating temp is usually around 75-85C for most cars and you only start to get into overheating territory when coolant temp gets to 110C+ usually.

Had the coolant level dropped much after repairs when checking it?

What car is it and what engine?

Dumayne23

I think I may need to take the car to a different garage

I was under the impression that the coolant level was dropping quite quickly but the report from deka says the levels were adequate.

Its a vauxhall corsa.

The finance company just phoned, they are looking at report and should let me know what will happen in the next couple of days.