Used Car Issue (BMW 118i)

KatieDee

DoaM wrote: »

Small claims are decided on the balance of probabilities ... unless they could offer evidence to the contrary then what you have and plan to do should suffice.

Thank you

And one final question - on the phone I suggested to him that I stopped using the car until Wednesday when I drop it off. He said this was unnecessary.

Just to cover myself, am I better not using the vehicle in the meantime?

DoaM

You're definitely better not using it (if you can reasonably avoid doing so). Less risk of something happening to it.

Did you record the mileage on your trade in vehicle? (Be interesting to see if the mileage has changed in the meantime. If it has then they may have devalued your trade in; in which case you could query their "admin charge").

KatieDee

DoaM wrote: »

You're definitely better not using it (if you can reasonably avoid doing so). Less risk of something happening to it.

Did you record the mileage on your trade in vehicle? (Be interesting to see if the mileage has changed in the meantime. If it has then they may have devalued your trade in; in which case you could query their "admin charge").

In all honesty, I'm happy to take the hit for this "admin charge". I have no doubts that if I took this car for an independent assessment and then went to court, I would win. I just cannot manage the additional stress this would bring, as I've already spend so many hours and sleepless nights on the car already.

It's easier just to pay the amount to make the return beneficial for him and move on. I understand the car is faulty and therefore, the charge shouldn't even exist, but if it makes things easier then I'm ok with that.

Thank you for the tip though

neilmcl

I suppose it depends how much this "admin fee" is. Strictly speaking they must give you a full refund so they can't charge any fees at all. Also be aware that if they can't give your trade-in back then they must provide the value they agreed it was worth when you exchanged it as outlined in your original invoice.

KatieDee

Apologies for the bump - I didn't want to start a new thread, given the limited update I have!

So I didn't receive any response to my confirmation email, meaning that effectively I had no proof that any agreement had been made. I decided to seek further guidance and was advised to officially reject the car via letter, delivered to the business via recorded delivery, which I have done. The letter is a simple rejection explaining why I am rejecting the car and under what legislation.

I was told that the admin fee was extortionate, and this shouldn't even be discussed when rejecting the car, so now I'm not sure whether to go along with the charge to make the situation easier, or whether to refuse all together.

The letter was signed for on the 23rd, so I know it has arrived. However, I still haven't had any response via email or telephone. He has 14 days to respond to the letter, otherwise I need to contact my adviser again.

This has been going on for quite a while now, and I am not using the car in the meantime which means it's causing much inconvenience. I would just like to get some kind of outcome!

Is it a good idea to contact him and try to resolve this? I now have a call recorder on my phone, so will be able to record any agreements (providing I inform him beforehand). I would also like to resolve this before resorting to court. Or should I just leave him to respond?

Getting more and more anxious about speaking to him on the phone, as I've been fobbed off so many times and he can be quite a scary person. Help!

neilmcl

I thought you already agreed to hand the car back to them this week Wednesday. I don't see that anything you do right now is going to change anything. Just wait until Wednesday, or whenever you agreed to go in, and take it from there. As far as formal letters of rejection and not paying the admin fee, we've already told you this.

KatieDee

neilmcl wrote: »

I thought you already agreed to hand the car back to them this week Wednesday. I don't see that anything you do right now is going to change anything. Just wait until Wednesday, or whenever you agreed to go in, and take it from there. As far as formal letters of rejection and not paying the admin fee, we've already told you this.

He said he couldn't do anything until next Wednesday, as this is when his manager returns from holiday, so it wasn't really a "bring it in on Wednesday" agreement - as far as I know, this is the point in which he can refund me, but I haven't got any of this in writing.

This is why I decided to make the formal rejection in writing, rather than allowing it to be mostly implied (and obviously, on your guidance). I'm quite conscious of the fact that he has avoided contact so far, and I think that has made me a bit sensitive to ulterior motives or delay tactics.

So really, rather than calling him again to confirm he has received the letter (I know he has), I'd be better off leaving it until his manager returns and contacting him then?

The adviser said it wasn't reasonable for him to refuse to deal with the matter until his manager returned, as there should be somebody who can deal with these issues in his absence. I think this got me worrying even more, but I suppose it might be due to the amount he has to refund. I don't know if I'm being a bit trigger happy, as the last thing I want to do is antagonise anybody.

System

I missed the thread but if you were only getting 35MPG out of a Mini it strongly suggests your driving style is what caused the 20MPG on the BMW. A mini should get way more.

You say you drive economically but I doubt it very much. I suspect that for example you drive up to traffic lights, roundabouts, junctions using the accelerator until you get to the point you need to apply the brakes to stop instead of planning ahead, letting off the accelerator and using engine braking, hopefully timing arriving at said roundabout/lights at a time where you don't need to stop.

I did an economical and defensive driving course with a previous employer. With my Mondeo I never got below 50MPG, sometimes got above 60MPG but regularly saw people on the FMOC forum posting low 40s. Some of them were getting mid 30MPG, something I've only ever got when towing a 26ft long twin axle caravan.

I've also worked on a job with another guy doing the same run at the same time from Hull to London. Both in same wagon with the same load going to the same place. Both vehicles had limiters fitted so did the same top speed. He would cane up to lights, roundabouts and junctions as I described above, keeping on the power until he needed to brake to stop. I drove as the latter half. On a 480 mile round trip with 460 miles of it on the motorway he would use 250 litres of diesel a night, I would use 200 litres. I'd arrive at the gates of the destination just as he was driving through.

How people drive can make a massive difference on the MPG of a car. I strongly suggest you go approach the IAM and ask them to give you some lessons in economical driving, your current style is costing you a fortune.

KatieDee

Tarambor wrote: »

I missed the thread but if you were only getting 35MPG out of a Mini it strongly suggests your driving style is what caused the 20MPG on the BMW. A mini should get way more.

You say you drive economically but I doubt it very much. I suspect that for example you drive up to traffic lights, roundabouts, junctions using the accelerator until you get to the point you need to apply the brakes to stop instead of planning ahead, letting off the accelerator and using engine braking, hopefully timing arriving at said roundabout/lights at a time where you don't need to stop.

I did an economical and defensive driving course with a previous employer. With my Mondeo I never got below 50MPG, sometimes got above 60MPG but regularly saw people on the FMOC forum posting low 40s. Some of them were getting mid 30MPG, something I've only ever got when towing a 26ft long twin axle caravan.

I've also worked on a job with another guy doing the same run at the same time from Hull to London. Both in same wagon with the same load going to the same place. Both vehicles had limiters fitted so did the same top speed. He would cane up to lights, roundabouts and junctions as I described above, keeping on the power until he needed to brake to stop. I drove as the latter half. On a 480 mile round trip with 460 miles of it on the motorway he would use 250 litres of diesel a night, I would use 200 litres. I'd arrive at the gates of the destination just as he was driving through.

How people drive can make a massive difference on the MPG of a car. I strongly suggest you go approach the IAM and ask them to give you some lessons in economical driving, your current style is costing you a fortune.

To be fair, the MPG of the MINI was a bit of a guess, as it was never bad enough for me to notice the fuel going down. If I filled the car up, the tank would last me around 350 miles, compared to the 230 I'm getting from the BMW. A quick calculation says that's actually closer to 40mpg, so higher than I thought. Honest John states the average from owners is about 35mpg, so I'm really not that far off.

I am not an aggressive driver, I don't speed and I don't accelerate quickly. When I first purchased the vehicle, I probably didn't drive it as well as I do now because I wasn't used to it. However, I don't do any of the things you've stated your colleague does.

You're making a lot of assumptions about me and your advice is all based on these assumptions. I appreciate the time you spent replying though, as it would have been a decent thing to consider, had any of it been relevant to me.

LandyAndy

KatieDee wrote: »

To be fair, the MPG of the MINI was a bit of a guess, as it was never bad enough for me to notice the fuel going down. If I filled the car up, the tank would last me around 350 miles, compared to the 230 I'm getting from the BMW. A quick calculation says that's actually closer to 40mpg, so higher than I thought. Honest John states the average from owners is about 35mpg, so I'm really not that far off.

I am not an aggressive driver, I don't speed and I don't accelerate quickly. When I first purchased the vehicle, I probably didn't drive it as well as I do now because I wasn't used to it. However, I don't do any of the things you've stated your colleague does.

You're making a lot of assumptions about me and your advice is all based on these assumptions. I appreciate the time you spent replying though, as it would have been a decent thing to consider, had any of it been relevant to me.

I suppose the only what we'll know the answer to this is if you hand this car back and get another 118i. :cool: