Faulty Van Returned

Cal.Fitch

Sorry for what is quiet an essay but could use some advice.

I bought a second hand van (13 Plate Ford Transit Custom) from a large van dealership in London. I put a decent size deposit down and chose to finance the rest. We got the van home and it sat idle for 2 weeks while I sorted out insurance (young van driver insurance is a minefield!).

When I finally was able to drive it - The engine management light came up, along with the stability control light, A message saying 'Hill Start Assist Not availible' would come up randomly and 'Brake Pad Wear, Service Now' would appear randomly aswell.

I took it to a garage and they ran diagnostics and it returned no less that 7 fault codes!

I took the van back to the garage and told them i'm rejecting it as it isnt of satisfactory quality and would like a full refund and cancellation of the finance. They said it was their right to inspect it and confirm the problems and then they would get about either refunding/repairing/replacing it.

Im worried that their "independant" garage will fudge it and say nothings wrong and then ill be forced to accept a bodge repair and get a van back that I dont want anymore! Can I reject a repair and force a refund??

Thanks!

custardy

It was sitting 2 weeks after sitting in a dealership.
my first instinct is the battery voltage dropped and low volts gave the ECU a hissy fit.
I would give it a good run first or if you are concerned get the battery charged and check again.

Cal.Fitch

Surely the garage I took it to would've thought of that and told me it was nothing to worry about? Their advice was in more colourful terms to give the thing back and get your money back.

soolin

Cal.Fitch wrote: »

Sorry for what is quiet an essay but could use some advice.

I bought a second hand van (13 Plate Ford Transit Custom) from a large van dealership in London. I put a decent size deposit down and chose to finance the rest. We got the van home and it sat idle for 2 weeks while I sorted out insurance (young van driver insurance is a minefield!).

When I finally was able to drive it - The engine management light came up, along with the stability control light, A message saying 'Hill Start Assist Not availible' would come up randomly and 'Brake Pad Wear, Service Now' would appear randomly aswell.

I took it to a garage and they ran diagnostics and it returned no less that 7 fault codes!

I took the van back to the garage and told them i'm rejecting it as it isnt of satisfactory quality and would like a full refund and cancellation of the finance. They said it was their right to inspect it and confirm the problems and then they would get about either refunding/repairing/replacing it.

Im worried that their "independant" garage will fudge it and say nothings wrong and then ill be forced to accept a bodge repair and get a van back that I dont want anymore! Can I reject a repair and force a refund??

Thanks!

Was the van a private purchase to be sued as a personal vehicle, or bought to use for business purposes as your rights will be different if it was a B2B sale.

Cal.Fitch

It was bought on a business debit card for business use, but the van is in my personal name; not a business name.

On a side note - was also mis sold a £900 AA warrenty by this garage aswell - So I have zero confidence in their services anymore

soolin

Cal.Fitch wrote: »

It was bought on a business debit card for business use, but the van is in my personal name; not a business name.

On a side note - was also mis sold a £900 AA warrenty by this garage aswell - So I have zero confidence in their services anymore

As a business sale you actually don't have the same 'consumer' rights that a private customer would have. You may need to wait for one of the regulars to log in now as business transactions are not something I know a lot about, sorry.

Cal.Fitch

Thanks for the swift reply nontheless

System

Cal.Fitch wrote: »

Surely the garage I took it to would've thought of that and told me it was nothing to worry about?

Sadly garages nowadays tend to be filled with "fitters" and not mechanics and their sum total of diagnostic ability depends on the software on the computer they plug into the car so it wouldn't come as a surprise to me if that didn't occur to them. I once broke down in my truck and when the "mechanic" came out his laptop wasn't working so he couldn't read the fault code and he was stuffed. I had to show him how to read the fault code with a light on the dash and what the fault code stated - both how to do it and what the number of flashes meant were actually in the owners manual for the vehicle which was thankfully in the cab. He literally didn't know how to do something in the owners manual and he was a "mechanic" from a main dealers...

custardy

Cal.Fitch wrote: »

Surely the garage I took it to would've thought of that and told me it was nothing to worry about? Their advice was in more colourful terms to give the thing back and get your money back.

As said,they might just be 'diagnosers' and not fixers.
Basically its fairly new and I assume drove fine for you pre purchase?
So why not take it for a run and see how it drives?
If it is down to the battery being low a charge then a good run a few restarts will clear codes

EdGasketTheSecond

Don't be daft; the codes can only be cleared by a scanner or possibly by completely disconnecting the battery and resetting the ECU.

custardy

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Don't be daft; the codes can only be cleared by a scanner or possibly by completely disconnecting the battery and resetting the ECU.

Does that help the OP? They are showing error messages on the dash.
If its like most modern cars,if the codes dont keep presenting (as in with a low battery created error) then the dash should clear these codes after X restarts if the error doesnt re-present itself.
Historical error codes sitting on the ECU with no external indication mean nothing.