Used Car Problems, ECU Repair/Replacement - Not Covered By Warranty. Please Help?

Izbizzle

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice! Thanks in advance. :beer:

In November I purchased a used Mini Cooper 2002 from a dealer. It was sold to me in working condition with no issues (given to them as part exchange). I've had it 2 months now and since purchase I'd noticed a growling/clunking noise and that it was losing power randomly, but ignored it thinking it was because it was an older car, I had it in the wrong gear or something like that (and it was new and under warranty so it couldn't be anything serious!). Recently it had gotten a lot worse, to the point where I almost broke down whilst driving so took it to a garage. After a few days of tests they concluded it's a problem with the ECU, and it needs to be sent off for repair. The garage are quoting me around £300. I have looked online and spoken to people who'd had similar problems and this price does sound about right. They said if it cannot be repaired, the whole ECU would need to be replaced and this wouldn't be worth doing, therefore the car would have to be written off!

I have a 3 month warranty on the car, but they only cover engine problems and I cannot claim anything through them (the garage had contacted them on my behalf). I've spoken to the dealer, he seems reluctant to offer any assistance and says the car was fine when it was sold (the garage have said the problem had occurred before as someone else had been in there trying to fix the wiring itself, however this did not actually fix the problem). I argued it out with the dealer earlier today and he said he'd get back to me by Monday next week to see if there's 'anything they can do'.

To add fuel to the fire my insurance runs out on 2nd Feb, so if I wanted to claim anything through them should the worst come to the worst, this may not be feasible...

Do you think it's fair I try to go through the dealer to get this resolved? I feel reluctant to pay a 'minimum' of £300 for a car I only purchased 2 months ago. Mind you I don't know the actual cost of repairs unless I get the ECU sent off, I'm reluctant to do this until I see what the dealer says first. I don't have the money to pay this at the moment as I already bought the car outright not long ago.

If they don't offer to repair it do I have the right to reject the car/ask for a refund/partial refund for it at this stage?

SORRY FOR THE ESSAY!

jimbo747

It's a 16 year old BMW so you'd expect issues. £300 sounds reasonable.

What are you expecting your insurance company to do?

Warwick_Hunt

jimbo747 wrote: »

It's a 16 year old BMW so you'd expect issues. £300 sounds reasonable.

What are you expecting your insurance company to do?

Whatever it is they won’t cover it.

Izbizzle

If the car is a write-off, the insurance company would pay out right?

angrycrow

Your insurers will have no interest in this as it is an electrical failure not accidental damage.

Right to remedy from the dealer is tempered by expectation based on age, mileage and purchase price. This vehicle is at least 15 yeas old so pretty much end of life car that has developed an ecu fault that appears to be common on this model. Not a clear cut case.

tykesi

Izbizzle wrote: »

If the car is a write-off, the insurance company would pay out right?

No ............

flashg67

Izbizzle wrote: »

If the car is a write-off, the insurance company would pay out right?

If it was written off due to an accident, not mechanical /wear & tear

Clive_Woody

Izbizzle wrote: »

If the car is a write-off, the insurance company would pay out right?

Depends if he has a policy that covers cars dying of old age......which is pretty unlikely

arcon5

Hopefully the dealer will offer a contribution.
It's a shame you didn't report the fault to then after you first bought it

Integroo

Your insurance company will do nothing, it isn't a 'write off', it would simply be uneconomical to repair. Your insurance covers only accident damage. (How can people drive, and have insurance policies, and pay for them, and not know this?).

You bought a 16yo car with a reputation for unreliability for presumably not an awful lot of money. These warranties are rarely worth the paper they are printed on. The dealer does have a duty to give you a car in reasonable condition - reasonable take into account the age of the car - and if you could prove it was broken when it was sold to you, you might have a chance. However, things do break on old cars, so you might find that difficult to prove.

Hopefully the dealer offers a contribution. In any event, £300 is not all that much money for a repair. It could be a lot worse.

Browntoa

£300 fair , around £140 for an ECU repair and diagnostic plus labour