New driver, second hand car, need help!

theresaxhx

I passed my test in October and made the fatal error of going to a dealer and buying a car I liked. I had gone away and spoken to my uncle about it who planned to go back with me to check eye it over (he's a mechanic) but it didn't work out that way. So handed over a credit card and now £3,500 down and it's falling to bits. The dealer sees a silly girl and is laughing his head off. My uncle isn't touching rhe car as it had 12 months warranty but I can't seem to get the guy to fix the broken door lock, screen wash jet, grinding brakes or adjust the handbrake. He had me bring the car down and told me he would have to order the lock in, but then said he forgot to take my reg (lies as I watched him).He is now telling me it will take 2 weeks to get the lock as he has to order it from Germany (got a Vw polo) and when I asked about the brakes he said "one thing at a time, the brakes are probably just noisy because of the snow"

What rights do I have? Is this normal for them to give you the run around? I feel utterly stupid for doing this. Any advice would be great as I don't want to keep running to my uncle and have him fight my battles (I'm a 28 year old nurse, it's rather pathetic! )

[Deleted User]

Just have your uncle go down with you to speak "man to man" to the idiot if that`s what it takes to get the work done.

theresaxhx

I should add in I've phone this man since the beginning of December to dicuss the lock with no success. Got millions of excuses from him, he would phone back, couldn't hear me etc. I also had booked my car in for that day I went to see him a week previous and given him my registration so he had time to get the lock. I took the day off work so I could take it too him and pick it up (awkward place) and was only there 10 minutes as he said he didn't have the lock.

patman99

You purchased via a credit card. That gives you one avenue to get your cash back.

Write the dealer a letter giving him 14 days to rectify all of the issues or you will formerly reject the car.

If he fails to undertake the work, contact your credit card provider, explain the situation and request a s.75 chargeback. He gets his crap-heap back and you get your money.

macman

Context needed: what year, what mileage? When was the last MOT and service done?
What puzzles me is why you purchased the car with a broken door lock, grinding brakes and maladjusted handbrake: weren't all those faults present when you test drove it?
Three of those are minor faults which can be quickly fixed, the one to be concerned about is the grinding brakes, which implies that the pads are down to the metal-which is obviously an MOT fail. So to describe it as 'falling to bits' is just silly. You can't expect a car of that age to be perfect, nor will the 12m warranty cover many items which come under 'wear and tear' or 'consumables'.
I'd tell the dealer in writing that he has 7 days to fix the faults as requested, otherwise you will have it done elsewhere and charge it back to him. He's been messing you around for 4 months already.
Surely your uncle can sort out a blocked washer jet for you, since the car is not roadworthy without it (not to mention the grinding brakes)?
If you really want to reject the car under CRA 2015 you have 6 months to do that, after, which time you will have to prove that the faults were pre-existing, so time is running out. You are already out of time to reject it out of hand (one month).

theresaxhx

Quite simply, stupidity and a clever salesman. Car was unlocked when I got in it to test drive it and it's just one thing I didn't check. It locks with the key, just doesn't unlock. Only when I picked it up and went home then tried to lock it did I notice. Grinding brakes didn't start until end of December which is why he is blaming the weather as we had heavy snow for a bit. As for the handbrake, I have zero clue about it. To be honest I wouldn't have noticed it until my uncle pointed it out. Thanks for taking the time to reply, I know it was very silly to buy a car without really checking everything then complain about it.

System

theresaxhx wrote: »

Grinding brakes didn't start until end of December which is why he is blaming the weather as we had heavy snow for a bit.

Depending on what type of journeys you do he may be correct. Brake discs are made of metal which rusts when it gets wet. If your car has been stood overnight and its been raining or snowing enough rust can build up on the surface of the discs that when you first apply the brakes you get a grinding noise. If its been stood for a few days or a week it can take a few applications of the brakes to go away and you can even sometimes feel them sticking when you first try to move at the start of the journey and in extreme cases there'll be a bang as the brake pads which also have metal in them unstick themselves from the discs.

If they're grinding every time you brake then the pads are worn and need replacing and if you continue it'll be the discs as well.

arcon5

Does the handbrake hold the car though?

theresaxhx

Yeah it hold. My uncle said something about it locking on a 7 but should on a 4, and since I live and park on a hill I should have it sorted sooner rather than later. I mentioned it to the dealer and he said it's mortgage likely a burst cylinder but made no plans to sort anything. I suspect he just uses the fact I know nothing about cars to his advantage hence my need to come and ask advice here before phoning him again.