Car finance issues

dsme94

Hi,

I am having an issue with an Audi Approved Used Car I bought a month ago. I raised an issue with the brake discs being warped 2 weeks into ownership. I contacted the dealership I bought the car from confirming my suspicions on inspection at my local dealership. After explaining this, they declined to repair the car.

The car cost £30,000 and is financed through my bank on a PCP agreement.

If the dealership is not prepared to repair the vehicle, as part of my terms I can return the vehicle which leads me to my question.

How does my finance agreement get settled with Bank of Scotland? I would assume that the dealership will refund the full amount paid which should settle the agreement? Obviously, this is special circumstances so I shouldn't really need to pay the 'settlement figure'? I spoke to a Bank of Scotland rep on the phone who was completely useless and couldn't answer my question.

ZZL

Discs would go down as wear and tear, and they tend to warp when used on a spirited drive and then sat with the brake pedal applied (e.g. at lights)

I'm not saying this is the case, and I also don't expect you to disclose if it is, but is there a chance you've been having fun in your new car?


If you have done nothing but drive the car as one would be expected, my guess is you would somehow have to prove that the vehicle is faulty and causing the discs to warp, otherwise its just part of normal wear and tear
As another example, you wouldn't expect them to replace tyres if they had gone below the legal limits after 5k miles, as this would be down to driving habits

John-K_3

What reason did they give for not repairing? Were they working fine when you collected, but have warped since? If thats the case, then as above, did they warp because you overheated them?

If you mistreated the car, then you can’t just hand it back, itd be much the same if you reversed it into a tree.

If, on the other hand, the brakes were warped from the off then you should escalate the complaint. Go to Audi GB and explain what is going on.

Edited to remove apostrophes...

benten69

ZZL wrote: »

my guess is you would somehow have to prove that the vehicle is faulty and causing the discs to warp

Your guess would be wrong in this instance. For the first 6 months the seller is responsible to prove there was nothing wrong at time of sale, after 6 months it is the buyers responsibility.

As he has only owned the car 1 month the onus is on the dealership.

molerat

benten69 wrote: »

Your guess would be wrong in this instance. For the first 6 months the seller is responsible to prove there was nothing wrong at time of sale, after 6 months it is the buyers responsibility.

As he has only owned the car 1 month the onus is on the dealership.

To which they simply state you warped them by overheating due to driving style.

ZZL

benten69 wrote: »

Your guess would be wrong in this instance. For the first 6 months the seller is responsible to prove there was nothing wrong at time of sale, after 6 months it is the buyers responsibility.

As he has only owned the car 1 month the onus is on the dealership.

Thanks for the correction, I realise you are right as I have heard of this before

The original point still stands however, in that discs warp due to heat (overuse), so the dealer isn't liable at all

National_Debtline

Hi dsme94,


I would suggest you check the terms and conditions of the agreement and the warranty to see exactly what is covered. You also need to get the dealership to confirm, in writing, why they will not repair it.

You may be able to raise a complaint with the dealership about this and escalate it to the financial ombudsman if required. However, you need to be exceptionally carefully about returning the car. If you return the car now, you could be outside of the 'cooling off period'. Even if you are within the cooling off period you are only cancelling the finance and would still need to pay for the car some other way. Returning the car, doesn't cancel the liability to the agreement. If you take it back, they may deemed that to be a voluntarily termination the agreement, meaning that you will still be liable for 50% of the agreement, plus any excessive wear and tear.


I appreciate there are extenuating circumstances, but if this can't be resolved with a complaint, then you may need legal advice about your options if you feel they have breached the terms and conditions of the agreement. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

benten69

molerat wrote: »

To which they simply state you warped them by overheating due to driving style.

ZZL wrote: »

Thanks for the correction, I realise you are right as I have heard of this before

The original point still stands however, in that discs warp due to heat (overuse), so the dealer isn't liable at all

The key word here is "PROVE" which means more than "You warped the discs, not our fault, go away". In this situation it would probably require an independent experts report as proof in court if it ever got that far. No judge will simply take the dealers word for it, and the law stipulates they need to prove it's not a fault, not just say it's not their fault.

Also I am 99% sure they won't even be warped. Audi's suffer a lot from brake material sticking to the discs, especially if sitting at traffic lights with your foot on the brakes after they have been used and heated up.

Simple way to fix is take the car to an empty private road, get up to 60-ish and slam on the brakes down to 30, repeat this 3 or 4 times, it will remove the pad build up which has accumulated. Once you do the last one just drive about and do not use the brakes excessively or sit in traffic with your foot on the brakes until they have been allowed to properly cool down.

This should clear off the pad material. Brake discs very rarely warp on road cars unless they were cheap ones to begin with or the driver has been using his local back roads as a local version of the Nurburgring and giving them SERIOUS abuse.

ZZL

I have had my discs warp on at least my current and previous car, although I didnt try this pad clearing procedure

But okay, whilst its obvious what has probably happened here, the dealer will likely have to repair/refund under law as I reckon it'll be near impossible to prove.

From the limited information in the first post however, I can't help but think OP might have a case of buyers remorse?
I mean look at it this way, all that needs to happen at worst is the discs be replaced. Surely the OP would fight for this as it would be a much easier battle with the dealership, than going through the entire process of them taking the car back and settling finance...

chanz4

30k is it even going to be a regulated agreement?

nelly12

chanz4 wrote: »

30k is it even going to be a regulated agreement?

If it’s a private individual then yes.