Am I expecting too much from second hand car dealer

phatbear

My other half recently purchased a 16 plate fiesta with approx 17000 on the clock.

Part of the purchase included an admin charge for the following:

Quality inspection and VHC check by a Technician
Service if required (which it required as it had never been serviced)
HPI investigation with money back insurance against mileage and category insurance damaged cars
Full Valet
Road fund License and cherished number plate arrangement
£10 Fuel
The fee for this check is currently £189 (Inc VAT)
Completion of all administrate and documentation costs pertaining to that vehicle

So what would you expect from the above how would you define a service and a valet?

The valet we were offered was a £7 wash and hoover at the local car wash place and the service they claim is literally just an oil change so are we expecting too much as we assumed that the service would be a standard service you would get from any mechanics ie changing plugs and filters, which has not occured, and a valet to me is far more than a quick once over with a chamois and a run around with a dyson?

Oh they also didnt sort the tax disc out for us or put £10 of fuel in the car either but im more worried about the above issues.

agrinnall

Seems far too expensive for what they actually did, but I'm not sure how you would get some or all of the money back now.

Soulginge

Did they make you aware of this before you collected the car? I'm not sure I would expect any dealer to sell a car without it having been cleaned first. Surely any work that needed to be carried out should be reflected and recouped in the purchase price of the car?

phatbear

agrinnall wrote: »

Seems far too expensive for what they actually did, but I'm not sure how you would get some or all of the money back now.

small claims court for breach of contract?

Soulginge wrote: »

Did they make you aware of this before you collected the car? I'm not sure I would expect any dealer to sell a car without it having been cleaned first. Surely any work that needed to be carried out should be reflected and recouped in the purchase price of the car?

I noticed it hadn't been cleaned on arrival which i brought up with the salesman who claimed it had just been washed and then when pushed admitted he couldnt get it cleaned because the local place he uses, which was over the road, had been shut due to an accident, the police and ambulance were on scene.

This is only half the story really as we only realised the air filter ett hadnt been changed because we had to call break down assistance when we got home as the check engine light came on and when they were under the bonnet they checked the airfilter for me and it hadnt been replaced. Oh and issue that led to the check engine light coming on was that cylinder 2 was misfiring so probably a damaged spark plug.

AdrianC

The service should be as required by the manufacturer, to maintain the new car warranty. Unless that's already void because of the missed service... Which it probably will be, because the first service should probably have been around 12mo/12k miles. But I presume that was something you were aware of before purchase.


Plugs are unlikely to be required at that kind of mileage these days - probably more like 60k+ life.



A "valet" could mean whatever they choose it to mean, from a quick once-over with a gritty sponge and a hoover waved around.


Whether you think that good value for the money is something you should have addressed before purchase.

alan_d

phatbear wrote: »

Oh they also didnt sort the tax disc out for us or put £10 of fuel in the car either but im more worried about the above issues.

There is no tax disc now.
You need to arrange your own road tax, as the registered keeper...

forgotmyname

A complete oil change, i would have expected them to check the oil level and topup if required.

Car wash probably offered because the rain had not done a good enough job.

The time to query all this is before buying.

loskie

the HPI check shouldnt be charged for as the dealer must have good title to the vehicle to sell it.

arcon5

At that price id be expecting much more than an oil change

Norman_Castle

phatbear wrote: »

Quality inspection and VHC check by a Technician Dealer so they know what they are selling
Service if required (which it required as it had never been serviced)Dealer to ensure what they are selling has up to date service.
HPI investigation with money back insurance against mileage and category insurance damaged cars Dealer so they can sell HPI clear cars
Full Valet Dealer before sale to sell car
Road fund License and cherished number plate arrangement No ved and presumably no cherished plate change
£10 Fuel For a car costing how much? Thats just tight.
The fee for this check is currently £189 (Inc VAT) You're paying them to do their job. No thanks is the polite response.

......................

wgl2014

Sounds like a rubbish car dealer but.....

Why agree to pay for this or buy from them in the first place? A car is an expensive purchase for most people yet rather than check things out first it seems common to hand over your cash then worry about it afterwards.

OP - apologies if this sounds like having a go at you. I would suggest taking the car to a decent local garage and getting it checked over, whilst it would usually still be under the manufacturer warranty the lack of servicing may have voided this (unless it has been done and not recorded in the log).