faulty car on PCP arnold clark

izzylaurenn

August 2017 I bought a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, £300 deposit and then £365 per month.
a week into having the car a steering fault occurred, the power steering had completely gone making it pretty much impossible to turn the wheel. I rang the Arnold Clark branch which I had purchased from and they booked me in at a local Land Rover specialist garage who fixed the car.
Then a few weeks later the car began shaking when travelling above 40mph, I went back to the Land Rover specialist again who looked at the car, at first they thought it was the 4x4 alignment but after fixing that (which was way out) this did not fix the issue, they looked at the car again and determined it needed a new driveshaft. Arnold Clark paid for all of this as the car was in its 60 day warranty.
Then in January 2018 the car went into restricted performance mode (limp mode) meaning the car had no power/acceleration. Another warning light then appear saying DPF full. I paid a local garage to do a regeneration of the DPF however this did not work and the car went back into limp mode. I took the car into my local Arnold Clark and after taking it on a test drive with the repairs technician he said that there is air escaping and that is the reason for the DPF filling up. they fixed the car free of charge despite the fact that the car only came with a 60 day warranty and at this point I was past that.
A few months passed with no issues then in June 2018 the car went into limp mode, it was the same problem as January, the DPF was filling up. I made an appointment at Arnold Clark, waited two weeks for my appointment to go down and be told my car wasn't booked in, was told the next appointment was the end of July (a month away at this point). I rang customer services who managed to get my car booked in within the next few days. After the car was looked at I was told that the car simply needed a regeneration, however the car didn't even make it home before it went back into limp mode. I phoned customer services and explained I shouldn't be having this problem with the millage that I cover and they said they don't have the technology to look at my car any further.
I wrote a letter to Barclays and Arnold Clark stating I wanted to reject the car and the have basically said I cant reject as I've now had the car a year and the mileage that I've done, they have also said the problem is wear and tear. Arnold Clark was saying to Barclays that I didn't show up to my appointment in January however after having a text proving I was there they are now saying they only did a regeneration in January however this cant be the case as I paid for a regen and it didn't work. Barclays were helping at first but now they have said there is nothing more they can do leaving me paying for a broken car each month.
I spoke to a solicitor who advised me to cancel my direct debit and stop paying and let them chase me? He said to write a letter saying I am rejecting and telling them to come and collect the car.
I was wondering if anyone knew my rights and if I have any hope of getting rid of this dodgy car.

neilmcl

Really bad advice from your solicitor. Cancelling your DD will only have the effect of you defaulting on your finance which is a really bad idea.

So am I right in thinking that the only issue with the car now is the DPF? Exactly how many miles do you cover in this car and what sort of trips?

foxy-stoat

Maybe you have mis-bought it due to your driving style/trip distances and frequency.

Your better off fixing the fault and look for ways to sell it and buy a car thats more suitable to your needs.

verityboo

How old is the car and how many miles has it done?

izzylaurenn

Neilmcl - I thought that, I said to the finance company what the solicitor said and he said if I stop paying they’re going to repossess the car and potentially take me to court...
the main issue is the DPF yes, However I am also having an issue with the wiring? I took the car for MOT a few months back and it needed a new headlight and I asked the guy to look into it as I’ve been replacing the headlights nearly once a month since I bought the car. Currently got no headlights or full beams! I haven’t replaced them as they will just go out straight away and when they go out the bulb is melted so could be dangerous?
I bought the car on 52,000 and it is on 80,000 today (I’ve had the car a year) so you can see the miles I cover. I was living in Huddersfield and travelling to uni in Manchester and work in Leeds so on the motorway everyday.

Foxy-stoat - I do motorway driving on a daily basis so shouldn’t be having this issue.. I don’t think I should have to fix it when it’s clearly Arnold Clark’s fault, I believe they have done a temporary fix in January. I don’t understand why they are lying about what work they carried out? There is no way I can be having DPF Problems in January and then again just a few months later, it just doesn’t make sense.

Verityboo - it’s a 13 plate, bought it last August on 52,000 it’s now today on 80,000, any advice would be appreciated

davidwood681

Well you can't reject it having put 28,000 miles on it.

It's a Land Rover, they're going to go wrong because they are rubbish.

foxy-stoat

Sounds like something is up with the re-gen cycles and the DPF needs replacing and the issue sorting - not an uncommon fault even with regular motorway driving.

AdrianC

So let's make this all a bit clearer...
2013/~4yo car bought August 2017 at 52k miles w. 60 day warranty.
On purchase, minor issue found and resolved FOC.
Jan 2018 (5mo after purchase, car now ~4.5yo), DPF issue resolved FOC.
Jun 2018 (10mo after purchase, car now ~5yo, 80k miles), DPF issue.


But now, in September and another three months later, you're talking about MOT fails and driving without headlights (illegal - unroadworthy), with no mention of whether that DPF issue was resolved or not. Or is the car still sat unused?

Either way, it is now firmly your issue unless you're willing to put the time, effort and money into getting an engineer's report to show that the January regeneration is directly related to the June issue, and therefore the problem was definitely present at the point of purchase... 28,000 miles and over a year ago.

neilmcl

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Sounds like something is up with the re-gen cycles and the DPF needs replacing and the issue sorting - not an uncommon fault even with regular motorway driving.

Not uncommon no but it sounds like the damage was done to the car before the OP got hold of it and they shouldn't be picking up the bill.

Izzylaurenn, unfortunately for you as you've had the car for over 6 months the onus is on you to prove the "fault" was present when you purchased the car and even if you could do this and successfully reject the vehicle the dealer is entitled to deduct a suitable amount to take into account the usage you've had from it. It may work out cheaper to just try and get the car fixed, and never buy a LR again.

daveyjp

DPF is a consumable. After 80,000 miles it is not unexpected to have to begin to incur repair costs on this and other items (especially anything leaving the Land Rover factory).

Its another reason to avoid buying a high mileage vehicle on PCP. It will be quickly out of any warranty and the buyer ends up paying monthly for a car and also money on repairs.

£365 a month buys a lot of reliable new metal with lengthy warranties.

tonyh66

£365 p/m on a 4 yr old car with 52K on the clock, you probably could have had a new one for that.