Faulty Car Consumer Rights Act?

n-1

I've had my car less than a full 48 hours. I got it from a used car dealership and all seemed ok when I looked at the car before committing to buy it. I paid £2000 via debit card and financed the remaining approx 3k. The car was delivered to me because the garage is quite far away. The car is a 59 plate Nissan with 68K miles on the clock.


The garage website states every car gets a 60 point check and a service if required.

Also noteworthy; when the car was delivered the battery was dead but the driver explained it had the lights on before being loaded so that might of drained the battery and a few drives would charge it back up, something which I felt was plausible.

The car was also delivered in a very unclean state, despite being told it would be cleaned. I couldn't point this out when the car was being delivered as it was dark when it was delivered and the interior lights didn't work because the battery problem. Would it be reasonable to ask for a financial contribution towards a valet clean on the car?


So, my first drive I got an engine warning light and it felt like the car had misfired. I emailed the garage with a picture of a the warning light and asked if they would cover the cost of me getting the fault diagnosed and repaired at a local garage. They replied that the car was sold with an AA warranty which covered things like this and I needed to go via them. They went on to say that their aftersales person wasn't in until Monday so I'd need to wait until then to have the process explained to me.

I thought that was potentially unsafe to wait two days to talk to someone and then wait more days before someone comes and checks the cars condition so I booked it in for some free checks at a Halfords Autocentre. The findings were very worrying:



*All 4 tyres were at different pressures between 40PSI and 26PSI.

*Oil has been over filled

*The battery was barley holding 36% charge despite having driven 350 miles since getting the car, which should be enough to charge it back up if it was low?

*Timing belt has not been changed and needs replacing

*Pollen Filter badly blocked needed changing

*Diesel Particale filter needed cleaning and was contributing to the initial 'misfire' which triggered the engine warning light

*Fuel system cleaner needed adding for the same reason as above

*Air conditioning system is not holding gas due to a faulty compressor pump

Some of the problems above I've paid to be repaired at the cost of £320~ the repairs I have not paid for add up to around £850. Obviously as the garage is quite far from me and they missed basic things like tyre pressure I'd be very reluctant to let them work on the car again and I'd prefer to have a local garage do the work at the companies expense.

The cost of all this to repair in total is nearly £1200 and the faults were not identified by the garage, or at least I was not made aware of them by the garage. Would it be reasonable to call the above faulty "Unsatisfactory condition"? And therefore would I have a case to claim against the dealership if they are not willing to fix the faults?


I know I'm entitled to ask for a refund however I'd be left worse off. Firstly, I don't have access to another car and need my car for work. Also, I've already paid for some of the less costly repairs to keep the car usable. Not only that but I'd have the hassle of money being lost through car insurance and car tax as well as the problem that I would have no way to get home from the dealership.

DUTR

I just hope this Nissan is a 350Z.

Aylesbury_Duck

OP has duplicated this and added more information in the Consumer Rights forum.

sevenhills

n-1 wrote: »

*All 4 tyres were at different pressures between 40PSI and 26PSI.

*Oil has been over filled

*The battery was barley holding 36% charge despite having driven 350 miles since getting the car, which should be enough to charge it back up if it was low?

*Timing belt has not been changed and needs replacing

*Pollen Filter badly blocked needed changing

*Diesel Particale filter needed cleaning and was contributing to the initial 'misfire' which triggered the engine warning light

*Fuel system cleaner needed adding for the same reason as above

*Air conditioning system is not holding gas due to a faulty compressor pump

Some of the problems above I've paid to be repaired at the cost of £320

You need to give us more information about the car, some cars don't need the timing belt changing until 70-100,000 miles.


If you take you car to two different garages, you will always get different responses.
If you have spent £320 already, you should have a reasonable car.

Arklight

n-1 wrote: »

I've had my car less than a full 48 hours. I got it from a used car dealership and all seemed ok when I looked at the car before committing to buy it. I paid £2000 via debit card and financed the remaining approx 3k. The car was delivered to me because the garage is quite far away. The car is a 59 plate Nissan with 68K miles on the clock.


The garage website states every car gets a 60 point check and a service if required.

Also noteworthy; when the car was delivered the battery was dead but the driver explained it had the lights on before being loaded so that might of drained the battery and a few drives would charge it back up, something which I felt was plausible.

The car was also delivered in a very unclean state, despite being told it would be cleaned. I couldn't point this out when the car was being delivered as it was dark when it was delivered and the interior lights didn't work because the battery problem. Would it be reasonable to ask for a financial contribution towards a valet clean on the car?


So, my first drive I got an engine warning light and it felt like the car had misfired. I emailed the garage with a picture of a the warning light and asked if they would cover the cost of me getting the fault diagnosed and repaired at a local garage. They replied that the car was sold with an AA warranty which covered things like this and I needed to go via them. They went on to say that their aftersales person wasn't in until Monday so I'd need to wait until then to have the process explained to me.

I thought that was potentially unsafe to wait two days to talk to someone and then wait more days before someone comes and checks the cars condition so I booked it in for some free checks at a Halfords Autocentre. The findings were very worrying:



*All 4 tyres were at different pressures between 40PSI and 26PSI.

*Oil has been over filled

*The battery was barley holding 36% charge despite having driven 350 miles since getting the car, which should be enough to charge it back up if it was low?

*Timing belt has not been changed and needs replacing

*Pollen Filter badly blocked needed changing

*Diesel Particale filter needed cleaning and was contributing to the initial 'misfire' which triggered the engine warning light

*Fuel system cleaner needed adding for the same reason as above

*Air conditioning system is not holding gas due to a faulty compressor pump

Some of the problems above I've paid to be repaired at the cost of £320~ the repairs I have not paid for add up to around £850. Obviously as the garage is quite far from me and they missed basic things like tyre pressure I'd be very reluctant to let them work on the car again and I'd prefer to have a local garage do the work at the companies expense.

The cost of all this to repair in total is nearly £1200 and the faults were not identified by the garage, or at least I was not made aware of them by the garage. Would it be reasonable to call the above faulty "Unsatisfactory condition"? And therefore would I have a case to claim against the dealership if they are not willing to fix the faults?


I know I'm entitled to ask for a refund however I'd be left worse off. Firstly, I don't have access to another car and need my car for work. Also, I've already paid for some of the less costly repairs to keep the car usable. Not only that but I'd have the hassle of money being lost through car insurance and car tax as well as the problem that I would have no way to get home from the dealership.

Who would have told you anything to get money out of you. You need to give the vendor you purchased the car from a chance to rectify the faults, and diagnose them.

The location of the dealership is irrelevant I'm afraid, and is one of the things that needs to be taken into account when purchasing a car.

societys_child

Obviously as the garage is quite far from me and they missed basic things like tyre pressure I'd be very reluctant to let them work on the car again and I'd prefer to have a local garage do the work at the companies expense.

Unlikely the dealer would agree to that but you can always live in hope . .

AdrianC

n-1 wrote: »

The car was also delivered in a very unclean state, despite being told it would be cleaned. I couldn't point this out when the car was being delivered as it was dark when it was delivered and the interior lights didn't work because the battery problem. Would it be reasonable to ask for a financial contribution towards a valet clean on the car?

No.

...asked if they would cover the cost of me getting the fault diagnosed and repaired at a local garage. They replied that the car was sold with an AA warranty which covered things like this and I needed to go via them.

You chose to buy from a distance away. This is one of the inconveniences that goes with that.

...so I booked it in for some free checks at a Halfords Autocentre.

...and they found a lot of things to scare you with? What a surprise! Next you'll be suggesting Kwik Fit have been known to do similar.

*The battery was barley holding 36% charge despite having driven 350 miles since getting the car, which should be enough to charge it back up if it was low?

Lights etc on?

*Fuel system cleaner needed adding for the same reason as above

Fuel system cleaner is NEVER needed for any reason other than maximising profit.

Some of the problems above I've paid to be repaired at the cost of £320~ the repairs I have not paid for add up to around £850. Obviously as the garage is quite far from me and they missed basic things like tyre pressure I'd be very reluctant to let them work on the car again and I'd prefer to have a local garage do the work

Such is your call.

...at the companies expense.

Nope. They have zero obligation to pay a penny.

Would it be reasonable to call the above faulty "Unsatisfactory condition"?

On a ten year old car?

And therefore would I have a case to claim against the dealership if they are not willing to fix the faults?

Nope. You may have a case to return it. But no more than that. Even after 30 days, they may choose to take the car back and refund you rather than repair it.

Also, I've already paid for some of the less costly repairs to keep the car usable.

And that was your call. They are under no obligation to repay a penny.

Not only that but I'd have the hassle of money being lost through car insurance and car tax as well as the problem that I would have no way to get home from the dealership.

Such is part of rejecting a car.


BTW, I'm intrigued to hear which of the list they did for £320...

*All 4 tyres were at different pressures between 40PSI and 26PSI.
*Oil has been over filled
*The battery was barley holding 36% charge despite having driven 350 miles since getting the car, which should be enough to charge it back up if it was low?
*Timing belt has not been changed and needs replacing
*Pollen Filter badly blocked needed changing
*Diesel Particale filter needed cleaning and was contributing to the initial 'misfire' which triggered the engine warning light
*Fuel system cleaner needed adding for the same reason as above
*Air conditioning system is not holding gas due to a faulty compressor pump

Changing the cambelt would not have come within that price, nor would a new aircon compressor. It's unlikely they "cleaned" the DPF. The rest are quick, cheap and easy. Did they replace the battery (likely <£100)? Did you try putting it on a charger overnight first?

almillar

I just hope this Nissan is a 350Z.

Pollen Filter badly blocked needed changing

350Z doesn't have a pollen filter.

Diesel Particale filter needed cleaning and was contributing to the initial 'misfire' which triggered the engine warning light

And is not a diesel!


I wouldn't trust the tyre pressures in any car I buy from anywhere. And it doesn't cost you anything to sort them out yourself. The rest of the problems should be for the original dealer to sort, if they are indeed real problems and not Halfords looking for money. The timing belt, as above is an easy one to check in the user manual. Your distance from where you bought the car is not relevant to anyone but you, I'm afraid.