Used car help - Faulty car after 1 month, dealer not accepting fault

Smellyonion

Hi

My fiance purchased a 4 year old smart car from a dealer (not main) with low millage. After a few weeks it suffered from a radio glitch (turned it on and off and it resolved so didn't report).

After 1 month 5 days from purchase, a mega loud deafening sound came out the speakers on constant repeat. My fiance pulled over on the motorway as she couldn't drive in it because it was at deafening levels.. She removed the key and turned the engine off, the sound it continued. She had no breakdown cover so paid RAC £170 to come and help her. He tried to diagnosed but in the end disconnected the battery and reconnected it (had to jump because battery died).

She called the dealer and they said its a electrical fault, they only cover mechanical. I called them later in the evening and they said it wasn't there at time of purchase so had to happen after it so its not covered. The promised to have a look at it (its very far away) and made no promises that they would fix it. The RAC man was sure that only a main dealer could fix such a fault.

Where do we stand from a legal position, how can they claim it was wasn't there at purchase so must me our fault? Who is liable for the RAC costs?

motorguy

Smellyonion wrote: »

Where do we stand from a legal position, how can they claim it was wasn't there at purchase so must me our fault? Who is liable for the RAC costs?

Because it didnt happen until 1 month+ after they sold her the car.

Your fiancee is.

Aylesbury_Duck

Your fianc!e is responsible for the RAC cost, and for the cost of taking the car back to the dealer if that's what she ends up doing. The fault is not necessarily her fault, but will need diagnosing.

Smellyonion

Is the ownership not on them to prove it wasn't faulty within a 6 month period?

How on earth can the dealership prove such a thing?

Aylesbury_Duck

During the first six months after purchase, it's the responsibility of the seller to prove the fault wasn't there, not for you to prove that it was.

In other words, if they can't provide evidence the fault wasn't present at the time of the sale it is assumed to have been there at that point and they will probably repair it. How they provide that evidence is beyond my knowledge of car electrical circuits but the first step is to get the car to them.

debtdebt

I think she would have noticed upon collection if the stereo had been emitting a continuous, deafeningly loud noise. Therefore, the problem wasn't there at the point of sale.

Smellyonion

debtdebt wrote: »

I think she would have noticed upon collection if the stereo had been emitting a continuous, deafeningly loud noise. Therefore, the problem wasn't there at the point of sale.

That could be said about anything, then everyone would be being flogged covered up faulty cars. Its very easy to apply temporary fixes to some issues like head gaskets.
Quiet frankly, you wouldnt know the faults of a vehicle unless it is being used for x amount of time for the fault to become apparent.
If the fault was present , the car wouldn't have been purchased.

The fact the dealer knows little about electrical problems and would be unable to diagnose it (hence not being willing to take it back) is semi testament to the fact that they would be unable to know if it had not had such issues at the point of sale.

My next point of call is to contact mecedes and see if it had any work done in relation to this. Because it had ample of non service, warranty work but unsure of details.

stripeyfox

Smellyonion wrote: »

Hi

My fiance purchased a 4 year old smart car from a dealer (not main) with low millage. After a few weeks it suffered from a radio glitch (turned it on and off and it resolved so didn't report).

After 1 month 5 days from purchase, a mega loud deafening sound came out the speakers on constant repeat. My fiance pulled over on the motorway as she couldn't drive in it because it was at deafening levels.. She removed the key and turned the engine off, the sound it continued. She had no breakdown cover so paid RAC £170 to come and help her. He tried to diagnosed but in the end disconnected the battery and reconnected it (had to jump because battery died).

She called the dealer and they said its a electrical fault, they only cover mechanical. I called them later in the evening and they said it wasn't there at time of purchase so had to happen after it so its not covered. The promised to have a look at it (its very far away) and made no promises that they would fix it. The RAC man was sure that only a main dealer could fix such a fault.

Where do we stand from a legal position, how can they claim it was wasn't there at purchase so must me our fault? Who is liable for the RAC costs?

They've offered to look at it so that should be the starting point. Take the car and see how they get on. Might be something quite simple. It doesn't sound catastrophic.

I doubt they are liable for your failure to take out breakdown cover. That is just remiss on your partners part. There's no way I would be undertaking "motorway" journeys without some sort of breakdown cover.

mobileron

surely it should go to a Car Audio specialist for repair.

almillar

in the end disconnected the battery and reconnected it (had to jump because battery died).

Maybe the daft noise from the stereo is simply a symptom of a battery that was on the way out. Maybe the least hassle to solve all of this is to not even make the trek to the dealers, and simply fit a new battery.

macman

You would have thought that an RAC engineer would be able to either disconnect the lead feeding the radio, or just pull the relevant fuse?
Was the car purchased with some form of warranty, given that it's only 4 years old? If so, what does it say? If the dealer is 'far away', better to go through that warranty than argue your statutory rights with an uninterested vendor.