Help! Faulty car, non regulated agreement. FOS won’t help

Shahid89

Hi
I am new to this and joined up as I tried searching the internet for answers and came across this website hoping to get some help from you guys.

I have purchased a car a year and a half ago from a well known supercar dealer. I used them to get finance on the car and only now realising I have a non regulated agreement because I had contacted the FOS but with no luck. My fault i know, I didn’t pay attention to the “unregulated” word and only now realising what it is.

Long story short,
I purchased the car over the phone and finance docs all signed via emails etc. I was sent a video of the car and all seemed great. Car was then delivered to me on a trailer so first time I drove the car was when it got delivered. After driving 5miles in the vehicle Engine light come on and car went into limp mode.
I called up the dealer to let them know and they advised me the car has got warranty with the manufacture so they will cover it.

The issue was car smelling of fuel and engine light coming on. The car went to local dealership who covered under warranty but issues kept happening again and again. Till today I still have the same issue and they cannot resolve the issue. The manufacturer can’t fix the problem and finance company don’t want to know as non regulated and the supplying dealer is not playing ball and doesn’t want to know.

I have had the car for 1 year and 6months and 9 of those months my car has been off road with manufacture whilst I’m still paying the monthly finance. I get a courtesy car to drive whilst my car in the garage but not the same car or make or same type. I have lost soo much time , money, enjoyment etc with this car but nobody is helping me and I am stuck with a faulty car which manufacture can’t fix, supplying dealer doesn’t want to know and finance company also don’t want to know.
I informed finance company 3 weeks after purchase of the issues but still refusing as they said car was fine when delivered to me. But it wasn’t as 5 miles into ownership the car broke down on me.

Can somebody please advice or point me into the right direction. Can I claim back this money whilst car off-road? Can I reject vehicle? Who can I claim against? The ombudsman service can’t look into this matter as agreement is non regulated.

Please somebody shed some light as I have hit a brick wall and tried different avenues with no luck.

Thanks
Shahid

AdrianC

Given that you notified the supplier within 30 days of delivery of the issues, you could claim that you have a right to return under the consumer rights act - but after eighteen months, you're pushing that one.

If you want to try and force a return, then you need to physically return the car to the supplier, together with all documentation, and then take them to court for the money. Given that they're a "supercar dealer" and the car was under manufacturer warranty, I'm presuming it's going to be (a LOT) more than £10k, so not a small claim...

Your issue with the warranty is a separate question - and it doesn't sound as if it's the manufacturer that can't fix it, but the dealer. Have you tried another dealer? Has the dealer escalated it to the importer? A courtesy car is just that - a courtesy to keep you mobile. If your car is something exotic, then there's no reasonable expectation for a similar loaner - just think about the costs on the business of keeping a fleet of loaners available, together with the opportunity for customers to extract the michael ("Oooh, look - high mileage weekend or track day? I'll book mine in for a service and use the courtesy car...")

Shahid89

Since I bought the car it’s been faulty and bought the car with only about 1500 miles on the clock and the car was only 8months old at the time. I understand won’t get a like for like vehicle but the manufacturer has had my car in with them about 18 times and if I had all the days up it’s more than 9months in total the car has been off-road. I have proof from manufacturer that since I bought the car it’s been nothing but faulty but supplying dealer refuses to respond to emails and calls. Is there no company that can look into this for me? I am a total of almost £33k out of pocket because I been paying for the time it’s been off-road. As we speak my car is just sat at the manufacturers service centre as they don’t know what to do. They have changed soo many parts on the car and even had the head technician fly over to fix my car but no luck. I refuse to drive the car as the smell of petrol is really bad and is a massive risk of catching fire. It’s a common issue on this car.

Really don’t know what to do

AdrianC

Can you please clarify whether it really is the MANUFACTURER (or their UK importer), or just a DEALER? They're very different things.

Either way, that's for warranty purposes - your only contract for legal recompense is with the SUPPLIER you actually bought the car from.

DUTR

Shahid89 wrote: »

Since I bought the car it’s been faulty and bought the car with only about 1500 miles on the clock and the car was only 8months old at the time. I understand won’t get a like for like vehicle but the manufacturer has had my car in with them about 18 times and if I had all the days up it’s more than 9months in total the car has been off-road. I have proof from manufacturer that since I bought the car it’s been nothing but faulty but supplying dealer refuses to respond to emails and calls. Is there no company that can look into this for me? I am a total of almost £33k out of pocket because I been paying for the time it’s been off-road. As we speak my car is just sat at the manufacturers service centre as they don’t know what to do. They have changed soo many parts on the car and even had the head technician fly over to fix my car but no luck. I refuse to drive the car as the smell of petrol is really bad and is a massive risk of catching fire. It’s a common issue on this car.

Really don’t know what to do

You're not that out of pocket as you have something for your outlay and part of that is interest.
Doesn't the dealership have a customer relations department?
If it is the HP fuel pump and it has been replaced then the replacement has to be mapped to the car AND it can knock injectors out which then need replacement .

Shahid89

So the manufacture is Lamborghini and the car is with HR Owen group. Surely Lamborghini have a duty under warranty terms to make sure car fit for purpose or even say we’ve tried fixing the car x amount of times and car is still failing. They’ve probably spent easily around 40-50k attempted to fix my problem, probably around £30k to give me a hire car from enterprise for these 9months. Shouldn’t they replace the car under warranty? Just don’t understand how the manufacturer can’t fix their own vehicle and it’s a common issue. It baffles me.

foxy-stoat

I think you may find that you wouldn't of lost too much money as when you come to sell the car it will have very low mileage (as its been off the road due to issues) and you can get more for it.

If it was a normal car then I would agree, they should be able to sort out any problems with their cars but as it is a Lamborghini then no, some of them roll out of the factory unfit for purpose and in need of tens of thousands of pounds worth of work to get them in some sort of usable condition.

This was your first and only mistake I am afraid with a purchase like this:

Car was then delivered to me on a trailer so first time I drove the car was when it got delivered. After driving 5miles in the vehicle Engine light come on and car went into limp mode.

Unless of course this is a wind up.

uknick

If the car is that faulty (is it the same fault each time?), then I'm surprised Lamborghini haven't offered to take it off your hands if, as you say, it's costing them so much in time and money.

Shahid89

I wish it was a wind up. A big lesson for me for future reference. I wanted to sell the vehicle but it started leaking oil in the showroom whilst it was with a dealer who was selling it for me. I had to get it recovered back for repairs. Plus can’t sell a car if faulty.

Don’t i have any legal route I can take ? Or another company like FOS who can look into this and resolve the matter but being non regulated I’m assuming answer is no.

AdrianC

Shahid89 wrote: »

So the manufacture is Lamborghini and the car is with HR Owen group. Surely Lamborghini have a duty under warranty terms to make sure car fit for purpose or even say we’ve tried fixing the car x amount of times and car is still failing.

I repeat - your legal remedy is against the supplier. You didn't buy it from Lamborghini UK. You need to be talking to the dealer who you bought it from.

By the sound of it, your best bet is to ask them for a favourable trade-in price, as if the issues had never occurred.

They’ve probably spent easily around 40-50k attempted to fix my problem, probably around £30k to give me a hire car from enterprise for these 9months. Shouldn’t they replace the car under warranty? Just don’t understand how the manufacturer can’t fix their own vehicle and it’s a common issue. It baffles me.

Warranty terms are separate to any legal come-back against the supplier.

k3lvc

So was it a bona-fide Supercar dealer or one of these outfits that's rife in our neck of the woods who advertises them for sale but rents them out by the day whilst they're on the premises ?

Assuming the finance is unregulated then who is the provider ?

Unless of course this is a wind up

I did wonder whether DarkMatter had gone up in the world :rotfl: