Paint and Lacquer falling off bumper...advice please!

129T

Hi all,

I bought a car late November, a Golf GTi, from an independent trader up in Newcastle. When I bought the car I had a look round it and it a looked ok at that time (it was freezing and covered in water though). I bought the car for 16.5k and put a 2.5k deposit down and financed the rest. I was told the car had never been in an accident and shown the HPi report. The car was advertised as 'stunning' condition and 'we prepare our cars to the highest standards'. I still have the autotrader advert...

Fast forward 3 weeks...I noticed a huge chunk of lacquer peeling back from the nearside edge of the bumper. There is also a large chunk of laquer missing from where one of the reversing sensors are, to the number plate recess (a different area). I have also noticed bubbling round the edges of the bumper and areas where paint has just come off So I contacted the dealer and they stated it was not their responsibility! I then went to the finance company who have investigated and state that the dealer will only contribute £200 towards to cost of repair. They also say that I should have noticed the damage. BUT it isn't damage. Its a poorly bodged paint job that was not prepped properly and has now started to fall off.

I have had three quotes to get it done propely (strip paint, repaint and lacquer). They come in at £700, £800 and £900 (approx.).

The finance company are not playing ball now, and the dealer wants to palm me off with £200 (a joke!).

As far as I'm concerned it breaches the CRI and CCA as it should be of satisfactory quality. It isn't. 16.5k, three weeks later the paint falls off? That's rubbish.

So what do I do now? I have checked and the dealer is not a member of the Motor Ombudsman Scheme. Do I use the financial ombudsman against my finance company? Or go straight to small claims action against the dealer?

HELP!

Thanks

Shaun_of_the_Dead

129T wrote: »

Hi all,

I bought a car late November, a Golf GTi, from an independent trader up in Newcastle. When I bought the car I had a look round it and it a looked ok at that time (it was freezing and covered in water though). I bought the car for 16.5k and put a 2.5k deposit down and financed the rest. I was told the car had never been in an accident and shown the HPi report. The car was advertised as 'stunning' condition and 'we prepare our cars to the highest standards'. I still have the autotrader advert...

Fast forward 3 weeks...I noticed a huge chunk of lacquer peeling back from the nearside edge of the bumper. There is also a large chunk of laquer missing from where one of the reversing sensors are, to the number plate recess (a different area). I have also noticed bubbling round the edges of the bumper and areas where paint has just come off So I contacted the dealer and they stated it was not their responsibility! I then went to the finance company who have investigated and state that the dealer will only contribute £200 towards to cost of repair. They also say that I should have noticed the damage. BUT it isn't damage. Its a poorly bodged paint job that was not prepped properly and has now started to fall off.

I have had three quotes to get it done propely (strip paint, repaint and lacquer). They come in at £700, £800 and £900 (approx.).

The finance company are not playing ball now, and the dealer wants to palm me off with £200 (a joke!).

As far as I'm concerned it breaches the CRI and CCA as it should be of satisfactory quality. It isn't. 16.5k, three weeks later the paint falls off? That's rubbish.

So what do I do now? I have checked and the dealer is not a member of the Motor Ombudsman Scheme. Do I use the financial ombudsman against my finance company? Or go straight to small claims action against the dealer?

HELP!

Thanks

Hasn't Christmas 2019 happened where you are yet?

129T

Wow it took that long to come up with that one? Thanks for the comment, but when I said 'fast forward 3 weeks' is when the problem manifested, not the date I think it is now.

Thanks though, great help.

AdrianC

The only relevant date is when you notify the trader of the issue.

What age of car are we talking about here?

The trader simply cannot say with any certainty that there's never been bodywork done to it - only that there's no record of it having been written off, and he's not aware of any other damage. There's simply no record, and he's reliant on whatever paperwork he may have. Something like a third of new cars have bodywork repairs before they're even registered.

All your legal rights are tempered by reasonable expectations for used goods of that age, price, apparent quality. You have a car that's somewhere around 4-5yo? And about half the price of a new equivalent. It's not reasonable to expect it never to have had any bodywork repairs since it was new, which severely limits your legal rights if you're coming from that angle - so rejection is going to be disproportionate, even if you did notify them within the 30 days of purchase.

Were the repairs competent? You have no contract with whoever repaired it, even if you could identify them. But it is reasonable to expect the paint to be in a condition commensurate with a "stunning" 4-5yo car, and - you're right, that doesn't include peeling badly in a few weeks.

They've offered £200 towards repainting the bumper. You need to decide whether to accept that, or whether to try to get more of a contribution. I think you're going to have to start with a letter before action, then small claim. Good luck.

129T

Thanks Adrian. The problem came around 3 weeks after but due to work and Xmas I could not notify the dealer until after Xmas (over 30 days). The car is a 2015.

Can I not claim against the finance company under sec 75 consumer credit act? I know they have already said no but is it worth going through the financial ombudsman? Or is it straight to small claims?

Thanks

foxy-stoat

You have to make a complaint in writing and have your response also in writing before the ombudsman will get involved.

If your going to go down the small claims, are you going to get your repair done first then reclaim all the costs? You will need invoices etc etc.

Good lucks

RealBobbyDazzler

I feel you should have noticed this, bubbling & peel at least.. so I'd say it's mostly your responsibility for still purchasing the car without first checking it over thoroughly. However, if you believe the repair has been made recently, why not try and find the bodyshop the garage used if it wasn't them and see if they will rectify it.

MEM62

I think that your case is weak. It is a used car and therefore will not be factory fresh - allied to the fact that you viewed it before purchase and, presumably, these issues have not appeared since purchase. As for acceptable quality, it is car. Does it do the job of a car in a satisfactory manner that can be expected of a £16k car? I suspect that, for the overwhelming part, the answer is - yes.

I understand your disappointment, probably heightened by the frustration of not spotting the poor paintwork before purchase, but this may well be an argument that you do not win. Suck it up and, if it is that important to you, have the paintwork rectified yourself.

129T

Just to clear both the above posts up...

The paint WAS NOT peeling when I viewed the car. 3 weeks later and its coming off in chunks.

I believe that the car had been poorly budged to make it look good. Obviously after 3 weeks of use the paint and clear coat is peeling away. There was no way of telling this at time of sale. The edges of the paintwork is now bubbling up to. Again this was not like it when I bought the car. I do not believe this to be of satisfactory quality when the car cost me £16,500.

Luke1066

Quick question. How do you clean your car? As in do/have you use/used a pressure washer?

MEM62

Your original post makes reference to the car/conditions being "freezing and covered in water" at the time of viewing. I took that to be a factor in your not spotting the issue. Otherwise, on the face of it, it is irrelevant information.

I still believe that it is an argument that you are not going to win. However, if you feel otherwise, don't listen us - crack on. Let us know how it goes.