Unrepairable car back on the road

DoaM

Car_54 said:

We had a holiday booked end of May, and needed a car for the airport, so we bought another Zafira. 

Obviously no alternative. Taxi?

I wondered that too. Also, weren't we still in lockdown at the end of May?

Le_Kirk

This was last year according to the OP.

daydreamexpert said:
Hi everyone,
I bought a Zafira in February 2019,

DCFC79

DoaM said:

Car_54 said:

We had a holiday booked end of May, and needed a car for the airport, so we bought another Zafira. 

Obviously no alternative. Taxi?

I wondered that too. Also, weren't we still in lockdown at the end of May?

We were, it was only last month restrictions were lofted.
I wonder where the OP went.

DoaM

Le_Kirk said:

This was last year according to the OP.

daydreamexpert said:
Hi everyone,
I bought a Zafira in February 2019,

So it was. The OP is a bit of a ramble so I find it hard to properly interpret it.

Dr_Crypto

daydreamexpert said:

AdrianC said:

daydreamexpert said:

Today, after picking my son up from school, I was passed by my old Zafira, the one that was too expensive to repair according to the dealer. Is it legal for them to say they can’t repair my car and then fix it and sell it after I have a new one?

Do you KNOW they fixed it?

Or perhaps they flogged it as a non-runner, spares or repair, and the buyer fixed it?
Perhaps it's a different car, and the plate's simply been moved?

That’s definitely a possibility and one I’ll be finding out about.

To what end? Your entitlement is to a refund less any use you had from the first car. What he did with the shed after you returned it is none of your concern. 

Hasbeen

daydreamexpert said:

Hi everyone,

I bought a Zafira in February 2019, it broke down (all electrics died) in beginning of March 19. It started again after 19 hours and the dealer couldn’t find what was wrong. 2 weeks later it did it again, this time it didn’t restart.

After about a month of driving a courtesy car while they looked at it, they said it was no good due to the ECU being fried and that we could exchange for another car with our car cost coming off the sticker price of another. We have 3 kids in car seats, and they had nothing we could use as a family, so we waited hoping to get something else in. 

We had a holiday booked end of May, and needed a car for the airport, so we bought another Zafira. We told the dealer we wanted our money back as the car was not fit for purpose and they said they would get back to us. After our holiday, we contacted them and they offered us £500 for the car (we paid £1599). We told them this was unacceptable as it broke down within a month of having it and that we were entitled to a full refund. We even said we would take £1300 just to be done.

The dealer was always ‘going to get back to me’ and as I suffer from severe anxiety and panic disorder, chasing them up isn’t the easiest for me. Of course they took advantage of the situation and just let it go. I constantly checked new cars they had online and on 1st December 19, I arrived and said I wanted the car I’d seen online. The intent was to sell this car to recoup some of my losses. As I had a new job, I used this car for work until end of January and at this stage have not been able to sell it.

Today, after picking my son up from school, I was passed by my old Zafira, the one that was too expensive to repair according to the dealer. Is it legal for them to say they can’t repair my car and then fix it and sell it after I have a new one? This doesn’t seem right at all, especially since if they had repaired it I wouldn’t be out and £2500 since then.

Would really appreciate any advise on whether the dealer is allowed to do this.

Hi Op: So you purchased first Zafira Feb 19 at a cost of £1599 it broke down twice so you had courtesy car for 1 month  April 19.

Holiday booked May and needed car to get you to airport? so you bought an other Zafira at £900? As you state you are now £2500 down.

The replacement car you received from the dealer. the one you are now selling was listed at £?

So you now have two cars and trying to sell the dealers replacement? Valued at  £?

Dealer could have eventually repaired ECU cost £300 to £400? or sold car on and buyer repaired.

The car was never unrepairable, just expensive to fix for a £1600 car.

Sorry it appears from the information given the dealer has done nothing wrong? It was their car to sell as you had received replacement from them.

Jumblebumble

daydreamexpert said:

Hi everyone,

I bought a Zafira in February 2019, it broke down (all electrics died) in beginning of March 19. It started again after 19 hours and the dealer couldn’t find what was wrong. 2 weeks later it did it again, this time it didn’t restart.

After about a month of driving a courtesy car while they looked at it, they said it was no good due to the ECU being fried and that we could exchange for another car with our car cost coming off the sticker price of another. We have 3 kids in car seats, and they had nothing we could use as a family, so we waited hoping to get something else in. 

We had a holiday booked end of May, and needed a car for the airport, so we bought another Zafira. We told the dealer we wanted our money back as the car was not fit for purpose and they said they would get back to us. After our holiday, we contacted them and they offered us £500 for the car (we paid £1599). We told them this was unacceptable as it broke down within a month of having it and that we were entitled to a full refund. We even said we would take £1300 just to be done.

The dealer was always ‘going to get back to me’ and as I suffer from severe anxiety and panic disorder, chasing them up isn’t the easiest for me. Of course they took advantage of the situation and just let it go. I constantly checked new cars they had online and on 1st December 19, I arrived and said I wanted the car I’d seen online. The intent was to sell this car to recoup some of my losses. As I had a new job, I used this car for work until end of January and at this stage have not been able to sell it.

Today, after picking my son up from school, I was passed by my old Zafira, the one that was too expensive to repair according to the dealer. Is it legal for them to say they can’t repair my car and then fix it and sell it after I have a new one? This doesn’t seem right at all, especially since if they had repaired it I wouldn’t be out and £2500 since then.

Would really appreciate any advise on whether the dealer is allowed to do this.

You have no idea what happened.
The garage could have located and  bought  an accident damaged scrapper with all the bits needed the next week
I used to fiddle with Citroen 2CVs and put back on the road many that had been condemned as uneconomic to repair by others
The gearboxes would lock up if reversed too fast.
Non expert diagnosis
Change Gearbox  Time 4 hours if seized bolts + cost of second/new hand box  
I knew how to repair in situ in just under an hour with no material cost.
One day I was called to a garage by the customer and fixed the car as usual
I asked the garage what I should do with the car and they told me they wanted to keep it so they could charge the customer for diagnosis of a gearbox that they said needed changing.  I took it for a test drive and returned it to the customers house.

Ditzy_Mitzy

I have absolutely no idea what's going on.  Other than it seems to be a bad idea to keep buying Vauxhall Zafiras.  It's unclear as to whether the second one was bought from the same garage, what happened to the £500, or who wants to sell which car to whom. 
All I can say is that if the OP accepted £500 in exchange for the first Zafira that's the end of it.  What happens afterwards is up to the new owner and if, for argument's sake, a £50 second hand ECU causes it to rise from the scrapheap like Lazarus, the new owner benefits hugely.  

[Deleted User]

Supersonos said:

daydreamexpert said:

as I suffer from severe anxiety and panic disorder, chasing them up isn’t the easiest for me. 

It's not easy for you to pick up the phone?  Or send an email?

Don't belittle their condition. Mental health is just as serious physical health problems and yes, it does make it hard to make phone calls or write emails repeatedly, especially when it's about money.

[Deleted User]

OP, ignore all the snarky comments. You bought the car, it wasn't fit for purpose and they couldn't fix it, it broke within the first month. You are entitled a refund. They may try to claim some mileage but on a car of that age it will be negligible.

I know it's difficult so maybe ask someone to help you, but the next step is to send them a Letter Before Action. Don't worry, you don't have to go to court if you don't want to, although as a last resort Small Claims Court is very easy to do. Just send them something like this:

Dear XXX,

We purchased a Vauxhall Zafira on XX.XX.XXXX. It broke down on XX.XX.XXXX and you were unable to repair it. As you did not have any suitable replacement vehicles we asked for a refund and subsequently bought another car elsewhere. Please issue us a refund of £1,599 by XX.XX.XXXX (2 weeks hence) or we will proceed to Small Claims Court.

Regards,
OP


Send that and see what they do. You can just bluff and not go through with Small Claims Court, usually they just pay up when they see they are about to lose even more money.