Refusing a car.

bbpet

I brought a Peugeot 207 (2008) 5 weeks ago, I started to notice a clicking when I was turning corners 2 weeks after I brought it and was advised by friends it was fine, I looked it up and I think its something to do with the cv joint, I went back to the dealer and he agreed it was something to do with the cv joint and that I have to get it fixed myself, I said about consumer rights, and he replied that it only applies to new cars, which is a lie, and just tried to send me on my way by saying it is a wear and tear issue, is anything to do with a cv joint classed as wear and tear? and should I just fix it myself? Also the MOT that was done on the day passed with no advisories or faults, would this have showed up on an mot? 
Im sorry but I don't know anything about cars.
Thank you.

AdrianC

You're right, consumer rights do apply to used goods - but they're heavily tempered by reasonable expectations for the age/price/etc.

A CV joint on a 12yo car certainly could start to fail audibly at any given time, yes. Absolutely wear and tear, even assuming it hasn't been brought on by clonking a kerb.
Not an expensive fix - even a good quality part is <£100, and an hour or two to fit.

No, it wouldn't have showed on a test.

flicks

Can only agree with Adrian C above. I purchased a used Renault Captur a few years ago with exactly the same problem.

 Initially tried with the main dealer to see if this could be remedied as it seems to be a reasonably common fault with Capturs of a similar year but they were having none of it.

The garage that done my MOT/servicing picked up on it but said to not worry too much about it unless it got really bad and over the 3 years I owned the car it didn't deteriorate badly.

 Seems this can be caused by a poor gaiter over the joint which allows grit in and once it happens, although the gaiter can be renewed the grit cannot ever be removed and will slowly wear the joint down.

 There was clear evidence that the gaiter(s) had been replaced as they were not the original ones.

MinuteNoodles

bbpet said:

 Also the MOT that was done on the day passed with no advisories or faults, would this have showed up on an mot? 
Im sorry but I don't know anything about cars.
Thank you.

No, it's not a testable item. The MOT only checks a very narrow number of items to do with safety and emissions and importantly a MOT station is not allowed to dismantle anything to check so for example they can't remove wheels or brake drums to inspect brake shoes so it's perfectly possible to pass a MOT with almost worn out rear brake shoes. They don't test the clutch, the cambelt, CV joints, the heater, central locking, whether or not you can get all gears in a gearbox. It's possible to pass a MOT with a worn out clutch or a gearbox with half the gears missing.
A MOT should NEVER EVER be used as an indication of the quality of a vehicle in regards to whether or not there are faults. It's perfectly feasible for a car to pass a MOT and develop a MOT failing fault the minute it's driven off the ramp. Hell my wife's car once passed the visual inspection for the brake flexible hoses but then one hose failed during the MOT later on when testing the braking efficiency.

AdrianC

Gaiters are absolutely wear and tear, and a consumable - so there's no conspiracy in them having been replaced on a 12yo car.

If a CV joint fails completely, that wheel will lose all drive. Because of the way the differential in the gearbox works, that means you'll lose all drive...

Goudy

The only driveshaft parts that's testable on the MOT are the CV joint covers (boots).
Got to agree, it's a wearable part.
J&R Driveshafts can supply a rebuilt shaft cheap enough and a decent mechanic can swap one over by just undoing a few nuts. 

bbpet

Thank you so much for the advice.

fred246

I would say that you have bought a faulty car and under the CRA2015 you can request a repair of the car. If the seller won't repair it you could have it done elsewhere and then file a claim with moneyclaimonline. Very good chance of winning.

AdrianC

fred246 said:

I would say that you have bought a faulty car and under the CRA2015 you can request a repair of the car. If the seller won't repair it you could have it done elsewhere and then file a claim with moneyclaimonline. Very good chance of winning.

You don't think a CV joint is reasonable wear and tear on a 12yo car...?

facade

CV joints wear, and can knock at extremes of lock for many, many thousands of miles, like the one on my woeful Renault Nissan has been.

There is very slight wear around the straight ahead position where the bearings usually sit, and when you try and drive on lock the bearings get forced right from one unworn section of the groove to the opposite one under load, which causes binding in the joint, and a knocking that can be felt through the steering wheel.

I will change it if it fails completely, or starts knocking in normal use (as in turns that don't involve arm crossing at the steering wheel.)

A decent new one is hundreds of pounds, and I doubt if a £60 driveshaft from ECP will last as long as the present one has been knocking happily for.

AdrianC

facade said:

A decent new one is hundreds of pounds, and I doubt if a £60 driveshaft from ECP will last as long as the present one has been knocking happily for.

A new joint for the OP's Pug is £25 for own-brand cheese, and £50ish for SKF.