Advice on car purchase

princesslea10

Hi
I'm just after some advice if anyone can help. I bought a used car end of June (14 plate astra) the clutch went so I got it fixed at a cost of £720. I contacted the seller who said he would try and claim it back from the warranty company, anyway long story short, warranty company won't pay out, the car developed other issues such as cutting out and not starting. I totally lost confidence in the car he finally agreed to buy the car back at the price I paid but refused to pay for the clutch bill, I even offered for just 50%back of the clutch back but he was getting nasty so I didn't push it. Just need some advice of what to do next. Not sure how this stands in the eyes of the law, help!! TYI 😁

Grumpy_chap

The clutch is usually deemed a consumable item and excluded from the warranty.  Did you give the dealer the opportunity to fix the clutch before getting the work done elsewhere?

It may not seem right, but if you got all the money back for the car, that is likely as good as it will get.

sweetsand

princesslea10 said:

Hi
I'm just after some advice if anyone can help. I bought a used car end of June (14 plate astra) the clutch went so I got it fixed at a cost of £720. I contacted the seller who said he would try and claim it back from the warranty company, anyway long story short, warranty company won't pay out, the car developed other issues such as cutting out and not starting. I totally lost confidence in the car he finally agreed to buy the car back at the price I paid but refused to pay for the clutch bill, I even offered for just 50%back of the clutch back but he was getting nasty so I didn't push it. Just need some advice of what to do next. Not sure how this stands in the eyes of the law, help!! TYI 😁

Thankfully never needed to claim on a warranty co but do they not have to agree for the works before you go ahead as otherwise how would they know what really happened, just saying.
I hope it works out for you but at times best to cut your loses and return the car for the price you paid as IMO that is genrous of him/her as you did the works of your own back
the car has lost value since you had it and another registered keeper so dealer is fair IMO

princesslea10

I did the work as I had no other option, I needed to be mobile, I get what your saying just seems unfair, I was thinking small claims court but I might just draw a line under it. 

onlyfoolsandparking

Have I missed this somewhere? Was it a dealer OR private sale? big differences in what your options are.

princesslea10

He's a registered trader but sells from home... 

AdrianC

Is a clutch wearing out unreasonable for a 6yo car?

Absolutely not. It's all in the way it's been driven in the past - it's a wear and tear consumable.
You don't mention the mileage, but it's entirely possible for a ham-footed driver to wear a clutch out in VERY short order.

One thing's for sure - while a warranty excludes wear but would cover premature failure of a clutch due to materials or workmanship problems, they would have come to the fore a long while before 6yrs.

sweetsand

princesslea10 said:

I did the work as I had no other option, I needed to be mobile, I get what your saying just seems unfair, I was thinking small claims court but I might just draw a line under it. 

Dear OP
I do feel for you but I have said where you stand and thank you for kind of accepting that. If I was you, I'd feel miffed but in the scehme of things, write it off as a poor expeirence. Good news is IMHO, the dealers being preetty fair to you as far as small dealers go and we have never bought a car from anyone other than a main dealer as they are often more forgiving, careful, caring call it what you want.
Take care as it can happen to anyone no matter what they say
x

fred246

Your only option now is the small claims court. Forgot all about the warranty. They are almost always useless. How quickly did you realise that the clutch had gone? Did you give the seller an opportunity to fix it himself? If a trader sells a car it must work. It can't be defective. How long did you have the car and how many miles did you do. The seller can deduct money for your usage. If the car was obviously sold with a worn out clutch that will be obvious in court. Going to court is always a gamble. Judges are a bit random. You have a much greater chance than 'the regulars' on here suggest. They never learn the law.

sweetsand

fred246 said:

Your only option now is the small claims court. Forgot all about the warranty. They are almost always useless. How quickly did you realise that the clutch had gone? Did you give the seller an opportunity to fix it himself? If a trader sells a car it must work. It can't be defective. How long did you have the car and how many miles did you do. The seller can deduct money for your usage. If the car was obviously sold with a worn out clutch that will be obvious in court. Going to court is always a gamble. Judges are a bit random. You have a much greater chance than 'the regulars' on here suggest. They never learn the law.

How can "small claims court help" when the OP has clearly told you they went ahead having the car repaired without the seller or warranty people having a look at it??

Mercdriver

Fred, the difficulty is proving on the basis of probability that the clutch was sold with a worn out clutch.  As it's generally a wear and tear item that can be made u/s very quickly (not suggesting that is the case here - but all the other side have to do is make it 50/50 in the mind of the judge).  Also as you know and you never seem to acknowledge, getting judgement is one thing, getting paid is another.  Sure they can send out the Sheriffs, but that gets expensive if they cannot collect as the only time the plaintiff has to pay is when they are unable to collect.