Newly bought Second hand car with oil leaks

Misswilco

I bought a car on 28th April 2021, by putting down a £500 deposit.  The garage didn't have the car ready until the 6th May due to completing a what they called a service and MOT. We picked the car up on the 6th May drove the car upto a local beauty spot, where we smelt burning from the engine. I took the car straight to my local mechanic who said the car EGR unit had been removed and the pipes bypassed.  It transpired there was a hole in the pipe. I rang the garage who disputed the issue, refusing to give us a refund on the right to return the car. The mechanic actually came to my house to take the car for a drive, on the way back the car broke down so he took it back to his garage as he said he had the right to repair the vehicle, he refused to take the car back and give us a refund. He took the car back had it for a week and replaced the EGR unit, I then took the car back on the 12th May 2021, within an hour of having the car back the central locking wouldn't open the drivers side rear door, then on the Thursday morning came to drive the car where there was a pool of oil under the car. I informed the garage of the issue with the lock straight away but they couldn't book it in until yesterday the 17th. Over the weekend I monitored the oil leak which continued some of which was in multiple places. I informed the garage about the oil leaks when I took the car. I also showed him pictures of the leaks and a sheet we laid under the car identifying where they were. I also emailed him the pictures regarding the leaks his response was as follow. 

"ok had a look at the oil leak its a minor oil leak from the rear crank oil seal i think not sure cars of this age do have oil leaks especially diesels i have double checked its NOT a drastic or HEAVY oil leak i have not put any oil in either and the dipstick shows full .also if i may point out the terms of warranty it says we do not cover oil leaks no garage i know of will.

i did say i will help alternatively i can try and find a undertray which goes on under the engine this will stop further drips on your drive

if the oil leak was that bad and i thought it would cause failure to the engine i would then do it for you ."

I dont have any clue what to do because surely clearly identified oil leaks should be fixed, we haven't had the car long enough to cause any issues. We have had it less than 5 days in total for a months warranty.  I looked at the cars previous mot's which stated the car had an oil leak,  I asked the dealer if this had been fixed and he reassured me that it had. 

I'm wanting some advice as to moving forward.  

lisyloo

I would suggest you reject the car for not being satisfactory quality if that is what you want.
Your legal rights | AA (theaa.com)
Send them a letter via recorded delivery or take a video of posting it clearly showing it's their address (to avoid them saying they never received it).
You need to do this within the 30 day timescale (you have some rights after than but the shorter the better so as to minimise doubts about whether faults were there at the time at the time of sale).

How did you pay? both deposit and outstanding amount.
Start keeping a log of communcations (dates, who, what was said) in case it is required.
Do you have any legal cover on your home contents insurance (you might not need it but good to know).

Older cars do have small oil leaks but a "pool" doesn't sound so good.

Grumpy_chap

Reject the car:
https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/rejecting-a-car/
Expect push back from the supplying dealer.

caprikid1

Out of interest what is the car ? Age and Miles and amount paid ?

AdrianC

How old a car are we talking about here...?

Misswilco

The car is a 56 plate nissan pathfinder with 81,000 miles, we paid 4999 via visa debit card 

AdrianC

15 years old!

Are minor oil leaks reasonable to expect on a 15yo car? Yes.

Average age of a car at scrapping in the UK is just under 14yo.
Apparent condition pre-purchase included a reasonable expectation that you were aware of previous oil leaks on it, via the MOT history. Do you have anything in writing from the supplier about them having been fixed? What pre-purchase inspection did you do?

Fixing a rear crank seal is an engine-out job... And, yes, oil leaks do a great job of tracking all around the place to find a low point to actually drip from.

Misswilco

We did the usual but basic check the oil. Im no mechanic so wasn't able to do a full mechanical assessment. But I shall be getting an AA or rac assessment next time 

mksysb

lisyloo said:

I would suggest you reject the car for not being satisfactory quality if that is what you want.
Your legal rights | AA (theaa.com)
Send them a letter via recorded delivery or take a video of posting it clearly showing it's their address (to avoid them saying they never received it).
You need to do this within the 30 day timescale (you have some rights after than but the shorter the better so as to minimise doubts about whether faults were there at the time at the time of sale).

How did you pay? both deposit and outstanding amount.
Start keeping a log of communcations (dates, who, what was said) in case it is required.
Do you have any legal cover on your home contents insurance (you might not need it but good to know).

Older cars do have small oil leaks but a "pool" doesn't sound so good.

Don't send recorded delivery, they'll probably just refuse to accept it.   The correct way is go to the post office, send it first class, and get a free proof of postage,  It'll be deemed to have been received after two working days.