Tesla seatbelt problem and trader ignoring emails

Grumpy_chap

melb said:

Pre-existing faults are always excluded from proper warranties.  Are you serious? And what is a proper warranty in your view? No test drive as it was bought from and delivered by a Southampton company with a 30 day no quibble return.  you seem very antagonistic AdrianC.  maybe you would like to buy a Tesla but can't afford one?  

Are you still within that 30 days?  That may be your best option.

KimJongUn88

Seriously though, I think what AdrianC was getting at was that most garages use a separate warranty company to provide the cover. They pay a premium to the warranty company to cover the vehicle and the buyer would go to the warranty company if there is a subsequent problem. Sounds like the selling garage here are self insuring and have told you they would deal with any problem that arises themselves.

Also, he’s right that most companies don’t cover pre existing faults. They only cover faults which crop up after purchase. A pre existing fault would have to be dealt with by the selling garage under your own statutory rights. 

AdrianC

melb said:

Pre-existing faults are always excluded from proper warranties.  Are you serious?

Yes, absolutely.

Pre-existing faults are those that were there before you bought the car.
Why would a warranty which covers faults that develop after purchase cover those?

As a buyer, you do your due diligence before purchase.

And what is a proper warranty in your view?

One that comes from an actual warranty company, so will pay to have your car fixed at other provider-approved garages - not just the vendor's promise, which will inevitably involve returning the car to them for any work.

No test drive as it was bought from and delivered by a Southampton company with a 30 day no quibble return.

So a totally distance purchase? You never set foot on their premises at all?
Then you had a legal right to return for no reason within 14 days, but anything above that is down to the vendor.

And you seem to have proved conclusively how co-operative they are... You may have an ability to pursue them for breach of contract, if you have this 30-day return documented, and they've breached the terms and conditions.

Apart from that, your legal rights are to get a refund for any faults unreasonable to expect in a five year old car... within 30 days, they have a right to repair outside.

But if they don't play ball, then you need to physically return the car and launch a court claim for the money - since it's over £10k, it's not a small claim.

you seem very antagonistic AdrianC.  maybe you would like to buy a Tesla but can't afford one?

Please don't shoot the messenger when I'm trying to help you understand the position you're in.

melb

yes that's fair enough when you put it like that as only the seller could possibly know that a seatbelt would randomly tighten when the car was being driven.  I wish we had just rejected it within the 30 days - unfortunately that time has now passed (only just) although I think I am right in saying that statutory rights mean you can reject a car within 3 months if there is a fault which could reasonably have been assumed to be there before the sale.  We are not quibbling that the aircon doesn't work that well or that the radio is crap .  The seatbelt is an integral part of the safety of the car and it is not fit for purpose as it stands.  if it is not performing as it should during normal conditions, how can we have confidence that it will perform as it should if we were to have an accident? Tesla had to recall every single Tesla Model S in 2016 because there was a different fault with the seatbelt so maybe it is a weak point in their design.

I wish they would deal with this theselves but they are just refusing to reply to emails now.  We have kept our correspondence polite and factual but this is getting ridiculous and they obviously just hope we will go away but we won't..  I had better communication with the seller when I paid £800 for my son's nissan Almera!

melb

why would a seatbelt suddenly develop a fault on the back of a low-loader while it was being delivered?  So it was a known fault.  The seatbelt is significantly frayed compared to the driver's seatbelt - one would assume that a driver's setbelt would usually have significantly more use than a passenger seatbelt. If a trader sells a car with a known fault would this not be covered by Warranty?  Yes we will have to deliver the car back to Southampton (from Leeds) to have the work done under Warranty.  I think that tells us all we need to know about the quality of the Warranty!

AdrianC

melb said:

yes that's fair enough when you put it like that as only the seller could possibly know that a seatbelt would randomly tighten when the car was being driven.

...or somebody test-driving pre-purchase...

I will never understand why people buy even near-new cars without looking at them, then complain about things that would have been evident on any reasonable pre-purchase inspection - let alone ones that are old enough to be out of the manufacturer's warranty.

I wish we had just rejected it within the 30 days - unfortunately that time has now passed (only just)

When did you first notify them of the fault? That's when the clock stops.

...although I think I am right in saying that statutory rights mean you can reject a car within 3 months if there is a fault which could reasonably have been assumed to be there before the sale.

No - you have 30 days to reject, else the retailer has a right to repair.

After that, within six months there is a presumption the fault was present, unless it can be shown not to be.

Is it unreasonable for a seatbelt to develop a fault within five years of manufacture?

Tesla had to recall every single Tesla Model S in 2016 because there was a different fault with the seatbelt so maybe it is a weak point in their design.

That is something you would need to take up with Tesla UK.

DB1904

melb said:

why would a seatbelt suddenly develop a fault on the back of a low-loader while it was being delivered?  So it was a known fault.  The seatbelt is significantly frayed compared to the driver's seatbelt - one would assume that a driver's setbelt would usually have significantly more use than a passenger seatbelt. If a trader sells a car with a known fault would this not be covered by Warranty?  Yes we will have to deliver the car back to Southampton (from Leeds) to have the work done under Warranty.  I think that tells us all we need to know about the quality of the Warranty!

Your warranty is from the point of sale if the fault existed before you had the warranty why should your warranty cover it? They told you it had a three month warranty to suck you into the sale. 

However it's sounds like distance selling and you could return it within 14 days. 

melb

a test drive wouldn't have necessarily shown the fault.  As I said in my first post it happens randomly

DB1904

melb said:

a test drive wouldn't have necessarily shown the fault.  As I said in my first post it happens randomly

Was this a distance sale? ie you never went to the dealers premises.
When did you take delivery?
When did you first realise the fault?
When did you tell the dealer?

AdrianC

melb said:

a test drive wouldn't have necessarily shown the fault.  As I said in my first post it happens randomly

As you said in your first post indeed...

melb said:

From the first journey the passenger seatbelt has randomly tightened during normal driving.
...
On one 20 minute journey it did it 4 times