Used car help

PaulJM

Hello all, a bit of advice before I start this journey if possible! 
I bought a 4 year old VW polo with 21,000 from MotorMatch - they're part of the Swansway group, and sell on their trade in cars.  The car seemed OK from the test drive, and I was promised a service and mot before I received it. 
It comes with a 4 week "guarantee" from the trader. 
We got the car, then went on holiday for a week. Driving it more since we've been back, I've noticed a few things that concerned me - the car whines slightly in reverse, and judders at the start of the clutch bite reversing. The clutch is also very high. Also, the brakes are scraping somewhere.
I was unable to get through to their after sales, and in the end emailed the sales person, who said he'd get them to call me back. 
I'm slightly concerned they're going to stretch this out now - it's 30 miles away, so getting the car there and back is a massive pain, and I think the next appointment will be next week, which would leave a week on the guarantee. 
I'm also concerned that an almost 4 year old car should have issues with the clutch/gearbox.

What's the best course of action now so they're not running down the clock? What are my consumer rights, away from this trader guarantee? 

pinkshoes

If it was me I would pay a local trusted mechanic to give the car a check and highlight any faults. If anything comes up then the dealer can fix them.

You'll have to pay the local mechanic but it will be worth it for peace of mind. 

As for the 30 miles, I'm afraid that was your choice...

tacpot12

The clutch being very high just be how that model of car is, or it could mean that the clutch needs replacing. This sort of thing is a good reason to try to test drive at least three of the same cars that you are looking to buy, so that you get to know what is normal for that model. 

If it that the clutch is worn, the guarantee may not cover this. You would need to read the guarantee carefully. 

Did the car have a service and MOT when you collected it? If not, why did you accept it? I could understand you accepting it if you had to go on holiday and needed the car for this. If the car did have the MOT and service, you should ask for them to put in writing that they will do these things for you. You don't know at this stage whether you want to keep the car. 

A worn clutch is entirely reasonable on a 4 year old Polo - remember Polos will tend to be driven by younger drivers and driven around town, e.g. short journeys with lots of stops and starts. 

The brake pads are probably worn through. These should have been replaced as part of the service. 

The advice to get a trusted mechanic to check it over is good advice. If they find a significant fault, you might be able to use their findings to reject the car under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

Grumpy_chap

PaulJM said:

Hello all, a bit of advice before I start this journey if possible! 
I bought a 4 year old VW polo with 21,000 from MotorMatch - they're part of the Swansway group, and sell on their trade in cars.  The car seemed OK from the test drive, and I was promised a service and mot before I received it. 
It comes with a 4 week "guarantee" from the trader. 
We got the car, then went on holiday for a week. Driving it more since we've been back, I've noticed a few things that concerned me - the car whines slightly in reverse, and judders at the start of the clutch bite reversing. The clutch is also very high. Also, the brakes are scraping somewhere.
I was unable to get through to their after sales, and in the end emailed the sales person, who said he'd get them to call me back. 
I'm slightly concerned they're going to stretch this out now - it's 30 miles away, so getting the car there and back is a massive pain, and I think the next appointment will be next week, which would leave a week on the guarantee. 
I'm also concerned that an almost 4 year old car should have issues with the clutch/gearbox.

What's the best course of action now so they're not running down the clock? What are my consumer rights, away from this trader guarantee? 

What are the terms of the 4 week "guarantee"?  Is this one of the marketing schemes where you are permitted to exchange the vehicle up to 4 week / 1k miles?  If so, that might be you best course of action.

You need to understand what the "issues" are that you've noticed and whether they really are "issues":

• The brakes scraping could simply be that the car was sat around for a while and some surface rust?
• The clutch biting point may be usual for the type of car, or may mean the clutch is on the way out.  BUT, you would have noticed this at the test drive.
• Clutch judder may be just you getting used to that car?
• Whine in reverse could be anything

As other said, a local service / check over would be a suitable route forwards.  

Did you receive the paperwork for the service and MOT done prior to collection?

On the one hand, you might reasonably expect a 4yo car with 21k miles to be very much like new.  On the other, the 4-years may have had the car in the custody of "one careful elderly owner" who only ever did a weekly trip to the shops, never got the engine warm and rode the clutch almost constantly.

If the worst came to the worst and you needed a new clutch, what would that cost?  Would the car still be good value even allowing for that cost in addition to your purchase price?

mattyprice4004

A whine in reverse is normal for a manual car, as is a little clutch judder if it's been sat for a while. 
The whine from reverse is due to the reverse gear on most cars being 'straight cut' rather than helically cut as per the other 'forward' gears - it's normal and nothing to worry about. 
Some cars do have helically cut reverse gears, but most I've driven whine in reverse.