Dealer refusing refund

Tobythedinosaur

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice,


About just under 1 month ago I bought a ford focus ST mk2 (135,000 miles) of a dealer for £3200, On looking at the car everything seemed good, just had a fresh MOT and servicing not too long ago, I asked to test drive and was told only he could test drive, So I agreed and he took me out for a quick 5 min drive and ragged the car to impress me with the car. I ended up buying the car and driving it home about 60 miles then as I stopped at a mcdonalds drive thru and my car started to overheat, smoke was pouring out the back and the car stalled and wouldn't turn back on, Fortunately some kind people pushed my car out of the drive thru and into a space. When I opened the engine bay coolant was !!!!!! out the car and I was stranded at 11pm at night. I managed to get some water and refill my coolant and ended up bump starting the car with my father and managed to get the engine running, Luckily I was only 7-8 miles from my house so drove very carefully,The next day I text the dealer telling what had happened and he basically came back saying it wasn't his fault and he had been driving as his daily for 5-6 weeks.

I took it to a ford garage a few days later for a full service and to check the coolant, Service went well and they said coolant seemed good too, I leave and about 10 minutes later the coolant is leaking again, So I take it back and leave it there, They perform a pressure test and the next day tell me, I need a new coolant overflow tank. So at this point I've spent £400 on the car and had the car 1 week. I messaged the dealer telling him what had happened and once again he tells me he would never sell a faulty car and basically says its not his fault. so after the car was fixed, I drove the car and wanted to see if everything was ok, But 20 minutes in and im losing coolant pressure. I call the ford garage and tell them whats wrong and they tell me to come back and they will look at it. As I'm driving on the way there smoke starts pouring out in the car but really pouring out, Luckily the garage was 0.5 miles away so I managed to get it there. On arrival the lead mechanic does a few tests and informs me that my head gasket has blown up.and it's not safe to drive away again so I leave the car with them, about 1 week later when they looked at the car in the workshop and took off the head gasket. They've told me one of the pistons is very badly worn. He told me i have 3 options, Pay £1100 for a new head gasket but that won't fix the car, it will just make the car driveable under 3500rpm, option 2 is The engine needs a complete rebuild and will cost £2.5-£3.5k, Option 3 is get a brand new engine and forged pistons for £4-£5k, When speaking to the mechanic he told me who ever sold you this car knew something was wrong because the head gasket had been fiddled with and they had put the wrong bolts in places and had try to cover up something.

I spoke to the dealer than sold me the car and asked him for a full refund telling him what had happened, He told me that my car wasn't valid because its a performance model car and under the act it doesn't qualify, I told that i would serve him with a legal letter which he said is fine. when I went to his business today, the gates were locked nor was he opening his front door. But I recorded our phone call and he acknowledged that I would serve him with a letter, I have taken photos of me posting it through his door 

Please could I get advise on if I have a claim?

Kind Regards

Tobythedinosaur

To add sorry,

he also said because of the high mileage my claim is invalid,

also i should of been more diligent but he has loads of fake auto trader reviews, there's actually a real one from a guy 1 month ago who also had a similar issue with his car

motorguy

Tobythedinosaur said:

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice,


About just under 1 month ago I bought a ford focus ST mk2 (135,000 miles) of a dealer for £3200, On looking at the car everything seemed good, just had a fresh MOT and servicing not too long ago, I asked to test drive and was told only he could test drive, So I agreed and he took me out for a quick 5 min drive and ragged the car to impress me with the car. I ended up buying the car and driving it home about 60 miles then as I stopped at a mcdonalds drive thru and my car started to overheat, smoke was pouring out the back and the car stalled and wouldn't turn back on, Fortunately some kind people pushed my car out of the drive thru and into a space. When I opened the engine bay coolant was !!!!!! out the car and I was stranded at 11pm at night. I managed to get some water and refill my coolant and ended up bump starting the car with my father and managed to get the engine running, Luckily I was only 7-8 miles from my house so drove very carefully,The next day I text the dealer telling what had happened and he basically came back saying it wasn't his fault and he had been driving as his daily for 5-6 weeks.

I took it to a ford garage a few days later for a full service and to check the coolant, Service went well and they said coolant seemed good too, I leave and about 10 minutes later the coolant is leaking again, So I take it back and leave it there, They perform a pressure test and the next day tell me, I need a new coolant overflow tank. So at this point I've spent £400 on the car and had the car 1 week. I messaged the dealer telling him what had happened and once again he tells me he would never sell a faulty car and basically says its not his fault. so after the car was fixed, I drove the car and wanted to see if everything was ok, But 20 minutes in and im losing coolant pressure. I call the ford garage and tell them whats wrong and they tell me to come back and they will look at it. As I'm driving on the way there smoke starts pouring out in the car but really pouring out, Luckily the garage was 0.5 miles away so I managed to get it there. On arrival the lead mechanic does a few tests and informs me that my head gasket has blown up.and it's not safe to drive away again so I leave the car with them, about 1 week later when they looked at the car in the workshop and took off the head gasket. They've told me one of the pistons is very badly worn. He told me i have 3 options, Pay £1100 for a new head gasket but that won't fix the car, it will just make the car driveable under 3500rpm, option 2 is The engine needs a complete rebuild and will cost £2.5-£3.5k, Option 3 is get a brand new engine and forged pistons for £4-£5k, When speaking to the mechanic he told me who ever sold you this car knew something was wrong because the head gasket had been fiddled with and they had put the wrong bolts in places and had try to cover up something.

I spoke to the dealer than sold me the car and asked him for a full refund telling him what had happened, He told me that my car wasn't valid because its a performance model car and under the act it doesn't qualify, I told that i would serve him with a legal letter which he said is fine. when I went to his business today, the gates were locked nor was he opening his front door. But I recorded our phone call and he acknowledged that I would serve him with a letter, I have taken photos of me posting it through his door 

Please could I get advise on if I have a claim?

Kind Regards

Hes full of poo, frankly.

Those engines are notorious for going bang by the way.

I think you're going to have to go down the legal route - Letter Before Action, then take it from there.

Be prepared for a long drawn out process and for the dealer to close down his limited company and start another one rather than pay up.

motorguy

Tobythedinosaur said:

To add sorry,

he also said because of the high mileage my claim is invalid,

also i should of been more diligent but he has loads of fake auto trader reviews, there's actually a real one from a guy 1 month ago who also had a similar issue with his car

More rubbish.

He sounds like a slippery weasel who has no intentions of paying up, so be prepared for that.

ontheroad1970

And also for him to blame the Ford garage...

AdrianC

A car with 135k miles, 11 years old at the youngest, 15 at the oldest (the average car in the UK is just under 14yo when it's scrapped).
A quick look at Autotrader finds your is amongst the cheapest non-write-off, non-faulty ones for sale.

It's entirely possible the coolant tank started to leak on the way home, and continuing to drive it is almost certainly what blew the head gasket. It may even be what scored the piston.

The dealer is wrong when he says performance cars don't fall under consumer rights legislation.

But your rights are tempered by reasonable expectations for a car of that age, mileage, relative price, and apparent condition.

If he does not wish to refund you for it, then you will have to physically return the car to him, and launch a small claim against him for the purchase price.

Grumpy_chap

Tobythedinosaur said:

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice,


About just under 1 month ago I bought a ford focus ST mk2 (135,000 miles) of a dealer for £3200, On looking at the car everything seemed good, just had a fresh MOT and servicing not too long ago, I asked to test drive and was told only he could test drive, So I agreed and he took me out for a quick 5 min drive and ragged the car to impress me with the car. I ended up buying the car and driving it home about 60 miles then as I stopped at a mcdonalds drive thru and my car started to overheat, smoke was pouring out the back and the car stalled and wouldn't turn back on, Fortunately some kind people pushed my car out of the drive thru and into a space. When I opened the engine bay coolant was !!!!!! out the car and I was stranded at 11pm at night. I managed to get some water and refill my coolant and ended up bump starting the car with my father and managed to get the engine running, Luckily I was only 7-8 miles from my house so drove very carefully,The next day I text the dealer telling what had happened and he basically came back saying it wasn't his fault and he had been driving as his daily for 5-6 weeks.

Ideally, this was the time to exercise the short term right to reject.

If you are still within the 30 days, I would still suggest that short term right to reject is the way to proceed.

From what you say about the dealer, expect a good old fight about it.

Tobythedinosaur

AdrianC said:

A car with 135k miles, 11 years old at the youngest, 15 at the oldest (the average car in the UK is just under 14yo when it's scrapped).
A quick look at Autotrader finds your is amongst the cheapest non-write-off, non-faulty ones for sale.

It's entirely possible the coolant tank started to leak on the way home, and continuing to drive it is almost certainly what blew the head gasket. It may even be what scored the piston.

The dealer is wrong when he says performance cars don't fall under consumer rights legislation.

But your rights are tempered by reasonable expectations for a car of that age, mileage, relative price, and apparent condition.

If he does not wish to refund you for it, then you will have to physically return the car to him, and launch a small claim against him for the purchase price.

I forgot to mention, when we arrived he broke the coolant cap and told me he had another one so would put that on, As he put the other one on, Coolant went onto the floor but he said thats because the seal on the cap wasn't on?

AdrianC

The engine was hot? That's what happens when you remove the cap from a hot engine. The water is pressurised by the cap, and can boil and expand when the cap is removed.

But, yes, if it's being pressurised by a blown HG, it'll also happen...

Tobythedinosaur

AdrianC said:

The engine was hot? That's what happens when you remove the cap from a hot engine. The water is pressurised by the cap, and can boil and expand when the cap is removed.

But, yes, if it's being pressurised by a blown HG, it'll also happen...

No actually the engine wasn't hot, I had just arrived and he said the coolant cap was broke and he put a new one on it 

motorguy

Tobythedinosaur said:

AdrianC said:

The engine was hot? That's what happens when you remove the cap from a hot engine. The water is pressurised by the cap, and can boil and expand when the cap is removed.

But, yes, if it's being pressurised by a blown HG, it'll also happen...

No actually the engine wasn't hot, I had just arrived and he said the coolant cap was broke and he put a new one on it 

He'd replaced the coolant cap coping that the pressurisation was being caused by a faulty cap.

He sold you a pup.