Car Shop - Faulty Car on Finance

danniellemurphy94

Purchased car: 30/01/2021
issue1: 30/01/2021 
warning light - took car back 
faults: 
Front brake warning wire and sysle reset. 

Washer motor and seal 
missing wheel arch liner plastic blanki 
driver door latch faulty 
completed by 03/03/2021. 

Fault raises august 2021:
breaks grinding and horrible noise front right wheel. Garage booked 21/09/2021 (couldn’t get me in earlier) 

faults pick up 21/09/2021 
- needs new break pads and disks 
- clutch and flywheel fault needs replacing. 

Only done 5000 miles since jan and 3000 since the first set of faults. 

I’ve paid £270 for new brake disks and pads. Was told by car shop the car can be driven away. I question weather this is safe. The response I got ( the car drives but cannot guarantee the car will not fail on me) 

28/09/2021: 
car shop calls - warrenty company where I pay for extended warranty want pictures to prove the damages. This will cost me £600.00. 

I contact RAC warranty company: question why I should pay for something they need to determine weather they will pay for the fault. The response I got was we need the pictures to prove if the clutch caused the problem with the flywheel, if it confirms it was the clutch they will not pay for the repair. 

I have been quoted £1426.00 for the job to be done and this is after paying £270 already. 

If the RAC won’t cover the cost it will cost me £600 for the car shop to put the car back together and still be faulty. 

I am at my wits end with the problems I have faced and this is just a snapshot of the issues I have pages of information on top of this. 

Any advice would be much appreciated

jimjames

Brakes and clutch are all standard wear items, unlikely any warranty would cover them

caprikid1

Age and Model of car ? Number of miles.

From what I can see a few minor faults early on now its wear and tear items. Need more details on the car though.

AdrianC

5,000 miles and 8 months after you bought a used car, it needs new brake pads.

Give us a bit more detail about the clutch/flywheel...

What age/mileage of car?

NSG666

What symptoms did you report that lead to them saying it needs a new clutch and flywheel?

danniellemurphy94

Cars done 79000 miles, 2012. Only 7 months since getting the car. 

I told them it was a noise and they said flywheel, they haven’t given me much information to go off other then it could be covered under warranty. 

Question in relation to the brakes, If they changed the sensor for them how can I have worn them out to the point of needing new disks in 3000 miles? 

danniellemurphy94

It’s a Mini Cooper countryman SD 

angrycrow

They may not have needed to touch the brake pads to fix the original wear sensor issues. Most wear sensors use a loop of wire embedded in the pad friction material. When the pad wears down to the limit the loop gets worn through and breaks. The system detects the lack of continuity through the wire and puts the wear light on. 

Sometimes the plug between the pad and the car comes loose or gets dirty resulting in a false wear warning. Cleaning the plug fixes the issue. There could also have been a break in the wiring that would produce the same effect and could be easily repaired.

It sounds like the pads were not replaced in March. At 9 years old and 76k  it is entirely reasonable to need new discs and pads due to wear and tear and this would not be covered by warranty and is simply a cost of running a car. 

AdrianC

danniellemurphy94 said:

Cars done 79000 miles, 2012.

So a 9yo car with 80k on the clock.

Is it reasonable for a clutch or flywheel to fail on a 9yo car with 80k on the clock? Absolutely.

Only 7 months since getting the car.

You bought it on 30/1.
Today is 28/9.
That's close enough to 8 months...

I told them it was a noise and they said flywheel, they haven’t given me much information to go off other then it could be covered under warranty.

Probably a dual-mass flywheel starting to break up. They do that...

As and when the clutch needs replacement, it's wise to replace the flywheel at the same time.
And, of course, vice-versa when the clutch wears out - which, at this mileage, would not be unexpected.

Question in relation to the brakes, If they changed the sensor for them how can I have worn them out to the point of needing new disks in 3000 miles? 

If the pads are worn to the metal, they'll make a lot of noise, and wear discs to the point of needing replacement in a handful of miles, let alone a month.

Did you actually check the pads when the brake noise started, or simply book it in and continue to drive?

Should the wear light have come on? Probably. Was the sensor that got replaced a pad wear sensor, or an ABS sensor?

Both pads and discs are consumables, of course, so it may simply be that the pads were wearing low, and the discs were also due replacement simply because of age. The discs haven't worn in 3,000 miles - they've worn in maybe 30k, maybe 80k...

k3lvc

danniellemurphy94 said 

I am at my wits end with the problems I have faced and this is just a snapshot of the issues I have pages of information on top of this. 

As above you've bought an 'old' used car from a supermarket with a basic warranty and these are normal costs.

The ones when you bought it are fairly normal given their preparation standards, the later ones are wear and tear - what are the other 'pages of issues' ?

If you want something with fewer costs/warranty challenges you (generally) buy from a main dealer and pay their prices - as an example my 45k miles Mini came with new tyres/brake discs & pads and other than a routine service all other niggles/issues have been sorted by dealer at zero cost (replacement brake caliper, boot release and loose trim) - none of which would've been entertained by an aftermarket warranty company 

danniellemurphy94

Thanks for all the advice,