Advice on used car dealer nightmare

Sally9698

Hello, really hope someone can give me some advice please.

I bought a used car from a dealer in July, and because of concerns about how it was driving from day 1 I took it for an inspection ASAP. Despite it being sold with a recent MOT and service, there was a whole host of problems which sadly made the car not fit for driving. The list is as follows:

- both lower arm bushes are worn; 

- front discs and pads are very worn;

- the exhaust catalyst is rattling;

- there is an oil leak;

- the off-side rear tyre tread is low;

- the dashboard is displaying an intermittent warning, citing "gearbox malfunction" and the gearbox has become noisy/not switching gears smoothly.

I wish I had asked for a refund but I tried to give the dealer the benefit of the doubt after they said they could repair the issues, so I got the car towed back to the dealer for repair. 

They have now had my car for 2.5 months and despite regular emails and calls from me, they refuse to tell me where they have sent my car for repair, what is being done to it, and even a vague time frame on when it will be fixed. 

This has been a really stressful experience as the dealer is really dismissive and I feel like there is nothing I can do whilst I continue pay insurance and tax on a car I drove for 1 day.

I have made a complaint in writing after advice from Trading Standards,  but it doesn't look like I will get a response before the 2 weeks I was told to give them to reply ends. 

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do now?

It feels like they are getting away what feels like borderline criminal activity.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

cx6

did you pay anything on credit card or a finance agreement?

tacpot12

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, call the Legal Helpline asap for advice. 

Grumpy_chap

Sally9698 said:

Hello, really hope someone can give me some advice please.

I bought a used car from a dealer in July, and because of concerns about how it was driving from day 1 I took it for an inspection ASAP. Despite it being sold with a recent MOT and service, there was a whole host of problems which sadly made the car not fit for driving. The list is as follows:

- both lower arm bushes are worn; 

- front discs and pads are very worn;

- the exhaust catalyst is rattling;

- there is an oil leak;

- the off-side rear tyre tread is low;

- the dashboard is displaying an intermittent warning, citing "gearbox malfunction" and the gearbox has become noisy/not switching gears smoothly.

I wish I had asked for a refund but I tried to give the dealer the benefit of the doubt after they said they could repair the issues, so I got the car towed back to the dealer for repair. 

They have now had my car for 2.5 months and despite regular emails and calls from me, they refuse to tell me where they have sent my car for repair, what is being done to it, and even a vague time frame on when it will be fixed. 

This has been a really stressful experience as the dealer is really dismissive and I feel like there is nothing I can do whilst I continue pay insurance and tax on a car I drove for 1 day.

I have made a complaint in writing after advice from Trading Standards,  but it doesn't look like I will get a response before the 2 weeks I was told to give them to reply ends. 

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do now?

It feels like they are getting away what feels like borderline criminal activity.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

How old is the car?
How many miles has it done?
How much did you pay for it?
What type of car is it?

Were any of the faults apparent at the test drive?

Did you do HPI check prior to purchase?
What service history was the car sold with?

Did you check MOT history prior to purchase?
Several of the items you mention look like they probably would have passed the MOT, but also likely noted as "advisories":

- both lower arm bushes are worn; 

- front discs and pads are very worn;

- the exhaust catalyst is rattling;

- the off-side rear tyre tread is low;

As such, these items would probably not be grounds to reject the vehicle, nor issues for the Dealer to resolve.  

The oil leak could be very minor - I assume the car is not "gushing" oil out, as you would have seen the puddle at the test drive and not proceeded with the purchase.

That only leaves the gear box issue as grounds to reject or a matter for the Dealer to resolve.  
Was any issue with the gear box evident during the test drive? 
Was the warning light evident during the test drive?

When you identified these issues, why did you take the car to another garage to do an inspection rather than raise the issues with the supply Dealer in the first instance?
This could give the Dealer the excuse that the other garage caused the problems.

As for what to do next,

1. Rather than e-mail and phone, why not call into speak with the Dealer?  As long as you are polite and calm, you may find a better response if you are there in person?
2. If you paid for the car, or part of it, on finance or CC, then consider a S75 claim.
3. Otherwise, consider the home insurance legal advice, as suggested above.