Faulty used car but garage say nothing is wrong

Lorsical

I bought a used car two weeks ago. 4 days after we bought it we noticed a problem with the gear box, it gets stuck going into second gear. We called the garage we bought it from who took it in and looked at it, said they’d replaced some cables and we collected it.the same problem happened the afternoon we collected it so we called the garage back and after a slightly tense conversation I said we wanted to reject the car but they said they would look at it again. This time they’ve said they can’t find a fault with it or replicate the fault I’ve described, but had replaced the gearbox oil and done something with the clutch. they said they’ve taken it to an ‘independent’ garage who have said there’s nothing wrong with the car. I test drove the vehicle before taking it back again and it seemed ok but the same problem has just happened again. 

Where do we stand here? There is obviously an issue with the gearbox, they’re saying there isn’t - we’re still in our 30 day post purchase period - can we still reject the vehicle? I’m worried that this so called independant garage saying there’s nothing wrong will mean they will get out of having to give us a refund on the vehicle even though there is clearly an intermittent fault! 

It’s been a total nightmare! Any advise very gratefully received. 

Grumpy_chap

Lorsical said:

I bought a used car two weeks ago. 4 days after we bought it we noticed a problem with the gear box, it gets stuck going into second gear. We called the garage we bought it from who took it in and looked at it, said they’d replaced some cables and we collected it.the same problem happened the afternoon we collected it so we called the garage back and after a slightly tense conversation I said we wanted to reject the car but they said they would look at it again. This time they’ve said they can’t find a fault with it or replicate the fault I’ve described, but had replaced the gearbox oil and done something with the clutch. they said they’ve taken it to an ‘independent’ garage who have said there’s nothing wrong with the car. I test drove the vehicle before taking it back again and it seemed ok but the same problem has just happened again. 

Where do we stand here? There is obviously an issue with the gearbox, they’re saying there isn’t - we’re still in our 30 day post purchase period - can we still reject the vehicle? I’m worried that this so called independant garage saying there’s nothing wrong will mean they will get out of having to give us a refund on the vehicle even though there is clearly an intermittent fault! 

It’s been a total nightmare! Any advise very gratefully received. 

Information about rejecting a used car can be found here:
https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/rejecting-a-car/

Not every fault is a reason to reject.  One of the factors that influence this is how the car was described, age, mileage, condition.

Did you buy the car in person following a test drive?  Or did you buy remotely and the car delivered to you?

How did you pay for the car?  Was any of it (deposit) on credit card?

Have you done an internet search for the make, model and fault?  It may bring up common occurrences and, possibly, resolutions.

tacpot12

It might be worth trying to borrow a dashcam from any friend or family member who has one, and rigging it up so that it points at the gear lever. Then hope you can capture some evidence on film of the problem occuring.

Try adjusting the position of your hand on the gear lever so that the camera gets a clear view of the  gear lever sticking. You might even try double-declutching (letting the clutch out while the gear lever is passing through the neutral position, before depressing the clutch again before moving the lever to 2nd gear) as this might help confirm whether the problem is in the clutch or the gearbox (If double-declutching solves the problem, the issue is in the clutch. If it doesn't solve the problem, you are no further forward with solving the issue). 

It really falls to the consumer to show that there is a fault. The less frequently that the problem happens, the less likely a judge will order that you have your money refunded.

forgotmyname

Had someone say the same about their car, sometimes it seems to stick in gear.   I have driven it many times and never
had the issue.

Either its an intermittent problem that may go a long time before it does it again or the driver didnt depress the clutch
fully when trying to change gear.

mobileron

Need more info,make and model,age mileage etc. Try online forums of the make and see if there are problems.

born_again

Some cars have a slight dogleg between gears. So if can appear stuck in gear as you are pulling straight back/pushing forward. When you just need to angle it slightly.

Try a more relaxed hand arm.

jimjames

What's the car?  A friend had this problem with their Golf Mk7 and VW never managed to fix it despite being in the garage multiple times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hY09ujtVe4

clive0510

there several things to consider here. 
i assume you test drove the vechile before you got your wallet out. 
also does the car come with any warranty at all. if so is the fault covered under that. 
I assume the garage you bought from are a bona fide motor dealer. if they are tell them you want it sorted. if they are not, well then sorry, you get what you pay for.