3 legal questions about reimbursed costs and general dealer issues.

Pianistinator

I bought a car from a dealership that has a repair centre, now just over 6 months ago. I got a warranty with the car through RAC too.

Before the 6 months was up I had an issue with it. Parts were replaced but it didn't help a lot. 4 weeks passed because I couldn't do much before then (flare up due to disability), I called up them again. The dealer refused to look at it. I made a reasonable request to drive 4 miles to their repair centre (not too far from their dealership) and speak to one of their mechanics for advice, told I'm not allowed) and they said I needed to pay for a diagnostic from a VAT registered garage.

They said even if a fault was found they wouldn't reimburse me for the diagnostic cost, now is this legal if it's within 6 months? I assumed that a customer was not liable for any costs.

My second question is, they kept saying that I would have to go through warranty for repairs, IF they covered it. If not they would see if they'd pay all, some, or none of the costs. But I strictly remember speaking to the RAC and they said that if I go through warranty, I can only claim ONCE on each car part. So if it went wrong again, I'd pay the costs second time around. Is it illegal for the dealership to not inform me of this, ad instead push for the warranty?

I have only just gotten the issue looked at because it got worse, and it's a seized caliper. So they fixed it. Now 2 weeks later it's stuck again, and now it's passed 6 months! Short of an SAR request to my phone call in September, how does one "prove" the fault existed before? I gave them notice of an issue, but not an invoice. I had to pay the cost there and then because I couldn't leave my car in a Hyundai dealer garage 40 miles from mine, I need my car.

Thanks!

Grumpy_chap

You've bought a used car about 6 months ago.
What age, mileage and price was the car?  Any consumer rights are weighed against reasonable expectations.
What mileage have you covered in the 6 months of ownership?
When did the fault first materialise?

Who did the repairs so far?  The following is not a clear timeline of who did what and when.

• Parts were replaced but it didn't help a lot.
• it got worse, and it's a seized caliper. So they fixed it. 
  
• Now 2 weeks later it's stuck again
  

how does one "prove" the fault existed before?
Was it definitely present at the time of purchase?  Seized brake calliper could happen at any time, surely?

Pianistinator said:

I bought a car from a dealership that has a repair centre, now just over 6 months ago. I got a warranty with the car through RAC too.

Before the 6 months was up I had an issue with it. Parts were replaced but it didn't help a lot. 4 weeks passed because I couldn't do much before then (flare up due to disability), I called up them again. The dealer refused to look at it. I made a reasonable request to drive 4 miles to their repair centre (not too far from their dealership) and speak to one of their mechanics for advice, told I'm not allowed) and they said I needed to pay for a diagnostic from a VAT registered garage.

They said even if a fault was found they wouldn't reimburse me for the diagnostic cost, now is this legal if it's within 6 months? I assumed that a customer was not liable for any costs.

My second question is, they kept saying that I would have to go through warranty for repairs, IF they covered it. If not they would see if they'd pay all, some, or none of the costs. But I strictly remember speaking to the RAC and they said that if I go through warranty, I can only claim ONCE on each car part. So if it went wrong again, I'd pay the costs second time around. Is it illegal for the dealership to not inform me of this, ad instead push for the warranty?

I have only just gotten the issue looked at because it got worse, and it's a seized caliper. So they fixed it. Now 2 weeks later it's stuck again, and now it's passed 6 months! Short of an SAR request to my phone call in September, how does one "prove" the fault existed before? I gave them notice of an issue, but not an invoice. I had to pay the cost there and then because I couldn't leave my car in a Hyundai dealer garage 40 miles from mine, I need my car.

Thanks!

Pianistinator

What age, mileage and price was the car? 

2016. 57,500, £9000 (about a grand more expensive than the same models with half the mileage to add).

What mileage have you covered in the 6 months of ownership?

About 3,000 so far.

When did the fault first materialise?

Noticed it 3 weeks after buying when the brake pad (that was apparently checked) had completely ground down to bare metal and was scraping the disk. Dealership took it in to their repair centre and replaced both front disks, and one brake pad.

About 4 weeks later the brakes were still choppy and problematic like before, indicating a fault.

I left it for months because I wasn't driving much anyway, and only doing short journeys. 

Seized caliper can happen at any time, but it would be a mad coincidence that the issues that occurred since I got it still happened after things were changed on the surface, when the caliper issue could definitely explain the symptoms.