In need of financial help, at wits end!

robatwork

Have you checked Autotrader Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale for what price similar cars are on for? As you bought ( believe - you're not 100% clear) from a dealer you've got to expect to catch a small cold on it, but the secondhand car market is a weird place at the moment.

As others have said, you've no rights to return it. 

You could appeal to the car dealer's better nature.   

It took me over a minute to type the above line for some reason.

mehtaman

Hi All,
Thank you for the messages, yes I am sending my CV out to anything I can.

However there is some silver lining I guess, I gave my car to an independent approved garage for a new car health check (as it was free of charge) and they have advised the motor has issues.
It was down on 3 litres of oil and there is a tapping noise, they think it could be timing chain related or worst still cylinder damage.

I am waiting for them to email over their findings and will try to return the car under the consumer act.
Hopefully the dealer is fair and agrees to refunding the car based on being mechanically unfit for sale.

TELLIT01

The other thing you should do is contact you lender immediately to let them know about your change in circumstances.  Most will be far more helpful when contacted before the repayments become a problem than being told after default.

Alderbank

mehtaman said:

I gave my car to an independent approved garage for a new car health check (as it was free of charge) and they have advised the motor has issues.
It was down on 3 litres of oil and there is a tapping noise, they think it could be timing chain related or worst still cylinder damage.
I am waiting for them to email over their findings and will try to return the car under the consumer act.
Hopefully the dealer is fair and agrees to refunding the car based on being mechanically unfit for sale.

It's a little bit early yet to be sure that the car was mechanically unfit for sale.

The commonest cause of tapping noises is low oil pressure and 3 litres of oil down is quite a lot.
You should top the oil level up in any case and see if the tapping noise goes away when the engine warms up.

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree, I suspect the tapping is a consequence of very low oil.  If the selling garage tops up the oil and it cures the tapping, you won't have a right to cancel for a full refund.

The bigger question is why was it so low on oil?  A leak?  The engine is burning oil?  Or just negligence from the previous owner and the dealer for not checking?

Alderbank

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The bigger question is why was it so low on oil?  A leak?  The engine is burning oil?  Or just negligence from the previous owner and the dealer for not checking?

Could be any of those. But I don't think that is the bigger question. 
I think the bigger question is whether any of those would make the car 'mechanically unfit for sale'?
I don't think any of them would.

born_again

I think we are now getting into the realms of needing to know which car, how old, how many miles etc. 

As this has moved from original topic to something totally different.


Without being nasty, it's now sounding like buyers remorse. 🤷‍♂️

mehtaman

born_again said:

I think we are now getting into the realms of needing to know which car, how old, how many miles etc. 

As this has moved from original topic to something totally different.


Without being nasty, it's now sounding like buyers remorse. 🤷‍♂️

Agreed, the original post was about managing finance whilst dealing with a job loss.
I have managed to agree a payment holiday with the lender for 2 months, so I have time to find a job and get the first payslip in hand etc.

I am annoyed at the situation around work but on top of that the car was starting to raise concerns over the week I drove it.
When I picked up the car, it had already been started and moved to a collection area, I gave it a once over but I am no mechanic.

It was only after a proper 'cold start' (after 48hrs or so) that I noticed it was rattling / tapping.
Therefore booking the car in for an inspection earlier this week. 

The car is a 2013 ML63 AMG with 90,500 miles on the clock.

These are the findings from the garage:

Left wiper arm parking incorrectly
Front brake pads worn thin
Oil leak from transfer box
Engine oil low by 3 litres [no visible signs of leaks]
Poly v belt fraying
Both rear shocks sweating oil
Both rear tyres on wear limit
Audible timing chain noise on start up

They think it is a £12k+ repair bill if the timing chain has damaged any piston rings / cylinders.

I did all my HPI checks and Salvage checks before the purchase and in that sense it is a clean car, just not well looked after in the past.

I feel the dealer should have made sure its fit for sale before listing it online but not sure if I have any right to return it (or have it repaired), I favour returning it due to my current work situation.

I was in my old job for some time and had built up a fair salary through progression, however moving jobs means dropping the pay scale to the market average which puts the monthly repayments for the car into question... hence jumping to the 'return my car' mindset which I guess could sound like buyers remorse. 

Aylesbury_Duck

mehtaman said:

born_again said:

I think we are now getting into the realms of needing to know which car, how old, how many miles etc. 

As this has moved from original topic to something totally different.


Without being nasty, it's now sounding like buyers remorse. 🤷‍♂️

Agreed, the original post was about managing finance whilst dealing with a job loss.
I have managed to agree a payment holiday with the lender for 2 months, so I have time to find a job and get the first payslip in hand etc.

I am annoyed at the situation around work but on top of that the car was starting to raise concerns over the week I drove it.
When I picked up the car, it had already been started and moved to a collection area, I gave it a once over but I am no mechanic.

It was only after a proper 'cold start' (after 48hrs or so) that I noticed it was rattling / tapping.
Therefore booking the car in for an inspection earlier this week. 

The car is a 2013 ML63 AMG with 90,500 miles on the clock.

These are the findings from the garage:

Left wiper arm parking incorrectly
Front brake pads worn thin
Oil leak from transfer box
Engine oil low by 3 litres [no visible signs of leaks]
Poly v belt fraying
Both rear shocks sweating oil
Both rear tyres on wear limit
Audible timing chain noise on start up

They think it is a £12k+ repair bill if the timing chain has damaged any piston rings / cylinders.

I did all my HPI checks and Salvage checks before the purchase and in that sense it is a clean car, just not well looked after in the past.

I feel the dealer should have made sure its fit for sale before listing it online but not sure if I have any right to return it (or have it repaired), I favour returning it due to my current work situation.

I was in my old job for some time and had built up a fair salary through progression, however moving jobs means dropping the pay scale to the market average which puts the monthly repayments for the car into question... hence jumping to the 'return my car' mindset which I guess could sound like buyers remorse. 

None of those seem unreasonable on a nine year old car with 90,000 miles on the clock.

Left wiper arm parking incorrectly - trivial, assuming it's still functioning and passed its MOT
Front brake pads worn thin - but presumably above the MOT limit, so not a problem
Oil leak from transfer box - how bad is this?
Engine oil low by 3 litres [no visible signs of leaks] - easily corrected and not a reason for rejection
Poly v belt fraying - old car, fair wear and tear
Both rear shocks sweating oil - how bad?  Passed MOT?
Both rear tyres on wear limit - same as the brakes, they're still legal, so not a problem
Audible timing chain noise on start up - related to the oil level?  Many cars I've driven will also make a slight tapping noise when cold.

I can't help thinking you're clutching at straws here.  You've bought an old car, the problems with which appear to be fair wear and tear for a car of its age.  If you wanted new tyres and brake pads, you should have negotiated them or a revised price at the point of purchase, for example.  I don't see that these reasons give you valid reason for rejection, but the oil leak, rear shocks and rattling need proper diagnosis to see if any of those are serious enough to reject the car.  It's up to you to pay for the checks on the piston rings and cylinders to see if any serious damage has occurred, but I think the garage is being a bit dramatic here.

born_again

When was the last MOT & what advisories were on it. As per above post none are MOT failures. 

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

I would say timing chain noise is due to low oil level. Don't know how much oil these cars take. But would think 3 ltr is well below the lower level (had you checked it at any point)