Got Faulty Car Repaird by Third Party

Conor1999

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

Aylesbury_Duck

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

A few things come to mind:

1. Why on earth did you buy a car you hadn't taken on a test drive, or even seen in person?  Buying from somewhere so far away is always a risk.  Is this a dealership or a one-man-band dealer?
2. You should have reported the problem immediately to the seller.  You could have rejected the car immediately, and I suspect with that threat, you would have had authorisation to have it inspected and perhaps repaired locally, at their expense.  This wasn't a warranty matter, this was a straightforward case of the car not being roadworthy immediately after delivery.
   
3. Instructing your own garage to carry out repair work before consulting the seller has muddied the waters.  The seller has some wriggle room now, because the car is no longer in the condition it was sold to you, and he wasn't given the opportunity to inspect or repair it himself (or ask an agent of his to do so on his behalf).
4. The dealer is wrong to say that his liability ceases after 28 days.
5. It's only 23 hours after the time at which the dealer said he'd speak to the warranty company.  You kept him in the dark for nearly a month but now expect him to reply to you almost immediately.  Seems a little one-sided.
6. The repair matter isn't resolved, anyway, so it seems a little premature to consider court action.  You say the car needs more work, so how do you know the extent of the claim?  You've spent £710 so far, but it sounds like more is wrong.  You'll need to determine what is grounds for rejection and what is fair wear and tear for a car of that age and mileage.
7. I wouldn't be authorising any more work on the 8th July until you have an idea of the dealer's response.  You could be just adding to your own costs, and without the dealer's authorisation to this further work, you make a future claim for it more tricky.

Conor1999

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

A few things come to mind:

1. Why on earth did you buy a car you hadn't taken on a test drive, or even seen in person?  Buying from somewhere so far away is always a risk.  Is this a dealership or a one-man-band dealer?
2. You should have reported the problem immediately to the seller.  You could have rejected the car immediately, and I suspect with that threat, you would have had authorisation to have it inspected and perhaps repaired locally, at their expense.  This wasn't a warranty matter, this was a straightforward case of the car not being roadworthy immediately after delivery.
   
3. Instructing your own garage to carry out repair work before consulting the seller has muddied the waters.  The seller has some wriggle room now, because the car is no longer in the condition it was sold to you, and he wasn't given the opportunity to inspect or repair it himself (or ask an agent of his to do so on his behalf).
4. The dealer is wrong to say that his liability ceases after 28 days.
5. It's only 23 hours after the time at which the dealer said he'd speak to the warranty company.  You kept him in the dark for nearly a month but now expect him to reply to you almost immediately.  Seems a little one-sided.
6. The repair matter isn't resolved, anyway, so it seems a little premature to consider court action.  You say the car needs more work, so how do you know the extent of the claim?  You've spent £710 so far, but it sounds like more is wrong.  You'll need to determine what is grounds for rejection and what is fair wear and tear for a car of that age and mileage.
7. I wouldn't be authorising any more work on the 8th July until you have an idea of the dealer's response.  You could be just adding to your own costs, and without the dealer's authorisation to this further work, you make a future claim for it more tricky.

Thank you for your response. I will go through each of your points one by one as that's probably the easiest way to reply.

1. I admit, this was a rookie error. It was my first car and I was a naive learner at the time. I could not test drive the car as I had nobody to come with me (required as a learner). On your question as to whether or not this is a dealership or one man - I'm pretty sure it's a small group of people. I say this because I received a phone call from someone else other than the guy who I had initially contacted at the dealership in mid-June.

2. I agree. I went through the warranty company before the dealership as, in my naivety, I believed this was the correct course of action and the reason that warranties exist. As I now know, that was wrong. 

3. This is true. However, I would hope that a judge would assume the mechanic's report is true and sincere. Moreover, there is photographic evidence of the broken wheel nuts (and I have the wheel nuts in a bag). Though I do understand your point.

4. Thank you for confirming that.

5. To say I kept them in the dark for over a month is untrue. I told them of the issue on June 10th, while the warranty company were awaiting diagnosis of the car. They were aware that I was going down the warranty route and knew that it was booked in for diagnosis on the 23rd of June. I had no need to update them until after diagnosis/the warranty company rejected my claim.

6. That's fair. I will wait to realise the entire cost before moving any further.

7. The dealer has refused to carry out any work on the car, reimburse me for repairs or replace the vehicle. This is because he is of the belief that he's not liable after 28 days of selling the car. I tried explaining the CRA 2015 to him but he wasn't having it. He said that he hadn't heard anything like this before and he's been in the second-hand car business since 2009. He has absolutely no desire to work with me in any way bar the warranty route (I accept £450 from Handler Protect and move on).

Aylesbury_Duck

Conor1999 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

A few things come to mind:

1. Why on earth did you buy a car you hadn't taken on a test drive, or even seen in person?  Buying from somewhere so far away is always a risk.  Is this a dealership or a one-man-band dealer?
2. You should have reported the problem immediately to the seller.  You could have rejected the car immediately, and I suspect with that threat, you would have had authorisation to have it inspected and perhaps repaired locally, at their expense.  This wasn't a warranty matter, this was a straightforward case of the car not being roadworthy immediately after delivery.
   
3. Instructing your own garage to carry out repair work before consulting the seller has muddied the waters.  The seller has some wriggle room now, because the car is no longer in the condition it was sold to you, and he wasn't given the opportunity to inspect or repair it himself (or ask an agent of his to do so on his behalf).
4. The dealer is wrong to say that his liability ceases after 28 days.
5. It's only 23 hours after the time at which the dealer said he'd speak to the warranty company.  You kept him in the dark for nearly a month but now expect him to reply to you almost immediately.  Seems a little one-sided.
6. The repair matter isn't resolved, anyway, so it seems a little premature to consider court action.  You say the car needs more work, so how do you know the extent of the claim?  You've spent £710 so far, but it sounds like more is wrong.  You'll need to determine what is grounds for rejection and what is fair wear and tear for a car of that age and mileage.
7. I wouldn't be authorising any more work on the 8th July until you have an idea of the dealer's response.  You could be just adding to your own costs, and without the dealer's authorisation to this further work, you make a future claim for it more tricky.

Thank you for your response. I will go through each of your points one by one as that's probably the easiest way to reply.

1. I admit, this was a rookie error. It was my first car and I was a naive learner at the time. I could not test drive the car as I had nobody to come with me (required as a learner). On your question as to whether or not this is a dealership or one man - I'm pretty sure it's a small group of people. I say this because I received a phone call from someone else other than the guy who I had initially contacted at the dealership in mid-June.

2. I agree. I went through the warranty company before the dealership as, in my naivety, I believed this was the correct course of action and the reason that warranties exist. As I now know, that was wrong. 

3. This is true. However, I would hope that a judge would assume the mechanic's report is true and sincere. Moreover, there is photographic evidence of the broken wheel nuts (and I have the wheel nuts in a bag). Though I do understand your point.

4. Thank you for confirming that.

5. To say I kept them in the dark for over a month is untrue. I told them of the issue on June 10th, while the warranty company were awaiting diagnosis of the car. They were aware that I was going down the warranty route and knew that it was booked in for diagnosis on the 23rd of June. I had no need to update them until after diagnosis/the warranty company rejected my claim.

6. That's fair. I will wait to realise the entire cost before moving any further.

7. The dealer has refused to carry out any work on the car, reimburse me for repairs or replace the vehicle. This is because he is of the belief that he's not liable after 28 days of selling the car. I tried explaining the CRA 2015 to him but he wasn't having it. He said that he hadn't heard anything like this before and he's been in the second-hand car business since 2009. He has absolutely no desire to work with me in any way bar the warranty route (I accept £450 from Handler Protect and move on).

No problem.

1. Do you have a company or individual name and an address?  Without a trading address you're not going to be taking anyone to court.

7. This makes me sure he's a one-man-band rather than a dealership or reputable dealer.  Is the £450 offer still on the table?  I thought it had been withdrawn?  If it is still available, you should have a hard think about whether to take it and move on, or pursue the ultimate cost of repair (at least £710).  Whilst you have grounds for a court claim (eventually), you may not be awarded the full amount (if the court decides you unfairly denied the dealer the first opportunity for repair) and if this is a one-man-band, can you be sure he has the means the pay, or the will?  I'd be doing some homework to establish exactly who or what you've bought this car from.

Conor1999

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Conor1999 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

A few things come to mind:

1. Why on earth did you buy a car you hadn't taken on a test drive, or even seen in person?  Buying from somewhere so far away is always a risk.  Is this a dealership or a one-man-band dealer?
2. You should have reported the problem immediately to the seller.  You could have rejected the car immediately, and I suspect with that threat, you would have had authorisation to have it inspected and perhaps repaired locally, at their expense.  This wasn't a warranty matter, this was a straightforward case of the car not being roadworthy immediately after delivery.
   
3. Instructing your own garage to carry out repair work before consulting the seller has muddied the waters.  The seller has some wriggle room now, because the car is no longer in the condition it was sold to you, and he wasn't given the opportunity to inspect or repair it himself (or ask an agent of his to do so on his behalf).
4. The dealer is wrong to say that his liability ceases after 28 days.
5. It's only 23 hours after the time at which the dealer said he'd speak to the warranty company.  You kept him in the dark for nearly a month but now expect him to reply to you almost immediately.  Seems a little one-sided.
6. The repair matter isn't resolved, anyway, so it seems a little premature to consider court action.  You say the car needs more work, so how do you know the extent of the claim?  You've spent £710 so far, but it sounds like more is wrong.  You'll need to determine what is grounds for rejection and what is fair wear and tear for a car of that age and mileage.
7. I wouldn't be authorising any more work on the 8th July until you have an idea of the dealer's response.  You could be just adding to your own costs, and without the dealer's authorisation to this further work, you make a future claim for it more tricky.

Thank you for your response. I will go through each of your points one by one as that's probably the easiest way to reply.

1. I admit, this was a rookie error. It was my first car and I was a naive learner at the time. I could not test drive the car as I had nobody to come with me (required as a learner). On your question as to whether or not this is a dealership or one man - I'm pretty sure it's a small group of people. I say this because I received a phone call from someone else other than the guy who I had initially contacted at the dealership in mid-June.

2. I agree. I went through the warranty company before the dealership as, in my naivety, I believed this was the correct course of action and the reason that warranties exist. As I now know, that was wrong. 

3. This is true. However, I would hope that a judge would assume the mechanic's report is true and sincere. Moreover, there is photographic evidence of the broken wheel nuts (and I have the wheel nuts in a bag). Though I do understand your point.

4. Thank you for confirming that.

5. To say I kept them in the dark for over a month is untrue. I told them of the issue on June 10th, while the warranty company were awaiting diagnosis of the car. They were aware that I was going down the warranty route and knew that it was booked in for diagnosis on the 23rd of June. I had no need to update them until after diagnosis/the warranty company rejected my claim.

6. That's fair. I will wait to realise the entire cost before moving any further.

7. The dealer has refused to carry out any work on the car, reimburse me for repairs or replace the vehicle. This is because he is of the belief that he's not liable after 28 days of selling the car. I tried explaining the CRA 2015 to him but he wasn't having it. He said that he hadn't heard anything like this before and he's been in the second-hand car business since 2009. He has absolutely no desire to work with me in any way bar the warranty route (I accept £450 from Handler Protect and move on).

No problem.

1. Do you have a company or individual name and an address?  Without a trading address you're not going to be taking anyone to court.

7. This makes me sure he's a one-man-band rather than a dealership or reputable dealer.  Is the £450 offer still on the table?  I thought it had been withdrawn?  If it is still available, you should have a hard think about whether to take it and move on, or pursue the ultimate cost of repair (at least £710).  Whilst you have grounds for a court claim (eventually), you may not be awarded the full amount (if the court decides you unfairly denied the dealer the first opportunity for repair) and if this is a one-man-band, can you be sure he has the means the pay, or the will?  I'd be doing some homework to establish exactly who or what you've bought this car from.

1. Yes, I have both. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post on here but I do have the business name and address.

7. Honestly, it's difficult to tell whether the offer is still on the table. In the first phone call the seller said that the warranty company were willing to pay out £450. In the second phone call (after I stated that the remaining amount still needed to be accounted for) he said that the warranty company had changed their mind and would not be paying out £450 as it was not technically covered by the policy.

However, he also stated that the agent on the other end of the call said "he'd get it sorted" and would speak to his manager. The seller said he should hear back by 5pm (yesterday that is) and that he'd contact me as soon as he had more information. I'm yet to get a call, email or text.

Aylesbury_Duck

The trouble with going through the warranty is that you may find the warranty is then finished and they won't entertain any other claims.  What does the warranty paperwork say?

Conor1999

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The trouble with going through the warranty is that you may find the warranty is then finished and they won't entertain any other claims.  What does the warranty paperwork say?

Warranty paperwork says that they don't cover faults that occur as a result of wear and tear, which is what they deemed my clutch issue to be. The paperwork also states that the warranty company will only pay out up to £350 for any repairs. This is something that was not explicitly stated in the paperwork, but something my mechanic figured out alone by reading through their legal jargon.

The warranty paperwork also says nothing about voiding the warranty after making a claim, successful or otherwise.

Nevertheless, I'm a bit confused as to why the seller told me Handler Protect would pay out £450 when that's above the maximum stated within my policy. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Conor1999 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The trouble with going through the warranty is that you may find the warranty is then finished and they won't entertain any other claims.  What does the warranty paperwork say?

Warranty paperwork says that they don't cover faults that occur as a result of wear and tear, which is what they deemed my clutch issue to be. The paperwork also states that the warranty company will only pay out up to £350 for any repairs. This is something that was not explicitly stated in the paperwork, but something my mechanic figured out alone by reading through their legal jargon.

The warranty paperwork also says nothing about voiding the warranty after making a claim, successful or otherwise.

Nevertheless, I'm a bit confused as to why the seller told me Handler Protect would pay out £450 when that's above the maximum stated within my policy. 

You're being given the runaround by someone keen to fob you off.  Forget the warranty, I strongly suspect that "offer" doesn't exist.  As you've described it, although a clutch is a wear and tear item, it was sold with a failing clutch.  That leaves you with your consumer rights.   Get your mechanic to provide a detailed report on the work done to date, what he's found that he believes needs addressing, package up the total cost of all of that and send the dealer a letter before action, giving him 14 days to pay that sum or you'll take him to court.

You may not win, but with £710 paid already, and with the prospect of more costs to come, it's worth a shot, and the letter before action might provoke an offer which you can then consider.

Jumblebumble

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

I wonder what a small claims court judge is going to think about your mechanic's opinion and competance if they have charged you £700 but have not fixed the problem?

Conor1999

Jumblebumble said:

Conor1999 said:

I purchased a used Peugeot 208 Allure for £4,699 on May 27th, 2022. The dealership is based in Croydon and I'm based in Devon, so I paid to have the vehicle delivered. On my first drive with the car (around 4 hours after delivery) the clutch pedal got stuck to the floor. I reported this to the warranty company on May 28th and they explained that they could not work with me until a diagnosis had been carried out.

My local garage was booked up until June 23rd, so I could not get the diagnosis done until that date. On June 10th, I told the dealership from whom I purchased the car about the sticky clutch pedal. They told me it would be an easy, quick and cheap job. This was not the case. At no point did I ask the dealer to repair my car and at no point did they offer to do so.

On June 23rd, my local garage diagnosed the issue as the "clutch bearing running untrue on shaft and causing damage to the clutch fork and guide tube". The warranty company inspected this report and deemed that it was not fit for a successful claim.

I agreed to let the garage start working on the car as it had been sitting on their ramp, taken apart for examination. The total cost of work came to £709.95. Additional work was needed on the wheels as, according to the mechanic, the wheel locking bolts had been cut through, applied with pliers, and then hammered onto the wheel. This was considered a severe safety hazard by my local mechanic. In addition, after the repairs, the car still had the sticky clutch issue. My mechanic, therefore, believes that the issue goes deeper than he initially thought. The car is due for further repairs on July 8th.

On June 27th I sent an email to the car dealer that I bought the car from explaining the entire situation and requested that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, they reimburse me for repairs of the vehicle (including additional repairs on July 8th). I did not get a response. On June 30th I sent a message to the dealer that I had been in contact with during the purchase process with a near-identical statement as the email I sent three days earlier. Again, I received no response.

As such, on July 4th I told the dealer that if he did not respond to me I would begin court proceedings. I would start with a letter before claim, then attempt to claim money via the courts if no response was received. The dealer then rang me on July 4th to explain that he had been in contact with the warranty company (Handler Protect) and that they were willing to pay out up to £450. I said that's fine, but I still expect the remaining amount to be reimbursed. He said he'd call me back in a few minutes.

In the second phone call, the dealer said the warranty company had gone back on their statement and would not be covering £450 of the £709.95 in repairs. I told him that under the Consumer Rights Act, he is liable to repair, replace or reimburse (Section 19 (9) of the CRA) me for any unreasonable problems with the vehicle. He said that this is not true, that he is only responsible for the first 28 days after selling the car, and that he would not be paying out anything. He also explained that he is not a mechanic. He sends any vehicle he's selling to a local mechanic for inspection, then the mechanic gives the go-ahead to sell it. This, I think, gives me reason to believe that the vehicle would not have been repaired faithfully if he had offered to do so. 

That phone call was my last contact with the dealer. He said he'd get a call from the warranty company (apparently the Handler Protect representative needed to speak to his manager) by 5pm on July 4th, then he'd contact me again afterwards. He is yet to get back in touch with me.

Do I have a legal case in the small claims court? Admittedly, I should have requested that the issue be resolved by the dealership rather than going to a local mechanic in hope that the warranty would accept my claim. Then again, I did alert the dealership of the issue within 30 days of receiving the car.

My local mechanic says I have a strong case against the seller and that he's willing to back me the whole way. Do you think I would have a good chance of winning? Any advice is much appreciated.

I wonder what a small claims court judge is going to think about your mechanic's opinion and competance if they have charged you £700 but have not fixed the problem?

I see where you're coming from but it's not quite that black and white. The mechanic found a valid reason as to why the clutch would stick to the floor (it was essentially getting caught in something) and, upon replacing the clutch, guide tube and fork, it now sticks less than before.

He believes that the core of the issue may reside within the master-slave cylinder and that's what's being looked at on Friday. 

Conor1999

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Conor1999 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The trouble with going through the warranty is that you may find the warranty is then finished and they won't entertain any other claims.  What does the warranty paperwork say?

Warranty paperwork says that they don't cover faults that occur as a result of wear and tear, which is what they deemed my clutch issue to be. The paperwork also states that the warranty company will only pay out up to £350 for any repairs. This is something that was not explicitly stated in the paperwork, but something my mechanic figured out alone by reading through their legal jargon.

The warranty paperwork also says nothing about voiding the warranty after making a claim, successful or otherwise.

Nevertheless, I'm a bit confused as to why the seller told me Handler Protect would pay out £450 when that's above the maximum stated within my policy. 

You're being given the runaround by someone keen to fob you off.  Forget the warranty, I strongly suspect that "offer" doesn't exist.  As you've described it, although a clutch is a wear and tear item, it was sold with a failing clutch.  That leaves you with your consumer rights.   Get your mechanic to provide a detailed report on the work done to date, what he's found that he believes needs addressing, package up the total cost of all of that and send the dealer a letter before action, giving him 14 days to pay that sum or you'll take him to court.

You may not win, but with £710 paid already, and with the prospect of more costs to come, it's worth a shot, and the letter before action might provoke an offer which you can then consider.

I'll speak to my mechanic on Friday and as for a detailed report, as you described. Thankfully he's offered to help in any way he can so this should be quite easy.

I reckon it's worth spending £80 on small claims court fees to get however much this will cost back (£1000+ I'd estimate at this point).