Rejection of car

Ckl7

Hi all,

Bought an eight year old car from a dealership,timing chain and tensioner need replacing at a cost of £1,200.

This was diagnosed by the manufacturer  dealership of the car (different local dealership)


Got the car 4 months ago, it has already had faults which they have fixed in relation to another fault with the vehicle.

Am I within my rights  to reject the vehicle and get a refund minus costs of using the car.


I am aware they have the right to replace or repair the fault in the first six months,however this is now a second fault somewhere else on the car, so wondering where I stand in  relation to rejecting and getting a refund or do they have the right to repair /replace on a second fault?

I am currently not using the car as scared to drive it.

Thank you 

Flight3287462

I doubt it would be classified as a fault.  How do you know the timing belt hasn't been done?

That was question to ask before buying the car and if you didn't get a satisfactory answer then that should have a factor in your decision on whether to buy and at what price.

Grumpy_chap

Ckl7 said:

Hi all,

Bought an eight year old car from a dealership,timing chain and tensioner need replacing at a cost of £1,200.

This was diagnosed by the manufacturer  dealership of the car (different local dealership)


Got the car 4 months ago, it has already had faults which they have fixed in relation to another fault with the vehicle.

Am I within my rights  to reject the vehicle and get a refund minus costs of using the car.


I am aware they have the right to replace or repair the fault in the first six months,however this is now a second fault somewhere else on the car, so wondering where I stand in  relation to rejecting and getting a refund or do they have the right to repair /replace on a second fault?

I am currently not using the car as scared to drive it.

Thank you 

Does the timing chain need replacing because of a fault, or because the car has reached the scheduled maintenance recommendation for replacement?
Has the timing chain already been replaced?
Around 8 - 10 years is quite a common maintenance interval for timing chains to be recommended but you've not mentioned the type of car so no-one can comment.
What is the quote to replace at an independent garage rather than main franchise?

What was the first fault that was fixed?
An 8yo car cannot be expected to be "as new" and many faults can occur that would not be grounds to reject.  It is good that the supplying Dealer rectified whatever it was that arose.

MEM62

Ckl7 said:

Bought an eight year old car from a dealership,timing chain and tensioner need replacing at a cost of £1,200.

Ckl7 said:

Am I within my rights  to reject the vehicle and get a refund minus costs of using the car.

I am aware they have the right to replace or repair the fault in the first six months,however this is now a second fault somewhere else on the car, so wondering where I stand in  relation to rejecting and getting a refund or do they have the right to repair /replace on a second fault?

The replacement of service / wear items is not a 'fault'.  What makes you think that it is?  Will you take the car back again when the brake pads wear out in due course and claim that to be another fault.      

jimjames

Without knowing the car, is the timing chain and tensioner a service item or something expected to last the life of the car? In some cars it can wear prematurely so could be considered a fault. Timing belt would be different and scheduled maintenance.

MEM62

jimjames said:

Without knowing the car, is the timing chain and tensioner a service item or something expected to last the life of the car? In some cars it can wear prematurely so could be considered a fault. Timing belt would be different and scheduled maintenance.

That's very good point.  BMW engines are one example - the cam chain was supposed to be a non-service item and last the life of the car.  Many failed and had to be replaced with upgraded parts.  However, in cases like these the issue is usually well documented and questions should be asked before buying the car.    

TimSynths

I always thought that the whole point of a timing chain was that they didn't (normally) need replacing if you followed the oil change schedule.

MEM62

TimSynths said:

I always thought that the whole point of a timing chain was that they didn't (normally) need replacing if you followed the oil change schedule.

In the case of BMW they increased the service intervals to attract the fleet market (On the basis that longer service intervals equals cheaper servicing costs)  The issue was that the oil wasn't doing anything by the time the 18,000-mile service interval had been reached and the cam chain failed as a result.