Car finance query 17 October 2022 at 7:53PM in Motoring 8 replies 421 views

Sir_Handel

Hi All

So…I was wondering if I could beg for some advice. 

I recently got finance on a car…picked it up ten days ago. 

Long story short, I got it and it made the 86 mile drive home from the dealer. Then I made a journey to work and broke down on the way home. I got trailered home. The car then sat there while I argued a bit with the dealer - but the RAC came out and under my free 12 months cover they recovered the vehicle to a local garage. That was Friday, they called me today - car diagnostics done by RAC suggested an injector fault but the garage called me at 5:30pm this evening to say that whilst they do have that diagnosis from RAC they are concerned it may be a timing chain prob too, or a fuelling problem. 

Where do I stand with this? What should I expect from the dealer? Can I just hand the car back and cancel finance as the car clearly isn’t fit for purpose?! I’m thinking it won’t be that easy…in truth it’s a huge shame as I really do like the car. I’ve got 3 months warranty with it, but I think this reaches £1000 only. 

I’m tearing my hair out a little. I do have another car but without ulez so that’s £12.50 every day I drive to London. It’s also 25 years old so…how reliable will it be? 

Any help appreciated. Thank you! 

Ebe_Scrooge

Sir_Handel said:

Where do I stand with this? What should I expect from the dealer? Can I just hand the car back and cancel finance as the car clearly isn’t fit for purpose?

The first thing is to give the dealer the opportunity to rectify the fault.  "Fit for purpose" can mean many things, and can also be influenced by the age of the vehicle - for instance, if you buy a ten year old car it's reasonable to expect to have to do some repairs, much more so than on a 1 year old car.

What has the dealer actually said about repairing it?  Are they point-blank refusing, or have you not asked the question yet?  You need to give them the opportunity to diagnose the fault correctly, then they will be able to give a price for the repair.  If it's not covered by warranty then that's when you can start talking to the finance company about your options regarding rejecting the car.

Sir_Handel

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Sir_Handel said:

Where do I stand with this? What should I expect from the dealer? Can I just hand the car back and cancel finance as the car clearly isn’t fit for purpose?

The first thing is to give the dealer the opportunity to rectify the fault.  "Fit for purpose" can mean many things, and can also be influenced by the age of the vehicle - for instance, if you buy a ten year old car it's reasonable to expect to have to do some repairs, much more so than on a 1 year old car.

What has the dealer actually said about repairing it?  Are they point-blank refusing, or have you not asked the question yet?  You need to give them the opportunity to diagnose the fault correctly, then they will be able to give a price for the repair.  If it's not covered by warranty then that's when you can start talking to the finance company about your options regarding rejecting the car.

So, they said I can send the car back to them (round trip of 170 miles) but when I called RAC they said as under RAC warranty I should just get it towed to a local garage. The dealer said that was ok - that if need be I could still get it taken to them after. They haven’t been unhelpful to give them their due, it’s just the distance. 

Now this garage are thinking it’s a timing chain or a fuelling issue. The car is a 2018 car with 13500 on it, there should not be these faults. Not really. 

My gut is to ask the garage today their thoughts, if I’ve just been unlucky or if they think there’s something serious wrong with it, then if the latter my thinking was to send the car back and request cancellation of the purchase. 

I’m driving to work today in a 25 year old car, into London with issues on the roads because of the protests. That doesn’t make for a comfortable journey!! 

Still_not_an_expert

Timing chain or a fuelling issue seem complete bizarre and unrelated reasons. 
Fuelling and injector fault could be connected, but timing chain on a car done 13500 miles. Unlikely. 

As the car is on finance, the finance company is jointly and severally liable with the dealership for the car which has failed to meet the criteria set under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Do everything in writing (or email), not by phone, so you have a true record of who said what should it need to go to court for redress. 

Flight3287462

Did you put fuel in it?

Sir_Handel

Flight3287462 said:

Did you put fuel in it?

I did - but not incorrect fuel. I’ve wondered the same thing tbh. Could be bad fuel? 

Sir_Handel

Car update….injector was replaced and….it’s running worse. Apparently their records show it’s driven 500 miles with a misfire, I’ve only done about 140 or so so…but crucial thing is, warranty company will class it as a pre existing fault so will wriggle out of it and now I need to find a way to get it back to the dealer. That’s gonna cost me £250 at least. I’ve got a bill of £350 to pay the garage too then claim back from warranty company. 

I can’t believe this. 

Ebe_Scrooge

Sir_Handel said:

 and now I need to find a way to get it back to the dealer. That’s gonna cost me £250 at least.

Why will it cost you £250 - can you not just drive to the dealer?

As a slight aside (and for future reference), it's always advisable to think twice before buying from a dealer that's a fair distance away.  Unless it's a very rare car, there must be a dealer nearer home who has a similar model available.

One of the main advantages of buying from a dealer as opposed to a private sale is the fact that they'll usually give some sort of warranty - even if it's only 3 or 6 months for an older car.  And the price you pay for the car will be higher than an equivalent private sale for this very reason.  If the dealer is so far away that it makes it difficult or impractical to return to them, this somewhat defeats the whole point.

Sir_Handel

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Sir_Handel said:

 and now I need to find a way to get it back to the dealer. That’s gonna cost me £250 at least.

Why will it cost you £250 - can you not just drive to the dealer?

As a slight aside (and for future reference), it's always advisable to think twice before buying from a dealer that's a fair distance away.  Unless it's a very rare car, there must be a dealer nearer home who has a similar model available.

One of the main advantages of buying from a dealer as opposed to a private sale is the fact that they'll usually give some sort of warranty - even if it's only 3 or 6 months for an older car.  And the price you pay for the car will be higher than an equivalent private sale for this very reason.  If the dealer is so far away that it makes it difficult or impractical to return to them, this somewhat defeats the whole point.

Will cost that because it can’t be driven. 

It’s all unfortunate- I’m driving to and from London in rush hour in a 25 year old car right now…£12.50 for ulez alone. I don’t make a habit of buying cars 😂 definitely will deal with someone closer to home next time