Car been back to the dealer 20 times for faults whilst under warranty - what are my rights?

itsmeagain

My daughter bought a 3 month old approved used Toyota from a main Toyota dealership (19 plate).
Over the last year, the vehicle has had numerous faults, some get fixed, some repeat or never fixed (such as max to min oil in 700 miles).
The original dealer is 90 miles away, so my daughter uses a local Toyota dealer/service.
The car is now 4 years old (still within the 5 year warranty).
My daughter wants rid of the car because it's in the last year of warranty.
If the dealers are unable to fix the car after 20 attempts, is there any right to refund (or other), on the basis that it's not of merchantable quality, fit for purpose, last a reasonable time between fixes etc?
Please ask if there's any other relevant missing info required to assess the case/options.

TELLIT01

Find the email address of Toyota CEO in the UK and contact them.  If possible list all the problems and the dates, emphasising also how much of the time the car has been off the road.  You may get some luck.  I had problems with the local dealership when my car was about a year old and they were useless.  Emailed the relevant CEO, had a response from one of his assistants within 48 hours, followed by a call from the dealership.  Problem resolved and incredible service ever since.  Everybody there seems to know my name now.

born_again

While not answering the question.
Given the high 2nd hand prices at the moment. It might be better to P/X the car & get a different car.
As after 4 years they will deduct for usage from the purchase price for usage & this really would be a good will gesture due to the time frame. It really should have been rejected long ago.

Grumpy_chap

Any remedy under consumer rights will be subject to a deduction from the original purchase price to reflect the value of benefit received over the 4 years of ownership.
There may be a feeling of principle that this should be resolved by the supplying dealer but that is likely to be a battle and not necessarily result in a greater value of "compensation" than the OP's daughter could be compensated for selling the car to any other buyer - WBAC / Motorway / Arnold Clark / Trade-in etc.
Just sell it and buy another might very well be the most pragmatic thing to do here.

itsmeagain

born_again said:

this really would be a good will gesture due to the time frame. It really should have been rejected long ago.

Thanks - but not really possible considering the many of the issues didn't start within the 1st 3 years. How would you play the 'last for a reasonable time' card using your time frame logic?

Norman_Castle

itsmeagain said:

My daughter bought a 3 month old approved used Toyota from a main Toyota dealership (19 plate).
Over the last year, the vehicle has had numerous faults, some get fixed, some repeat or never fixed (such as max to min oil in 700 miles).

If the dealers are unable to fix the car after 20 attempts, is there any right to refund (or other), on the basis that it's not of merchantable quality, fit for purpose, last a reasonable time between fixes etc?

20 attempts to repair what? Separate the faults into irrelevant, minor and fixed and relevant, serious and ongoing such as excessive oil consumption.

As above, I'd try contacting Toyota directly rather than a dealer.

diystarter7

Hi OP

Is it 20 times to fix the same problem?

you need to give us more ifo before I can you guidance.

No point in contacting Toyota direct unless the dealer is not expaling to you waht is happening and it is the same fault

What has the dealer said - have they been unhelful.

What do you want to happen ideally?


Either way, good luck

pinkshoes

itsmeagain said:

My daughter bought a 3 month old approved used Toyota from a main Toyota dealership (19 plate).
Over the last year, the vehicle has had numerous faults, some get fixed, some repeat or never fixed (such as max to min oil in 700 miles).
The original dealer is 90 miles away, so my daughter uses a local Toyota dealer/service.
The car is now 4 years old (still within the 5 year warranty).
My daughter wants rid of the car because it's in the last year of warranty.
If the dealers are unable to fix the car after 20 attempts, is there any right to refund (or other), on the basis that it's not of merchantable quality, fit for purpose, last a reasonable time between fixes etc?
Please ask if there's any other relevant missing info required to access the case/options.

You need to look into warranty repairs vs consumer rights.

Are the 20 repairs all the same issue or completely different issues. 

As it has had SO many repairs, and assuming the same or a similar issue, the car is clearly inherently faulty and as they have had numerous chances to fix it then under the CRA 2015 your daughter would be able to reject it. This needs to go through the original dealer.

But... any refund would be subject to a rather large deduction to cover 4 years of use depending on mileage. I'd start looking up what a 4 year old version with NO problems would be worth as this is likely to be the figure she would get. 

itsmeagain

The vehicle is a proace verso (a Peugeot / Citroen) re-badged.

One-offs

• water pump failure
• alternator belt failure
• ad blu injector failure
• air bag system
• seat stitching
• sun visor mirror

Repeat

• multiple rear sliding door failures (including re painted door aperture) x 6
• excessive ad blu (800 miles per tank) x 5 (ongoing)
• oil consumption (700 miles max to min) x 5 (ongoing)
• glove box x 2
• hands free voice/speaker x 4 (ongoing)
• steering wheel noise x 3
• stop start not working with no obvious inhibits x 3
• key remotes x 2

Adds up to 37 but some have been looked at on the same visit. It's actually been there 19 times for a total of 33 days

TELLIT01

I had assumed the OP meant 20 visits for mechanical problems.  Problems with seat stitching, sun visor mirror, glove box, key remotes etc, although undoubtedly annoying do not make the vehicle 'not fit for purpose'.  Issues with Stop/Start are often associated with low battery voltage but there is no mention of any battery problems.  From my experience Stop/Start activating is more a matter of luck than anything to be relied on. 

itsmeagain

TELLIT01 said:

I had assumed the OP meant 20 visits for mechanical problems.  Problems with seat stitching, sun visor mirror, glove box, key remotes etc, although undoubtedly annoying do not make the vehicle 'not fit for purpose'.  Issues with Stop/Start are often associated with low battery voltage but there is no mention of any battery problems.  From my experience Stop/Start activating is more a matter of luck than anything to be relied on. 

Apologies... to be clear - I neither said or meant to imply that every issue was mechanical and made the vehicle not fit for purpose. I also said "Please ask if there's any other relevant missing info required to access the case/options"

The items streamlined below maybe either mechanical, legal, not fit for her purpose...
One-offs

• water pump failure - mechanical VOR
• alternator belt failure - mechanical VOR
• ad blu injector failure - OBD emissions (legal) VOR
• air bag system - VOR (safety)

Repeat

• multiple rear sliding door failures x 6 - mechanical - VOR safety
• glove box x 2 - mechanical fixings
  
• hands free voice/speaker x 4 - required for her job
• steering wheel noise x 3 - mechanical
• stop start not working with no obvious inhibits x 3 (OBD/emissions illegal)
• key remotes x 2 - can't use the car! VOR

Just as interest... it took 3 months to fix the stop/start following a complaint to the DTP. The DTP forced Toyota to fix the issue on the basis that the vehicle was in breach of their EU emissions & fuel economy approval. If it didn't operate in the real world like it did on certification, it was classed as a 'cycle beater' if no legitimate inhibits could be determined. This was fixed with a re-flash of new software. Toyota was forced to re-flash every one on service or re-call if over 1 year.