Used car issues - plan of attack!

Barbsmarbs

Help and advice please. 

My story is similar to several on here regards buying a used car at a local dealership with standard 3 month warranty. 

Mazda CX-5 2015 diesel. 

Purchased 6 April 2023
Garage has a good reputation and I don’t believe for a minute they set out to fleece me.
However, a catalogue of issues around loss of power, starting just at the end of the warranty. They couldn’t get me booked in, so car went in on 10 July, now the warranty was expired.  I was told nothing wrong with car, so paid for diagnostics. End of same week, engine management lights. Followed by my car out of action for 3 weeks. Had regular vague updates about cleaning ‘filters/sensors’ then issues not resolved, then gaskets/turbo/big job - it’s going to cost you…’ Given the problems started under warranty I wrangled that it was their issue to fix and they got some form of support from Mazda. Relations by this point very strained. They said I should have taken extended warranty….

Fast forward to last weekend the way home on motorway then various errors appeared similar to previous followed by DPF malfunction. Got home called a garage who told me I needed a DPF specialist. Took it in next day and got a quote for 2100 plus VAT. Essentially DPF not maintained and back pressure causing various issues to Turbo and other, they suggested root cause not addressed when turbo done earlier. So I called original garage and explained and they said ‘all sounds OTT, get the DPF cleaned, it’ll be fine’. 

So 7 months in, this car has been off the road for 7 weeks in total. I fear other issues. 

Do I use the Which Car template and request replacement under Consumer rights with a 14 day wait without a car? They’ll reject it I’m sure. A replacement could be as crap…
Do I get work done and face further problems?
Do I try a section 75? As I paid the deposit on my credit card? 

At a loss as to what to try. For the record, I can’t afford the 2.5k and I feel it’s throwing good money after bad…

Stateofart

Hello - I feel for you.  I bought a 2016 Ford and it's had nearly 10K of remedial work in the first year or so of ownership.  Without a warranty, it's pretty much up to you unless you can prove it happened during the warranty period.  It sounds like the DPF is at fault to me.  I would be asking for the fault to be honoured or split the bill or something considering you've only had it 7 months.  Can I ask why you didn't take the warranty out?  I've just bought a Jaguar and the four year warranty was £699 and I've already used it twice on the infortainment system.  Also, you say you've taken it to different garages...any of these Mazda? 

daveyjp

DPF is a consumable item so at some point a new one will be required.  As it takes 8+ years 80,000 miles plus to get to that point it is a consideration when buying older diesels.

DPF failure can also be as a result of failure of cheaper components such as sensors which don't flag errors until its too late.

tacpot12

As the problems started within six months, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 assumes that the fault was there when you bought the car, and it is for the dealer to show that this is not the case. However, in your case, I think you can probably get expert evidence that shows that the DPF fault was present when you bught the car but didn't show itself immediately. You have allowed them one attempt to resolve the problem and they have failed to do so, you sohould be able to obtain a partial refund. The dealer is allowed to deduct a reasonable amount for the use you had have of the vehicle.

You are only just outside of the six months, so I would act immediately to reject the car on the basis that the fault showed prior to the six month period, and their one attempt to fix it hasn't done so. I think you will need expert evidence that the fault was likely to be present at time you bought the vehicle. 

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. You might also check to see if any legal expense cover you have as part of your motor insurnace also covers consumer problems. If you have legal expenses cover, you can call the legal helpline fprovided by the insurer, and they may, if they think you have a good chance of winning, represent you in court. I think you will need professional representation as you case is not straightforward.

marlot

Mazda has a terrible reputation for diesels.  I agree - you need to reject this car.

Your only other viable option is to get enough work done that the fault lights go out, and sell it on quickly.

knightstyle

My DDs CX5 diesel she bought new in 2014 has been nothing but trouble, 4 turbos in the first year and has now had 9 new turbos fitted, the car seems to have spent more time in the garage than on the road.  It is now a write off as the repairs will cost more than the car is worth and it sitting on her drive waiting for the scrap man.
I think there is an action group about these problems.