Used car from dealer issues

grayson

My son purchased a £5000 car 5 weeks ago from a used car dealer. It came with 3 month warranty. Paid part finance part debit card.

Yesterday when driving it broke down, steam coming from the engine. He paid to get it recovered as he has no breakdown cover. He thought his insurance covered breakdown. Bloomin kids .
The fee for recovery £400. 

He rang the dealer which is 20 miles away and they will look at car but he will need to arrange and pay to transport the car for repair.

Anyway my question is it up to the dealer to arrange recovery for repair or my sons responsibility? He is already £400 out of pocket and could be another £200 if it's up to him to get the car to repair destination.

Thanks

born_again

1st thing I would do is have a look why steam was coming out. Could be as simple a a lose or broken hose. As well as checking the coolant level.

grayson

Recovery guy said. Fan belt snapped and water pump not working. Engine smell today of burning.

Vectis

If it were me, I'd replace the coolant, try a new fan belt, and see if that works the water pump.

TadleyBaggie

grayson said:

Recovery guy said. Fan belt snapped and water pump not working. Engine smell today of burning.

Most likely the water pump seized, and which would cause the fan (or auxiliary) belt to snap. Saw this on a Citreon C1.

tacpot12

if the car is being repaired or reviewed under warranty, then it is likely that your son will have to pay the cost of recovery, but if he is asking for a repair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, he might be able to look to the dealer to pay for recovery, IF the dealer didn't specify that the vehicle needed to be returned to them for a refund or repair in the contract of sale and IF he has a basis to return it for repair under the Comsumer Right Act 2015 (I'm not sure he does). 

The fundamental question here is why did the fan belt break? If the belt hadn't been replaced at the correct service interval (which should be recorded in the service record), then the car was misdescribed IF the dealer said it had been serviced correctly. Few dealers, if any, will say this as it is invariabaly wrong. They will either say that there is or isn't a service history, and will let the purchaser review the service history to decide if the servicing work has been done correctly or not. So I expect your son had the opportunity to review the service history and decided to buy the car because it appeared that the car has been serviced correctly OR he bought it knowing that it had not been serviced correctly in which case he should have attended to all the issues that a lack of servicing can create.

If the fan belt failed because it had been changed at the correct interval but was faulty, the only claim might be on the manufacturer of the fan belt, who will want to inspect the fan belt and will be able to tell how old it is from the markings (or lack thereof) Such liability is probably excluded by the manufacturers, so your son might check to see if they have any legal expenses protection as part of their motor insurance. Breakdown cover can often be included in Motor Insurance for an extra premum, and if they haven't bought breakdown cover, they may not have bought legal expenses cover either. And even if they did buy the cover it may not cover legal advice on purchase/faults, but it is worth checking.

This link explains the responsibilities of car dealers under the Consumer Right Act 2015 and might help him navigate this problem:

Part B: Your obligations under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) | Business Companion 

If your son didn't stop the car quickly enough when the ignition light came on (as it would when the fan belt snapped because the alternator stopped producing power), it is possible that the engine has been damaged. The cylinder head can warp if the engine has overheated. Your son shoudl try to reject the repair if engine is damaged as a result of the fan belt breaking. The symptom of a warped cylinder head is coolant leaking into the oil and vice versa and he should be alert and check for this often during the couple of months after the car is returned to him.

Grumpy_chap

Consumer rights on this car will depend in part on the age, mileage, condition, service history of the vehicle and what was stated at the time of purchase.  

It sounds like the Dealer is willing to look at the car, which is a good initial position.

As for the £200 to transport the car back for assessment, can this be avoided if the car is towed in the old fashioned way using another car plus tow-rope?  It depends on the state of the car being suitable to do this and having a simple and safe route.  20 miles is quite a long way for this tow - would it be worth £10 per mile to avoid that stress?

grayson

Car is finished being repaired. They had to do lots of work. While the car was in the garage my son went through service and MOT history. He discovered the speedometer has been tampered with. It on MOT report. 22,000 was milage on one mot. The following year it was down to 7,000. 

Is this grounds for refund if so what would be his next step? Thanks

powerful_Rogue

grayson said:

Car is finished being repaired. They had to do lots of work. While the car was in the garage my son went through service and MOT history. He discovered the speedometer has been tampered with. It on MOT report. 22,000 was milage on one mot. The following year it was down to 7,000. 

Is this grounds for refund if so what would be his next step? Thanks

Got to be a bit more to it then that. Which year was in on 22,000? Also what did the MOT say for the mileage on the year after the 7000?

What did the seller say when you asked them about the discrepancy?

Age, mileage and price of vehicle?

Aylesbury_Duck

grayson said:

Car is finished being repaired. They had to do lots of work. While the car was in the garage my son went through service and MOT history. He discovered the speedometer has been tampered with. It on MOT report. 22,000 was milage on one mot. The following year it was down to 7,000. 

Is this grounds for refund if so what would be his next step? Thanks

Not necessarily, it may not have been tampered with.  It could be a simple keying error, which presumably would be evident if the mileage jumped up to 32,000 for example.  22k one year  27k the next but mistakenly entered as 7k, then 32k the following year would represent someone doing 5k miles a year with an admin error accounting for the middle mileage record.

Or the instrument cluster may have been replaced and the mileage not corrected,. 

What are the mileage readings for each year since the data were recorded?  That will tell the story.