Car broken down from issues before I got the car

curtos

Im having issues with my car I got on finance, it was a used honda with around 25k miles. 

I have had it for just over 6 months and it broke down, parts of the engine had to be replaced but this was covered by the manufaturers warranty, but upon replacing these parts they discovered there was crash damage to the condensor and radiator. (which is completly unreported) and also it needs additional parts replaced as it has had the wrong oil put in since I got it and I have around 10k miles before getting the oil changed.

I broke down 3 days after the 6 month period of owning the car so now it is down to me to prove the car was damaged when I got it. I have sent the finance company images of the damages discovered. and also reports of the service I had and also the breakdown report but they are still saying I need to prove that the fault was there when I got the car. 

How do I go about proving there was crash damage that was unreported and also that it had the wrong oil in the car?

They are saying as I had a oil change 6 days before it broke down that it could have been when they put in the wrong oil but speaking with the honda garage who have the car, this is an issue that would have happened over thousands of miles of driving the car with the wrong oil (I also sent the email from the garage to them where it states this) 

curtos

Additionally to this I have been looking back at dates and the finance company keep saying I have to prove it was damaged when I got it as it was after the 6 month period, when would this period start? 

When I have looked back at all the dates, I signed the inital documents on the 10th of April but the car broke down in september but I didnt email them until the 13th October as that is when I got news the news on what was wrong with the car. 

born_again

Can you start with basics.
Age of car, when exactly bought, who from. Have you had it serviced. How many miles now.
Did you do a check on car before purchase (HPI)?

400ixl

How did they know it had had the wrong oil in it? This must have been from a previous invoice, there would be no way to know visually. What parts did that mean they needed to change, and how were they related to the breakdown?

What is the damage to the condenser and radiator? They are both quite susceptible to general damage that may not be the cause of an accident. For it to be accident damage that you likely mean the front end would have had to be repaired. A bodyshop can usually spot things like over spray or other signs of repair.

LightFlare

Unless it was classed as a write off or you asked the specific question about any accident and they answered falsely - then not a lot you can do about that aspect

curtos

born_again said:

Can you start with basics.
Age of car, when exactly bought, who from. Have you had it serviced. How many miles now.
Did you do a check on car before purchase (HPI)?

its a 2019 civic, finance is with money barn on HP, its now at around 37000miles, it had a hpi but came back clean. 

curtos

400ixl said:

How did they know it had had the wrong oil in it? This must have been from a previous invoice, there would be no way to know visually. What parts did that mean they needed to change, and how were they related to the breakdown?

What is the damage to the condenser and radiator? They are both quite susceptible to general damage that may not be the cause of an accident. For it to be accident damage that you likely mean the front end would have had to be repaired. A bodyshop can usually spot things like over spray or other signs of repair.

it is the cylinder head that needs to be replaced (they said the whole thing?) they advised it looks like the wrong oil has been put causing wear and pitting on the cam lobes and where the camshafts sit. they said there is swarf through the system as well. 

regarding the radiator and condenser, the images they show it all bent and also the fr beam? is completley bent inwards. 
The first reason they had for it breaking down damage to engine and turbo which they now suspect was caused due to lack of cooling from this damage. this was being replaced by honda under warranty but now they have discovered the damage to the condenser, radiator and cylinder head

born_again

curtos said:

born_again said:

Can you start with basics.
Age of car, when exactly bought, who from. Have you had it serviced. How many miles now.
Did you do a check on car before purchase (HPI)?

its a 2019 civic, finance is with money barn on HP, its now at around 37000miles, it had a hpi but came back clean. 

So has the car been serviced in the last 12K since purchase?

curtos

born_again said:

curtos said:

born_again said:

Can you start with basics.
Age of car, when exactly bought, who from. Have you had it serviced. How many miles now.
Did you do a check on car before purchase (HPI)?

its a 2019 civic, finance is with money barn on HP, its now at around 37000miles, it had a hpi but came back clean. 

So has the car been serviced in the last 12K since purchase?

It got serviced 6 days before it broke down, they reported the turbo was making a weird noise but didnt know why and then it was around 30 miles before breaking down

curtos

The finance company have emailed me today saying they have made a final desicion, even though last week they asked me to get a engineers report as evidence. they are saying 12,500 miles is enough miles for normal wear and tear. I dont know how they can say 12,500 miles is normal wear and tear for a engine that should be doing a minimum of 100,000 miles, probably more likely 200,000 miles before it breaks!!!

born_again

curtos said:

The finance company have emailed me today saying they have made a final desicion, even though last week they asked me to get a engineers report as evidence. they are saying 12,500 miles is enough miles for normal wear and tear. I dont know how they can say 12,500 miles is normal wear and tear for a engine that should be doing a minimum of 100,000 miles, probably more likely 200,000 miles before it breaks!!!

That's the miles you have done. Not what the car has done.
Clearly they think no breech of contract.
You can complain, & if not resolved in either 8 weeks, or you get a deadlock letter. Then you can go to FOS.

You really do need a independent report if complaining to finance co to back up your claim.