car finance

draw231

hi,
I got a used car (fiat 500x 2020) on finance from Stoneacre in April 2024 the car was good for 1 and a half months then started to feel off I thought maybe it was because I was still adjusting to a new car however by September 2024 (5months after getting the car) the engine light came on I took it to the garage and they said there was nothing wrong and reset the light. fast forward to december 2024 it came back on so I returned to the garage and they said nothing was wrong to bring it back in if it happened again. the 1st of January the light came back on and due to it being a bank holiday I was unable to get in contact with the garage so I rang on the 4th January and it was booked in for the 9th January. the outcome was the same that there was nothing wrong with it however the oil sensor may be faulty and to bring it in if it happens again. as you can tell it happened again. the 30th January I took the car back with the same issue and they replaced the oil sensor however by the 07/02 it was back in the garage with the engine light again they replace the oil sensor and the engine light was was off on the 12/02 I contacted the garage again as the engine light was back on and they booked in for the 19/02 where they did an oil pump replacement. on the 25/02 it was back on again and they raised a ticket with fiat and they had my car for 1week 3days where they changed the wiring. fast forward to the 8th march the engine light came on again and they booked me in for the 18th when I got the the garage the engine light was on I left it there for the day and when they contacted me they said it was not on? so they couldn't check it but did the service and they said the rear break bad are corroded, the OSF lower arm bush worn and my tyres are worn at 86% even though 11months ago when I first got the car the tyres were apparently replaced. they then said that if the engine light comes on again then we would be looking at a new engine. a sales person then had a chat with me about potentially swapping cars, however to do this I would have £5000 negative equity but they can get me into a 20 plate ford puma for an extra £200 a month. I explained I cannot afford this and he explained that a new engine would cost me around £10000. today 21/03 the engine light came back on so I rang the garage again and asked for the cars service history on the car before I got it as ive had it less than a year and have spent half my time at the garage however they said they can only provide for a year before I bought it. they said to bring it in afterwork and I explained I work in a hospital and the shifts are 7am-8pm and they are closed she couldn't give me another day and to ring back in a few days. she also confirmed the car did not have new tyres like the guy said before I bought the car. I'm just lost I'm not sure what to do or what my rights are as they said they cannot do anything as ive had the car for longer than a month. can anyone advise me?

Alderbank

draw231 said:

hi,
I got a used car (fiat 500x 2020) on finance from Stoneacre in April 2024 the car was good for 1 and a half months then started to feel off I thought maybe it was because I was still adjusting to a new car however by September 2024 (5months after getting the car) the engine light came on I took it to the garage and they said there was nothing wrong and reset the light. fast forward to december 2024 it came back on so I returned to the garage and they said nothing was wrong to bring it back in if it happened again. the 1st of January the light came back on and due to it being a bank holiday I was unable to get in contact with the garage so I rang on the 4th January and it was booked in for the 9th January. the outcome was the same that there was nothing wrong with it however the oil sensor may be faulty and to bring it in if it happens again. as you can tell it happened again. the 30th January I took the car back with the same issue and they replaced the oil sensor however by the 07/02 it was back in the garage with the engine light again they replace the oil sensor and the engine light was was off on the 12/02 I contacted the garage again as the engine light was back on and they booked in for the 19/02 where they did an oil pump replacement. on the 25/02 it was back on again and they raised a ticket with fiat and they had my car for 1week 3days where they changed the wiring. fast forward to the 8th march the engine light came on again and they booked me in for the 18th when I got the the garage the engine light was on I left it there for the day and when they contacted me they said it was not on? so they couldn't check it but did the service and they said the rear break bad are corroded, the OSF lower arm bush worn and my tyres are worn at 86% even though 11months ago when I first got the car the tyres were apparently replaced. they then said that if the engine light comes on again then we would be looking at a new engine. a sales person then had a chat with me about potentially swapping cars, however to do this I would have £5000 negative equity but they can get me into a 20 plate ford puma for an extra £200 a month. I explained I cannot afford this and he explained that a new engine would cost me around £10000. today 21/03 the engine light came back on so I rang the garage again and asked for the cars service history on the car before I got it as ive had it less than a year and have spent half my time at the garage however they said they can only provide for a year before I bought it. they said to bring it in afterwork and I explained I work in a hospital and the shifts are 7am-8pm and they are closed she couldn't give me another day and to ring back in a few days. she also confirmed the car did not have new tyres like the guy said before I bought the car. I'm just lost I'm not sure what to do or what my rights are as they said they cannot do anything as ive had the car for longer than a month. can anyone advise me?

Welcome to the forum.

Tyres are a wear and tear item and it is absolutely the driver's legal obligation to check them regularly, no excuse. You need to get yourself a tread checker (or even just a 20p coin) and learn how to check the tread wear and not have to rely on someone else's opinion.

The garage (claim they) have replaced the oil pressure switch a couple of times, they say if the occasional warning light is not fixed by changing the switch then it needs a new engine for £10,000, no possibility of anything in between?

It might seem very thoughtful of them to help you out by taking it off your hands and setting you up with a nice Ford Puma for 'only' another £200 a month but I believe they think you don't know anything about cars and are taking you for a ride, so to speak.

Don't keep going back there. Take your car to a competent garage who are not trying to cheat you. Ask family and friends for a recommendation.

What mileage had the car done when you bought it and what is the mileage now?

When the orange warning light came on, what fault code did the garage tell you they saw on their machine?

draw231

the milage was 18000 miles and now its on 23000 miles. they wouldn't tell me the fault code they said it was something To do with the oil switch. I asked them for the service history and they could only tell me 1 year before I bought it. I would understand if I had the car a year but its been less than a year and there saying they can't do anything. the car is financed with stoneacre with lifeline guarantee so if I took it to another garage they said it would void this.

born_again

So you are claiming under warranty

https://www.southwestexteriors.com/blog/2022/july/how-long-does-a-lifetime-warranty-last-3-types-o/#:~:text=A full lifetime warranty generally,entire life of the product.

Alderbank

OP is not claiming under a lifetime guarantee. They hope to claim under the Stoneacre Lifeline Guarantee
https://www.stoneacre.co.uk/blog/what-is-car-warranty

Reviews of that Lifeline guarantee, including those reviews posted on MSE forums, are not very positive. OP would be much better to claim under their consumer rights. However they would need to get a competent garage to diagnose what the fault actually is. It could just be an iffy oil pressure switch which their preferred garage is simply too lazy to replace. Since the car is a Fiat it might well be an intermittent electrical problem such as a loose connector. Because the car is apparently running OK it is unlikely to be in urgent need of a complete new £10,000 engine.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6336469/stoneacre-or-any-other-used-car-warranty-is-it-worth-it