Faulty car - small claims

Rblk142

Hi all,

We bought a used car from a trader around 2.5 months ago. A couple of weeks after purchase, it started leaking coolant. A local garage replaced the thermostat, but the issue continued. 

We contacted the seller, who told us the warranty was void because another garage had worked on it. That said, he did agree to inspect the car and replaced the coolant expansion tank — but the leak is still ongoing. He claims his role is now done and the car is now our problem.

We took it back to our local garage who now believe it may be an internal engine fault or blockage, which could be very costly to fix. Especially since it’s difficult to diagnose.

When we bought the car it had recently failed its MOT in January due to mismatched tyres on the same axle. It had then passed a few days later. Shortly after getting the car we had to replace a front tyre, our fitter confirmed they were still mismatched — suggesting it may have passed a questionable MOT just before sale.

The seller claims the coolant issues are our own fault for driving the car and has essentially said he has done all he can to help us. If we knew what the issue was we would probably just get it fixed and move on but it seems likely he knew about these engine faults before selling it. It also gives us no trust in the car and no idea how much we might spend trying to repair it.

All communications with the seller have been over the phone, so we don’t have written records. 

We’re planning to ask the seller for a refund (maybe minus 10% for fair use), but if he refuses, we’re prepared to go to small claims.

Does this sound like a case the courts would likely support, given the circumstances?

Appreciate any advice or experience.

forgotmyname

Your going to need better evidence than the garage thinking it maybe an internal engine fault. If that is the case then why
did they replace the thermostat?

Difficult to diagnose? If it's losing coolant then it must be going somewhere and that's easy enough to test.

Explain mismatched tyres?

How old is this car?

Rblk142

forgotmyname said:

Your going to need better evidence than the garage thinking it maybe an internal engine fault. If that is the case then why
did they replace the thermostat?

Difficult to diagnose? If it's losing coolant then it must be going somewhere and that's easy enough to test.

Explain mismatched tyres?

How old is this car?

They replaced the thermostat initially to rule that out after testing for the head gasket. They had already checked the coolant tank and the seller knew this. He claimed that was definitely the fault and replaced that anyway. On the occasions we have driven the car it has overheated. It doesn’t seem to be leaking consistently the car dumps it all out when the engine stops.

The fault on the Mot was 

• Offside Front Tyre(s) with different aspect ratios are fitted on the same axle. (5.2.3 (b))

It then passed a week after it failed for this. I went to get the tyres changed a week after I bought it as once had a puncture. The guy who changed the tyres advised me that the tyres were still different sizes. Therefore implying he had just passed it through the Mot without actually rectifying the fault

The car is a 2011 Ford fiesta it’s my first car.

Ayr_Rage

If it overheating and then spewing out coolant then it sounds like the head gasket has blown.

As for the tyres you should've taken photographic evidence and complained to the seller.

However, both you and the tyre fitter then should have put two correctly size tyres on the car.