Faulty Car and Dealership Unhelpful

Galway

Hi there, I purchased a Citroen C3 on an 18 plate from a dealer in Stoke on Trent, it is a lovely car and it was purchased on 21st Sept this year, about 40 days ago.

The car has an RAC 3 month warranty and the dealership serviced it, put a new MOT on it and changed the oil and filters etc the day before I collected. Now we are 5 weeks on and the car is using a lot of oil. So far I have put 3.5 litres into it, there are no leaks and it doesn't put out blue smoke, it can smell a little oily in standing traffic.

I logged into the warranty interface and entered that there was a mechanical problem and it said sorry you are not covered.

Today I had to put in 2 litres (I had already put 1,5 litres in 2 weeks back)   

Clearly this is not normal, it is expensive and surely will trigger an emissions issue soon, also how did it come through an MOT emissions test?

What should I do please, I contacted the dealer and they said take it to an RAC approved garage but didn't offer any real advice. I contacted them via email to keep a record of correspondence.

Galway

Sorry meant to add the engine details.

2018 CITROEN C3 FLAIR PURETECH

Ayr_Rage

What engine does it have?

How miles are you driving per litre of oil use?

What is the current mileage?

Aylesbury_Duck

I assume you mean you bought it on 21st August, so you're beyond the time where you could simply reject it.

You need to take it to a garage to get the cause diagnosed.  All you have at the moment is a symptom.

At what point did you first notice the oil loss?  Three weeks into ownership, it sounds like?  That would suggest the problem was there at the point of sale, although it is possible it occurred in those first few weeks of your ownership.  

What's the mileage on the car, and how much did you pay for it?

Galway

Thanks for the replies, car was purchased with 64k miles and I put 2 on as we only have 1 car but will be back to two cars soon. First noticed oil loss three weeks in when the oil light came on when I braked hard, put in 1.5 litres and then today the light came on again when I braked hard, then I knew it was a big problem and it took 2 litres. Car was £6200

Alderbank

I appreciate you're not a mechanic but when you lift the bonnet to top up the oil what does everything look like?

For example a leaking flexible hose will look wet and shiny.

Look underneath. Is the sump (the underside of the engine block) dry?

Ayr_Rage

Galway said:

Thanks for the replies, car was purchased with 64k miles and I put 2 on as we only have 1 car but will be back to two cars soon. First noticed oil loss three weeks in when the oil light came on when I braked hard, put in 1.5 litres and then today the light came on again when I braked hard, then I knew it was a big problem and it took 2 litres. Car was £6200

Petrol? Turbo? Diesel? Engine size?

Galway

Hi there, yes all dry and a little dusty, no sign of leakage, my son just told me that the engine has a common fault with the stem seals and Citroen were doing compensation up to 2024 for repairs etc.

If it is valve stem then it was present at point of sale.

Galway

Ayr_Rage said:

Galway said:

Thanks for the replies, car was purchased with 64k miles and I put 2 on as we only have 1 car but will be back to two cars soon. First noticed oil loss three weeks in when the oil light came on when I braked hard, put in 1.5 litres and then today the light came on again when I braked hard, then I knew it was a big problem and it took 2 litres. Car was £6200

Petrol? Turbo? Diesel? Engine size?

1.2 Puretech petrol engine

Ectophile

Aftermarket car warranties are designed not to pay out on anything that is likely to go wrong.  Car dealers love them because you end up fighting the warranty company, and forgetting that you have consumer rights against the dealer that sold you the car.

If the car goes wrong within 6 months of purchase, then it's assumed to have been faulty at the time of sale, unless the dealer can show otherwise.  It's then their responsibility to put it right.

Galway

Ectophile said:

Aftermarket car warranties are designed not to pay out on anything that is likely to go wrong.  Car dealers love them because you end up fighting the warranty company, and forgetting that you have consumer rights against the dealer that sold you the car.

If the car goes wrong within 6 months of purchase, then it's assumed to have been faulty at the time of sale, unless the dealer can show otherwise.  It's then their responsibility to put it right.

So do I have to take them to court?