Faulty vehicle - bought as new but 2.5 years old

generationgavin

Hi - I'm after any advice, comments, hints or anything else.


June 2023  - I purchased a brand new vehicle, a VW ID.4 from official VW dealership A. All repairs and work since then have happened at VW dealership B
March 2024 - I had a fault where the doors would open themselves. Took a few visits but was fixed.
Feb 2025 - I started getting error messages due to 12v electrical faults. Took it in and no faults found
May 2025 - Had my car in for a service, they wiped the faults should fix my battery issues. Battery tested OK
August 2025 - More issues, took my car in, they found faults and reflashed the software.
August 2025 - Broke down and vehicle wouldn't start and needed recovering 
August 2025 - Needed jump starting again
August 2025 - Dealership B replaced the 12v battery.
November 2025 - Driving along, vehicle switches off and e-handbrake comes on. Recovery is required taking 6 hours to move the vehicle as it will not move.
November 2025 - Dealership B has vehicle for 2 weeks. Eventually find the issue replacing the DC-DC inverter. Car is test driven and returned.
November 2025 - I pick up the car and make it *2* miles before the car completely shuts down and cannot be moved.

At this point, I obviously do not trust the vehicle or any repairs at all. The dealerships have said they cannot guarantee a fix, and the vehicle stops without warning, so if this happens on a motorway it could honestly kill somebody, including my kids. 
It's also worth pointing out that my car insurance said my car won't be covered (but it would be third party) if an accident happened due to the fault unless I had a guaranteed fix. 

So I've requested a refund or replacement from the selling dealership, brand and finance.

So far I've come to a pretty much dead end, the selling dealership say they haven't seen the car and won't refund, they would require around £500 to have it towed to them to look at and they would only make multiple repair attempts and not be able to guarantee a fix.

VWFS have essentially said the brand and dealership have said no, so they cannot do anything (I know this isn't completely true)

I know under CRA2015 the burden of proof is on me to show the fault was there since the start, I've spoken to two garages and one investigator who all say that proving this would be impossible if VW cannot find the fault. 

There is much more to this, but for the complaint I've put together a 14 page document for the dealership, VW and VWFS outlaying all of the facts.

Next steps will be to go to the financial Ombudsman for a long drawn our process, but does anybody have any advice on anything I can do to help my case, speed things up or just generally what my chances might be.

Also should I ask the dealership to repair my vehicle at this point, or would this weaken my overall case as I'm giving them another chance to repair it (I honestly don't think I can drive it though)

dnpark38

From your subject title I take it the car was 2.5 years old when you bought it in 2023, is that what you mean?

generationgavin

The car is approximately 2.5 years old now, it was brand new when purchased in 2023. 
Sorry for any confusion.

paul_c123

Are these warranty fixes you've had done already?

generationgavin

paul_c123 said:

Are these warranty fixes you've had done already?

All of the repairs so far are warranty fixes, but essentially the last 4 have all failed and they cannot guarantee another one will work (or how many would be needed) leaving me with an inherently dangerous vehicle.

born_again

Your consumer rights are with the dealer.
How much did the car cost. As this will make a difference to any S75 claim under finance.
up to £30K is S75, 
S75A up to £60,260 & only related to linked finance deals.

generationgavin

born_again said:

Your consumer rights are with the dealer.
How much did the car cost. As this will make a difference to any S75 claim under finance.
up to £30K is S75, 
S75A up to £60,260 & only related to linked finance deals.

Thanks - I believe that the finance company are equally responsible as well.
It will be S75A, purchased on a PCP and above £30k but below £60,260

paul_c123

generationgavin said:

paul_c123 said:

Are these warranty fixes you've had done already?

All of the repairs so far are warranty fixes, but essentially the last 4 have all failed and they cannot guarantee another one will work (or how many would be needed) leaving me with an inherently dangerous vehicle.

Have dealership A (the original one you bought it from) ever looked at it?

VW dealers are franchises, they are effectively competitors to each other and they generally dislike warranty work because it pays less and is more restrictive than charging the customer. So its possible dealership B haven't done that well but have no interest to do it better. In theory, VW should have oversight over all their dealers and hold them accountable to poor workmanship etc but in practice, your claim is with dealership A, not VW or dealership B.

How far in distance is dealership A from you?

Grumpy_chap

generationgavin said:

So I've requested a refund or replacement from the selling dealership, brand and finance.

What have you actually asked for?
If you have asked for a refund of the original price paid or a replacement with another brand new car, that is not realistically going to happen after 2.5 years of having the use of a car.
The very best you could aim for is a refund less some deduction to reflect the extent of beneficial use you have received to date.

If changing the car is your objective, it can be pragmatic to understand first the value the car will realise if sold in the open market place - online car buying services can give a guide very simply.

Baldytyke88

generationgavin said:

It's also worth pointing out that my car insurance said my car won't be covered (but it would be third party) if an accident happened due to the fault unless I had a guaranteed fix. 

Not sure how a mechanical issue could affect your insurance, how did they find out?

Markdavid1962

I had something similar with another manufacturer (also German) involving 2 dealers and the car was in the workshop numerous times, eventually I emailed the MD of the manufacturer and cc'd the Worldwide CEO. I asked was the level of service acceptable and this is my last option to resolve this escalating to MD & CEO before I have to use social media to publicise what has gone on with a new car still under under warranty.

Within 2 days i was being called by the dealerships and the manufacturer got involved, in fact I was getting multiple calls a day

 It was then in for a month but they sorted it and also didnt charge me, I was outside the warranty at this stage.

If you decide to email, these are the VW email addresses that you need, I would also cc the two dealerships in to the email. Be polite and stick to the facts, state you are escalating to Rod as you have no other options. Remember the brown stuff rolls down hill, expect the manufacturer to get involved.

Rod Mccleod (UK Director)

executive.office@volkswagen.co.uk Volkswagon Group CEO oliver.blume@porsche.de In VW car club (owner groups) has anyone else reported the same issue, may be worth mentioning that if it has .