Car Issues

Steamboat

I purchased a 5 yr old car with 27k miles on it at the end of May-25 for £18k.

Within a day it had an engine management light on for DPF issues, the dealer changed the battery saying that is what might cause it then proceeded to change a sensor and also a pulley which was knocking over the next couple of months, 9 months later another sensor failed and needed to be replaced but the dealer said it wasn't their issue as id had the car over 6 months, after 10 months the turbo failed.

The dealer is saying the same again, after 6 months its not their issue.

These aren't insignificant or wear and tear parts that keep going, do I have more of a case than the dealer suggests or is it just on me to repair as ive had it for 9k miles?

Any advice appreciated on what to do next (if anything)?

eskbanker

Any consumer rights you have will hinge on whether a fault was present at the time of sale, even if latent, and after six months the burden of proof becomes yours, which is presumably the dealer's point. In circumstances where it isn't obvious one way or the other, it'll usually be productive to get the car inspected by an independent expert.

Lomast

very low mileage is bad for diesels, what car is it and has it been serviced accordinaccording to the manufacturer recommendation?

Aylesbury_Duck

As Lomast says, low mileage isn't good for diesels, unless it was used infrequently and all the journeys happened to be "hard" driving of longer distances. 27k miles in 5 years suggests it's been used as a local runabout, so I'm not surprised the DPF light came on almost straight away. If service history is patchy as well, that might explain the numerous problems.

It might be worth asking a local, reputable independent mechanic to do a full inspection and report. It will cost you, but at least you'll know what you're dealing with and what other problems may occur down the line.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6663981/car-issues

You have done 9k miles in the car in the now 11 months or so since purchase.

What servicing have you had on the car since purchase?

CarIntellect_UK

I wouldn’t just accept “over 6 months so not our issue” at face value.

A DPF warning straight after purchase, then more sensor issues, then turbo failure, does sound more like an ongoing underlying problem than normal wear and tear randomly appearing one after another.

At the very least I’d:

• gather every invoice, job sheet and message from the dealer
• put the timeline in order
• get an independent garage report on whether these faults look connected

If an independent report suggests the later failures are linked to an issue that was there from the start, you may have more of a case than the dealer is making out.

Even if you end up paying for some of it yourself, I wouldn’t rely on the dealer’s “not our problem after 6 months” line without getting outside advice.

jimjames

Even if you end up paying for some of it yourself, I wouldn’t rely on the dealer’s “not our problem after 6 months” line without getting outside advice.

If the dealer is of the ilk that they say that then chances are you'll never get them to pay up anyway. If the DPF light came on almost as soon as you left the garage then it could well have been already on and cleared by the garage at the point of sale which also gives an indication of the type of place.

forgotmyname

Or it's simply a case of the cars been shunted around the dealership a dozen times and not been driven more than a
few feet so it's due a long drive for the car to get warm and start the regen process?

Had my car fail to regen when it needed to do one a couple of times because of a similar issue, lots of short journeys
where the engine temperature did not get hot enough and a weak battery from the car sitting for the regen to trigger.

tom192

People have mentioned the low mileage before your ownership but what have those 9k miles been like since you have owned it? 10k a year is pretty borderline for diesel use going forward.

Is there regular short runs, multiple movements per day or a single decent sized commute on a motorway at each end of the day?

Diesel engines hate not getting fully warmed up and also need decent periods at higher rpms (not pottering around town)

Mildly_Miffed

After nearly a year, on a car that's now 6yo, during which you've covered a quarter of the car's total current mileage…

Your consumer rights post-six months require you to prove the fault was present at the time of purchase.
You presumably have no remaining warranty on top of those rights.

Yes, this is on you.

How long do you think a second-hand car dealership should be subsidising your motoring costs?