Used Car Section 75 - Independent Assessment

blandsausage

Hi everyone, Looking for some advice on an ongoing Section 75 claim with Barclaycard. This is in England.

Bought a car recently in February (Hyundai i20, 2015, 88k miles for 6k), which flashed up low oil pressure lights within a week. It only happened on tight turns, and when I first told the dealer about the issue, they told me "not to worry."

I drove it about 200miles total, and took it to a garage in mid April. They took the sump off and found plastic parts which they suspect is a timing chain guide. I asked the selling dealer to collect and repair it (my understanding of CRA 2015) and they flat-out refused.

The car is currently sitting in my home car park with the sump and oil completely taken off (towed from the garage to mine).

I opened a Section 75 claim, and Barclays have now come back saying they want an independent assessment, which they will cover up to £300 for.

They state that a repair quote must be included in the report - the Barclays person on the phone said that although most people want full refunds, they are under no obligation to do this...

My worry is that my local garage can only give a "preliminary quote" for just a timing chain kit because they can’t see possible further internal engine damage (smashed valves/pistons) without tearing it down.

I’m worried that if Barclays see this incomplete garage quote, they are going to try to use it to force a partial cash settlement on me to just "fix the chain," rather than letting me reject the car. The Barclays person suggested that I could order the tear down myself to get a full quote...

A few questions for anyone who has been through this:

-Do I have the understanding of the Section 75/CRA correct? Anything I might've missed?

-If Barclays offer a settlement based on timing chain kit replacement only (i.e. the incomplete quote), do I have a position where I ask for them to pay for further diagnostics to determine the magnitude of damage/repair costs? In my view the fault is already proven with the sump removal and plastic fragments?

-Since the dealer has explicitly refused a repair, have they lost their "one right to repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, meaning Barclays legally have to process this as a full rejection now?

Thanks in advance!

Alderbank

Barclays are correct about a refund at this stage. For that you would have had to clearly tell the seller, within the first 30 days, that you were rejecting the car and treating the contract as at an end (that's called the short-term right to reject).

In mid April you would have been better off taking it back to the seller than going to a different garage who seem to have left you with a partly stripped down car and a bucket of bits.

Since you drove it there I would not worry that you might have an engine full of smashed pistons and bits. You don't. Your timing belt might be on its last legs but it is still intact. If not, the car would have just stopped, dead, in the middle of the road.

It's reasonable that the 'other side' want an independent report about what is wrong so that they can arrange to get it fixed. If the cost of fixing it would be higher than they wish to pay then they have the option of refunding you instead, which is what you would like (they could make a small deduction for the 200 miles you have driven).

If it turns out that there is indeed more damage than the independent report indicates so the car is still faulty when it is returned to you, you can at that point return it and demand a refund (your final right to reject).

Grumpy_chap

When the issue first arose, did you do the basics such as checking the oil level?

You reported the issue to the supplying dealer within the week. Did you report the issue again to the supplying dealer?

What changed in April (2 months, 200 miles after purchase) to make you take the car to a local garage? Why didn't you give the supplying dealer the opportunity to remedy at that point? (Before going to the local trader.)

What more have you done to enforce your rights with the supplying dealer?

You paid £6k for the car. How much of that was paid on the CC?

You can expect the CC to be very diligent in their process to establish any liability they might carry.

Hi everyone, Looking for some advice on an ongoing Section 75 claim with Barclaycard. This is in England.

Bought a car recently in February (Hyundai i20, 2015, 88k miles for 6k), which flashed up low oil pressure lights within a week. It only happened on tight turns, and when I first told the dealer about the issue, they told me "not to worry."

I drove it about 200miles total, and took it to a garage in mid April. They took the sump off and found plastic parts which they suspect is a timing chain guide. I asked the selling dealer to collect and repair it (my understanding of CRA 2015) and they flat-out refused.

The car is currently sitting in my home car park with the sump and oil completely taken off (towed from the garage to mine).

I opened a Section 75 claim, and Barclays have now come back saying they want an independent assessment, which they will cover up to £300 for.

They state that a repair quote must be included in the report - the Barclays person on the phone said that although most people want full refunds, they are under no obligation to do this...

My worry is that my local garage can only give a "preliminary quote" for just a timing chain kit because they can’t see possible further internal engine damage (smashed valves/pistons) without tearing it down.

I’m worried that if Barclays see this incomplete garage quote, they are going to try to use it to force a partial cash settlement on me to just "fix the chain," rather than letting me reject the car. The Barclays person suggested that I could order the tear down myself to get a full quote...

A few questions for anyone who has been through this:

-Do I have the understanding of the Section 75/CRA correct? Anything I might've missed?

-If Barclays offer a settlement based on timing chain kit replacement only (i.e. the incomplete quote), do I have a position where I ask for them to pay for further diagnostics to determine the magnitude of damage/repair costs? In my view the fault is already proven with the sump removal and plastic fragments?

-Since the dealer has explicitly refused a repair, have they lost their "one right to repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, meaning Barclays legally have to process this as a full rejection now?

Thanks in advance!

born_again

They are correct. Barclays could just pay for the repair to be done, rather than a full refund. Depends on which is the cheaper.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6673562/used-car-section-75-independent-assessment

They arent asking for a quote, they are asking for an engineers report, the report must contain a cost estimation but it will also identify the cause of the problem and opine on if the defect was present at the time of purchase or something that has happened since you bought it. That will consider the make/model and age of the vehicle, service history and everything else.

Having worked with hundreds of engineers in my time doing Motor claims, they typically won't need any quote to base their cost estimation on. Most will have Audatex or one of their competitors which will accurately estimate the cost of parts and hours required for any repairs needed to be done to any vehicle, the engineer will know the going rate for repairs in your area to fill in the missing element to convert the systems calcs into a price.

Your probably better off having an engineer that properly inspects the vehicle than scrimping on it with a remote engineer who can only guess at what's going on and may well miss elements leaving you to have to pay for a second report if more issues are found on strip down.

The cost of the report can be added to your claim, assuming it supports your case and doesnt say that its clearly happened more recently, is a known problem with this model and you knew you were buying a car with no service history.

How old is the car? Presumably it's not brand new. What mileage did it have when you bought it and now?

Jenni_D

The answers to your final questions are already in the OP that you quoted. 😉

Grumpy_chap

How old is the car? Presumably it's not brand new. What mileage did it have when you bought it and now?

Bought a car recently in February (Hyundai i20, 2015, 88k miles for 6k),

I drove it about 200miles total, and took it to a garage in mid April.