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Car Finance Voluntary Termination / Fixing Fault
I have a Renault Megane E-Tech which developed an electric fault just outside of warranty. I took it into the dealer and they came back to say it was the compressor that needed fixing/replacing which impacts the air conditioning. They contacted Renault UK who offered to cover 50% of the repair cost, which is about £1,300.
I have so far decided to not authorise the work as my PCP finance is beyond 50% and I am able to hand the car back without incurring further cost. I have already ordered a new car which comes later this year and was planning to hand this car back so the fault is unfortunate timing. I am trying to work out if I hand the car back, will they expect me to pay for this, or being something that is not my fault (car has been looked after and serviced etc), would not be my responsibility - particularly because the finance company officially owns the car.
I spoke to a local mechanic who reckoned I should just hand it back and play ignorant as they won't even know what the fault is.
My options seem to be:
- Pay to have it fixed with Renault splitting the bill
- Ask the finance company if I would be liable and then take appropriate action
- Hand the car back and hope for the best (potentially footing 100% of the bill)
In terms of voluntary termination, how does the inspection work? Do I sign off there and then, or might they do further investigation later and try to come back and bill me?
I would appreciate any help or advice on the matter. The offer to split the bill from Renault appears to have a limited shelf life.
Comments
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What does the PCP contract say about vehicle condition?
You may get a bill if there is a fault when checked. or the car may simply be shipped to an auction and sold (when I terminated a HP agreement I had to drop the car off at the local BCA auction centre).
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We can't advise you to take option 3 - it would be fraud.
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VT rules say they can charge you beyond fair wear and tear, there are several FOS decisions that confirm this
Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:
People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.
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With a PCP contract you are responsible for out of warranty repairs, handing back the car with a known fault is likely to be costly.
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Won't there be a fault shown on the dash?
They won't take it back if there is.
I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....
(except air quality and Medical Science
)0 -
An air conditioning fault is unlikely to cause any error to be displayed.
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It is an EV, I don't know about Renault, but Stellantis EVs display "electric traction fault" all the time when the compressor isn't working. (Quite common with them apparently, I didn't realise Renault suffered too, maybe they all source their pumps from the same "bargain bucket" supplier)
The OP said it "developed an electric fault", presumably they know because of an error message, if that message is on when the car is inspected they won't just accept it back.
I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....
(except air quality and Medical Science)0 -
It's a BEV. I believe some use the aircon for traction system (battery/motor) cooling.
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They have a separate system for battery heating/cooling, which may use heat pump.
Life in the slow lane0
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