Bickets/Verve car dealership.

ginchyqueendangle

I recently purchased a second hand car from the Bickets dealership which is now owned by Verve. After 16 days of having the car, things went wrong and now i have been left with a hefty bill. Company not willing to pay out; so complaint letter is being sent, however im not sure who to address it to. One copy will go to my local dealer where purchased and one to the Verve head office. Does it get addressed to the MD?

Anybody know where i can get the names of the people? Dont fancy calling up and asking as although im sending the letter im not big on confrontation (and im a big scaredy cat) Any ideas anybody?

Cheers in advance

G

maninthestreet

What went wrong with the car?

ginchyqueendangle

The clutch burnt out, now i know that it cant be forseen, but i had also purchased breakdown cover with them which included recovery and when it happened i was 150 miles from home and when i called to get picked up i was told my policy hadnt started yet.

I had to get a Dealer to repair it and they advised that my rear brake discs were corroded. Spoke to a MOT tester who advised he wouldnt have passed it.

Not bad considering i have the MOT certificate, as the dealer passed it before i got it. Theres no advisory with it to suggest the discs will need replaced.

maninthestreet

Clutches don't just 'burn out' all of a sudden - the test drive of the car prior to purchase would surely have shown up the the fact that the clutch was worn and would need replacing soon? The rear brake discs are a different issue - I've heard of brake discs wearing out, but never that they need replacement due to corrosion. Bu if the MOT tester said they would fail, then he must be correct.

ginchyqueendangle

Not necessarily, the mechanic explained that you wouldnt really know it would happen until it was on its way out. Which is what happened, as when i was driving down it just didnt have its usual power. And then just before it gave up, no matter what gear i was in, the rev counter was going up but the car wasnt going anywhere. The garage who repaired it said it was caused by wear and tear.

The brake discs in my old car were pitted and scored, not sure if its a similar thing - i just know the ones in this car cost a lot more.

FROSTYFRECKLE

Hi,

The buy out of Bickets was in the Kilmarnock Standard a few weeks ago, it mentioned all of the bigwigs. Can't remember any of the names but you will be able to get a back copy from the Kilmarnock Standard's offices in the Foregate, Kilmarnock. Hubby and I are looking for a new car - will be avoiding Bickets.:beer:

Blacksheep1979

Clutch and breaks will be classed as wear and so not covered by any warranty depending on how long you've had the car the breaks could be a matter of concern and if it's only a matter of weeks and you haven't done 100's of miles I'd be getting on to VOSA and reporting them, try to get a report that the car wouldn't have passed an mot in the last xxxdays/xxx miles and pass it on. The breakdown cover is also a shambles and I'd be asking them to cover the cost of the recovery.

ginchyqueendangle

FROSTYFRECKLE wrote: »

Hi,
Hubby and I are looking for a new car - will be avoiding Bickets.:beer:

Funnily enough i was telling someone i know about what happened and was told that her friend had also purchased a car from Bickets and the clutch failed - prob just a coincidence but still......

ginchyqueendangle

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

Clutch and breaks will be classed as wear and so not covered by any warranty depending on how long you've had the car the breaks could be a matter of concern and if it's only a matter of weeks and you haven't done 100's of miles I'd be getting on to VOSA and reporting them, try to get a report that the car wouldn't have passed an mot in the last xxxdays/xxx miles and pass it on. The breakdown cover is also a shambles and I'd be asking them to cover the cost of the recovery.

I have sent the letters to both offices so i will wait and see what the response is. I have given 14 days to get a response before i take further action. I have the service report from the garage that repaired it, advising that the discs are corroded - i havent had a 2nd mot done so dont have an official failure notice - however even without it, the mot doesnt even have an advisory notice so that and the advisory from toyota should be enough to send to vosa.

ginchyqueendangle

In regards to the breakdown cover, when i called to get my car and me recovered total shock doesnt even begin to describe how i felt when i was told i wasnt covered.

The options were pay a £90 call out fee then pay for a 300 mile round trip from a pick up truck (didnt even get a price - the woman on the phone seemed a bit embarrassed when she told me that) or find my own way back. Im a 24 year old female!

Luckily for me my friends and family assisted me.

shelly

I called CAB today about a couple of issues we are having with a used car we bought on Saturday.
Unfortunately we haven't got a leg to stand on but looking at the site CAB told me to go to, you certainly do.

Site here http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/buying_second_hand_vehicles.htm

HTH