Faulty goods, rejection?
Discussion
Recently purchased a second hand car from a very large dealership. Sale was fine, not an expensive car, paid approx £2200. I was pleased with the car but after a couple of days it became apparent that there was a fault with the entertainment / sat nav. The CD player had a disc stuck in it and the whole system kept turning itself on and off randomly. Did some research and found that this was a common and known fault with this model that could be bodged quite cheaply or repaired properly at considerable expense.
Please bear with me, I know this is a long story.
Took the car back to the dealer, I have owned the car for a week at this stage,spoke to the sales girl and booked it in for the following day, Tuesday the 11th Nov. Asked about a courtesy car, none available. Dropped the car off as arranged, asked that I be contacted and updated with progress as I was having to borrow a car from relatives / wife in the meantime.
No contact by Thursday so ring and put through to service to be told that they had identified the fault and were waiting for sales to authorise the repair, please ring me when you have an update. No contact again, so ring and I am told that the repairs have been authorised but the parts would need to be ordered, OK, please contact me with an update on when I can have the car back. Enquired about a courtesy car again, none available sir but you can take your car and bring it back when the parts arrive. No thanks say I, I don't want to accept the car back until the repairs are completed.
No contact again, so ring on Tuesday and speak to the girl in service and she says that the parts are there and are being fitted. Won't be long I think, ask her to ring me when ready. No contact, so ring again on Thursday, still working on it. You guessed it, no contact again, ring Friday, we are waiting for our master technician to have a look at it????? This is basically a car stereo and faulty amp for christs sake!!! Ask again to be contacted, asked again for a courtesy car, none available.
Monday the 24th, had to ring again, master technician is still working on it! That's it, put me through to sales, I need to talk to someone about rejecting this car! Service girl then tells me that they suddenly have a courtesy car available, collect Tuesday morning.
Arrive at the arranged time, after working a 12 hour night shift, no car, it will be here in an hour!! In the meantime, I can see my car in their workshop, NOT being worked on. Sales girl agrees with me that the situation is unacceptable, service is always causing problems, she will speak to the dealer principle, blah, blah, yeah, yeah. Then studiously ignores and avoids me, along with her colleagues, until the courtesy car arrives which turns out to be a brand new Fiesta, very nice but I bought an estate because that is what I need, what good is a Fiesta to me? Never mind, I am tired and want to get home and get some sleep.
So far, no contact from them again and I have now owned this car for nearly 4 weeks and for nearly 3 weeks it has been in their workshop for a stereo / hi-fi fault.
At long last, my question is, am I entitled and justified in rejecting this car and asking for a full refund plus any incurred costs? If they refuse to fully compensate me, and they have a track record of this apparently, what is my next course of action.
Thanks in advance for any constructive advice and comments.
Please bear with me, I know this is a long story.
Took the car back to the dealer, I have owned the car for a week at this stage,spoke to the sales girl and booked it in for the following day, Tuesday the 11th Nov. Asked about a courtesy car, none available. Dropped the car off as arranged, asked that I be contacted and updated with progress as I was having to borrow a car from relatives / wife in the meantime.
No contact by Thursday so ring and put through to service to be told that they had identified the fault and were waiting for sales to authorise the repair, please ring me when you have an update. No contact again, so ring and I am told that the repairs have been authorised but the parts would need to be ordered, OK, please contact me with an update on when I can have the car back. Enquired about a courtesy car again, none available sir but you can take your car and bring it back when the parts arrive. No thanks say I, I don't want to accept the car back until the repairs are completed.
No contact again, so ring on Tuesday and speak to the girl in service and she says that the parts are there and are being fitted. Won't be long I think, ask her to ring me when ready. No contact, so ring again on Thursday, still working on it. You guessed it, no contact again, ring Friday, we are waiting for our master technician to have a look at it????? This is basically a car stereo and faulty amp for christs sake!!! Ask again to be contacted, asked again for a courtesy car, none available.
Monday the 24th, had to ring again, master technician is still working on it! That's it, put me through to sales, I need to talk to someone about rejecting this car! Service girl then tells me that they suddenly have a courtesy car available, collect Tuesday morning.
Arrive at the arranged time, after working a 12 hour night shift, no car, it will be here in an hour!! In the meantime, I can see my car in their workshop, NOT being worked on. Sales girl agrees with me that the situation is unacceptable, service is always causing problems, she will speak to the dealer principle, blah, blah, yeah, yeah. Then studiously ignores and avoids me, along with her colleagues, until the courtesy car arrives which turns out to be a brand new Fiesta, very nice but I bought an estate because that is what I need, what good is a Fiesta to me? Never mind, I am tired and want to get home and get some sleep.
So far, no contact from them again and I have now owned this car for nearly 4 weeks and for nearly 3 weeks it has been in their workshop for a stereo / hi-fi fault.
At long last, my question is, am I entitled and justified in rejecting this car and asking for a full refund plus any incurred costs? If they refuse to fully compensate me, and they have a track record of this apparently, what is my next course of action.
Thanks in advance for any constructive advice and comments.
At £2200 you may be able to make yourself more of a pain in the arse than it's worth and get a refund, not something I'd condone if on the whole you have a decent car for the money, but if you even implied to them you wanted costs as well I'd imagine they may well call you nasty names.
A bit surprised at the replies, the fault is not confined to the radio going off, it also manifests itself as no sat nav or CD player, no parking sensors and no audible indicator warning.
Yes, I know that it is a cheap car but surely I should be able to expect better service than this from a main dealer, supposedly the biggest in the country?
The car is faulty and there is no sign as yet of it being repaired.
Perhaps, as someone has suggested, my expectations are too high, but how many of us would be happy to pay out £2200 and a week later have nothing to show for it.
Yes, I know that it is a cheap car but surely I should be able to expect better service than this from a main dealer, supposedly the biggest in the country?
The car is faulty and there is no sign as yet of it being repaired.
Perhaps, as someone has suggested, my expectations are too high, but how many of us would be happy to pay out £2200 and a week later have nothing to show for it.
blueb10 said:
A bit surprised at the replies, the fault is not confined to the radio going off, it also manifests itself as no sat nav or CD player, no parking sensors and no audible indicator warning.
Yes, I know that it is a cheap car but surely I should be able to expect better service than this from a main dealer, supposedly the biggest in the country?
The car is faulty and there is no sign as yet of it being repaired.
Perhaps, as someone has suggested, my expectations are too high, but how many of us would be happy to pay out £2200 and a week later have nothing to show for it.
Didn't mean to come across as unhelpful.Yes, I know that it is a cheap car but surely I should be able to expect better service than this from a main dealer, supposedly the biggest in the country?
The car is faulty and there is no sign as yet of it being repaired.
Perhaps, as someone has suggested, my expectations are too high, but how many of us would be happy to pay out £2200 and a week later have nothing to show for it.
What car is it and what's the age/mileage? Maybe best course of action is to look into fixing it yourself with help from places like this... If it's a common fault there will be a guide kicking about.
Edited by Black_S3 on Thursday 27th November 08:04
blueb10 said:
A bit surprised at the replies, the fault is not confined to the radio going off, it also manifests itself as no sat nav or CD player, no parking sensors and no audible indicator warning.
So nothing particularly serious, then?What did the advert say about the ICE? I'm presuming it's possible to replace the factory system with an aftermarket head unit and tell the body control computer, which'd bring back the indicator warning...
So, judging from the input received from calibrax and others, they would, if they were to find themselves in a similar situation, be happy to accept the car as it was? These faults came to light after a couple of days, they were not apparent at the time of purchase.
If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
blueb10 said:
So, judging from the input received from calibrax and others, they would, if they were to find themselves in a similar situation, be happy to accept the car as it was? These faults came to light after a couple of days, they were not apparent at the time of purchase.
If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
Think this is why you're getting the responses mate. 2k is still a reasonable chunk of money, even if in car terms it's not.If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
Help us out. If the car you bought had a list price of 6k new it's different to talking about an 8 year old type car.
I'm still thinking if overall it's a cracker of a car then you're best bet is working out how to sort the niggles for as little as possible.
Yes, as I have previously said, I know the car was cheap and I really like the car, I think I picked up a bargain, or at least I did think I had.
If I had bought privately I would have not been happy with the faults but I would have had no option than to repair myself and I could have done this cheaply if not strictly correctly. The main fault, other than the CD having a disc stuck in it, is one of the amps. I informed them of this and what the options were and they decided to repair, that was three weeks ago!
I am considering waiting until next week and then I will think about trying to negotiate some resolution.
If I had bought privately I would have not been happy with the faults but I would have had no option than to repair myself and I could have done this cheaply if not strictly correctly. The main fault, other than the CD having a disc stuck in it, is one of the amps. I informed them of this and what the options were and they decided to repair, that was three weeks ago!
I am considering waiting until next week and then I will think about trying to negotiate some resolution.
blueb10 said:
These faults came to light after a couple of days, they were not apparent at the time of purchase.
A very relevant detail.The question is not one of whether you expect such faults to develop two days after purchase, but whether you can expect such faults to develop however many years after manufacture. And the answer, clearly, is "yes".
blueb10 said:
If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
And that's what SOGA says. Reasonable expectations. And those reasonable expectations, for a used vehicle, are very much affected by age/price. A £2k-from-trade vehicle does not have particularly high expectations for all the fripperies and gadgets.blueb10 said:
Recently purchased a second hand car from a very large dealership. Sale was fine, not an expensive car, paid approx £2200. I was pleased with the car but after a couple of days it became apparent that there was a fault with the entertainment / sat nav. The CD player had a disc stuck in it and the whole system kept turning itself on and off randomly. Did some research and found that this was a common and known fault with this model that could be bodged quite cheaply or repaired properly at considerable expense.
Please bear with me, I know this is a long story.
Took the car back to the dealer, I have owned the car for a week at this stage,spoke to the sales girl and booked it in for the following day, Tuesday the 11th Nov. Asked about a courtesy car, none available. Dropped the car off as arranged, asked that I be contacted and updated with progress as I was having to borrow a car from relatives / wife in the meantime.
No contact by Thursday so ring and put through to service to be told that they had identified the fault and were waiting for sales to authorise the repair, please ring me when you have an update. No contact again, so ring and I am told that the repairs have been authorised but the parts would need to be ordered, OK, please contact me with an update on when I can have the car back. Enquired about a courtesy car again, none available sir but you can take your car and bring it back when the parts arrive. No thanks say I, I don't want to accept the car back until the repairs are completed.
No contact again, so ring on Tuesday and speak to the girl in service and she says that the parts are there and are being fitted. Won't be long I think, ask her to ring me when ready. No contact, so ring again on Thursday, still working on it. You guessed it, no contact again, ring Friday, we are waiting for our master technician to have a look at it????? This is basically a car stereo and faulty amp for christs sake!!! Ask again to be contacted, asked again for a courtesy car, none available.
Monday the 24th, had to ring again, master technician is still working on it! That's it, put me through to sales, I need to talk to someone about rejecting this car! Service girl then tells me that they suddenly have a courtesy car available, collect Tuesday morning.
Arrive at the arranged time, after working a 12 hour night shift, no car, it will be here in an hour!! In the meantime, I can see my car in their workshop, NOT being worked on. Sales girl agrees with me that the situation is unacceptable, service is always causing problems, she will speak to the dealer principle, blah, blah, yeah, yeah. Then studiously ignores and avoids me, along with her colleagues, until the courtesy car arrives which turns out to be a brand new Fiesta, very nice but I bought an estate because that is what I need, what good is a Fiesta to me? Never mind, I am tired and want to get home and get some sleep.
So far, no contact from them again and I have now owned this car for nearly 4 weeks and for nearly 3 weeks it has been in their workshop for a stereo / hi-fi fault.
At long last, my question is, am I entitled and justified in rejecting this car and asking for a full refund plus any incurred costs? If they refuse to fully compensate me, and they have a track record of this apparently, what is my next course of action.
Thanks in advance for any constructive advice and comments.
You have no chance of rejecting a car because the hi fi doesn't work, why you didn't just take the car and wait for the parts is beyond me, the lack of an "adequate" courtesy car is a bit arsey on your part, a courtesy car is just that, I think Porsche use Golfs when there are no Panamera's available, some even non turbo!!Please bear with me, I know this is a long story.
Took the car back to the dealer, I have owned the car for a week at this stage,spoke to the sales girl and booked it in for the following day, Tuesday the 11th Nov. Asked about a courtesy car, none available. Dropped the car off as arranged, asked that I be contacted and updated with progress as I was having to borrow a car from relatives / wife in the meantime.
No contact by Thursday so ring and put through to service to be told that they had identified the fault and were waiting for sales to authorise the repair, please ring me when you have an update. No contact again, so ring and I am told that the repairs have been authorised but the parts would need to be ordered, OK, please contact me with an update on when I can have the car back. Enquired about a courtesy car again, none available sir but you can take your car and bring it back when the parts arrive. No thanks say I, I don't want to accept the car back until the repairs are completed.
No contact again, so ring on Tuesday and speak to the girl in service and she says that the parts are there and are being fitted. Won't be long I think, ask her to ring me when ready. No contact, so ring again on Thursday, still working on it. You guessed it, no contact again, ring Friday, we are waiting for our master technician to have a look at it????? This is basically a car stereo and faulty amp for christs sake!!! Ask again to be contacted, asked again for a courtesy car, none available.
Monday the 24th, had to ring again, master technician is still working on it! That's it, put me through to sales, I need to talk to someone about rejecting this car! Service girl then tells me that they suddenly have a courtesy car available, collect Tuesday morning.
Arrive at the arranged time, after working a 12 hour night shift, no car, it will be here in an hour!! In the meantime, I can see my car in their workshop, NOT being worked on. Sales girl agrees with me that the situation is unacceptable, service is always causing problems, she will speak to the dealer principle, blah, blah, yeah, yeah. Then studiously ignores and avoids me, along with her colleagues, until the courtesy car arrives which turns out to be a brand new Fiesta, very nice but I bought an estate because that is what I need, what good is a Fiesta to me? Never mind, I am tired and want to get home and get some sleep.
So far, no contact from them again and I have now owned this car for nearly 4 weeks and for nearly 3 weeks it has been in their workshop for a stereo / hi-fi fault.
At long last, my question is, am I entitled and justified in rejecting this car and asking for a full refund plus any incurred costs? If they refuse to fully compensate me, and they have a track record of this apparently, what is my next course of action.
Thanks in advance for any constructive advice and comments.
blueb10 said:
So, judging from the input received from calibrax and others, they would, if they were to find themselves in a similar situation, be happy to accept the car as it was? These faults came to light after a couple of days, they were not apparent at the time of purchase.
If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
You're being serious too.If I had bought the car privately I would have just had to swallow it and repair it myself, I accept that, but I didn't, I got it from a main dealer and as such I would expect better, sale of goods act anyone?
As for the radio not rendering the car unfit for purpose, that's like saying that if none of the windows worked it would still be able to function as a car!
The stereo does not leave the car unfit for purpose, use your head. If you bought a stereo, and the stereo didn't work, it would be unfit for purpose. You've bought a car.
You cannot reject a £2000 car because the radio doesn't work. Come on.
andymc said:
You have no chance of rejecting a car because the hi fi doesn't work, why you didn't just take the car and wait for the parts is beyond me, the lack of an "adequate" courtesy car is a bit arsey on your part, a courtesy car is just that, I think Porsche use Golfs when there are no Panamera's available, some even non turbo!!
The closest TVR main dealer for me to use in Wigan is half TVR and half Skoda.Guess what you get when your TVR is serviced....
It was literally the cheapest new car of the range. Like a 1.3 diesel estate type thing.
I feel for OP. Personally I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the the integrated audio system should work, especially from day 1 of ownership. These are not as easy to replace nowadays as some of you are making out.
Having said that to reject the car does seem overly harsh if the Dealer is actually in the process of fixing it.
You now have a courtesy car, and other than crap service (which is par for the course) I don't really see the problem.
Having said that to reject the car does seem overly harsh if the Dealer is actually in the process of fixing it.
You now have a courtesy car, and other than crap service (which is par for the course) I don't really see the problem.
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