Bought used car from dealer, clutch now slipping
Discussion
Hi chaps, bit of advice if you could, almost moral to a point.
I bought a 2004 645Ci from a dealer last month, with 99K on the clock. I drove it a couple of times before hand in cold & wet conditions, mostly in stop start town traffic, and was happy with the condition. However, now I've driven it a bit more it's clear that when you get the chance to open it up, the clutch is slipping a fair bit. This definitely needs replacing.
At first I thought it might be me getting used to the car, but it's very much on the way out. Now I didn't pay mega bucks for the car, however given the age, spec and mileage I believe the price to have been a fair one for both parties. That said, if I'd known the clutch was dying I'd have wanted to pay a bit less. I've had a quote for replacement from a local specialist and tbh it's not too bad (£500 give or take), which seems okay to me. Two questions then really:
1. Do I have a legal right to expect the dealer to foot at least part of the bill?
2. Should I even ask them if they will, even if they do have the legal obligation?
I don't believe that they knew about the clutch, nor do I believe that it's something I could've reasonably been expected to find on a couple of test drives in the freezing cold wet weather. They're a good bunch of guys there and I can afford the bill myself if needs be, hence asking whether I'd even be morally right in asking the question. I'd be more than happy to go halves, or to split the bill between parts and labour, or anything really.
Thoughts, as always, much appreciated.
I bought a 2004 645Ci from a dealer last month, with 99K on the clock. I drove it a couple of times before hand in cold & wet conditions, mostly in stop start town traffic, and was happy with the condition. However, now I've driven it a bit more it's clear that when you get the chance to open it up, the clutch is slipping a fair bit. This definitely needs replacing.
At first I thought it might be me getting used to the car, but it's very much on the way out. Now I didn't pay mega bucks for the car, however given the age, spec and mileage I believe the price to have been a fair one for both parties. That said, if I'd known the clutch was dying I'd have wanted to pay a bit less. I've had a quote for replacement from a local specialist and tbh it's not too bad (£500 give or take), which seems okay to me. Two questions then really:
1. Do I have a legal right to expect the dealer to foot at least part of the bill?
2. Should I even ask them if they will, even if they do have the legal obligation?
I don't believe that they knew about the clutch, nor do I believe that it's something I could've reasonably been expected to find on a couple of test drives in the freezing cold wet weather. They're a good bunch of guys there and I can afford the bill myself if needs be, hence asking whether I'd even be morally right in asking the question. I'd be more than happy to go halves, or to split the bill between parts and labour, or anything really.
Thoughts, as always, much appreciated.
davepoth said:
IMO a clutch at 100k isn't that unexpected, and if it wasn't obvious at purchase the dealership couldn't have known about it either.
This. Especially if it was towards the lower end of the price band for the age and model. SOGA gives you rights, but balances them against reasonable expectations when it comes to used goods.davepoth said:
That said I should think the dealership will offer a contribution if you ask nicely, especially given how reasonable the cost of replacement is.
It'd be entirely a goodwill gesture, though.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff