Need advice re: course of action after buying a bent car
Discussion
t. 
Surprised to see this one being revived this morning!
I didn't pay "shagger" price. I paid what would be considered to be around £1k to £2k less than for a minter i.e. cherished motor with stacks of history. £6.5k isn't shagger money.
Now, as Judge Rinder might say, I'm going to write this down in big (or bold
)
Prices are currently all over the place and I have seen at least two other cars go for the same sort of money recently. Made me feel a bit sick in all honesty. But whatever, as I have said already but you have obviously missed, the car wasn't sold "cheap" because of the car's condition; the car was sold "cheap" because of the lack of history. That alone.
Are you a shagger?
The oil seal isn't really worth mentioning here as it's an annoyance rather than a real issue.
My main car cost £17k so you can forget this fantasy that all I do is shop in the bargain basement hoping for a miracle. It's the projects/toys/commuter sheds that I'm happy to gamble on because if it goes tits up, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things and I do enjoy projects. It just stings when people lie or cover stuff up.
Oh and by the way, just to clear up a misconception; the place I bought the car from wasn't some sort of scrap yard. It's just a regular garage and the lad buys cars to break and also builds track cars etc. on the side.
Anyway, the car has still not even covered 500 miles since buying it but I am looking into a few things repair-wise. When I have a proper update I will update. Until then, adios!
Maz_uk said:
You paid shagger price for a car, turns out to be a shagger then you start whinging about this shagger you paid a shagger price for expecting it not to be a shagger.
Go on then, I'll bite I didn't pay "shagger" price. I paid what would be considered to be around £1k to £2k less than for a minter i.e. cherished motor with stacks of history. £6.5k isn't shagger money.
Now, as Judge Rinder might say, I'm going to write this down in big (or bold
)Prices are currently all over the place and I have seen at least two other cars go for the same sort of money recently. Made me feel a bit sick in all honesty. But whatever, as I have said already but you have obviously missed, the car wasn't sold "cheap" because of the car's condition; the car was sold "cheap" because of the lack of history. That alone.
Are you a shagger?
Nanook said:
Regardless of whether or not we can call a hillclimb instructional day a motorsport event (I've never heard of instructional events at a hillclimb course. They're usually called 'fun days' or 'gymkhanas' and are just a free for all up the hill) I think we can all agree that finding out the gearbox is a big shagged, then sending the wife with the car to rag it up the local hillclimb anyway isn't terribly bright, yes?
Yes, we can definitely all agree on that. Good job I didn't do that eh? All we knew of at this point was that there was a slight crunch from 4th to 5th at 4k upwards. In isolation, that wouldn't have been the end of the world. Unfortunately it wasn't in isolation. Guess that's my fault too eh? The oil seal isn't really worth mentioning here as it's an annoyance rather than a real issue.My main car cost £17k so you can forget this fantasy that all I do is shop in the bargain basement hoping for a miracle. It's the projects/toys/commuter sheds that I'm happy to gamble on because if it goes tits up, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things and I do enjoy projects. It just stings when people lie or cover stuff up.
Oh and by the way, just to clear up a misconception; the place I bought the car from wasn't some sort of scrap yard. It's just a regular garage and the lad buys cars to break and also builds track cars etc. on the side.
Anyway, the car has still not even covered 500 miles since buying it but I am looking into a few things repair-wise. When I have a proper update I will update. Until then, adios!
gordyshreds said:
OP, what did the seller say when you told him of th issues?
He told me that he wasn't aware of the issues. He said he hadn't had it up on the ramp or driven it hard.Being much calmer about all this now I can fully believe he wasn't aware of the gearbox. I struggle to understand how it could be deemed too good to break without having been properly looked over though. But that's just me.
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You're an idiot just here to cause trouble. How do you discover that a car is bent as a result of doing the geometry on it if you haven't first fitted the suspension, genius?
If you're going to come on here with the sole intention of spouting off at people, at least make some effort.
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Just for clarity, the gearbox felt a lot better once the oil was changed. The crunch was still there but like I've already said numerous times, we didn't know it had any further issues with crunches etc. until it was driven at high revs. FFS The leak was minor. I double checked the level of fluid in the box and it was well within spec. End of. When we thought it was just the one crunch between 4th and 5th we were a bit annoyed but were prepared to live with that. So why wouldn't we use the car at that point? Should I have run around in a blind panic screaming "OH NO!! THE POWERFULLY BUILT PEOPLE ON PISTONHEADS ARE GOING TO LAY INTO ME IF WE DRIVE THE CAR!!"???
You'll have to find someone else to troll pal.
Edited by TroubledSoul on Tuesday 11th October 10:05
keep it coming buddy. My wife hasn't been on a trackday
Car was aligned very well and drove perfectly straight thanks to the adjustable suspension having lots of scope to compensate.
Handbrake did work, it just had way too much travel on it.
I fitted a set of new pulleys and belts so that's a non starter.
Steering was sketchy? Good job it had brand new track rods and rack bushes fitted when the rest of the suspension was done then eh?
Not trolling....
We established a long time ago that I bought a bad car. Not sure why you've come along to get involved weeks down the line if you're not trolling.
Edited by TroubledSoul on Tuesday 11th October 10:41
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You're a funny guy. It was knackered but it just about worked at the very top of the travel. I didn't like it at all. I've since fixed it. The car was set up to drive straight and the steering was spot on. Not sure why she shouldn't have driven it? It was her choice anyway. Some men don't try to stop their wives having their own opinion
What's this trackday you keep speaking of?
With all due respect, considering that you didn't even know that winter tyres alter the handling characteristics of a car, I don't think you're one to be telling anybody else anything about their car
C70R said:
I want that minute of my life back please.
In other news, the longer you faff and procrastinate, the less chance there is of legal recourse. But, I have a funny feeling you're probably not going to bother anyway.
I've got a couple of things to do first. There's a possibility it's not actually as bad as I'd first feared, and despite what some of these lot may think, I don't particularly want to cause any trouble for the seller if I don't have to. In other news, the longer you faff and procrastinate, the less chance there is of legal recourse. But, I have a funny feeling you're probably not going to bother anyway.
I should know by the weekend what's what.
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F. Must try harder.No confusion here buddy. I read a lot of threads without posting. Is that something else I'm not supposed to be doing, oh mighty oracle?
I'm afraid I find you spectacularly stupid. You've come here attempting to troll me and join in "with the other boys" and done what is really a piss poor job of it.
Yes, yes, I am absolutely sure that 4 or 5 80 second runs on an unfamiliar hill while under instruction is absolutely as hard on a car as a trackday and should definitely, definitely be considered the same.
You're a complete idiot mate.
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You say that but yet you seem to be going out of your way to antagonise me so which is it?Also, I never said it wouldn't be hard on the car at all. We'd not have discovered the issues that occurred at the top end of the rev range if it wasn't be driven hard, would we? But that being said, a few very short runs under instruction just don't compare to a trackday.
So, issues that we knew about..... Righto. The day the car went for the tuition day, the main issues as they stood:
Bent chassis leg
Gearbox oil leak
4th to 5th crunch
Steering sorted. Suspension replaced. Geometry done so that it was driving perfectly straight and the brakes were working absolutely fine. Same as pretty much all the other cars there that day then.
I'm not angry at all buddy, if anything I find it pretty funny how some people need to come onto a forum and try to belittle people to make themselves feel better. If the weather clears up a bit, go outside. Take a walk. It might make you feel better.
C70R said:
Ultimately, the point of buying as a consumer from a professional/trade seller is that it should cover you in the event that the car doesn't meet the required standards. The seller will know this, and you're hardly "making trouble" for him by asking for your consumer rights to be protected.
Agreed, but this is PH where mistakes are hammered home and support is in short supply I asked the guy about the issues. He claimed no knowledge. There are a couple of things I want to try to see if they improve things. If they don't I will speak with him again. Weirdly, despite everything, I do love the car.
There's a chance, it's slim, but it's a chance, that it may actually be a bent wishbone. Granted, with the dent to the sill it is a very slim chance, but we will know soon enough.
If swapping them out confirms that it is 100% the shell then I'll be speaking to him about that. I just feel that it's an easy enough thing to try first. I'll be able to get a report from the specialist that did the suspension to confirm that it was bent when I got it etc. if there's any pissing about.
If swapping them out confirms that it is 100% the shell then I'll be speaking to him about that. I just feel that it's an easy enough thing to try first. I'll be able to get a report from the specialist that did the suspension to confirm that it was bent when I got it etc. if there's any pissing about.
Seems to be the way it works around here. Don't worry about them, I'm not.
As for past threads, well sorry. When I spent £10k on a 5 Series from a prestige dealer, I thought it would be close to perfect. I subsequently learnt that my expectations were unrealistic. I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't asked. Hardly a cheap car though.
Perhaps people should just bite their tongues and not seek information regarding their rights and what not?
I bought a car from a lad who is regarded as knowing his way around Subarus. Hardly turned up at the local scrappy to see what they had.
And if you check the breakers on Scoobynet, they ONLY buy top examples. I believe that completely invalidates your point.
As for past threads, well sorry. When I spent £10k on a 5 Series from a prestige dealer, I thought it would be close to perfect. I subsequently learnt that my expectations were unrealistic. I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't asked. Hardly a cheap car though.
Perhaps people should just bite their tongues and not seek information regarding their rights and what not?
I bought a car from a lad who is regarded as knowing his way around Subarus. Hardly turned up at the local scrappy to see what they had.
And if you check the breakers on Scoobynet, they ONLY buy top examples. I believe that completely invalidates your point.
Edited by TroubledSoul on Tuesday 11th October 15:17
C70R said:
To put a bit of balance to things, you do come across as a bit inept and helpless at times. You'd do well to research consumer law around car-buying.
Indeed. I do accept that and hold my hands up. Some cars I know exactly what to look for and have a good knowledge of them. Others not so much. In this case all I expected of the car was that the gearbox was as good as he said it was and for it to be straight. Anything else beyond that I didn't have any set in stone expectations of.
I also need to stop trusting people so much.
andymc said:
With all due respect every car you buy is an issue, could you not just go approved used instead of looking for gems at banger money (for the marque)
I have done on my main car. Subaru approved used with warranty etc. I'll forgive you for not reading that on the previous pages, seeing as there's been a lot of waffle I'd never not buy approved used now on my main vehicle. No way.
But's to say every car is an issue is rather harsh. The A6 4.2 V8, the 6 MR2s, the Impreza STI Spec D, the Blobeye WRX Wagon, the current 62 plate WRX STI we have, the Audi S3 we had, the E46 330i I sold a few months ago, the E46 330cd I had a few years back, all fine other than usual used car stuff. I have a high turnover of cars as I get bored. That's going to translate to a few lemons along the way. The E60 535D didn't really have issues either, just used car stuff but I thought it was stuff the dealer should have sorted at the time.
I don't want anyone here to think that I don't realise that it's my fault that I bought a bad car and that it was on me to find any issues at the time. I take full responsibility for that. The issue is and always was the fact that the car was sold to me as something it's not.
familyguy1 said:
not read all the thread, have you been back to the garage to discuss ? whats the outcome ?
I asked him and he said he wasn't aware of the issues. I haven't taken it further yet as I'm going to check it isn't just a case of a bent wishbone as far as the alignment goes. Honestly Nanook if you are not taking the piss then I apologise. Just a bit fed up of being kicked repeatedly.
My bodyshop guy told me the front is a bit out but it can be fixed. I honestly still can't really see it but if he says it's there, then it's there. I can see where the top of the wing was crumpled and has been straightened. Would have been even better if I'd noticed that when buying
Looking at the areas of damage, I believe it has hit something on the NSF corner, spun because of it and hit something very hard on the driver side. So it could well be the wishbone. The thing that's led me to thinking this might be what it is is that when you get under it and look at it, the drop links sit in significantly different positions to each other.
I might be grasping at straws and hoping for the best, but we'll soon know.
C70R said:
The original post said that there was a huge dent in the sill and that the front end needed "pulling out". Surely that's not going to be caused by a bent wishbone, is it?
Yeah there's a right dent in the sill. As it is currently I can't reattach the sideskirt. No wonder it had been stuck on with silicone sealer. Who's going to pull the skirts off a car when looking at it? My bodyshop guy told me the front is a bit out but it can be fixed. I honestly still can't really see it but if he says it's there, then it's there. I can see where the top of the wing was crumpled and has been straightened. Would have been even better if I'd noticed that when buying
Looking at the areas of damage, I believe it has hit something on the NSF corner, spun because of it and hit something very hard on the driver side. So it could well be the wishbone. The thing that's led me to thinking this might be what it is is that when you get under it and look at it, the drop links sit in significantly different positions to each other.
I might be grasping at straws and hoping for the best, but we'll soon know.
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