bought a banger, can I repair it without affecting rights?

[brrapp]

Good morning gentlemen and ladies. I'm looking for a quick simple answer (haha).
My Daughter bought a cheap car from a side street dealer 80 miles away yesterday. I know,I know, but it was cheap, what she wanted, and not a disaster if things go wrong. (2009 3 door Astra 1.4, £1900 with 30 day warranty)
I drove it home last night, it ran out of fuel before I got to the petrol station a half mile form the garage but I coasted into the station and topped it up. Half way home, the engine fault light came on but as by then it was after closing time for the garage so I carried on home.
I did a quick diagnosis, and 3 fault codes came up, a misfire indicating a faulty spark plug or coil pack, a fuel imbalance issue which could be the MAF sensor or might stem from either the petrol running out or the coil pack issue and another fuelling code which almost certainly came from running out of fuel.
I was going to give it a service anyway including new plugs, and a new coil pack would only add another £50 to this. This would probably fix all issues and I'm happy to do this without going back to the dealer as it would cost less than my time and fuel to take it back.
My question is, would this affect my daughter's consumer rights if the work I did did not resolve the issue?
I've already 'phoned the garage owner and he said he's happy that I do this and if it doesn't resolve the issues, he'll either fix it, take it back , or cover my costs to get it fixed. Seems reasonable, but I don't know him and was just wondering if he could then come back and deny responsibility on the grounds that I had worked on it.

[JulianHJ]

I think you've already covered yourself by telling the dealer what the issue is and how you propose to solve it. If it turns out to be something else and there's no way he can blame your work, then you still have the warranty to fall back on.

[brrapp]

JulianHJ said:

I think you've already covered yourself by telling the dealer what the issue is and how you propose to solve it. If it turns out to be something else and there's no way he can blame your work, then you still have the warranty to fall back on.

Thanks Julian, that's what I thought but like to make sure. I think I'll send him an email confirming our call though before I start work.

[jith]

brrapp said:

Good morning gentlemen and ladies. I'm looking for a quick simple answer (haha).
My Daughter bought a cheap car from a side street dealer 80 miles away yesterday. I know,I know, but it was cheap, what she wanted, and not a disaster if things go wrong. (2009 3 door Astra 1.4, £1900 with 30 day warranty)
I drove it home last night, it ran out of fuel before I got to the petrol station a half mile form the garage but I coasted into the station and topped it up. Half way home, the engine fault light came on but as by then it was after closing time for the garage so I carried on home.
I did a quick diagnosis, and 3 fault codes came up, a misfire indicating a faulty spark plug or coil pack, a fuel imbalance issue which could be the MAF sensor or might stem from either the petrol running out or the coil pack issue and another fuelling code which almost certainly came from running out of fuel.
I was going to give it a service anyway including new plugs, and a new coil pack would only add another £50 to this. This would probably fix all issues and I'm happy to do this without going back to the dealer as it would cost less than my time and fuel to take it back.
My question is, would this affect my daughter's consumer rights if the work I did did not resolve the issue?
I've already 'phoned the garage owner and he said he's happy that I do this and if it doesn't resolve the issues, he'll either fix it, take it back , or cover my costs to get it fixed. Seems reasonable, but I don't know him and was just wondering if he could then come back and deny responsibility on the grounds that I had worked on it.

There is almost certainly nothing wrong with the car; these codes can be thrwon up simply through running out of fuel. As the car runs out the lambda sensor tries to compensate for the ultra lean mixture and throws up other codes and the plugs misfire due to no fuel. Clear the codes and all should be well. Running out of fuel in a modern car can cause chaos; keep it well topped up.

J

[Alucidnation]

You drove 80 miles to buy a bog standard ten a penny Astra??

[Amused2death]

If you are going to sort it yourself I'd forget the warranty stuff. Despite what the dealer has told you verbally I'd take it with a pinch of salt. If you go ahead and it doesn't solve it, you then take it back, dealer says "You should have bought it to me first to fix. You've done something to it and it's now no longer my responsibility"

Not saying they will, but it might be something to bear in mind as it gives them a "getout clause"

[Devil2575]

Alucidnation said:

You drove 80 miles to buy a bog standard ten a penny Astra??

Depending on where you live cars that you might think are very common and "ten a penny" are not always so, especially if you aren't buying:

1 - A nearly new car from a main dealer
2 - A diesel.

I had to drive 60 miles to buy an 8 year old Diesel Focus estate a few years back. There were two cars closer and both were junk.

[Old Merc]

jith said:

There is almost certainly nothing wrong with the car; these codes can be thrwon up simply through running out of fuel. As the car runs out the lambda sensor tries to compensate for the ultra lean mixture and throws up other codes and the plugs misfire due to no fuel. Clear the codes and all should be well. Running out of fuel in a modern car can cause chaos; keep it well topped up.

J

I agree with this.
Just give it a simple service with new plugs,clear the codes and reset the ECU,give it a good hard run to "clear its throat".See what happens.

[CAPP0]

Alucidnation said:

You drove 80 miles to buy a bog standard ten a penny Astra??

You clicked Reply just to have an unhelpful unnecessary dig at the OP?

[brrapp]

Thanks all for your replies, I gave it a service today including changing the plugs and also changed the coil pack. The plug cap on cylinder 3 was broken so that was probably the source of the intermittent misfire and 2 of the fault codes. The other two fault codes are gone now so probably related to the fuel running out.Total cost for service parts and coil pack was £104 so no big deal.
The dealer called me today (unprompted) to ask how I got on with the repairs, when I advised him that it was fixed and that all was now well, he asked me how much he owed me. When I told him to forget it, he was surprised and delighted. He's told me to pop in the next time I'm passing and he'll 'sort me out'. Top marks for customer service/attitude, pity about pre-sale preparation.

[KungFuPanda]

The dealer calling unprompted was a really nice touch. If you planned to do the service anyway, I'd settle for a full valet next time you're over there and maybe £20 for fuel. Nice story with a nice ending

[Rick101]

Glad you got it sorted and really great to hear there are honest sellers out there.

Was it a bricks & mortar place or actually selling from the side of the road?

Edited by Rick101 on Saturday 14th January 19:16

[brrapp]

Rick101 said:

Glad you got it sorted and really great to hear there are honest sellers out there.

Was it a bricks & mortar place or actually selling from the side of the road?

Edited by Rick101 on Saturday 14th January 19:16

Thanks, it was a small but legitimate dealer, somewhere in between a back street dealer and a big window main street dealer, hence my description of it as a 'side street dealer'. I agree, nice to meet someone genuine and honest in what's so often regarded as a dodgy business.

[stuttgartmetal]

Quality karma at work

[battered]

brrapp said:

Rick101 said:

Glad you got it sorted and really great to hear there are honest sellers out there.

Was it a bricks & mortar place or actually selling from the side of the road?

Edited by Rick101 on Saturday 14th January 19:16

Thanks, it was a small but legitimate dealer, somewhere in between a back street dealer and a big window main street dealer, hence my description of it as a 'side street dealer'. I agree, nice to meet someone genuine and honest in what's so often regarded as a dodgy business.

I have had similar dealings with a BSD in Leeds. So far he has sold me 3 cars, the most expensive at £700. The only time I ever had a problem, with a rusty fuel tank, I fixed myself (or had a new tank fitted at a local garage). When I was passing later and had a word, he said he would have sorted it with SH bits. The guy is very honest, it's a refreshing change. I ought to keep a closer eye on what he has in the yard, but at the moment the Mondeoshed he sold me 2.5 years and 30k ago is just working too well. I do fancy a Puma though, and he had one in 18 mo ago for loose change, that a local lad had bought.