Taped over warning lights
Discussion
Unfortunately this type of thing is commonplace.
You will find that Trading Standards etc are completely useless.
If you want to pursue it you will have to pay to take them to court - which costs - but firstly you need to know who you are suing - frequently that isn't easy.
IF you win, you then have to get the money - unlike on TV many bailiffs are useless and take their fee and don't get you any money.
So you can try going back and hopefully negotiating for a few quid back but you are probably on your own.
You will find that Trading Standards etc are completely useless.
If you want to pursue it you will have to pay to take them to court - which costs - but firstly you need to know who you are suing - frequently that isn't easy.
IF you win, you then have to get the money - unlike on TV many bailiffs are useless and take their fee and don't get you any money.
So you can try going back and hopefully negotiating for a few quid back but you are probably on your own.
Moominator said:
300bhp/ton said:
SlipStream77 said:
300bhp/ton said:
Your opinion is wrong I'm afraid. At least for this bit of legislation. Having a warning light on is not un-roadworthy.
It wouldn't pass an MOT though would it?However you could take a car for an MoT and it pass and a warning light come on while on the drive home. The car would still be road worthy.
1) If he had the chance to see this information before buying why didn't he check they were now functioning?
2) Why didn't he get the car read before heading out to get legal advice, he keeps saying the car isn't road worthy but the fact is he doesn't actually know it's not or if the lights are working.
3) The fact that this problem appeared in 2012 probably gets the dealer off the hook.
It seems that the OP was to interested in grabbing a bargain rather than doing his due diligence & now wants to blame everyone but himself.
Yes I'd be pi**ed off but mainly with myself, then I'd be straight out off the house to find out what the actual problems are.
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Sunday 6th September 12:12
Mr Tidy said:
mcford said:
The ABS light no longer has to follow a set test sequence, but it does have to illuminate and extinguish. The airbag light isn't required to illuminate at all for the MOT.
From a MOT stand point it's the non functioning ABS light and the hand brake on warning light (if one of its purposes is to warn of low fluid level) that should cause a fail.
What a load of nonsense - get a TVR, no ABS b******s with them but they apparently work OK!From a MOT stand point it's the non functioning ABS light and the hand brake on warning light (if one of its purposes is to warn of low fluid level) that should cause a fail.
Shifted a Scorpio many years ago after taking the bulb out of the ABS warning light - ABS worked fine!
But to the OP, if you want any comeback against the seller you need to prove they put the tape over the lights, or that they knew the tape was there - probably an uphill battle!
ABS here: http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s03000401.htm
Low fluid warning here: http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s03000604.htm
SRS here: http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s05000401.htm
I don't know when the ABS warning lamp became a testable item, it is possible that 'many years ago' that it wasn't part of the test.
This is all kinds of nonsense. Find out what's wrong with it, at this point it might just be a loose wire. You reconnecting it won't make any difference.
The dealer will tell you to jog on as it was unprepped before sale, the courts won't care as the value of the car is low.
Diagnose the fault, fix it, stop whinging, you bought it cheap.
Every f
ker mentions the sale of goods act and unfit for purpose this and that at the first sign of anything these days, it's boring and very few have the gumption to follow it through.
The dealer will tell you to jog on as it was unprepped before sale, the courts won't care as the value of the car is low.
Diagnose the fault, fix it, stop whinging, you bought it cheap.
Every f
ker mentions the sale of goods act and unfit for purpose this and that at the first sign of anything these days, it's boring and very few have the gumption to follow it through. Crickey. It is a £1200ish shed BMW. Of course it has some issues. Wait until the cooling system expires on a motorway.
I suspect the ABS issue started off intermittent so it failed one MOT and then they warmed it up or something and took it for another when it was working.
However annoying it may be (and I am not condoning taping over lights) it is a shed near the end of it's life so it will need work and continue needing work. Get it read properly (or buy a code reader - if you plan to keep the car it will pay it's self back). If it is a sensor, replace it. If it is the ECU get ACtronics, BBA etc. to try and fix it and if they can't get a used one off ebay or a breaker, fit it and get someone to code it in for you.
I suspect the ABS issue started off intermittent so it failed one MOT and then they warmed it up or something and took it for another when it was working.
However annoying it may be (and I am not condoning taping over lights) it is a shed near the end of it's life so it will need work and continue needing work. Get it read properly (or buy a code reader - if you plan to keep the car it will pay it's self back). If it is a sensor, replace it. If it is the ECU get ACtronics, BBA etc. to try and fix it and if they can't get a used one off ebay or a breaker, fit it and get someone to code it in for you.
Chris71 said:
The MOT is due in two weeks and it looks like we will probably have to scrap the car, which has a few other issues and is only worth about £900.
ABS ECU/Pump failure is common on the Focus and can be fixed quite easily - loads of people repair them. Alternatively, if it only worth £900 and you've got a year out of it then it has been cheap motoring.If it is otherwise OK, bung it on ebay and someone from Eastern Europe will pay good money for it and it'll end up in Belarus or somewhere where they won't give two whatsits about a ABS light.
Chris71 said:
The MOT is due in two weeks and it looks like we will probably have to scrap the car, which has a few other issues and is only worth about £900.
Ask around and find a suitable garage as many MOT men won't care about the ABS on the basis that millions of cars don't have it anyway.Chris71 said:
I thought if it was a trader they had to prove they had to prove it didn't have any undeclared faults that manifest themselves in the first three months of ownership? (As opposed to a private sale where you only have comeback if you can prove explicitly that they were aware...)
Incidentally, we had exactly the same thing on a Focus we bought for Mrs Chris71 last year. Bought from a trader, but it wasn't until the first service nince months in that the local garage did a diagnostic check, found the ABS wasn't working and discovered that the bulb had been taken out. It had been MOTd the week before we got it by the trader who sold it to us, so he must have known (and probably was the one who rigged it) but we were outside of the three months set down by the Sale of Good Act. The MOT is due in two weeks and it looks like we will probably have to scrap the car, which has a few other issues and is only worth about £900.
Your case is different to the OP he's stated the trader didn't MOT the car before sale as it already had one, the OP also stated that when checking the paperwork this light problem appeared in 2012. Incidentally, we had exactly the same thing on a Focus we bought for Mrs Chris71 last year. Bought from a trader, but it wasn't until the first service nince months in that the local garage did a diagnostic check, found the ABS wasn't working and discovered that the bulb had been taken out. It had been MOTd the week before we got it by the trader who sold it to us, so he must have known (and probably was the one who rigged it) but we were outside of the three months set down by the Sale of Good Act. The MOT is due in two weeks and it looks like we will probably have to scrap the car, which has a few other issues and is only worth about £900.
Ghibli said:
catman said:
I don't think that's relevant. If a car isn't roadworthy, the Dealer would be liable, whether he knew or not.
Tim
I don't think the OP has removed the tape yet ? Or had the codes read.Tim
There may not even be a fault ?
Tim
Edited by catman on Sunday 6th September 13:51
TLandCruiser said:
The point that other cars don't have abs is irrelevant because if you purchase a car without abs you will brake accordingly, the problem arises when someone expects to have abs and it don't work, causing them to lock the wheels up or not able to brake and steer etc etc
To add to this non ABS equipped cars usually have a system of regulating the hydraulic pressure to the rear brakes to prevent them from locking up before the front brakes.On a car with ABS this regulation is performed by the ABS system, so if the ABS system is inoperative the rear wheels could lock before the fronts when braking.
TLandCruiser said:
The point that other cars don't have abs is irrelevant because if you purchase a car without abs you will brake accordingly, the problem arises when someone expects to have abs and it don't work, causing them to lock the wheels up or not able to brake and steer etc etc
Spot on, if I'm driving a car with ABS I don't bother to read the road or brake early I just slam on at the last possible minute every time...........Marvib said:
TLandCruiser said:
The point that other cars don't have abs is irrelevant because if you purchase a car without abs you will brake accordingly, the problem arises when someone expects to have abs and it don't work, causing them to lock the wheels up or not able to brake and steer etc etc
Spot on, if I'm driving a car with ABS I don't bother to read the road or brake early I just slam on at the last possible minute every time...........TLandCruiser said:
Marvib said:
Spot on, if I'm driving a car with ABS I don't bother to read the road or brake early I just slam on at the last possible minute every time...........
Well you had better start emailing all the car manufactures and inform them they are wasting their money. Of course an aid for that "Oh s
t" moment is much appreciated.TLandCruiser said:
The point that other cars don't have abs is irrelevant because if you purchase a car without abs you will brake accordingly, the problem arises when someone expects to have abs and it don't work, causing them to lock the wheels up or not able to brake and steer etc etc
Morons who drive like that better stick to new cars.Who reminds them to breathe ?
I've been driving cars without ABS etc and haven't had an accident in 20+ years.
mcford said:
To add to this non ABS equipped cars usually have a system of regulating the hydraulic pressure to the rear brakes to prevent them from locking up before the front brakes.
No, they don't. Not "usually". Some do - a minority. Mostly vans and estate cars with a wide range of rear axle loads expected.This happened to me a few years ago, funnily enough in Luton 
When I put the car in for a service at my usual garage the mechanic found loads of fuses had been disabled to hide warning lights.
A lesson learned,, and I certainly won't be buying anymore bargains from dodgy back street dealers that advertise on Gumtree.
When I put the car in for a service at my usual garage the mechanic found loads of fuses had been disabled to hide warning lights.A lesson learned,, and I certainly won't be buying anymore bargains from dodgy back street dealers that advertise on Gumtree.
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