anyone been lied to by a used car dealer?
Discussion
Bought a Rover 820 from a dealer.
It was noted that there was a leak from the autobox and agreed to be rectified.
Picked the car up on the Friday, dully serviced and repaired ready for my Sunday drive back to my office in Germany.
Sunday morning, autobox oil was all over my drive.
Monday, car back at the dealers and me late for work.
My Wife bought me a TVR Tuscan from a non-specialist dealer near Chester.
I drove it 34 miles before it started to misfire.
Long story but the first Bill for the engine rebuild was 11k
It was noted that there was a leak from the autobox and agreed to be rectified.
Picked the car up on the Friday, dully serviced and repaired ready for my Sunday drive back to my office in Germany.
Sunday morning, autobox oil was all over my drive.
Monday, car back at the dealers and me late for work.
My Wife bought me a TVR Tuscan from a non-specialist dealer near Chester.
I drove it 34 miles before it started to misfire.
Long story but the first Bill for the engine rebuild was 11k
Bought my first new car (to me) from dealer on condition he do some work on it including timing belt. Noticed 20k later it was not done when I was replacing water pump so had it done. One of many instances which make me very wary as to who works on my car if the job is too tough for me.
Bought a mk2 Mondeo from a now defunct (wonder why??) car supermarket way back when.
Said they'd get the radio code (they didn't)
Said they'd get a spare key cut (they didn't)
Said they'd service it, but the oil, air and fuel filters all looked old and undisturbed.
Said they'd put it through a 120 point safety check. Another lie, as the first time I drove it in the dark, I found the headlamp aim bounced all over the place. Turns out the levelling mechanism on both lights was busted. In fairness they sorted this, and the radio code with a revisit. However, the spare key never materialised.
Said they'd change the cam belt as it was due within 5k when I bought it. Six months later, the engine started making a chattering noise from the cam belt end. Took the covers off, and found a new-ish looking belt, running on old, rusty tensioners of three different makes, one of which was breaking up (hence the noise). The water pump bearings were also shot, and the injection pump belt, which is supposed to be done at the same time and comes as part of the cam belt kit, was heavily worn and had cracked teeth. No way had it been changed in years. So yes, they'd changed the belt, but clearly not fitted a belt kit as recommended. The belt was also tensioned incorrectly. In the end, I bought a new belt kit and water pump and did the job properly myself one Sunday. Which is what I should have done in exchange for a couple of hundred quid off the price in the first place.
In fairness to the car, it was ace in the two years I had it (these niggles aside), but never again will I trust a dealer to get work done on a car. When I asked for a belt to be done, I thought it would go without saying that it would be done to manufacturers recommendations. From now on, I would rather get the car cheap and get any work done myself, or walk away. My dad fell foul of something similar with a Mitsubishi L200 recently where the dealer had replaced a belt rather than fitted a proper full kit. When the balance shaft belt snapped 9 months later, it took out the cam belt, and wrecked the engine.
Expectations truly managed from this point forward.
Said they'd get the radio code (they didn't)
Said they'd get a spare key cut (they didn't)
Said they'd service it, but the oil, air and fuel filters all looked old and undisturbed.
Said they'd put it through a 120 point safety check. Another lie, as the first time I drove it in the dark, I found the headlamp aim bounced all over the place. Turns out the levelling mechanism on both lights was busted. In fairness they sorted this, and the radio code with a revisit. However, the spare key never materialised.
Said they'd change the cam belt as it was due within 5k when I bought it. Six months later, the engine started making a chattering noise from the cam belt end. Took the covers off, and found a new-ish looking belt, running on old, rusty tensioners of three different makes, one of which was breaking up (hence the noise). The water pump bearings were also shot, and the injection pump belt, which is supposed to be done at the same time and comes as part of the cam belt kit, was heavily worn and had cracked teeth. No way had it been changed in years. So yes, they'd changed the belt, but clearly not fitted a belt kit as recommended. The belt was also tensioned incorrectly. In the end, I bought a new belt kit and water pump and did the job properly myself one Sunday. Which is what I should have done in exchange for a couple of hundred quid off the price in the first place.
In fairness to the car, it was ace in the two years I had it (these niggles aside), but never again will I trust a dealer to get work done on a car. When I asked for a belt to be done, I thought it would go without saying that it would be done to manufacturers recommendations. From now on, I would rather get the car cheap and get any work done myself, or walk away. My dad fell foul of something similar with a Mitsubishi L200 recently where the dealer had replaced a belt rather than fitted a proper full kit. When the balance shaft belt snapped 9 months later, it took out the cam belt, and wrecked the engine.
Expectations truly managed from this point forward.
Edited by Limpet on Monday 20th April 14:02
POORCARDEALER said:
lord trumpton said:
Its car sales...even my 1yr old could work it out.
It's not exactly rocket science is it?
Here's a quick guide to getting started
1 - Buy some pointy shoes and a cheap suit.
2 - Abandon any morals you may have cultured over the years
3 - Sell cars
Your making yourself look like a first class prat now.It's not exactly rocket science is it?
Here's a quick guide to getting started
1 - Buy some pointy shoes and a cheap suit.
2 - Abandon any morals you may have cultured over the years
3 - Sell cars
After buying an absolute lemon of a Corsa C exclusiv and spending £500 fixing it, I decided to go to a dealer. Had just bought the girlfriends brother a Volvo C30 Rdesign from this dealer and had a good experience so went in for a gander.
They had a very low mileage 61 plate seat leon fr+ in amazing condition, so got into a talk about that. The Corsa had the mystery habit of misting up after 10-15 mins of use (ventilation wasn't working) but the air con was regassed and had no leaks and there was no internal moisture. Could have privately sold it for £1800 but the MOT was up in 10 days so was hoping for £1000 PX. £1000 it was bang on. Asked about service book and was told it was still at the branch it had just been transported from. Did all the paperwork and was due to pick it up in 3 days after it had been valeted and serviced.
3 days pass and I get a call saying it'll be a further 7. Brown trousers time; the Corsa's MOT is up. But picked it up on the day before it expired. Car had been detailed beautifully and 4 new tyres on it, although no service. Had to book it in a few weeks later for that. No service book though. After a lot of back and forth, I was then informed the car had no service book, manual etc. Pretty pissed off if I do say so myself. Car was such a low mileage, I just got myself replacements and started a new service history though. The way they handled it; "You've bought the car, bye" left a very bitter taste in my mouth. But was the downside of a wholly positive transaction. Car had a minor scuff on one of the alloys which was also touched up; they pointed this out to me, I hadn't even noticed it.
A few weeks ago I went with my mum to buy a brand new DS3 from Arnold Clark. The salesman started at £260 a month on PCP. I ended up getting him to £186 with the same deposit, plus brand new mats and 2 free services. Again, he was very pleasant and folded quite easily when he knew he wasn't dealing with a panic buyer. There's a widespread issue with the DS3 bumpers not matching the rest of the car (they're sprayed at a different factory) and I pointed this out to him. He said they'd respray the bumper at the Citroen garage closer to my home. Took the car into the Arnold Clark Citroen a few days later and they said they had been instructed to only spray half of the bumper by the other garage but they had down right refused and said they were doing the whole bumper as "we want the best finish possible on the car" - which took me aback as I've had some...not great dealings with Arnold Clark in the past.
All in all, no car dealer is perfect. But it's a damn sight better (in my eyes at least) than a private sale, unless it's a wee cheap £1500 run about that you can keep patched up as you have somewhere to return to if something does go wrong. Yes I paid more for my Leon than I would have privately, but I also traded in a car with a mystery ailment; which they probably sorted in no time though.
They had a very low mileage 61 plate seat leon fr+ in amazing condition, so got into a talk about that. The Corsa had the mystery habit of misting up after 10-15 mins of use (ventilation wasn't working) but the air con was regassed and had no leaks and there was no internal moisture. Could have privately sold it for £1800 but the MOT was up in 10 days so was hoping for £1000 PX. £1000 it was bang on. Asked about service book and was told it was still at the branch it had just been transported from. Did all the paperwork and was due to pick it up in 3 days after it had been valeted and serviced.
3 days pass and I get a call saying it'll be a further 7. Brown trousers time; the Corsa's MOT is up. But picked it up on the day before it expired. Car had been detailed beautifully and 4 new tyres on it, although no service. Had to book it in a few weeks later for that. No service book though. After a lot of back and forth, I was then informed the car had no service book, manual etc. Pretty pissed off if I do say so myself. Car was such a low mileage, I just got myself replacements and started a new service history though. The way they handled it; "You've bought the car, bye" left a very bitter taste in my mouth. But was the downside of a wholly positive transaction. Car had a minor scuff on one of the alloys which was also touched up; they pointed this out to me, I hadn't even noticed it.
A few weeks ago I went with my mum to buy a brand new DS3 from Arnold Clark. The salesman started at £260 a month on PCP. I ended up getting him to £186 with the same deposit, plus brand new mats and 2 free services. Again, he was very pleasant and folded quite easily when he knew he wasn't dealing with a panic buyer. There's a widespread issue with the DS3 bumpers not matching the rest of the car (they're sprayed at a different factory) and I pointed this out to him. He said they'd respray the bumper at the Citroen garage closer to my home. Took the car into the Arnold Clark Citroen a few days later and they said they had been instructed to only spray half of the bumper by the other garage but they had down right refused and said they were doing the whole bumper as "we want the best finish possible on the car" - which took me aback as I've had some...not great dealings with Arnold Clark in the past.
All in all, no car dealer is perfect. But it's a damn sight better (in my eyes at least) than a private sale, unless it's a wee cheap £1500 run about that you can keep patched up as you have somewhere to return to if something does go wrong. Yes I paid more for my Leon than I would have privately, but I also traded in a car with a mystery ailment; which they probably sorted in no time though.
Edited by Jonno02 on Monday 20th April 21:52
I've been stuffed up by a couple of dealers but have also inadvertently stuffed one back who bought a car from me. Unfortunately the one I stuffed up was a friend's father, so I still feel very guilty about it, even though he assures me that it was his fault for not checking it out properly.
It was my wife's MX-5 that had sat in the garage for 2 years without being looked at after our daughter was born and using a 2 seater became somewhat impractical.
Somehow when sitting in a dry garage, it had rusted the sills in the way that MX-5's liked to do, but other than that was immaculate... It hadn't gone through, so a quick visual check just looked as if it was at the very early stages, rather than as rotten as a year old pear.
Oh well, we all still talk to eachother, though I do feel awkward about it. I was genuinely surprised when he told me there had been a problem. I bought him a beer and everything was good after that.
In terms of dealers lying to me, it's always been them not doing work on a car as promised when I've come to pick it up. I always make sure I get it all in writing and agreed on the sale paperwork, so they're never able to argue and usually reluctantly agree to do the work, but I did walk away from a sale once and had to go after them for the deposit that they initially refused to hand back.
It's a shame that you have to be so wary all the time, but I suppose when margins are relatively tight and cashflow often an issue, then it really is buyer beware, though hearing the stories of trade-in horrors, then it seems to be a general human thing, not just dealer thing.
It was my wife's MX-5 that had sat in the garage for 2 years without being looked at after our daughter was born and using a 2 seater became somewhat impractical.
Somehow when sitting in a dry garage, it had rusted the sills in the way that MX-5's liked to do, but other than that was immaculate... It hadn't gone through, so a quick visual check just looked as if it was at the very early stages, rather than as rotten as a year old pear.
Oh well, we all still talk to eachother, though I do feel awkward about it. I was genuinely surprised when he told me there had been a problem. I bought him a beer and everything was good after that.
In terms of dealers lying to me, it's always been them not doing work on a car as promised when I've come to pick it up. I always make sure I get it all in writing and agreed on the sale paperwork, so they're never able to argue and usually reluctantly agree to do the work, but I did walk away from a sale once and had to go after them for the deposit that they initially refused to hand back.
It's a shame that you have to be so wary all the time, but I suppose when margins are relatively tight and cashflow often an issue, then it really is buyer beware, though hearing the stories of trade-in horrors, then it seems to be a general human thing, not just dealer thing.
I bought a car three years ago from a garage in Watford. The rear nearside wing and C pillar never had the deep reflective shine (black car) that the rest of the car has, and the handbrake cable doesn't pull both rear brakes evenly. This to me suggested damage with a previous owner to the rear nearside quarter of the car. However this I didn't notice until owning the car.
Recently I replaced a rear light cluster, upon removing the old unit I discovered some black overspray to the light unit where the panel gap is. This confirms that there was a respray done at some point, it's just a shame that someone somewhere once didn't take enough care and smashed it up.
Recently I replaced a rear light cluster, upon removing the old unit I discovered some black overspray to the light unit where the panel gap is. This confirms that there was a respray done at some point, it's just a shame that someone somewhere once didn't take enough care and smashed it up.
Traveled an hour to view a Clio 197, specifically asked on the phone before making the journey what sort of condition the car was in, if there was any notable issues, if there was any scratches or body work damage etc.
"No sir, all in order" - he actually walked from his office to the car and went round it while on the phone (or he just took a walk outside, but his check sounded genuine).
Upon arrival, it took less than 30 seconds to notice a damaged/resprayed rear quarter, not even a good job. Miss-matched paint, over spray, and still a huge dent between the bottom sill and the panel.
Headed back into the office... "So do you have any paperwork or details about the respray or damage on the passenger rear quarter".... totally blank expression on the guys face! Urgh waste of time
"No sir, all in order" - he actually walked from his office to the car and went round it while on the phone (or he just took a walk outside, but his check sounded genuine).
Upon arrival, it took less than 30 seconds to notice a damaged/resprayed rear quarter, not even a good job. Miss-matched paint, over spray, and still a huge dent between the bottom sill and the panel.
Headed back into the office... "So do you have any paperwork or details about the respray or damage on the passenger rear quarter".... totally blank expression on the guys face! Urgh waste of time
Edited by CallorFold on Tuesday 21st April 16:01
Ive found that you need to be really specific asking questions with traders. Really emphasise the point that you are very keen and know what you are looking for in terms of damage, sogbs of repair etc.
Most prople are s
t at spotting repairs and if they do spot something amiss thenbtheu are easily blagged into believing it will polish out or needs a wax etc.
ETA Generally speaking all car traders are lying fkers and I would take what they say as fibs.
Most prople are s
t at spotting repairs and if they do spot something amiss thenbtheu are easily blagged into believing it will polish out or needs a wax etc.ETA Generally speaking all car traders are lying f
kers and I would take what they say as fibs. Edited by lord trumpton on Tuesday 21st April 17:03
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff