Wheel falls off car - advice please
Discussion
Recently we bought my wife a new (used) car from an independent dealership. It was sold with 3 months warranty.
Shortly after purchase she noticed a knocking / rattling noise, and took it to the garage that we usually use to get it checked, with a view to then getting the problem sorted under warranty at the dealership. They thought it could be a loose brake carrier.
The dealership took the car for the day, decided that there was nothing wrong with it and gave it back, however the rattle had gone.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago the noise returns, and is worse. My wife phoned the dealership again and they stated as it was now out of warranty so it was nothing to do with them. She then books it into the garage we used before for this afternoon to get it properly checked out. Unfortunately, before she could get there this afternoon the wheel fell off as she is turning onto a NSL road. Luckily she was going slowly and no other cars were involved and she was unhurt.
We had the car recovered to the garage it was on its way to, and they are assessing it tonight / tomorrow morning, and will speak to the dealership we bought it from.
Just wondering what to do next - if it turns out there is some sort of negligence on the part of the dealership how best to pursue it.
Also she hasn't informed her insurance company yet, the garage said to wait until they had assessed the damage. Should she do this ASAP? There is a fair bit of bodywork damage etc., and we don't know how the suspension, brakes etc. have been affected.
Sorry for the ramble, probably missed some important bit of info, so any questions let me know!
Shortly after purchase she noticed a knocking / rattling noise, and took it to the garage that we usually use to get it checked, with a view to then getting the problem sorted under warranty at the dealership. They thought it could be a loose brake carrier.
The dealership took the car for the day, decided that there was nothing wrong with it and gave it back, however the rattle had gone.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago the noise returns, and is worse. My wife phoned the dealership again and they stated as it was now out of warranty so it was nothing to do with them. She then books it into the garage we used before for this afternoon to get it properly checked out. Unfortunately, before she could get there this afternoon the wheel fell off as she is turning onto a NSL road. Luckily she was going slowly and no other cars were involved and she was unhurt.
We had the car recovered to the garage it was on its way to, and they are assessing it tonight / tomorrow morning, and will speak to the dealership we bought it from.
Just wondering what to do next - if it turns out there is some sort of negligence on the part of the dealership how best to pursue it.
Also she hasn't informed her insurance company yet, the garage said to wait until they had assessed the damage. Should she do this ASAP? There is a fair bit of bodywork damage etc., and we don't know how the suspension, brakes etc. have been affected.
Sorry for the ramble, probably missed some important bit of info, so any questions let me know!
barker22 said:
The wheel fell off.... before that happened there would have been plenty of warning, rumbling, fighting the steering.
Apparently there was a couple of seconds of this - then it fell off!I do see what you mean though - it is hard to prove anything. There seemed to be the feeling that the dealership might have bodged or ignored whatever was wrong, but a lot could've happened in the intervening time.
So insurance, is it best to tell them regardless? Would this class as a breakdown or accident?
They should match - it's a 2007 Nissan Note, and all standard. Done about 50,000 miles.
Not sure about the previous owner, but it looks like it was all serviced at a Nissan garage.
The garage is looking at it today, and going to speak to the place we bought it from. To be honest I'm not sure what that will achieve but they, and the police who attended the scene seemed quite sure that this is what we should do.
Not sure about the previous owner, but it looks like it was all serviced at a Nissan garage.
The garage is looking at it today, and going to speak to the place we bought it from. To be honest I'm not sure what that will achieve but they, and the police who attended the scene seemed quite sure that this is what we should do.
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