Reject car that doesnt drive straight
Discussion
Hi guys, I collected my used car last week from a well renound audi specialist, a mile or two later I noticed the wheel alignment was totally out. I parked up, phoned the dealer, he agreed to pay for a new alignment.
The day after collecting the car, I had the aligment corrected at a reputable german car specialist in Newbury whith a 4 wheel Hunter set up.
The specialist then test drove the car, and gave feedback that the car is still not driving straight. They spent another few hours double checking, and found nothing obviously broken, other than the ride height is 8mm higher on the left.
So, after being aligned twice, the car still pulls quickly to the right. my fear is either the car is twisted, or some component is bent.
The car has covered 47k, had one owner and is 7 years old, with full dealer history, even has two services remaining on its service plan. There is no record or evidence of accident damage.
How likely is it that I can get a refund on the car?
The day after collecting the car, I had the aligment corrected at a reputable german car specialist in Newbury whith a 4 wheel Hunter set up.
The specialist then test drove the car, and gave feedback that the car is still not driving straight. They spent another few hours double checking, and found nothing obviously broken, other than the ride height is 8mm higher on the left.
So, after being aligned twice, the car still pulls quickly to the right. my fear is either the car is twisted, or some component is bent.
The car has covered 47k, had one owner and is 7 years old, with full dealer history, even has two services remaining on its service plan. There is no record or evidence of accident damage.
How likely is it that I can get a refund on the car?
You said you bought it from a specialist.
I think the answer to your question is whether or not that specialist has enough cash in the bank to be able to give you back your money.
All else aside, if it is a small garage (relatively speaking) they may well have reinvested the money they got into replacement stock. In which case they'd be technically unable to give you your money back and no amount of legal threats or entitlements is going to get them to hand over the cash.
If you like the car (presumably you do, if you bought it) then invest a bit more time and money in fixing it. I often spend money on second hand cars after buying them. There's always something unsatisfactory which I don't find out about until I've driven it home.
There are lots of odd reasons why a car can pull one way or another. Mercedes have a reputation for pulling left... I've had quite a few Mercs and they all seem to do it! So if you weren't used to that you might end up driving yourself crazy trying to fix something which is just a design feature.
You might have odd tyres around the car, maybe wrong size wheels (sometimes staggered wheels get fitted to the wrong ends), maybe a coil has broken off the top or bottom of a suspension spring? Maybe a dragging brake calliper. You could get it on a jig as well to see if the body is straight.
I think if you really wanted your money back and could prove the issue was a twisted bodyshell that would be your best chance. But obviously you should be realistic when deciding who to chase for money. If they can't afford to give you the cash it'll be hard work without the desired results. I dunno what the size and financial status is of the supplying garage.
I think the answer to your question is whether or not that specialist has enough cash in the bank to be able to give you back your money.
All else aside, if it is a small garage (relatively speaking) they may well have reinvested the money they got into replacement stock. In which case they'd be technically unable to give you your money back and no amount of legal threats or entitlements is going to get them to hand over the cash.
If you like the car (presumably you do, if you bought it) then invest a bit more time and money in fixing it. I often spend money on second hand cars after buying them. There's always something unsatisfactory which I don't find out about until I've driven it home.
There are lots of odd reasons why a car can pull one way or another. Mercedes have a reputation for pulling left... I've had quite a few Mercs and they all seem to do it! So if you weren't used to that you might end up driving yourself crazy trying to fix something which is just a design feature.
You might have odd tyres around the car, maybe wrong size wheels (sometimes staggered wheels get fitted to the wrong ends), maybe a coil has broken off the top or bottom of a suspension spring? Maybe a dragging brake calliper. You could get it on a jig as well to see if the body is straight.
I think if you really wanted your money back and could prove the issue was a twisted bodyshell that would be your best chance. But obviously you should be realistic when deciding who to chase for money. If they can't afford to give you the cash it'll be hard work without the desired results. I dunno what the size and financial status is of the supplying garage.
Edited by ingenieur on Saturday 17th June 12:15
said:
My feeling is that it is going to take a lot of time and money figuring this one out. And as I mainly drive on motorways, it is going to drive me crazy.
The tyres are the same across axles (model, age and wear) and are all the same size. Asymmetrics are fitted the correct way around. Wheels are all the same too.
ingenieur said:
Mercedes have a reputation for pulling left... I've had quite a few Mercs and they all seem to do it! So if you weren't used to that you might end up driving yourself crazy trying to fix something which is just a design feature.
Merc’s are very camber sensitive - I’ve had one and wouldn’t have another, took it to several places and no-one could ‘fix’ it. Used to give me a sore shoulder on long motorway trips. It didn’t drift left, it very slowly wound on left lock - on a sloping car park it would end up going in a tight circle.I’d be even more unhappy about a car pulling to the right (in the UK) though - I’d consider that to be dangerous,
The crucial thing here is whether or not the dealer can actually afford to buy it back. If it's a 2 or 3 person workshop / specialist type place then they may not have the reddies on hand. In which case you'd be wasting your time trying to get a refund and may as well forget about it as a solution. In some cases when people forget this first rule of court action and go ahead anyway to try and get money from someone who doesn't have any they end up spending more in legal fees and if the respondent cannot pay they still don't get their money back!
As I say, it’s usually under the carpet right next to the spare wheel well, be it saloon or estate. You might need to remove the spare if it’s on the side of the well.
If no luck have you got the book pack? There should be a copy of the sticker in the front of the service book too.
If no luck have you got the book pack? There should be a copy of the sticker in the front of the service book too.
Edited by Cupramax on Saturday 17th June 13:34
Who knows what springs have been fitted in the previous 7 years if it's broken 1 or more?
I replaced 2 rear springs on my wife's Tiguan, making sure to get the correct R line lowered ones. Never considered that the alignment would change significantly. Ended up eating a set of rear tyres in short order. A 4 wheel alignment fixed it. It could well have a wrong height spring fitted. Bit of a ball ache removing them to check though. Maybe request the supplying dealer puts 2 new front springs on it as its obviously not sitting level? Give them an opportunity to fix anx then if still not right exercise your right to reject?
I replaced 2 rear springs on my wife's Tiguan, making sure to get the correct R line lowered ones. Never considered that the alignment would change significantly. Ended up eating a set of rear tyres in short order. A 4 wheel alignment fixed it. It could well have a wrong height spring fitted. Bit of a ball ache removing them to check though. Maybe request the supplying dealer puts 2 new front springs on it as its obviously not sitting level? Give them an opportunity to fix anx then if still not right exercise your right to reject?
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