Car advertised and sold with wrong spec, what to do?

[rallycross]

People who sell Vauxhalls are similar to the type of people who work in places like curry's selling white goods, they neither know much about the product nor have any interest in it either, so I am not surprised by this from a vauxhall dealer.

I would be nice about it and see if you can get a free next mot and at least 2 free services the difference in value will be more than they will admit - eg check out prices for a 1.4 golf v's a 1.6 golf - can be a big difference as its a different sort of buyer 1.6 over the 1.4 - and no doubt the same applies to an Astra (who would chose to buy an Astra?).

[HellDiver]

Check the timing cover of the engine - there'll be a white sticker on there with the engine code, engine number and a barcode.

Z14XEP if it's a 1.4, Z16XEP or Z16XER if it's a 1.6.

[siwebster]

rallycross said:

who would chose to buy an Astra?.

I did ask that 7 months ago! Convenience was a big factor I believe, as i said, not a massive petrolhead.

I think some free servicing is the way to go. Won't directly cost the dealership anywhere near as much money, whereas the value may be greater for my dad. Win-win.
If it goes any other way i'll be surprised, but I'll update as to the outcome as this is now very firmly 'in progress'.

[markmullen]

rallycross said:

People who sell Vauxhalls are similar to the type of people who work in places like curry's selling white goods, they neither know much about the product nor have any interest in it either,

The usual broad generalisations that PH these days spouts.

I used to sell Vauxhalls. I made sure I knew as much as there was to know about the product. Is every copper bent? Does every waiter spit or spunk in your soup? Does every trucker eat Yorkies and kill prostitutes? Broad generalisations like that are pointless.

[300bhp/ton]

siwebster said:

markmullen said:

300bhp/ton said:

Just because the logbook says 1.4 doesn't mean it is.

You need to, and by this the garage you bought it from needs to determine what engine is in the car.

It could turn out the log book is what is wrong, and hence the DVLA info which is what the insurance companies would use as reference.

This.

All it takes is the wrong code to be entered onto the AFRL system and it will show wrong.

This had crossed my mind too. It's entirely possible that the DVLA have got it wrong.
Is it a good idea to get the garage who sold the car to determine what size the engine is though? Would they not find in their favour regardless - not saying they are dishonest, but why would they make a call against themselves? They already tried the 'there's no difference in price' line...

If it's an approved Vauxhall dealer then they would certainly be making trouble for themselves if they lied. In a fraudulent sense.

If you are truly worried the. Get it independently checked, but this might be costly, hence why I'd get the dealer to look first. Also I'd highly recommend you phone and speak to Vauxhall customer services directly as they might be helpful and will advise what direction you should proceed in.

But first things first, you can't claim anything until the facts are established.

Best of luck and personally I wouldn't stress to much about it as it's likely to take some time to resolve.

[rallycross]

markmullen said:

rallycross said:

People who sell Vauxhalls are similar to the type of people who work in places like curry's selling white goods, they neither know much about the product nor have any interest in it either,

The usual broad generalisations that PH these days spouts.

I used to sell Vauxhalls. I made sure I knew as much as there was to know about the product. Is every copper bent? Does every waiter spit or spunk in your soup? Does every trucker eat Yorkies and kill prostitutes? Broad generalisations like that are pointless.

Ok they cant all be like that but as a broad generelisation thats what I have experienced, and its not aimed at you as a former vaux' sales person (no offence intended).
Its based on what I have found over years of dealing with lots of different main dealers and their disposal of p/x's that for whatever reason, the Vauxhall main dealers often seem to make the least effort in what they do, and have limited knowledge/interest of what they have taken in (which is good for me). And I am not just talking about the sales staff this goes from the DP down, but yes point taken they cant all be like that.

[Judd97]

V5 can easily be wrong. I bought a Fiat Ducato which said 2.5 on the V5 and had done for 10 years. It was clearly a 2.8 (confirmed by inspection at Fiat dealer) and DVLA were happy to rectify using evidence from the dealer.

Confirm the actual engine size first.

[va1o]

hora said:

I mean if you were buying a cheap Golf would you go anywhere near the 1.4 if there were 1.6's around?

Yes, and many people do. The 1.4 is cheaper to insure and run. Not really much between the values of the two assuming spec, mileage and condition is equal.

[rallycross]

va1o said:

hora said:

I mean if you were buying a cheap Golf would you go anywhere near the 1.4 if there were 1.6's around?

Yes, and many people do. The 1.4 is cheaper to insure and run. Not really much between the values of the two assuming spec, mileage and condition is equal.

Thats wrong.
There is a big difference in price between 1.4 and 1.6 golfs.
And a huge difference in how many people call if you advertise a 1.4 very few calls, 1.6 loads of calls.

[va1o]

rallycross said:

va1o said:

hora said:

I mean if you were buying a cheap Golf would you go anywhere near the 1.4 if there were 1.6's around?

Yes, and many people do. The 1.4 is cheaper to insure and run. Not really much between the values of the two assuming spec, mileage and condition is equal.

Thats wrong.
There is a big difference in price between 1.4 and 1.6 golfs.
And a huge difference in how many people call if you advertise a 1.4 very few calls, 1.6 loads of calls.

No there really isn't a big difference in value between 1.4 and 1.6 Golfs, I stand by what I said. Young drivers in particular will choose the 1.4 over the 1.6, its much cheaper to insure. To confuse things further, the 1.4 TSI is worth a lot more than any 1.4/ 1.6 N/A Golf.

EDIT: Just to prove the point here's an example using the What Car valuation site-

said:

Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 1.4 FSI S 5dr 2004 (04) 70,000 miles
Dealer £4,635
Private £4,380
Part exchange £4,010
Trade £3,705
Cost new £12,855

Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 1.6 FSI S 3dr 2004 (04) 70,000 miles
Dealer £4,815
Private £4,555
Part exchange £4,160
Trade £3,855
Cost new £13,710

So again, I stand by what I said, very little between the two.


EDIT 2: another example, MK6 this time -

Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 1.4 80 S 3dr 2009 (58) 40,000 miles
Dealer £7,215
Private £6,915

Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 1.6 102 S 3dr 2009 (58) 40,000 miles
Dealer £7,305
Private £7,005

Edited by va1o on Monday 10th January 17:41

[GreatGranny]

This happened to a bloke I know.

He was looking for an MPV and bought a Galazy (old shape) which was advertised as a the 110bhp model. Got the V5 a few weeks later and it turned out it was the 90bhp model. I advised him he should contact the garage but he just let it go!

[siwebster]

Hi all, just to bring this thread to a conclusion - it turns out my dear old dad pays monthly for a service and MOT package, so the dealer has offered £250 compensation as it's entirely an administrative error on their part.

He's accepted, so, to their credit, all sorted within 24hrs.

[300bhp/ton]

siwebster said:

Hi all, just to bring this thread to a conclusion - it turns out my dear old dad pays monthly for a service and MOT package, so the dealer has offered £250 compensation as it's entirely an administrative error on their part.

He's accepted, so, to their credit, all sorted within 24hrs.

So is the car actually a 1.4 then?

[siwebster]

Yes, it's a 1.4. All of their paperwork previous to the sale said 1.4. Somewhere along the line someone's typed it in incorrectly.

Simple mistake, but the balance has been restored.

Just thought I'd update as not a lot of these type of threads come to a conclusion.

[R26Andy]

Why are most people assuming the V5 is right. DVLA are not the most reliable people in the world.

[thinfourth2]

R26Andy said:

Why are most people assuming the V5 is right. DVLA are not the most reliable people in the world.

If they have it registered as a car and not a chicken its a minor miracle. Anything else is a bouns with the DVLA