returning a broken car to a dealer...

[Night Runner]

Evening all,

I could do with some advice. Main points of the story are:

- Bought a mk2 punto from a local dealer 2 weeks ago for ~£1k.
- Went bang a few days ago, got it recovered home - the engine is shagged (looks like the casing has shattered).
- Called dealer who said to bring the car in (towing it in in the morning).
- Dealer included a 1 month warranty on g-box and engine.

Is there anything I should be aware/cautious of?

Does the 'not fit for purpose' legal bumf apply? If its of any relevance, I made sure I paid on the CC rather than debit card/cash.

Cheers chaps!

[MarsellusWallace]

SOGA and fitness for purpose covers this.

By law you are entitled to reject the car and claim a full refund

[Rollcage]

MarsellusWallace said:

SOGA and fitness for purpose covers this.

By law you are entitled to reject the car and claim a full refund

Good luck with that.

[Night Runner]

Rollcage said:

MarsellusWallace said:

SOGA and fitness for purpose covers this.

By law you are entitled to reject the car and claim a full refund

Good luck with that.

Able to elaborate?

Cheers

[fwaggie]

Night Runner said:

Rollcage said:

MarsellusWallace said:

SOGA and fitness for purpose covers this.

By law you are entitled to reject the car and claim a full refund

Good luck with that.

Able to elaborate?

Cheers

I think he means that whilst the law is on your side, there are some dealers who are less than willing to follow the letter of the law.

If (and I hope this isn't the case) the dealer you got the car from is problematic, all you can really do is go through the small claims court to get your money back which can take a while.

[Rollcage]

Depends on your approach, and the type of dealer I guess.


You may be lucky, and the dealer will refund your money, but I'd have thought he will just offer to repair it.

It's not a £50k used car, and a judge will differentiate between the two in terms of what you could expect from a £1k used car, and the answer is not a lot.

Would you be happy with a repair? As I'd guess that will be what you are offered.

[McSam]

Rollcage said:

Would you be happy with a repair? As I'd guess that will be what you are offered.

Bugger that, if the engine's gone pop in a big way it would almost certainly be cheaper and easier for the dealer to give him his money, then break the thing.

[MarsellusWallace]

Depends on the dealer-some will take it on the chin and give you your money back,others you will have to take it through small claims but if you stick with it they will have to refund you in the end

[PumpkinSteve]

I thought they had to give a three month warranty?

[Rollcage]

McSam said:

Rollcage said:

Would you be happy with a repair? As I'd guess that will be what you are offered.

Bugger that, if the engine's gone pop in a big way it would almost certainly be cheaper and easier for the dealer to give him his money, then break the thing.

I was meaning repair as in a replacement engine. Cheap as chips on a Punto.



Sadly, I don't think the OP will get his money back. Would be nice if I'm wrong though.

The garage will just stick a new engine in. As long as the dealer offers to do this FOC, I think a judge would be quite happy with that.

[Night Runner]

Cheers for the info guys. Does having paid on the CC make getting the cash back (if needed) any easier?

One would presume that having a name & reputation to trade on would matter - we'll need to see.

[markmullen]

PumpkinSteve said:

I thought they had to give a three month warranty?

Nope, common misconception.

[Blue Oval84]

markmullen said:

Nope, common misconception.

Which gets perpetuated all over the internet on forums by people who insist that used car dealers are required to offer a 6 month warranty on all used cars by law.

In actual fact, being fit for purpose is a looooong way from having a warranty. e.g. if the air conditioning fails on a £1K used car, don't expect the law to force the dealer to fix it...

[66comanche]

Chances of the dealer refunding are close to zero, unless you have found one of these mythological 'honest dealers'.

[ClaphamGT3]

Suspect, if you're lucky, you'll get a cash refund, less the value of the benefit of having had the car for a couple of weeks. £500 back would be a real result

[Rollcage]

66comanche said:

Chances of the dealer refunding are close to zero, unless you have found one of these mythological 'honest dealers'.

If the dealer is decent, he'll fix it. He doesn't have to give him his money back. The dealer has to be offered the chance to fix the car and have failed/refused before the OP can even think about rejecting it.

It's a £1k car, they go wrong.

The fact he's warranted the engine/box makes me think he'll repair it, but you never know.

[trv8]

I think the dealer will offer to do whichever works out cheaper for himself......
1. Another engine fitted, from a scrapper.
2. Another car of the same value.
3. A refund of your money.

[Night Runner]

I've been down and dropped a set of keys off, towing the car down later when its quieter.

His mechanic is going to have a look early in the week.

Seems peaceful so far.

So far, so good.

[Rollcage]

Just curious, when you say "the casing is shattered", what bit are you referring to? Engine or gearbox?

[Night Runner]

Rollcage said:

Just curious, when you say "the casing is shattered", what bit are you referring to? Engine or gearbox?

Engine, I'll try to get a photo this evening before towing it down.