Problem with second hand car bought from a trader
Discussion
Hi all,
My dad recently bought a car from a garage with a warranty from a third party provider. Anyway, turned out the aircon doesn't work, and having got it checked out at the trader's request, the compressor has been disconnected because the compressor has seized.
The trader has told my dad to give him a call in a month so that he can put it through the warranty company (it seems that it is standard practice that the warranty takes a month to start to stop dealer using them to pay for repairs to the car before they move them on). To me this seems wrong on so many levels - why should my dad have to wait a month so that this guy can avoid paying to fix it himself? Secondly, is this not effectively defrauding the warranty company? I am sure they are used to things miraculously going wrong the day after the warranty kicks in and are wise to this.
There's an added complication in that he wants to extend the warranty but can't do it if there's been a claim.
My dad just wants his a/c working and shouldn't have to lie to the warranty company or drive a sweat mobile.
Next port of call - tell trader not happy waiting a month and want to get it sorted now. I take it he can't take it to another garage to get it sorted, presumably the trader has to have an opportunity to fix it?
I think this guy is a real chancer and trying to get my dad to join him in commiting fraud in order to maintain his profit margin (which if he was had noticed the fault when he took the car on he could have factored in!) while my dad has to wait for cold air.
My dad recently bought a car from a garage with a warranty from a third party provider. Anyway, turned out the aircon doesn't work, and having got it checked out at the trader's request, the compressor has been disconnected because the compressor has seized.
The trader has told my dad to give him a call in a month so that he can put it through the warranty company (it seems that it is standard practice that the warranty takes a month to start to stop dealer using them to pay for repairs to the car before they move them on). To me this seems wrong on so many levels - why should my dad have to wait a month so that this guy can avoid paying to fix it himself? Secondly, is this not effectively defrauding the warranty company? I am sure they are used to things miraculously going wrong the day after the warranty kicks in and are wise to this.
There's an added complication in that he wants to extend the warranty but can't do it if there's been a claim.
My dad just wants his a/c working and shouldn't have to lie to the warranty company or drive a sweat mobile.
Next port of call - tell trader not happy waiting a month and want to get it sorted now. I take it he can't take it to another garage to get it sorted, presumably the trader has to have an opportunity to fix it?
I think this guy is a real chancer and trying to get my dad to join him in commiting fraud in order to maintain his profit margin (which if he was had noticed the fault when he took the car on he could have factored in!) while my dad has to wait for cold air.
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Thursday 5th September 23:27
Trader is being dishonest with both the Warranty company and the buyer.
Warranty company will take a month to bat the claim back and forwards.
Warranty company will refuse the claim as it is not within their terms.
More communications will pass between parties to no avail.
Dealer will deny responsibility because Warranty company have refused claim.
No-one will want to pay for the repair.
Four months down the line, buyer will get pissed off and part-ex the car for something else losing a load of money in the process.
It's how many of them operate, unfortunately.
Warranty company will take a month to bat the claim back and forwards.
Warranty company will refuse the claim as it is not within their terms.
More communications will pass between parties to no avail.
Dealer will deny responsibility because Warranty company have refused claim.
No-one will want to pay for the repair.
Four months down the line, buyer will get pissed off and part-ex the car for something else losing a load of money in the process.
It's how many of them operate, unfortunately.
Thankks chaps,
CAB have advised him to speak to the warranty company but I reckon hang fire as they might get the hump and not let him extend the warranty. I don't think it's relevant to be honest as it's a fault present at point of sale.
In the meantime I have advised him to:
- get quotes for new and second hand compressors fitted from his specialist in case in conversation the dealer protests at the cost and dad can throw him a bone with a cheaper s/h one - win win then as it can be fixed properly by a specialist rather than bodged on the cheap if the trader is forced to do it.
- ring the warranty company in an anonymous capacity, explain the situation fully, and ask their advice.
Don't want the dealer getting the hump, but ultimately it's his responsibility. I think being firm with him is the best thing if the warranty company advises that's the way to go...
CAB have advised him to speak to the warranty company but I reckon hang fire as they might get the hump and not let him extend the warranty. I don't think it's relevant to be honest as it's a fault present at point of sale.
In the meantime I have advised him to:
- get quotes for new and second hand compressors fitted from his specialist in case in conversation the dealer protests at the cost and dad can throw him a bone with a cheaper s/h one - win win then as it can be fixed properly by a specialist rather than bodged on the cheap if the trader is forced to do it.
- ring the warranty company in an anonymous capacity, explain the situation fully, and ask their advice.
Don't want the dealer getting the hump, but ultimately it's his responsibility. I think being firm with him is the best thing if the warranty company advises that's the way to go...
It all depends on how old the car is and what it is worth.
On a £10k car with 40k on the clock it is probably reasonable to expect the aircon to work. If it is a £2k car with 120k and is 8 years old and the car does the basic things of getting from A to B then something like aircon is probably inconsequential and an accepted failure point on a well used car.
Without giving details of the car no one can really give an opinion.
Was it not apparent the aircon wasn't working as soon as he drove off or on any test drive?
On a £10k car with 40k on the clock it is probably reasonable to expect the aircon to work. If it is a £2k car with 120k and is 8 years old and the car does the basic things of getting from A to B then something like aircon is probably inconsequential and an accepted failure point on a well used car.
Without giving details of the car no one can really give an opinion.
Was it not apparent the aircon wasn't working as soon as he drove off or on any test drive?
it's a 5k car, with well under 100k miles. Not immediately obvious on the testdrive - IMHO not really relevant though, you can't check everything on the testdrive particularly ac unless iit's a scorcher. the whole point of paying a premium to buy from a garage is to avoid s
te like this.
te like this.nickfrog said:
I hate it when dealers try to use a third party warranty contract to cover their own SOGA liability rather than to protect the consumer.
Clear case of fraud too.
^^^ This. Just tell the dealer to fix the car or you will get it fixed elsewhere and then sue him for the cost of repair. Should do the trick.Clear case of fraud too.
Ozzie Osmond said:
nickfrog said:
I hate it when dealers try to use a third party warranty contract to cover their own SOGA liability rather than to protect the consumer.
Clear case of fraud too.
^^^ This. Just tell the dealer to fix the car or you will get it fixed elsewhere and then sue him for the cost of repair. Should do the trick.Clear case of fraud too.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Is his get out that he's offered to swap back?
If the dealer offers you your money back then I can't see that you can sue.You can only sue for your loss - which if you accepted his refund - you haven't got a loss.
TBH you should check everything works before you drive away - on a £5k car AC is not an essential and I wouldn't bet that you'd win a court case.
V8RX7 said:
TBH you should check everything works before you drive away - on a £5k car AC is not an essential and I wouldn't bet that you'd win a court case.
Depends. If it was advertised as having aircon then it would be reasonable to assume it was working air con. I would say you could very easily say that was one of the reasons you got the car and win if it came to that.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff