Serious Problem with newly bought car.

[ja29626]

Hi everyone,

I just bought a vauxhall vivaro, and when I started out on my 50 mile journey back from the seller, the car ran fine, engaged gears, everything was Rosey. By the time I got home, I could engage gear, but then it would slip out, rendering the car useless to the point that it will not move at all... looking like the clutch has given up the ghost, or even something more sinister?

Is there any chance that the seller knew about a problem?? My gut was telling me at the time not to buy, and the price was a bit cheap (not too bad) but I want to know if its possible to have a problem with a clutch in a car that doesnt become apparent until you've driven a few miles??

I know, caveat emptor and all that, but I'm just so distressed at the minute, so any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[Vaud]

Bought from who? A trader? A dealer? A private sale?

[Getragdogleg]

Might be a problem that gets worse when hot so let it cool and try it again, if its ok then you have been stitched up, if not then its bad luck.

Either way you are dipping into your wallet !

[ja29626]

Dealer, not someone I really trusted, but figured i was just being paranoid!!

[Vaud]

ja29626 said:

Dealer, not someone I really trusted, but figured i was just being paranoid!!

As in a Vauxhall dealer? (don't name the exact garage)

[ja29626]

Getragdogleg said:

Might be a problem that gets worse when hot so let it cool and try it again, if its ok then you have been stitched up, if not then its bad luck.

Either way you are dipping into your wallet !

Just been out now, and the engine still turns over fine, but it still doesn't drive at all. Just engages gear and no drive when the accelerator is pressed.

What I am most paranoid about is if this is something the seller would know about, hence flogging the car cheaper than it should have been

[Getragdogleg]

ja29626 said:

Dealer

That might make a difference if you are lucky.

[james28]

Did you not take the car on a long test drive to get the car up to temp and go over it and ask questions.Possibly phone up seller asking the question and see what responce you get.

[ja29626]

Vaud said:

As in a Vauxhall dealer? (don't name the exact garage)

Sorry no, just an independant chap.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

If it's a dealer give them a cool collected & calm call tomorrow.

[ja29626]

james28 said:

Did you not take the car on a long test drive to get the car up to temp and go over it and ask questions.Possibly phone up seller asking the question and see what responce you get.

yes, test drive was about 15 minutes, drove really well. Was pleased with the van until 10 miles from home when it all started going downhill

[james28]

well a dealer will have to give you some sort of warranty or just return the car dont you have 14 days grace period to return any faulty goods??

[Vaud]

So, a trader.

You should start with a polite phone call in the morning. You have rights and my suggestion would be not to start with a strong legal position.

Explain the problem, keep a log of your conversation with them and go from there.

Based on their response, we can advise better.

Cars do fail, he may not have driven it much as a PX to them....

[Sensibleboy]

These are the same as the Renault traffic aren't they? Is it those or the Master that regularly suffer from gearbox problems?

[Hammer67]

When you say the gear has engaged, are you 100% sure about that?

IIRC these vans have a pair of gearchange cables that run from the stick to the box and are held on by nylon ball and socket type end joints. Maybe one has popped off.

Just a thought.

[ja29626]

Cheers for the responses so far everyone, much appreciated.

I am not 100% sure he is an "official" dealer/trader if that makes sense? He had about 10 cars/vans knocking around. Isn't is sold as seen with stuff like this?

I'll defo give them a call tomorrow morning, when a bit calmer and see what they have to say.

[kambites]

It doesn't matter whether they knew about it, all that matters is whether the fault was present at the time and I doubt they'd even try to argue that it wasn't if it became apparent that quickly.

If the guy is registered as a trader, standard "fit for purpose" buying laws count. If he isn't and has ten cars for sale, he's almost certainly committing fraud and a quick word to the police might be in order anyway.

[ja29626]

Hammer67 said:

When you say the gear has engaged, are you 100% sure about that?

IIRC these vans have a pair of gearchange cables that run from the stick to the box and are held on by nylon ball and socket type end joints. Maybe one has popped off.

Just a thought.

not 100% mate to be honest. It feels like it has, and then when the accelerator is pressed, the car doesn't move... but I cannot be certain it has actually engaged gear or not.

[CAPP0]

ja29626 said:

By the time I got home, I could engage gear, but then it would slip out, rendering the car useless to the point that it will not move at all…

ja29626 said:

Just been out now, and the engine still turns over fine, but it still doesn't drive at all. Just engages gear and no drive when the accelerator is pressed.

You need to decide what the problem is so that you can tell the dealer who sold it to you. Is it, as in your first quote above, that the gearbox is jumping out of gear, or, as in quote 2, that the clutch seems to be slipping? Or something else? Does the clutch pedal feel normal?

You need to tell him the right symptoms, but from there on as long as he can be shown to be a dealer, you have the law on your side to have it repaired or refunded, per several million similar threads and comments on PH.

[shake n bake]

james28 said:

well a dealer will have to give you some sort of warranty or just return the car dont you have 14 days grace period to return any faulty goods??

Not with a car, however a dealer has to put the fault right now, regardless of if he sells cars properly or from his mates mums garage type thing.
As above, call and explain the fault and see the reaction, it sounds clutch/flywheel related as there is no drive whatsoever.