Is my car ‘fit for purpose’?
Discussion
Hi all. After some independent opinions.
Bought a used car from a dealer in March. Few years old, nearly 50k miles, over £35k, high end of price range for the model.
Basically been a bit of a nightmare. among smaller livable problems it has had 3 major ones. Starting issues, it is basically a coin toss if it goes or not. Been back to the dealer twice for fixing and still not sorted. Have no confidence taking it anywhere. This was a problem noted by the previous owner and he swears he communicated it to the dealer on trade in, also supported by the last service report noting the fault. Dealer assured me they had sorted it and it did not do it on the test drive so I bought it but clearly not resolved.
Has an exhaust leak or something. Drive it for half hour or so and you get out stinking of exhaust fumes. As well as annoying this must be some sort of safety issue?
This has also been looked at once by the dealer with no improvement.
Most recently I had to abandon a trip because the clutch gave up, managed to limp it home in the gear it got stuck in.
Told dealer I’ve had enough of it and am rejecting, they have had more than the required chances to fix and not managed it.
Dealer has said they will take it back but on good will rather than legally. They are saying it is fit for purpose so I can’t reject it legally.
Because they are doing it as goodwill they want to deduct £2k from the refund price for re preparing the car for sale.
I’ve had the car 3 months, out of action / with them for about a month of that. I’ve driven it less than 500 miles.
It doesn’t seem very fit for purpose according to the CRA to me but I guess I’m biased.
I disagreed with their figure and for the sake of reducing hassle offered full refund minus about £750 but they are sticking to their guns at £2k
So your thoughts please.
Bought a used car from a dealer in March. Few years old, nearly 50k miles, over £35k, high end of price range for the model.
Basically been a bit of a nightmare. among smaller livable problems it has had 3 major ones. Starting issues, it is basically a coin toss if it goes or not. Been back to the dealer twice for fixing and still not sorted. Have no confidence taking it anywhere. This was a problem noted by the previous owner and he swears he communicated it to the dealer on trade in, also supported by the last service report noting the fault. Dealer assured me they had sorted it and it did not do it on the test drive so I bought it but clearly not resolved.
Has an exhaust leak or something. Drive it for half hour or so and you get out stinking of exhaust fumes. As well as annoying this must be some sort of safety issue?
This has also been looked at once by the dealer with no improvement.
Most recently I had to abandon a trip because the clutch gave up, managed to limp it home in the gear it got stuck in.
Told dealer I’ve had enough of it and am rejecting, they have had more than the required chances to fix and not managed it.
Dealer has said they will take it back but on good will rather than legally. They are saying it is fit for purpose so I can’t reject it legally.
Because they are doing it as goodwill they want to deduct £2k from the refund price for re preparing the car for sale.
I’ve had the car 3 months, out of action / with them for about a month of that. I’ve driven it less than 500 miles.
It doesn’t seem very fit for purpose according to the CRA to me but I guess I’m biased.
I disagreed with their figure and for the sake of reducing hassle offered full refund minus about £750 but they are sticking to their guns at £2k
So your thoughts please.
I don’t think they have a leg to stand on. I bought second hand E350 from franchise dealer which had problems, I gave them multiple opportunities to repair, and they couldn’t. The option then is to replace or refund.
There is some merit in the suggestion that you take the 2k hit and then sue in small claims for the 2k loss you have incurred. You could add other costs and also if you have to spend a little more to get into a replacement.
Genuinely I have been down this road a couple of times (sadly) and the approach your retailer seems to be taking is very poor.
There is some merit in the suggestion that you take the 2k hit and then sue in small claims for the 2k loss you have incurred. You could add other costs and also if you have to spend a little more to get into a replacement.
Genuinely I have been down this road a couple of times (sadly) and the approach your retailer seems to be taking is very poor.
Tebbers said:
Agree to the £2k deduction, get rid of the car, bank the money and then file a Money Claim Online for your £2k.
QuiteI would say you are accepting their deal however get your claim started as soon as!
Ensure you have all of your documentation in order, dates of breakdowns, times, any extra costs incurred by you (Taxis, hire cars, days off work, etc).
Ensure you have photocopies of the service history etc where it explains the fault which was "apparently fixed", if all this goes back to the dealer I suspect it would "disappear".
CarCrazyDad said:
Quite
I would say you are accepting their deal however get your claim started as soon as!
Ensure you have all of your documentation in order, dates of breakdowns, times, any extra costs incurred by you (Taxis, hire cars, days off work, etc).
Ensure you have photocopies of the service history etc where it explains the fault which was "apparently fixed", if all this goes back to the dealer I suspect it would "disappear".
If you accept their offer -2k as a full and final settlement, and then try and open a further claim you won't have a leg to stand onI would say you are accepting their deal however get your claim started as soon as!
Ensure you have all of your documentation in order, dates of breakdowns, times, any extra costs incurred by you (Taxis, hire cars, days off work, etc).
Ensure you have photocopies of the service history etc where it explains the fault which was "apparently fixed", if all this goes back to the dealer I suspect it would "disappear".
CarCrazyDad said:
martinbiz said:
If you accept their offer -2k as a full and final settlement, and then try and open a further claim you won't have a leg to stand on
Of course, but ensure you don't state anything as "full and final settlement" Easy :-)
Taken from The Motor Ombudsman website who are the automotive dispute resolution body.
https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledge-base/w...
"You will be entitled to a refund of what you paid for the car minus a deduction for any usage you’ve had. This is usually calculated by looking at how many miles you’ve added to the vehicle, and charging a certain amount of pence for each mile driven."
https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledge-base/w...
"You will be entitled to a refund of what you paid for the car minus a deduction for any usage you’ve had. This is usually calculated by looking at how many miles you’ve added to the vehicle, and charging a certain amount of pence for each mile driven."
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
On the face of it a £35k car should at least start on the button every time.
Although obviously you'd expect any car to work, I think £35k is a bit of a red herring.£35k could be for a Land Cruiser or something you'd expect to be bullet-proof, or it could be for a classic Ferrari or something where foibles are more expected.
stevemcs said:
I'd take the 2k hit to get shot of it.
I'd do exactly the same.A 2k hit to get out of a 35k car you no longer want isn't too bad.
I know you 'should' get all your money back but you might have a huge fight to get that 2k, which you may never see.
Dealers should play by the rules but it isn't easy enforcing against them if they don't (e so enjoin non franchised, back street places that don't have as much to lose)
Jakg said:
Although obviously you'd expect any car to work, I think £35k is a bit of a red herring.
£35k could be for a Land Cruiser or something you'd expect to be bullet-proof, or it could be for a classic Ferrari or something where foibles are more expected.
The OP says few years old 50k miles and 35k price. That’s not going to be a classic Ferrari or the likes it’s going to be something much more run of the mill £35k could be for a Land Cruiser or something you'd expect to be bullet-proof, or it could be for a classic Ferrari or something where foibles are more expected.
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