Potentially rejecting a car due to interior noise
Discussion
Hi all - Am after a pov from someone here with legal knowledge and experience re potentially rejecting a car due to an interior noise.
The basics are:
£100k car. Was six months old when bought with very low mileage. Was described as "as new", which it was apart from a dashboard rattle which was reported to the dealer the day after taking delivery.
Dealer has had two goes at fixing it. Both unsuccessful. Both times I've been out for a drive with a technician who's heard and acknowledged the noise. I also have recordings of it.
The car's just gone back a third time, after a third trip out together (technician and me) during which they confirmed they could still hear it and would fix it. In fact their approach has been absolutely fantastic throughout. They've always taken it seriously, however they're clearly having issues sorting the problem.
They've now had the car at the dealership for c.15 weeks of the 22 weeks I've owned it, so we're in the last chance saloon. My firm preference still is for them to fix it. However if the third attempt is unsuccessful when the car comes back next week I suspect I'll have to very reluctantly discuss rejecting the car.
Am calling solicitor tomorrow but in the meantime does anyone here have any definitive legal knowledge re the relative strength of my case if it comes to it. Thank you so much
The basics are:
£100k car. Was six months old when bought with very low mileage. Was described as "as new", which it was apart from a dashboard rattle which was reported to the dealer the day after taking delivery.
Dealer has had two goes at fixing it. Both unsuccessful. Both times I've been out for a drive with a technician who's heard and acknowledged the noise. I also have recordings of it.
The car's just gone back a third time, after a third trip out together (technician and me) during which they confirmed they could still hear it and would fix it. In fact their approach has been absolutely fantastic throughout. They've always taken it seriously, however they're clearly having issues sorting the problem.
They've now had the car at the dealership for c.15 weeks of the 22 weeks I've owned it, so we're in the last chance saloon. My firm preference still is for them to fix it. However if the third attempt is unsuccessful when the car comes back next week I suspect I'll have to very reluctantly discuss rejecting the car.
Am calling solicitor tomorrow but in the meantime does anyone here have any definitive legal knowledge re the relative strength of my case if it comes to it. Thank you so much
Edited by First Sea Lord on Thursday 14th March 17:23
First Sea Lord said:
Hi all - Am after a pov from someone here with legal knowledge and experience re potentially rejecting a car due to an interior noise.
The basics are:
£100k car. Was six months old when bought with very low mileage. Was described as "as new", which it was apart from a dashboard rattle which was reported to the dealer the day after taking delivery.
Dealer has had two goes at fixing it. Both unsuccessful. Both times I've been out for a drive with a technician who's heard and acknowledged the noise. I also have recordings of it.
The car's just gone back a third time, after a third trip out together (technical and me) during which they confirmed they could still hear it and would fix it. In fact their approach has been absolutely fantastic throughout. They've always taken it seriously, however they're clearly having issues sorting the problem.
They've now had the car at the dealership for c.15 weeks of the 22 weeks I've owned it, so we're in the last chance saloon. My firm preference still is for them to fix it. However if the third attempt is unsuccessful when the car comes back next week I suspect I'll have to very reluctantly discuss rejecting the car.
Am calling solicitor tomorrow but in the meantime does anyone here have any definitive legal knowledge re the relative strength of my case if it comes to it. Thank you so much
Eh!The basics are:
£100k car. Was six months old when bought with very low mileage. Was described as "as new", which it was apart from a dashboard rattle which was reported to the dealer the day after taking delivery.
Dealer has had two goes at fixing it. Both unsuccessful. Both times I've been out for a drive with a technician who's heard and acknowledged the noise. I also have recordings of it.
The car's just gone back a third time, after a third trip out together (technical and me) during which they confirmed they could still hear it and would fix it. In fact their approach has been absolutely fantastic throughout. They've always taken it seriously, however they're clearly having issues sorting the problem.
They've now had the car at the dealership for c.15 weeks of the 22 weeks I've owned it, so we're in the last chance saloon. My firm preference still is for them to fix it. However if the third attempt is unsuccessful when the car comes back next week I suspect I'll have to very reluctantly discuss rejecting the car.
Am calling solicitor tomorrow but in the meantime does anyone here have any definitive legal knowledge re the relative strength of my case if it comes to it. Thank you so much
Wow, £100k on second hand motor and been in the dealership for 15 weeks.
If true you have my sympathies, however how do people get to be in a position of spending £100k on a secondhand car, leave it at a dealers for 15 weeks and come onto an internet forum for advice???
Sorry OP, yes call the solicitor, I however am calling windup!
dundarach said:
If true you have my sympathies, however how do people get to be in a position of spending £100k on a secondhand car, leave it at a dealers for 15 weeks and come onto an internet forum for advice???
Well, I had much the same experience with an Aston Martin, though not £100K. It was away for about a third of its first year in various places.OP, I would ask owners of other cars about the rattle - it may be that it's a known issue with a known fix. Not every dealer knows everything.
Simpo Two said:
dundarach said:
If true you have my sympathies, however how do people get to be in a position of spending £100k on a secondhand car, leave it at a dealers for 15 weeks and come onto an internet forum for advice???
Well, I had much the same experience with an Aston Martin, though not £100K. It was away for about a third of its first year in various places.OP, I would ask owners of other cars about the rattle - it may be that it's a known issue with a known fix. Not every dealer knows everything.
Then again, perhaps that's why I ain't got £100k for a car, as I give it away too easily!
Best of luck OP!
PositronicRay said:
It's going to depend on how much the garage value your custom, and how much they want your car back in stock, a goodwill thing.
A civil court won't regard a dashboard rattle as a fault.
Hoping you get it sorted, this sort of thing drives me wild.
And well if it rattled from day one then technically it is still as new!A civil court won't regard a dashboard rattle as a fault.
Hoping you get it sorted, this sort of thing drives me wild.
Thanks everyone. Just spoke with a solicitor who advised a plan which definitely works for me.
Hopefully it won't come to it though as the dealership's willingness to help has been faultless. I just hope they can actually fix the problem this time.
Can't say any more at this point I'm afraid.
Hopefully it won't come to it though as the dealership's willingness to help has been faultless. I just hope they can actually fix the problem this time.
Can't say any more at this point I'm afraid.
I would suggest that they don't know how to fix it, which is why you haven't had the car for 15 of the 22 weeks, and that you're wasting your time persevering.
Just because they have 'dealer' in their name doesn't make them experts, it means they sell cars.
But let's hope they hit the right bit this time before you haul them into the High Court and get a KC to give them a good beating for £50K...!
Just because they have 'dealer' in their name doesn't make them experts, it means they sell cars.
But let's hope they hit the right bit this time before you haul them into the High Court and get a KC to give them a good beating for £50K...!
I bought a new Audi A7 several years ago when they were launched, from an Audi dealership. Within a few weeks it developed a rattle in the driver’s door. I took it back a total of 7 times over the next few months to be fixed and each time the rattle came back. After the 7th attempt at fixing it I asked to formally reject the vehicle. The dealership agreed it was a bit of a nightmare, so sourced me a brand new A7 with the same spec and swapped the car for free. (Great result as I has managed to put 12k miles on the car in the months I had owned it). Unfortunately for me the new car had the same door rattle on the way home, so rather than go through the same pain all over again I cut my losses and traded it with 35 miles on the clock against a different marque as soon as the V5 came through.
PositronicRay said:
A civil court won't regard a dashboard rattle as a fault.
They may well regard it as not meeting what a reasonable customer should expect. No new car should rattle, let alone a higher-priced one.I bought a TV from Curry’s 11 years ago. It had a hum. I got the ‘they all do that’ reply. I said ‘are you telling me that Panasonic would release a TV with that fault. They changed it. It”s still going strong.
RumbleOfThunder said:
Is it really necessary to go to a solicitor? The fault is acknowledged and well documented by the dealer. Their conduct so far has been excellent, despite being unable to nail down the fault. Just tell them your concerns and ask for a full refund.
100% agree. The dealer has been great and solicitor is action is last resort. It's been five months now, so now just checking out options given how long this has been going on forThe fact it is £100k doesn't tell the whole story
You will have very different expectations from £100k Luxury saloon or SUV like an S class or X7 than from a stripped out high performance track focused car like an Ultima RS.
I am guessing its nothing like an Ultima, because most sports cars are pretty luxury. If its a car with a 4 part name because its a lightweight special edition of a high performance variant of faster and lighter version of a luxury sports car, then that is where the line could start to blur.
You will have very different expectations from £100k Luxury saloon or SUV like an S class or X7 than from a stripped out high performance track focused car like an Ultima RS.
I am guessing its nothing like an Ultima, because most sports cars are pretty luxury. If its a car with a 4 part name because its a lightweight special edition of a high performance variant of faster and lighter version of a luxury sports car, then that is where the line could start to blur.
Sounds ike the OP doesn't want the car?
The constructive thing to be doing would be contacting the manufacturer.
A six month old car, there must be some maker's warranty in play?
Some cars can acquire a lot of history in 6 months, some can acquire 'history' between the factory gate and the supplying dealer.
So did it leave the factory like this?
What's happened to it since?
Personally the fact that some 'technicians' have been fiddling with it for weeks doesn't bode well, quite likely they will make things worse!
I would always prefer a car that's not been messed with.
A lot of things these days are not designed to be taken apart.
The constructive thing to be doing would be contacting the manufacturer.
A six month old car, there must be some maker's warranty in play?
Some cars can acquire a lot of history in 6 months, some can acquire 'history' between the factory gate and the supplying dealer.
So did it leave the factory like this?
What's happened to it since?
Personally the fact that some 'technicians' have been fiddling with it for weeks doesn't bode well, quite likely they will make things worse!
I would always prefer a car that's not been messed with.
A lot of things these days are not designed to be taken apart.
Glassman said:
Make and model?
Would rather not get into that on here, PaulHave spoken with a solicitor so have got a plan. Hopefully it won't come to that though and the dealer can fix it this time. Although they haven't been successful they've been great: taking it seriously and doing what they can
First Sea Lord said:
Glassman said:
Make and model?
Would rather not get into that on here, PaulHave spoken with a solicitor so have got a plan. Hopefully it won't come to that though and the dealer can fix it this time. Although they haven't been successful they've been great: taking it seriously and doing what they can
Hope it gets sorted without any needless, and further complications.
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