Help, Buckled alloys on just bought 2nd hand car
Discussion
Just had new tyres all round on the Audi A4 which I bought 2nd hand from a car dealer last tuesday (non-audi but a major dealership) and the tyre fitter's have told me that 3 of the 4 wheels are buckled. Two of them pretty badly so they said.
Interesting though there was only a small amount of vibration on the test drive and the 130 mile drive home, so the car does'nt exhibit any usual traits of wobbly alloys.
Have spoken to the Dealer and they are giving me the silent treatment, do I have any rights on this one under the sale of goods act ?
If the alloys are not visually buckled would they still pass an MOT ? Thanks for your help.
Interesting though there was only a small amount of vibration on the test drive and the 130 mile drive home, so the car does'nt exhibit any usual traits of wobbly alloys.
Have spoken to the Dealer and they are giving me the silent treatment, do I have any rights on this one under the sale of goods act ?
If the alloys are not visually buckled would they still pass an MOT ? Thanks for your help.
carmonk said:
It's the dealer's responsibility to fix them. Personally I would never have taken a car with any wheel vibration but that's not relevant, he still has a duty to fix the issues.
But he did say there was hardly any vibration when test driving and driving home which would make anyone think poor balancing. Put it down to experience, this one isn't something that many of us would have noticed without just thinking a rebalance would sort.
Look at second hand alloys, you'll be able to get some for next to nothing.
falkster said:
carmonk said:
It's the dealer's responsibility to fix them. Personally I would never have taken a car with any wheel vibration but that's not relevant, he still has a duty to fix the issues.
But he did say there was hardly any vibration when test driving and driving home which would make anyone think poor balancing. Put it down to experience, this one isn't something that many of us would have noticed without just thinking a rebalance would sort.
Look at second hand alloys, you'll be able to get some for next to nothing.
To be frank I'd be more worried about HOW they got bent in the first place...
Apart from obvious issues like them being the wrong offset for the car - you have to realistically imagine a car which has been abused. Slamming a car with big wheels into speedbumps and potholes will bend alloys and VAG ones seems particularly prone to this sort of behaviour.
Dealers in places like Spain actively discourage choosing the 'big wheel' cars because the local roads WILL destroy them
Apart from obvious issues like them being the wrong offset for the car - you have to realistically imagine a car which has been abused. Slamming a car with big wheels into speedbumps and potholes will bend alloys and VAG ones seems particularly prone to this sort of behaviour.
Dealers in places like Spain actively discourage choosing the 'big wheel' cars because the local roads WILL destroy them
The car had no dealer prep done to it, as it was a px they had decided to put on the forecourt, they had only had it for a day and I got a good price for it. I thought the vibration was balancing as well, it was so minor. Obviously any suspension damage will be covered, I bloody hope so but car tracks well and no knocks coming from the chassis so fingers crossed, it's got 3 weeks left on the manufacturers warranty and I'm sticking it in for a service on thursday.
Question is can i push for anything under the sale of goods act ? I guess if I go down that road they will try and blame me for the wheel damage. Have looked for some 2nd hand alloys but it's a new shape A4 with 19" wheels (£588 each from the stealers !!).
Good to hear that hopefully it will pass an mot though.
Question is can i push for anything under the sale of goods act ? I guess if I go down that road they will try and blame me for the wheel damage. Have looked for some 2nd hand alloys but it's a new shape A4 with 19" wheels (£588 each from the stealers !!).
Good to hear that hopefully it will pass an mot though.
Edited by rs4al on Monday 25th July 18:58
Sound like "replica" alloys to me, made of cheese, genuine ones, even 19 inch, are pretty darned strong, but the reps are crap.
Have a good look at them, look for an audi part number, or "ronal" or "BBS" or some other manufacturer name.
If it does not wobble and seems ok to drive now, I would not worry, unless they are reps, and then, even if striaght, they'd be off my car, as the quality of them is usually very poor.
As for dealer, if he claims they were ok when you left and you have damaged them, you may not be too good for a refund. Have you tried the old reg keeper to see if they were bent when he px'd it??
Have a good look at them, look for an audi part number, or "ronal" or "BBS" or some other manufacturer name.
If it does not wobble and seems ok to drive now, I would not worry, unless they are reps, and then, even if striaght, they'd be off my car, as the quality of them is usually very poor.
As for dealer, if he claims they were ok when you left and you have damaged them, you may not be too good for a refund. Have you tried the old reg keeper to see if they were bent when he px'd it??
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