C4 VTR LEMON, SOGA SAGA
Discussion
Hello everyone
On 9th October 2013 I purchased, and took delivery of a CITREON C4 VTR 2005 with 90k on the clock. The vehicle was advertised as having just been MOT’d, having a full service history, a three month warranty and also a service before I took delivery.
On 16th October 2013 and the following weeks we had the following problems
• Diesel fumes entering the Cabin
• Clutch vibrating and juddering
• Car shaking above 65 Mph (National tyres refused to balance tyres as they were barely legal and were very surprised when I stated it’s supposed to have just been through an MOT. They were also confused as to why no advisories appeared on the MOT.
The turbo (for fumes entering cabin) was repaired by his mechanic for no charge but then the clutch problem ensued a week or so later. I contacted him by phone as soon as the fault developed, his answer to the problem via his mechanic by phone, was “I’m 99% sure it’s the weather.” Unbelievable!
I took the car to an independent garage, who confirmed that it ‘definitely was not the weather’ but probably a faulty flywheel/clutch.
I then asked him to either repair the vehicle or give a refund, which he declined, stating ‘that’s why you have the warranty cover’, so taking his advice I contacted the warranty company who instructed me to take it to the nearest garage to have it assessed.
After our mechanic stopped laughing over his “weather” diagnosis he diagnosed the problem, which surprisingly wasn’t the same as his mechanic’s assessment, stating that the clutch and fly wheel need replacing. He therefore rang the warranty company and found the fault was not covered. This was a surprise to me, ahem as he had ensured that the car comes with a “Piece of mind” warranty if anything were to go wrong. What I now discover is the warranty is worthless for the problem the car has.
As a gesture of good will I did offer to cover half of the costs to repair the flywheel/clutch, but he declined, stating he would only contribute £100 to the repair bill so I would have to contribute the remaining £300
In view of this, and also the remaining problems with the vehicle (tyres etc) and also the fact that we have been without the car on at least two occasions (one of them being a week), I feel that
this is totally unacceptable. The mechanic stated to me that the clutch/flywheel could go at any time, and could possibly lock up on the motorway. I have therefore stopped using the car completely. In addition, upon checking the ‘full service history’ this was found to be incomplete.
I’m going to go down the SOGA route on this, seems a pretty open and shut case to me. Any opinions?
On 9th October 2013 I purchased, and took delivery of a CITREON C4 VTR 2005 with 90k on the clock. The vehicle was advertised as having just been MOT’d, having a full service history, a three month warranty and also a service before I took delivery.
On 16th October 2013 and the following weeks we had the following problems
• Diesel fumes entering the Cabin
• Clutch vibrating and juddering
• Car shaking above 65 Mph (National tyres refused to balance tyres as they were barely legal and were very surprised when I stated it’s supposed to have just been through an MOT. They were also confused as to why no advisories appeared on the MOT.
The turbo (for fumes entering cabin) was repaired by his mechanic for no charge but then the clutch problem ensued a week or so later. I contacted him by phone as soon as the fault developed, his answer to the problem via his mechanic by phone, was “I’m 99% sure it’s the weather.” Unbelievable!
I took the car to an independent garage, who confirmed that it ‘definitely was not the weather’ but probably a faulty flywheel/clutch.
I then asked him to either repair the vehicle or give a refund, which he declined, stating ‘that’s why you have the warranty cover’, so taking his advice I contacted the warranty company who instructed me to take it to the nearest garage to have it assessed.
After our mechanic stopped laughing over his “weather” diagnosis he diagnosed the problem, which surprisingly wasn’t the same as his mechanic’s assessment, stating that the clutch and fly wheel need replacing. He therefore rang the warranty company and found the fault was not covered. This was a surprise to me, ahem as he had ensured that the car comes with a “Piece of mind” warranty if anything were to go wrong. What I now discover is the warranty is worthless for the problem the car has.
As a gesture of good will I did offer to cover half of the costs to repair the flywheel/clutch, but he declined, stating he would only contribute £100 to the repair bill so I would have to contribute the remaining £300
In view of this, and also the remaining problems with the vehicle (tyres etc) and also the fact that we have been without the car on at least two occasions (one of them being a week), I feel that
this is totally unacceptable. The mechanic stated to me that the clutch/flywheel could go at any time, and could possibly lock up on the motorway. I have therefore stopped using the car completely. In addition, upon checking the ‘full service history’ this was found to be incomplete.
I’m going to go down the SOGA route on this, seems a pretty open and shut case to me. Any opinions?
Speak to the CAB, but you need to give him the opportunity to fix the car (I appreciate you're trying to do this!!) and if you're not satisfied with the outcome, you can get a refund.
Did you pay by credit card, if you did, you can just let them fight it out on your behalf. Saves the hassle.
ETA: I always try to buy everything on credit card, I've even just taken out a new credit card with a much higher limit, so I can be sure I'll always be protected for transactions. It's worth paying the credit card charge at times.
Did you pay by credit card, if you did, you can just let them fight it out on your behalf. Saves the hassle.
ETA: I always try to buy everything on credit card, I've even just taken out a new credit card with a much higher limit, so I can be sure I'll always be protected for transactions. It's worth paying the credit card charge at times.
Edited by zed4 on Friday 13th December 10:12
8 year old 90k miles.
What did you pay for it?
There are many ways to try and abbreviate what soga means, but my favourites us this;
Soga is there to make sure you get value for money.
If you paid a high price for the car then I would hope soga would help.
But, if the car was fairly cheap then it's perhaps not surprising the car needs a bit of work on some worn parts.
Outside if soga, my personal opinion is that any second hand car will need 10% of the purchase price spent on it in the first year to bring it up to personal standard.
There's always something that needs fixing or replacing through wear.
What did you pay for it?
There are many ways to try and abbreviate what soga means, but my favourites us this;
Soga is there to make sure you get value for money.
If you paid a high price for the car then I would hope soga would help.
But, if the car was fairly cheap then it's perhaps not surprising the car needs a bit of work on some worn parts.
Outside if soga, my personal opinion is that any second hand car will need 10% of the purchase price spent on it in the first year to bring it up to personal standard.
There's always something that needs fixing or replacing through wear.
McWigglebum4th said:
Completely agree
You bought an 8 year old car and the parts that are expected to wear out have worn out
Open and shut
Not to mention that you apparently failed to read the terms of the warranty. Dual mass flywheel has to be the most common failure on that era of diesel as well - given that owners with the same issue were struggling to get anything out of dealers at 2 years + 30k miles, I don't rate your chances.You bought an 8 year old car and the parts that are expected to wear out have worn out
Open and shut
Id consider reporting the garage that did the MOT to VOSA as they are probably being lenient due to the trade (cough backhanders cough) he throws their way
You should have noticed the tyres before handing cash over
3 month warranties on cars that age are pointless. In fact they are worse than pointless as dealers try and palm their SOGA obligations off on them and the warranty companies always palm issues off as wear and tear
You should have noticed the tyres before handing cash over
3 month warranties on cars that age are pointless. In fact they are worse than pointless as dealers try and palm their SOGA obligations off on them and the warranty companies always palm issues off as wear and tear
The Crack Fox said:
OP, didn't you think of even looking at the tyres yourself before paying? Good luck with this. I think you're (sadly) on a hiding to nothing.
Yeah we looked and they seemed fine to me, if it had just been the tyres I wouldn't of minded replacing them myself. Its the clutch problem which happened a few weeks later that bothers me. This happened a few weeks after we bought the car and a week of that it was in the garage getting the turbo replaced.Thanks
Geoff
LiamM45 said:
eh? did none of this crop up when viewing and test driving the car?
sorry but if you pay no attention when buying a car you deserve f-all back when you realise it's a total shed.
absolutely ZERO sympathy here.
Yeah Liam, we test drove it, had to open the windows to let the fumes out ,drove it under 30 mph so it didn't shake and kept it in 3rd and the clutch was shaking violently. Or maybe it test drove fine so we bought it, the turbo went and was replaced before we picked it up then the clutch went a few weeks later.sorry but if you pay no attention when buying a car you deserve f-all back when you realise it's a total shed.
absolutely ZERO sympathy here.
Regards
Geoff
OP, how much did you pay for the car?
Clutch/Flywheel fix for £400 doesn't sound too great a bill. Needs sorting though.
The tyre problem should have been picked up. Unlike some other mechanical issues, tyre wear can't be hidden (unless the dealer swaps them between you paying the deposit and picking up the car). Also, don't forget that 'nearly on the limit' isn't 'on the limit' and it won't fail an MOT.
Clutch/Flywheel fix for £400 doesn't sound too great a bill. Needs sorting though.
The tyre problem should have been picked up. Unlike some other mechanical issues, tyre wear can't be hidden (unless the dealer swaps them between you paying the deposit and picking up the car). Also, don't forget that 'nearly on the limit' isn't 'on the limit' and it won't fail an MOT.
JimiH said:
Yeah Liam, we test drove it, had to open the windows to let the fumes out ,drove it under 30 mph so it didn't shake and kept it in 3rd and the clutch was shaking violently. Or maybe it test drove fine so we bought it, the turbo went and was replaced before we picked it up then the clutch went a few weeks later.
Regards
Geoff
Well I apologise if that's the case; but I doubt on an 8 year old car that was in fine condition when you drove it, that you could claim the garage sold you a duff car because it's broke down a few weeks later.Regards
Geoff
I think it's just unlucky to be honest. Make use of your warranty where you can and take it on the chin.
shouldbworking said:
McWigglebum4th said:
Completely agree
You bought an 8 year old car and the parts that are expected to wear out have worn out
Open and shut
Not to mention that you apparently failed to read the terms of the warranty. Dual mass flywheel has to be the most common failure on that era of diesel as well - given that owners with the same issue were struggling to get anything out of dealers at 2 years + 30k miles, I don't rate your chances.You bought an 8 year old car and the parts that are expected to wear out have worn out
Open and shut
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