Advice needed - used car major fault bought 2 months ago

[rennies]

Bought Renault Scenic in December from a dealer, 2005, 87k on the clock. Gearbox went knackering the clutch with it just 2 months later. 3 month warranty (from Warranty 2000) wont pay up, they say it's wear and tear. Have written to the dealer throwing the Sale of Goods act at them. They have responded stating they want an inspection (£50 fee) and to keep in mind work they carried out would exclude damage due to reasonable wear and tear and reminding me of the age, price and mileage would carry a reasonable amount of wear.

I am wondering how much the 'wear and tear' carries water in this case. I don't believe a car is 'fit for purpose' or of 'satisfactory quality' for the gearbox to go within a couple of months of purchase.

I am a slightly naïve female when it comes to cars (not much of a feminist statement I know) however I bought it knowing the warranty would cover any major faults for 3 months, that the service history and MOT was all good and that I was paying the right price (£1700) for the age/mileage of the car at a dealer price.

Please (and be gentle) could someone give me any advice on how to get the bloody thing fixed by the dealer and not ending up in court. Or, if I were to go to court, how to win!

[Red Hot Rupert]

The SOGA relates to any faults that were present when you bought the car, not something that goes wrong 2 months later. If you drove it for 2 months with no problems I would suggest that you have just been unlucky, st happens as they say.

It is up to the dealer to prove that the fault was not there at the time of sale but in all honesty that's not going to be too hard for him when you have driven it for 2 months with no problems.

[Liquid Tuna]

The trouble is it's a 9 year old car that's done nearly 90k. A gearbox and clutch are both items that "wear" (although I'd hope a gearbox lasts longer than 100k), but either way it's getting on a bit.

Did you go straight at the dealer with SOGA or did you sound them out first? I only ask as the best I reckon you'll get from them is something of a goodwill gesture, maybe they'll pay the labour or something?

[rallycross]

See if you can get some support from the garage in fixing it in a cost effective way use SoGA as reason but dot try and force it as the process will take a while and has no guarantee of you winning or them complying with a decision.

2 nd hand gearbox probably £150 to £300
New clutch £100
Say around £500-£700 all in what can you afford to pay ? 50/50? Or labour only maybe?

Car was quite cheap at £1700 from a dealer.
9 year old Renault is not a quality car it will have faults, and after 2 months driving its possible for things to go wrong which the dealer was not aware of when it was sold.

Good luck sorting there is no black and white answer and easy resolution is a good option - then move on.

Due to age mileage and value of car and time elapsed since you purchased it I don't think you have a strong position to force them to refund or repair in full.

[MikeOxlong]

For all the dealer knows you've been roadtripping around every racetrack in the country and thrashing the tits off it. Why should they pay if a car that's got loads of miles on it goes wrong 2 months later?

[STURBO]

I think the above replies are a bit harsh.

The OP bought a used car from a dealer with a 3 month warranty. It's still in warranty. I'd expect a warranty to cover a gearbox failure in that timeframe.

For those saying tough, just what items would you expect a 3 month warranty to cover?

[Chicane-UK]

STURBO said:

I think the above replies are a bit harsh.

The OP bought a used car from a dealer with a 3 month warranty. It's still in warranty. I'd expect a warranty to cover a gearbox failure in that timeframe.

For those saying tough, just what items would you expect a 3 month warranty to cover?

I do have to agree - they could use the wear and tear argument to get out of paying for anything, given the age / mileage of the car. If so, what is the point of the warranty? Warranty company should pay up to be honest!

[leefee]

As a trader, i too think its a wee bit harsh, i would expect to be making some contribution to the customer and would be trying to make better an unfortunate situation, however,its a sub 2k car, and has been said isn't new. In my experience, the cheaper the car the more reluctant the customers are to pay anything towards repairs to what is ultimately their car.

[andymc]

leefee said:

As a trader, i too think its a wee bit harsh, i would expect to be making some contribution to the customer and would be trying to make better an unfortunate situation, however,its a sub 2k car, and has been said isn't new. In my experience, the cheaper the car the more reluctant the customers are to pay anything towards repairs to what is ultimately their car.

what he said, the car was priced right at £1700, its certainly not cheap as they are ten a penny, warranty companies will never pay out, its how they make their money, your best bet is appealing to the guy's better nature as legally you won't get anywhere, offer to pay labour and ask for him to pay for the parts?

[rennies]

Thanks everyone for replying (albeit a tad disheartening) a couple of days after I bought the car the rear window dropped open so a friend in the trade to it to his garage to repair it. He noticed the gears were 'grindy' but as I had already said I was going to get the car properly looked over while it was still in warranty (something needed resetting in the instrument panel amongst half a dozen other little faults)he didn't pursue it with me. So I guess I bought the car with the fault, he is willing to put this in a letter. The warranty states that it does cover major mechanical faults in particular the gearbox. I am getting the impression that fair wear and tear is a pretty grey area.

Excuse my naivety but I know I can get a 2nd hand gearbox from ebay (is this the best place considering I cant get to breakers yards) - can you get 2nd hand clutches? Or do they have to be new? Thinking if I can get some figures together and negotiate with the dealer and avoid court.

Edited by rennies on Tuesday 18th March 08:08

[Silverbullet767]

That's unlucky, I hope you get it sorted. Next time you buy a car, give a few beer tokens to your friend in the trade and get them to come along with you to check your next car out. It could save you headaches like this in the future. Hindsight is a wonderful thing I know!

[Monty Python]

There's a difference here between "worn out" and "faulty".

In this case, it may be that the gearbox was at the end of it's life, in which case the failure isn't down to a fault but natural wear and tear. If, however, something failed inside the gearbox which caused it to fail then that would be covered by the warranty. How you go about proving what happened could be costly in itself.

[Snowboy]

rennies said:

... as I had already said I was going to get the car properly looked over while it was still in warranty
-snip-

In general, a warranty only steps in if something breakes.
Getting it looked over and hoping the warranty will pay to fix things isn't a great tactic really.

Next time I'd suggest getting the car inspected before you buy it. That way you'll be able to make an informed decision.

Also, my rule of used car buying is that the car will cost you 10-15% of the purchase price in the first year in unexpected bills - and to budget accordingly.

[LuS1fer]

The problem with gearboxes is what has worn or broken. if it's the clutch, it's wear and tear.

If the gearbox has physically broken, it's an arguable warranty claim but, in tat respect, if it has functioned correctly, they could simply argue you are a bad driver and broke it yourself. I'm not saying you are but, as an example, if you bought a car and then rallied it for 24 hours and it broke, the warranty isn't going to help.

[paintman]

If you put your location in your profile instead of 'United Kingdom' you might find someone can recommend a local breakers (or even a local gearbox specialist). Unusual now for breakers to have private people dismantling cars in their yard & most of the bits I buy have been removed from the vehicle so its just a collection job. The ones I use do give a 'if its dead when fitted we'll replace/refund' but don't expect more than that, you certainly won't get fitting/removal costs etc back.
A used clutch isn't worth bothering with, bear in mind the work involved if it turns out to be duff.

Edited by paintman on Tuesday 18th March 08:44