Resently bought used car un-drive-able
Discussion
Hi everyone,
Can anyone give me advice please?
I bought a car recently after 2.5weeks the cracks began to show and local garage said we had thousands of pounds of work needing to be done and now I've had it for 6 weeks and it isn't drive able and the cost of the repairs almost match what we paid for it. The person who sold it is not wanting to take responsibility so far and claims it was fine when we bought it.
We have written two letters and we are approaching the cut off date before we peruse this matter to court, which of course we want to avoid!
We would like all issues fixed or a refund is this reasonable?
Has anyone had a similar experience, and what was the outcome?
As a car sales person what would you deem fair?
Any advice will be very much appreciated,
Thank you
Can anyone give me advice please?
I bought a car recently after 2.5weeks the cracks began to show and local garage said we had thousands of pounds of work needing to be done and now I've had it for 6 weeks and it isn't drive able and the cost of the repairs almost match what we paid for it. The person who sold it is not wanting to take responsibility so far and claims it was fine when we bought it.
We have written two letters and we are approaching the cut off date before we peruse this matter to court, which of course we want to avoid!
We would like all issues fixed or a refund is this reasonable?
Has anyone had a similar experience, and what was the outcome?
As a car sales person what would you deem fair?
Any advice will be very much appreciated,
Thank you
Edited by John17 on Thursday 12th June 19:19
Edited by John17 on Thursday 12th June 19:21
Edited by John17 on Thursday 12th June 21:47
John17 said:
Small dealer and was discribed as being in very good mechanical order.
10yrs old, 90,000miles paid the going market rate.
What exactly does it need to warrant 'thousands of pounds spend'?10yrs old, 90,000miles paid the going market rate.
If it is as you say; un-driveable, you may have a case with trading standards with the car not being fit for its sole purpose. Beyond that, trading standards won't pursue this by virtue of the car's age and relative low value (I'm assuming it's no Porsche 911). What was the m.o.t situation when the car was supplied to you? Just so you know; Trading standards/ombudsman take a fairly diplomatic and open minded approach when it comes to smaller dealers selling older cars. Should you go down this route - they do expect the owner to take responsibility and accept that bits and pieces will fail as commensurate with the car's age and mileage. This isn't to say that these dealers can get a way with things, but I'm one and had a case on my hands last year when I sold an eleven y.o. Golf GT TDI. Mechanically superb cars as we all know, and this was a low ownership example with full history. I sold the car with good intentions however didn't have a crystal ball to foresee what might crop up on a 52 plate car. The turbo failed a month after purchase, the disgruntled customer went straight down the trading standards route and was informed by them that I was not duty-bound to put the car right. A dealer friend of mine had similar on a much higher value car. He sold a high mileage BMW 535d, the small turbo through its hand in and although he did contribute towards the cost of replacement, this was out of good will, he was not obliged to do so. Anyway, I digress!
OK I will give all the facts. I was reluctant to do that in case of being identified. But I guess that is not such a big issue. The car is a 2004 Volvo XC90 and cost £6,500. There was no service history so the dealer did not offer any warranty. But his advert claimed "the car has been checked over and is in very good mechanical condition". I noticed the radio was not working properly, not working most of the time and then coming on at random times. So I took the car to a mechanic and he checked that and other aspects of the car. He gave me a report saying the computer needed repairing or replacing. He also found that the turbo would very soon need to be replaced and the gearbox was not the original one but from a scrapyard and also needed replacing very soon. There is also a problem with the steering rack and a leak in the power steering system. I paid £6,500 for the car and the bill for repairs will cost almost as much as that. When I wrote to the dealer to ask for a repair/replacement/refund he claimed that the vehicle had undergone a pre-delivery inspection and that none of these faults were present at the time, which is clearly disingenuous and deceitful. I have now sent a 'letter before action' stating that if he is stating that the faults were not present at the time of the inspection, it means he did check those things and found them to be in good order. Which they cannot really have been, given what my mechanic's report said.
So my question is: do I have a case to claim for some of the repairs to be paid for? Thanks in advance.
So my question is: do I have a case to claim for some of the repairs to be paid for? Thanks in advance.
You have my sympathies... Can't really help with specifics but sounds like you should be due something, somehow.
You've only gone and bought what is a horribly complicated and expensive to fix car and I'd also say 6.5k is relatively cheap for an xc90. They are bloody great when they work though.
Good luck.
You've only gone and bought what is a horribly complicated and expensive to fix car and I'd also say 6.5k is relatively cheap for an xc90. They are bloody great when they work though.
Good luck.
I would get a second opinion, perhaps from Volvo themselves or a very reputable indy. Get a true picture of what exactly is going on. How does your mechanic know the gearbox is from a scrapper? I would want verified documentation of the faults to present to the seller, with costs before I pursued further.
No service history would put me off. It wouldn't put me off a £500 snotter, but on something that has cost over £6k?
I know you don't want to hear the above, but I do wonder if it makes your case that little bit more difficult.
You could always have a read through this thread for reference (that's why the OP created it):
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I know you don't want to hear the above, but I do wonder if it makes your case that little bit more difficult.
You could always have a read through this thread for reference (that's why the OP created it):
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Hi, I have read your post, I have a few comments.
The car has done 90,000 miles it must be assumed that a lot of mechanical items are now part way to wearing out ( 3/4 1/2 who can predict but they are wearing out)
You are driving it around and notice the radio not working,you took it to a garage who told you it needed a repair to the computer and that the gearbox and turbo would need replacing "soon". I am unsure how you can reliably predict the failure of either...(is that 10,000 miles 20,000 miles????)
Why did you not take it bake to the seller to fix the radio?
What makes you sure the garage predicting the demise of Box and turbo are correct?, after all you have not mentioned either giving cause for concern.
How does the garage know that the gearbox came from a scrapyard? rather that a specialist vehicle dismantler?
You have a geniune case re the radio and steering leak, the rest is just one mans eductaed prediction verses anothers, which one you choose to believe depends on where you stand.
The car has done 90,000 miles it must be assumed that a lot of mechanical items are now part way to wearing out ( 3/4 1/2 who can predict but they are wearing out)
You are driving it around and notice the radio not working,you took it to a garage who told you it needed a repair to the computer and that the gearbox and turbo would need replacing "soon". I am unsure how you can reliably predict the failure of either...(is that 10,000 miles 20,000 miles????)
Why did you not take it bake to the seller to fix the radio?
What makes you sure the garage predicting the demise of Box and turbo are correct?, after all you have not mentioned either giving cause for concern.
How does the garage know that the gearbox came from a scrapyard? rather that a specialist vehicle dismantler?
You have a geniune case re the radio and steering leak, the rest is just one mans eductaed prediction verses anothers, which one you choose to believe depends on where you stand.
To be fair John, you must have test driven the car before buying it and not noticed anything wrong with the Turbo or Gearbox. As for the Radio - the dealer will have to fix that if its not working.
You'll struggle to get anything from the dealer for things that "will need replacing soon".
Power steering leak - as with the radio the dealer will need to sort that.
I never understand why people are happy to fork out a small fortune on a car but only decide to properly check it over after they've bought it. As someone said above, the lack of service history would set alarm bells ringing for me and I would have walked away. Sorry to be blunt.
I'd approach the dealer with a list of genuine, current faults (not future maybe ones) and see where he stands on getting them sorted out. Go from there first and see if you can get the Radio and steering leak sorted out.
The gearbox and turbo - not sure how you're going to get anything done unless they fail completely within 3 months of buying the car. Have you priced up a warranty from an external company?
You'll struggle to get anything from the dealer for things that "will need replacing soon".
Power steering leak - as with the radio the dealer will need to sort that.
I never understand why people are happy to fork out a small fortune on a car but only decide to properly check it over after they've bought it. As someone said above, the lack of service history would set alarm bells ringing for me and I would have walked away. Sorry to be blunt.
I'd approach the dealer with a list of genuine, current faults (not future maybe ones) and see where he stands on getting them sorted out. Go from there first and see if you can get the Radio and steering leak sorted out.
The gearbox and turbo - not sure how you're going to get anything done unless they fail completely within 3 months of buying the car. Have you priced up a warranty from an external company?
What "computer" needs repairing? The radio on an XC90 and all Volvo's of this generation is on the CAN network but usually if they play up, it is the actual radio its self or the amp under the driver's seat has got wet during a valet.
Has the machanic read it with a proper Volvo VIDA diagnostic kit? Nothing else really begins to give any accurate informaiton on faults like these on a Volvo.
As for the gearbox, it is either going forward and backwards and changing gear like a gearbox should or it is not. It will go wrong eventually - they all do - but the point is whether it is working or not at point of sale - not in 6 months time.
Why, specifically, is the car undrivable?
Has the machanic read it with a proper Volvo VIDA diagnostic kit? Nothing else really begins to give any accurate informaiton on faults like these on a Volvo.
As for the gearbox, it is either going forward and backwards and changing gear like a gearbox should or it is not. It will go wrong eventually - they all do - but the point is whether it is working or not at point of sale - not in 6 months time.
Why, specifically, is the car undrivable?
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