Problems with car after Trader purchase
Discussion
Good morning all,
first time i have had this experience so looking for some advice and guidance on what to do. two days ago i took delivery of a Vauxhall Zafira after the one i bought privately in july has sufffered engine problems resulting in expensive repairs which i cannot justify (or afford) due to working 2 jobs and needing a car on the road. I Went to view the car about 3 weeks ago and had a walk around it and a quick test drive. I will not name the trader yet for obvious reasons. The car had a few small issues such as bootlid struts not holding up and the center console lights not working but i ignored these as i was planning to take these out of my old car. The other thing that instantly caught my eye was a light on the dash which had a "car and spanner" illuminated. I pointed this out to the trader and he said that it would all be sorted before the car is delivered as it will come with a fresh MOT & Service (Both of which i haven't seen paperwork of yet)
On the test drive i noticed the car was juddering and not getting any power out a few times. Again i brought this up to the trader and the same was said that it would be rectified with any other problems the car has before being sold. I didn't argue with that. We agreed a price which was £95 cheaper then what it was originally up for and i also agreed to take out a 12 month gold warranty with a company called centurion who the trader highly reccommended and said that no clients had yet to go through them. Paid a deposit that day and agreed to collect the car on the following wednesday as this was his turnaround for getting the car a full service and new MOT. Cut to wednesday and when phoning to arrange collection of the car, i get told that it's still not ready as the judder and light on the dash that i mentioned on the test drive was due to a "lambada(sp?) sensor" and the mechanic will need to order a new part for it to be fixed. He also said it was also due to lack of fuel in the car. I Get given a new date of Friday to collect. I had no car at this point so it was long cycle commute/lift sharing in the meantime.
Roll on to Friday and i get told i can come down at 1600 hrs to collect the car. Get transport down (Trader is 35 miles away) and when getting there i get told that the car is "still not ready" due to a fault with the dials not working. I get told to call tomorrow and if still not ready then they will deliver to me once fixed. I also get given a courtesy car in the meantime (which i have just seen is for sale on their site and not in the condition it's shown) At this point i was a little angry but i put it's the first time i have dealt with a car from trade so gave it the benefit of the doubt. Saturday bought no updates so left it there until the following week.
Tuesday comes and i get a call at lunchtime saying the car is ready and can be delivered at a convenient time. Once home i meet the Valeter who is delivering the car on behalf of his boss. I take it for a quick drive down a street to make sure all is well. I don't see any lights on the dash at this point and don't see any mileage indictor or any dials moving. Take the car back to the house and get the offer or having the car and a mechanic be sent down the following day or have the car taken back to be rectified. I take the latter. At this point i ask for half price off the warranty since when the car officially gets signed over as i was getting annoyed at this point. The car is taken back and i am still left with the courtesy car. The valeter was adimant the dials were working on the drive down....
I should note, at this point no V5 has been signed, although i had the car taxed and insured from the day i was originally due to collect.
I phone up the following day asking where we are and i get told that the instrument cluster will be replaced with a new part as the mechanic had previously soldered some wires on the old one and that they must have come away. I give it the benefit of the doubt as if it's a new part then should be no issues after that. I don't make any calls at this point. Fast forward to the follwing Tuesday and i get a call at lunch saying that all is fixed and it can now be re-delivered. We agree on a time (1700hrs) and meet then after getting home from work. Take the car out again for a quick drive and all appears well. The dials are all working and no iffy lights on the dash. Took the car back home and had a quick look under the bonnet and all seeemed ok (Not a mechanic so could only check basics like oil/water etc) after signing the V5, the valeter left and i again finally had my own car.
Drove it to work the following morning and about 3 miles out i get the juddering issue that happened on the test drive. Didn't think too much of it at the time. The drive home however confirmed to me that the car still has the Judder issue and when accellerating, it was holding back massively. Not happy at this point but i had a second job to go to so didn't have any time to sit down and make phone calls etc. Just come into work this morning and the problem has got worse. It's happening at junctions now which is cleary dangerous and not helpful on a big hill i need to drive up on the way home. I just had a look at the engine bay this morning as well as i saw a bit of smoke coming out from under the bonnet. It appears to be leaking oil from the head and onto the manifold in a fair bit of quantity as well......joy. Really don't need this at the moment.
I'm just about to phone the trader directly but i wanted to post this up first for advice. The warranty is active but wanted to speak to the trader beforehand to see what can be done. I tried a "pedal test" last night when getting home which should throw up some fault codes (if any) but didn't seem to work. I have been told it could be down to EGR/MAF or Coilpack & plugs on a vauxhall facebook page.
Any responses will be greatly appreciated and apologies for a wall of text.
Many thanks.
first time i have had this experience so looking for some advice and guidance on what to do. two days ago i took delivery of a Vauxhall Zafira after the one i bought privately in july has sufffered engine problems resulting in expensive repairs which i cannot justify (or afford) due to working 2 jobs and needing a car on the road. I Went to view the car about 3 weeks ago and had a walk around it and a quick test drive. I will not name the trader yet for obvious reasons. The car had a few small issues such as bootlid struts not holding up and the center console lights not working but i ignored these as i was planning to take these out of my old car. The other thing that instantly caught my eye was a light on the dash which had a "car and spanner" illuminated. I pointed this out to the trader and he said that it would all be sorted before the car is delivered as it will come with a fresh MOT & Service (Both of which i haven't seen paperwork of yet)
On the test drive i noticed the car was juddering and not getting any power out a few times. Again i brought this up to the trader and the same was said that it would be rectified with any other problems the car has before being sold. I didn't argue with that. We agreed a price which was £95 cheaper then what it was originally up for and i also agreed to take out a 12 month gold warranty with a company called centurion who the trader highly reccommended and said that no clients had yet to go through them. Paid a deposit that day and agreed to collect the car on the following wednesday as this was his turnaround for getting the car a full service and new MOT. Cut to wednesday and when phoning to arrange collection of the car, i get told that it's still not ready as the judder and light on the dash that i mentioned on the test drive was due to a "lambada(sp?) sensor" and the mechanic will need to order a new part for it to be fixed. He also said it was also due to lack of fuel in the car. I Get given a new date of Friday to collect. I had no car at this point so it was long cycle commute/lift sharing in the meantime.
Roll on to Friday and i get told i can come down at 1600 hrs to collect the car. Get transport down (Trader is 35 miles away) and when getting there i get told that the car is "still not ready" due to a fault with the dials not working. I get told to call tomorrow and if still not ready then they will deliver to me once fixed. I also get given a courtesy car in the meantime (which i have just seen is for sale on their site and not in the condition it's shown) At this point i was a little angry but i put it's the first time i have dealt with a car from trade so gave it the benefit of the doubt. Saturday bought no updates so left it there until the following week.
Tuesday comes and i get a call at lunchtime saying the car is ready and can be delivered at a convenient time. Once home i meet the Valeter who is delivering the car on behalf of his boss. I take it for a quick drive down a street to make sure all is well. I don't see any lights on the dash at this point and don't see any mileage indictor or any dials moving. Take the car back to the house and get the offer or having the car and a mechanic be sent down the following day or have the car taken back to be rectified. I take the latter. At this point i ask for half price off the warranty since when the car officially gets signed over as i was getting annoyed at this point. The car is taken back and i am still left with the courtesy car. The valeter was adimant the dials were working on the drive down....
I should note, at this point no V5 has been signed, although i had the car taxed and insured from the day i was originally due to collect.
I phone up the following day asking where we are and i get told that the instrument cluster will be replaced with a new part as the mechanic had previously soldered some wires on the old one and that they must have come away. I give it the benefit of the doubt as if it's a new part then should be no issues after that. I don't make any calls at this point. Fast forward to the follwing Tuesday and i get a call at lunch saying that all is fixed and it can now be re-delivered. We agree on a time (1700hrs) and meet then after getting home from work. Take the car out again for a quick drive and all appears well. The dials are all working and no iffy lights on the dash. Took the car back home and had a quick look under the bonnet and all seeemed ok (Not a mechanic so could only check basics like oil/water etc) after signing the V5, the valeter left and i again finally had my own car.
Drove it to work the following morning and about 3 miles out i get the juddering issue that happened on the test drive. Didn't think too much of it at the time. The drive home however confirmed to me that the car still has the Judder issue and when accellerating, it was holding back massively. Not happy at this point but i had a second job to go to so didn't have any time to sit down and make phone calls etc. Just come into work this morning and the problem has got worse. It's happening at junctions now which is cleary dangerous and not helpful on a big hill i need to drive up on the way home. I just had a look at the engine bay this morning as well as i saw a bit of smoke coming out from under the bonnet. It appears to be leaking oil from the head and onto the manifold in a fair bit of quantity as well......joy. Really don't need this at the moment.
I'm just about to phone the trader directly but i wanted to post this up first for advice. The warranty is active but wanted to speak to the trader beforehand to see what can be done. I tried a "pedal test" last night when getting home which should throw up some fault codes (if any) but didn't seem to work. I have been told it could be down to EGR/MAF or Coilpack & plugs on a vauxhall facebook page.
Any responses will be greatly appreciated and apologies for a wall of text.
Many thanks.
t400ble said:
Sounds dire
Hows old is it?
Petrol? Diesel? Miles?
Spoke to the trader?
Sorry i should of added.Hows old is it?
Petrol? Diesel? Miles?
Spoke to the trader?
04 Plate and Petrol (1.6)
Going to phone him at 1030 hrs and go from there. Find it odd though that recent dealings with the car have all been through his valeter and not him directly.
Stop buying Zafiras!
Not helpful I know but alarm bells should have rung with all the problems when you first wne to view it and lack of action by the dealer.
Best you can hope for is the dealer sorts out the issues but you are without transport during this time.
How much was the warranty and what does it cover?
Not helpful I know but alarm bells should have rung with all the problems when you first wne to view it and lack of action by the dealer.
Best you can hope for is the dealer sorts out the issues but you are without transport during this time.
How much was the warranty and what does it cover?
start looking for another car and request your money back as the vehicle is not fit for purpose. The nature of the fault is dangerous and could lead to an accident if the car judders and holds at the wrong time.
I assume this is not a franchised dealer given the age and value of the vehicle so I doubt the dealer is going to want to invest much more in buying parts trying to rectify the faults.
I assume this is not a franchised dealer given the age and value of the vehicle so I doubt the dealer is going to want to invest much more in buying parts trying to rectify the faults.
How many alarm bells did you want before delivery?! You shouldve run a mile.
At the 1195 price point I fear your "warranty" won't be covering much.
If buying cars at that price the dealer is going to be spending very very little on prep or his profit evaporates.
In that price bracket, I'd be looking for a private sale (not a driveway trader) from someone who had owned the car a good amount time. Make sure it had 12 months MOT and ensure it drives well. I'd wager you'll get a better car that way than some bottom of the market trader looking for a few hundred quid on auction/dealer trade in skips.
At the 1195 price point I fear your "warranty" won't be covering much.
If buying cars at that price the dealer is going to be spending very very little on prep or his profit evaporates.
In that price bracket, I'd be looking for a private sale (not a driveway trader) from someone who had owned the car a good amount time. Make sure it had 12 months MOT and ensure it drives well. I'd wager you'll get a better car that way than some bottom of the market trader looking for a few hundred quid on auction/dealer trade in skips.
Thanks for all the responses guys that kind of you.
Any other recommendations for 7 seaters? Looked at 2nd hand Ford Galaxy's for now?
I did have concerns in the back of my mind but thought that being a trader and with warranty i was doing it the correct way after having just had £1100 go down the pan with the private sale in july.
The warranty is a 12 month warranty which according to the pamphlet covers everything bar oil leaks. Going to phone them shortly and see what they can offer in the meantime. Still no answer from the trader.
Just want my money back now to be honest.
Any other recommendations for 7 seaters? Looked at 2nd hand Ford Galaxy's for now?
I did have concerns in the back of my mind but thought that being a trader and with warranty i was doing it the correct way after having just had £1100 go down the pan with the private sale in july.
The warranty is a 12 month warranty which according to the pamphlet covers everything bar oil leaks. Going to phone them shortly and see what they can offer in the meantime. Still no answer from the trader.
Just want my money back now to be honest.
XslaneyX said:
Thanks for all the responses guys that kind of you.
Any other recommendations for 7 seaters? Looked at 2nd hand Ford Galaxy's for now?
I did have concerns in the back of my mind but thought that being a trader and with warranty i was doing it the correct way after having just had £1100 go down the pan with the private sale in july.
The warranty is a 12 month warranty which according to the pamphlet covers everything bar oil leaks. Going to phone them shortly and see what they can offer in the meantime. Still no answer from the trader.
Just want my money back now to be honest.
Warranty will not cover a pre-existing fault.Any other recommendations for 7 seaters? Looked at 2nd hand Ford Galaxy's for now?
I did have concerns in the back of my mind but thought that being a trader and with warranty i was doing it the correct way after having just had £1100 go down the pan with the private sale in july.
The warranty is a 12 month warranty which according to the pamphlet covers everything bar oil leaks. Going to phone them shortly and see what they can offer in the meantime. Still no answer from the trader.
Just want my money back now to be honest.
Pursue the dealer, not the warranty
RE the shuddering, check/get checked the spark plugs.
SWMBO's meriva has the same engine in, and last year it started going shuddery at 30/40 mph, then it went shuddery and blinked the EML, then it went into full on limp mode over 35mph over the course of a week.
Error code pointed to the coilpack (sits across the top of the engine under the stupid palstic cover). I had a look, and 1 spark plug had a big chunk out of the ceramic tip holder, the other 3 were well past it. 4 new plugs for <£10 later, voila, all fixed.
Check that first before hitting ebay for a coil pack (providing you have no result with the dealer of course)
SWMBO's meriva has the same engine in, and last year it started going shuddery at 30/40 mph, then it went shuddery and blinked the EML, then it went into full on limp mode over 35mph over the course of a week.
Error code pointed to the coilpack (sits across the top of the engine under the stupid palstic cover). I had a look, and 1 spark plug had a big chunk out of the ceramic tip holder, the other 3 were well past it. 4 new plugs for <£10 later, voila, all fixed.
Check that first before hitting ebay for a coil pack (providing you have no result with the dealer of course)
Also, RE the oil leak, where is it coming from? If the rocker cover (so between the very top part and the middle bit), then a cheap gasket is your friend. Again, our one leaked oil from here, which runs down onto the manifold cover, cue lots of smoke (be careful when topping it up with oil, which it will drink at 1.2l every 1k) as it's very easy to slop some down there, then get a worried phonecall the next day from SWMBO saying 'my cars on fire', that's fun when you're 25 miles away at work...
Have you looked at the engine in detail to see where things could be wrong? Take off the engine cover (2 torx bolts) and leave it off, it rattles anyway. At the RHS towards the back should be a small rubber pipe that comes out of the rocker cover, then ebnds 90 degrees and connects to a metal pipe that dissapears down. Take that pipe off and see if it's mayo'd up and blocked (the mayo isn't an issue itself as long as no other OMGHGF symptoms are present), but short cold journeys gum it up, ours constantly has half a cm of gunk around the pipe with a clear run down the middle, it's just the engine sadly. A good long thrash clears it normally (we do thame to peterborough a fair bit and a good speed run up the M40/M25 and A1 clears it's throat.
Have you looked at the engine in detail to see where things could be wrong? Take off the engine cover (2 torx bolts) and leave it off, it rattles anyway. At the RHS towards the back should be a small rubber pipe that comes out of the rocker cover, then ebnds 90 degrees and connects to a metal pipe that dissapears down. Take that pipe off and see if it's mayo'd up and blocked (the mayo isn't an issue itself as long as no other OMGHGF symptoms are present), but short cold journeys gum it up, ours constantly has half a cm of gunk around the pipe with a clear run down the middle, it's just the engine sadly. A good long thrash clears it normally (we do thame to peterborough a fair bit and a good speed run up the M40/M25 and A1 clears it's throat.
Also, with the EML re-occuring, I bet he's just 'turning it off' rather than fixing something. If you have an android phone, a <£8 bluetooth OBD2 reader and torque free on your phone/tablet will help, I bought this to fix the EML issue on ours as mentioned above, been a valuable bit of kit so far!
I did the pedal test on ours and it did work though, and gave me the same error code as the OBD reader did.
I did the pedal test on ours and it did work though, and gave me the same error code as the OBD reader did.
Still no answer from the trade seller today. Popped into a garage locally as the service sheet provided their details. They said the EML light was on at the time but was noted as an advisory. This was back in june.
They also said it was a dog and if it was theirs then get money back. Think that's the plan if i can make contact
They also said it was a dog and if it was theirs then get money back. Think that's the plan if i can make contact
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