Thoughts on this defect , second hand car.
Discussion
Hi all,
The FIL has purchased a 2nd hand car for my wife, I located it on line, at a dealer about an hour from where they live, 2.5 hours from me. I spoke to the sales guy and the FIL popped down to have a look at it, where a few issues were noted, I then discussed these with the sales guy and agreed to one of them being sorted, it was sorted and then it was delivered a week later to us.
Issues noted
Drivers side headlight cracked - agreed to be sorted, sent to a specialist for a new lens
Speedo plastic cracked - oh well, ill sort at a later date.
Issues noted since delivery
Passenger side headlight lense is badly damaged - this is the main one I'm concered about
Few dents allover - I can get a dent guy out
Missing mats - it came from BCA without them, I've sourced some OEM £30
Looks like its had paint on one of the doors , nothing comes up on a car check etc.
So the passenge side headlight, as you can see has cracked allover that you can feel in the plastic and its cloudy inside, compared to the drivers side one which is lovely and clear.
The sales guy did say that the drivers side lense had pretty much wiped out their margin on the car, they offered us a generous trade in for our old car as well.
How would you proceed? I sent them pictures a few days ago but haven't heart anything back since, is it worth pushing for either some money towards it going to the specialist or 100% towards it going to the specialist? sucker it up as the FIL should have noticed it?
These are "LED Matrix" headlights so not cheap even second hand. FIL payed cash (bank transfer)
The FIL has purchased a 2nd hand car for my wife, I located it on line, at a dealer about an hour from where they live, 2.5 hours from me. I spoke to the sales guy and the FIL popped down to have a look at it, where a few issues were noted, I then discussed these with the sales guy and agreed to one of them being sorted, it was sorted and then it was delivered a week later to us.
Issues noted
Drivers side headlight cracked - agreed to be sorted, sent to a specialist for a new lens
Speedo plastic cracked - oh well, ill sort at a later date.
Issues noted since delivery
Passenger side headlight lense is badly damaged - this is the main one I'm concered about
Few dents allover - I can get a dent guy out
Missing mats - it came from BCA without them, I've sourced some OEM £30
Looks like its had paint on one of the doors , nothing comes up on a car check etc.
So the passenge side headlight, as you can see has cracked allover that you can feel in the plastic and its cloudy inside, compared to the drivers side one which is lovely and clear.
The sales guy did say that the drivers side lense had pretty much wiped out their margin on the car, they offered us a generous trade in for our old car as well.
How would you proceed? I sent them pictures a few days ago but haven't heart anything back since, is it worth pushing for either some money towards it going to the specialist or 100% towards it going to the specialist? sucker it up as the FIL should have noticed it?
These are "LED Matrix" headlights so not cheap even second hand. FIL payed cash (bank transfer)
the-norseman said:
The FIL has purchased a 2nd hand car for my wife, I located it on line
The "car expert" of the family has fallen short. As above really, you bought it before you inspected* it. Then you have confused cosmetic defects with faults.- You may have superficially inspected it before, but you didn't notice, or act upon, issues which were there to see and would have been far simpler to resolve (or choose a different car) pre-purchase.
Maybe try wet sanding and polishing up to see if there is any improvement.
If not look into changing the lens yourself or pricing the repair up with the same specialist that did the drivers one.
As others have said, that was there to be seen when purchased. Is it bad enough a defect to warrant a rejection? I doubt it. Would it pass an MOT? More likely than not.
If not look into changing the lens yourself or pricing the repair up with the same specialist that did the drivers one.
As others have said, that was there to be seen when purchased. Is it bad enough a defect to warrant a rejection? I doubt it. Would it pass an MOT? More likely than not.
the-norseman said:
Passenger side headlight lense is badly damaged - this is the main one I'm concered about
These are "LED Matrix" headlights so not cheap even second hand. (bank transfer)
I'd be concerned too, will it need replacing at the next MOT?These are "LED Matrix" headlights so not cheap even second hand. (bank transfer)
Get down to your MOT place, where you'll be taking it next year, ask them if it's a fail now. (they'll need to put it on the beam/pattern checker.)
the-norseman said:
I suspected the concencious would be that it should have been noticed on inspection, I'll run it down the local MOT place see what they say, if they say they will fail it then I'll get back in contact with the garage.
If it's a fail, it would be good to understand if that makes the car unroadworthy - it's a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car.You can get the lenses replaced but will need to send off the complete headlight
https://skippys-restore.co.uk/
https://skippys-restore.co.uk/
steve2 said:
You can get the lenses replaced but will need to send off the complete headlight
https://skippys-restore.co.uk/
Are they still operating, as half the links are broken and their Facebook page doesn't load (for me).https://skippys-restore.co.uk/
Also, this...
facebook said:
Scam alert: beware of headlight lens replacement scam
https://www.facebook.com/groups/8490191161059746/posts/24587644824221123/
ilikejam said:
SpeckledJim said:
I think you've got the two stage process of deciding whether you want to buy it, and buying it, in the wrong order.
Richard-390a0 said:
Unbelievable isn't it, unless you're willing to accept sucking up unseen issues don't buy remotely & expect the car to be issue free, especially when secondhand ffs!
I am sucking up some unseen issue such as the dents, mats etc.Do you not think the lens of a 5 year old LED headlight being cracked like in the first photo a bit excessive?
the-norseman said:
I am sucking up some unseen issue such as the dents, mats etc.
Do you not think the lens of a 5 year old LED headlight being cracked like in the first photo a bit excessive?
Its not great. But, I am not sure if its an MoT failure or a safety issue. It depends on the nature and severity of the cracking, for example if it affects the light beam or severely reduces the output. Its definitely something which buyers should be aware of, since it could worsen over time and headlamps are an expensive item to replace now. Do you not think the lens of a 5 year old LED headlight being cracked like in the first photo a bit excessive?
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