Hi all,

Well the purchase of the car for my son from a dealer in Essex I posted about recently did not go well.

In less than 70 miles the car had to be pulled over with a suspected head gasket failure and towed home by the AA. On delivery the brakes were smoking with a stuck disc. My son took it to an independent garage for a check over before the 70 mile journey.

So now we have the car in SE23 where he lives. The dealer offered a warranty and they say he should send it back for them to assess and hopefully repair under warranty. Citizens advice say as it was only 7-8 days after purchase he is entitled to a full refund. However, the dealer wants to deduct delivery from Colchester, warranty costs and anything they "find" my son did wrong to contribute to the fault.

Warranty says it's best we return it to the dealer, we could use a closer approved garage I guess.

Just looking for thoughts/advice and anyone that could trailer his Astra from SE23 to Colchester for a reasonable cost.

Many thanks
Ian

Guessing £1 a mile both ways is the going cost.
So about £140? You may get somebody do it for less.

It is painful buying cars. More painful when it goes wrong. Did he pay any of it on credit card?

Thanks Cliftyhanger,

Unfortunately he paid direct debit. £140 sounds about right for a quote but was hoping someone might be able to pick up on a return trip with an empty trailer for less. We can't reclaim the cost of taking the car back to the dealer. Add on the £75 excess on the warranty we're over £200. Would that be around the cost of a head gasket repair at a local garage anyway? Or a lot dearer, not sure.

Cheers

They have to give three month warranty as a matter of law so they can't use that.

I'd suggest a read about the Consumer Rights Act 2015 but the bit you want to know which I've lifted from

https://www.whatcar.com/news/your-legal-rights-if-something-goes-wrong-with-your-car/n3307

is

"What are my rights regarding a car bought from a dealer?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying any product that proves to be faulty, including new and used cars."

Also get in touch with their local trading standards

Get your money back. Simple!

[Edited on 17/6/20 by Simon]

https://www.shiply.com/lp/land/car-transport/?cat=6&utm_source=Google-PPC&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=car%20transport&utm_campaign=Car& ;gclid=CjwKCAjw_qb3BRAVEiwAvwq6VmzW7ahuKcNfizfJvURF0vjAT9frrRW-aLCZasTJCjH2DfODxwxfCBoCIUsQAvD_BwE

i used Shipley to move my car and the contents of my house, would recomend them
sesings as you had the problems, i would recomend rejecting the car as it is an omen of what is in store, they will no doubt bodge it leaving you to pick up the bill.

Yep I use Shiply too. Very good.

Sorry for you troubles, seriously annoying!!

I would ask for refund. I may be wrong but there is no way a headgasket should go even with spirited driving on a warm day.

Who knows what the cause was and what other damage was done.

Can you trust the dealer to do a proper job, if yes, then be prepared for an on going battle as other items may go wrong.

My personal experience is the warranties given are worth didly squat, in my case parts were covered, namely valve stem seals but NOT LABOUR. Guess what, the parts were pennies (it was a long time ago), labour a couple hundred.

Cut your losses and save yourself a lot of stress and possibly money.

Yes, definitely cut your losses.
Get a refund, write off the £200 as the cost of getting experience.

Best of luck, you may need it. And next time use a credit card for at least part of the payment.

And you could look into direct debit chargeback - which is a thing apparently.

Thanks for all your replies, really helpful.

I wish he had used his credit card, but we'll look into the direct debit option as that sounds interesting.

Cheers

Ian

I believe you are entitled to a full refund, if the below Money advice site

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/your-rights-if-something-is-wrong-with-your-car

steve

lets be hoenst, the garage doesn't want the car back as they know they've got a lemon & large bill before its saleable again. They'll try and get you to keep it to minimise their losses which in the current climite they'll be even less keen to incurr.

It is not a requirement of the right to reject faulty goods that they are returned to the seller. The 30 day time limit under the 2015 Act is very important.

The rights under a warranty are in addition to any statutory rights. The dealer cannot insist that you comply with the terms of a warranty.

What is also important to consider is whether the dealer is good for the money if you sue. Is it a large dealership? Does it own premises?

Just an update and query.

We sent a formal letter of "right to reject" based on legal advice.

The garage that we thought we had purchased from denies the sale, even though we have videos of the car on their forecourt.

The person we dealt with, apparently has nothing to do with the garage, says he has no responsibility, it's his business partner.

Business partner has ignored our letter and communication.

Son has had an independent mechanic to check the car out and we thought it was just a cracked header tank, replaced but now proven its the head gasket. Also someone had recently shorted out the sensor to the header tank deliberately.

Warranty won't look at it as they now say the dealer knowingly sold it like that ???

So, we are looking for an honest garage near SW23 to do the head gasket on this Astra if anyone has any recommendations please.

Thanks for all your advice above, we just got ripped off I guess.......... lessons learnt.

Ian

Hi

If the car was sold from business premises then you have a decent argument that the owner of that business was the contracting party if no other party was identified at the time. Have you tried to get the local Trading Standards officers involved?

I suggest that you ask the Warranty company who sold your son the warranty. They pay a hefty commission and will know.

If you can find a business or residential address for both of these people I would consider bringing a small claim. No costs other than the court fees - easy case to represent yourselves.

On the mechanical side.....many modern cars hate being overheated...much less robust than cars of old. Collapsing rings and warped heads are common side effects. You could bring a claim for the cost of any repairs or stick to your guns and reject the car. What is best will depend on the chances of enforcing a judgment against the seller.


Good luck

Sorry to hear of your troubles here.

Seeing it is an Astra, I have an old college acquaintance (from a very long time ago) who has set up as a performance vauxhall specialist (I know your sons car doesn’t fall into that category) who would know his way around this blind folded. Problem is he is Half an hour out from the Forest Hill area.

Sounds like a right raw deal. There must be a viable legal route. These scum bags get away with disgusting behaviour.

Thanks for your ideas and support guys.

We have kept phone records/ mobile numbers and texts, videos of delivery and number plates etc and know where the premises are "supposed" to be. We think that we have a strong case in the small claims court and with trading standards, potentially with the police for fraud.

However, we are now reluctant to push ahead formally as these guys have my son's address and the car is parked outside. We are thinking that pushing them too far down the legal route might not be the wisest choice, unfortunately.

Big T, if you are willing to share your college acquaintance details, along with a name he will know you by, through u2u I can pass them on to my son to request a quote.

Many thanks
Ian