2nd hand car issues - help needed please :(

theboyparker

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Jun 9, 2012
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Hi, i'm new to this forum but having looked through the existing posts cannot find the answer i am looking for.

I bought a car in March and now its stopped working and the garage i bought it from refuse to give me my money back and have called in thier legal advisors, who have basically stated thats its my fault.... the story goes like this....

I saw a C4 coupe (54 plate) in Feb, put a deposit down on it. But got a call the next day to say they had found a problem. Off it went to diesel specialist to find out the issue. After two weeks it was found to have bent some of the con rods and have two leaky injectors. So they fixed this and I happily picked up the car two weeks after (beginning of march) with the knowledge (or so I thought) that it had all be fixed. the engine work came with 12 months warranty so I was happy to proceed. Anyways got the car home and found that it was leaking diesel from the injectors, so took it back to the garage that did the work. Picked it up the next day saying it had been fixed. Got it home and it was still leaking, this time I called the garage I bought it from and they arranged for it to be taken back in. A week later (mid March-ish) I had it back and all was going well until last Monday.
I was driving home, just pulled out of a junction, changed it to second gear and the car went made, over revving etc, scared the living [%*^#@!] outta me. Managed to pull over and called AA, suspected turbo failure. Anyways got it home and called the garage who I got the car from and they arranged for it to go to another independent diesel specialist to diagnose it. Well I told them that I'm not happy with the car due to its constant faults etc and that I want my money back. They have since contacted their solicitor who sent me an email letter today stating that because I didn't notice that the oil level was higher than recommended that they will not repair it the report said that the level was 25mm over the high level, and this has caused it to over rev and damage the engine. It also says that I put oil in the car and suggests that I do not know how to maintain the car. I did no such thing and I checked the oil level which was fine the last time I checked it.



The above was two weeks ago, i sent the solicitor a letter back stating my rights under SOGA and detailed everything that had gone wrong with the car since i had had it (also provided evidence of the work that had been carried out). I also asked them to provide evidence that the car was of a roadworthy condition and that the oil level was of the correct height at the time of purchase. To finish the letter i said that if it wasnt resolved within 28days then i would be taking them to small claim court.(i got all this info from a legal advisor through work).

Today i recieved a letter back, basicaly saying that because the oil was over the level then this was my fault, but they havent even tried to provide evidence that the car was roadworthy and working correctly at time of purchase. Plus they also want to change me storage of the car, even though its not at thier garage and ive already spoken to the garage that has it and they have said its ok to keep it there for now...confused or what.

I need help as to what to do next. Do i bite the bullet and just accept that they wont do anything for me or do i go to the next level and start court proceedings?

PLEASE HELP :(
 

Witch consumer

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Sep 8, 2008
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Debtors retreat
I think there's a huge clue here in that this legal advisor wants to charge storage for the car, if he doesn't know where the car is, how can he possibly be sure what has gone wrong with it and why?

Have you got a copy of the report regarding the current fault? If not, you need to ask them for it, that plus the evidence you already have for the repairs to the engine should be enough to prove the problem lies with the garage, not you.

No way would I accept what they are saying, couple of points tho, depending on the value of the car, it may fall outside the remit of the small claims court and if you bought it on hire purchase, the finance company own the car so you should take it up with them.
 

theboyparker

New Member
Jun 9, 2012
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I think there's a huge clue here in that this legal advisor wants to charge storage for the car, if he doesn't know where the car is, how can he possibly be sure what has gone wrong with it and why?

Have you got a copy of the report regarding the current fault? If not, you need to ask them for it, that plus the evidence you already have for the repairs to the engine should be enough to prove the problem lies with the garage, not you.

No way would I accept what they are saying, couple of points tho, depending on the value of the car, it may fall outside the remit of the small claims court and if you bought it on hire purchase, the finance company own the car so you should take it up with them.
Hi thanks for the reply, Yes i have a copy of the report that the diesel specialist did. All it really says is that he started the car, noticed it was knocking, stopped the car and checked the oil which he found to be 25mm over. He hasnt really tried to find out if the oil was over for a reason i.e. contaminated etc..

The car cost just over 4k and was paid for with my savings, so the cars mine.

What should i do now...? Write back to them stating that they havent found out the root cause? Or just go for the COurt route?

I have thought about getting the garage to diagnose the problem on the engine to see if its a pre-existing fault, but its gonna cost money and im not sure if it will help.

Stew
 

ALewis

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Nov 23, 2010
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Id question this 25ml business... How did they come to this conclusion? Did they simply dipstick, or did they empty out the contents into a measuring container?
I find it quite hard to believe that with the size of an oil tank, that they can find a 25ml excess, I know nothing about oil tanks, though oil bottles are sold by the litres....

Edit: after a look at an online handbook, the oil capacity is anywhere between 3.15 and 5.8 litres = 3150-5800ml . If they can detect and state a 25ml excess without any verified equipment, good on them.
 

theboyparker

New Member
Jun 9, 2012
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Id question this 25ml business... How did they come to this conclusion? Did they simply dipstick, or did they empty out the contents into a measuring container?
I find it quite hard to believe that with the size of an oil tank, that they can find a 25ml excess, I know nothing about oil tanks, though oil bottles are sold by the litres....

Edit: after a look at an online handbook, the oil capacity is anywhere between 3.15 and 5.8 litres = 3150-5800ml . If they can detect and state a 25ml excess without any verified equipment, good on them.
Hi, the report stated that it was 25mm not 25ml over, and this was done by visual inspection on the dipstick. I've purchased an oil sampling kit which hopefully will tell me the content. If there is diesel present in the oil then hopefully this is enough grounds to say that there is a problem with the engine mixing diesel into the sump (which it shouldn't do), if this is the case than it would explain the high oil level.

What annoys me the most is that they are saying that I have adjusted my oil level, why would I do that I it's just had some major engine work. Also they haven't even attempted to find out why the oil is high.

Once I have the results back or the oil im going to be writing back to them stating the findings and ask them to enter some form of discussion with me and see where I go from there. Otherwise I'll be taking them to court for the cost of the car.

Any other ideas welcome :)
 

Witch consumer

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Sep 8, 2008
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Debtors retreat
You may be as well getting a garage or AA/RAC report, it would be a bit harder to argue with than a sample kit although there will be a cost involved.

Other than that, I think you're definitely going in the right direction, please keep us informed.
 

theboyparker

New Member
Jun 9, 2012
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Cheers for the comments :) I've sent off the oil sample today and a diesel engine specialist that I know has said the oil looks too runny just to be oil. Hopefully, fingers crossed I get more sense with an oil analysis showing diesel in the mix. They might start listening and know that I'm just not going to disappear.

I'll update shortly when I've got more info.
 

theboyparker

New Member
Jun 9, 2012
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Well i've got an update, but its not what i thought.... let me explain

End of last month we had a servere hail storm in Hinckley (thats where i live) which dented the car in question quite badly, 59 times badly. So i thought the best thing is to get the insurance to come and fix the car just in case i was lucky enough to win my argument with the garage and they could have the car back in the same condition that i bought it in (body work wise anyways).

The insurance rang me 2 days later to tell me that they think the car is not economical to repair and that they want to write the car off.... dilema or what :eek:

So after a couple of days mulling it over they gave me a decent price for the car and i accepted that i will no longer see the damn thing again.

Doesnt really help me get all my money back but to be fair i have enough stress without having to take the slime balls to court over the engine.

Oh and the oil sample came back, the result was loads of diesel present, so i sent the garage solicitor another letter asking them to read the oil report etc and that the fault would have occured from faulty injectors, got a reply back a week later still telling me to do one and take them to court if i dare lol.

Oh well its not really the outcome that i was aiming for but i got most of my money one way or another.... thanks god for the severe weather ;)

Anyways, eough rambling from me, thanks to everyone for your replies, it was most helpful and i will make sure i drop by if i ever have another problem :)

Regards

Stew :)
 

Witch consumer

Moderator
Sep 8, 2008
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Debtors retreat
Well I suppose it is a result of sorts, doesn't sort the garage out tho but even if you took them to court it would obviously be impossible to return the car in its original condition, guess you'll just have to put this one down to experience.