Not Happy with offer to fix faulty car.

Nelly

New Member
Feb 4, 2009
2
0
0
Hi,
This has gone on for a while but i'll try and put all the facts in while keeping it brief.
I bought a mitsubishi animal 4x4 for £8500 from a dealer sold as full service history in excellent codition with 54000 miles and 2005 model.
After 9 weeks it broke down and needs a new engine because of a faulty fuel injector. Repair stands at £2400.
Dealer denied liability all along and has only after 4months and many letters and calls just offered to pay for the repair.
They did offer one of their old trade in cars as a loan in the first week, I refused it as I didnt trust any of their vehicles anymore.
They tried to palm my fault off on anyone else they could. Its been around 5 months off the road now, i have of course incurred some hire car costs in the meantime, £750 for part of the time when I needed a car which only started a month after breakdown and £211 to strip the engine at first.
Also after rooting through paperwork for the car that I was given at the time of sale I found out that a replacement engine was installed 10months before I bought it. I was never told of this by the dealer and was led to believe the car was 'stunning'.
Im at a point where I either accept the paid repair and cut my losses or take the dealer to the small claims court and try to get the repair and my costs. All this messing around and then I have to try and sell the car when its fixed because I cant bear for this to happen again.
What would my chances be in court? Or should I just settle at a loss? I would love to just reject the car but dont think thats an option now.
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
Hi Nelly,

Have you seen this guide?

Consumer Rights when Buying a Car | Consumer Information

Given the circumstance I think you are well within your rights to request a refund as it has been off the road for so long. I think most reasonable people would agree - 5 years is not a long time and 54,000 is low, but who know what the replaced engine did.

The garage could be in breach of the: Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 | Consumer Information

This doesn't really help you, but Trading Standards will be very interested and may prosecute:

A misleading statement could cause the average
consumer to take a different decision. For example to
decide to buy the car at the indicated price. The average
consumer may be unlikely to buy the car at that price, or
even at all, had he known its true mileage, given that the
value of a second hand car is generally determined, in
part, by its past usage
I don't think you would have bought the car if you had known its history.

Tony
 

Nelly

New Member
Feb 4, 2009
2
0
0
Thanks for the reply.
How would I go about getting my refund? The seller is sticking at just paying for the repair but it took 4 months and him denying responsability to get to this point.
With my purchase being £8500 does that take it out of the small claims court?
What would be my best course of action now?
Thanks in advance for any help.
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
Hi Nelly,

Yes the limit for a small claim is £5000 - Making a Small Claim | Consumer Information

You really need to get some legal advice - the Citizen's Advice Bureau is a good place to start.

You could get them to repair the car, sell it and then make a small claim for the cost of the hire car and having the engine stripped plus and other expenses as a direct result e.g. phone calls, days off work.

good luck

Tony
 

kris1anne

New Member
Jan 29, 2009
138
0
0
My only concern Nelly, would be that you found the information about the cars engine in the paperwork. Trading standards would look at when you received that paperwork in relationship to when you bought the car. If you had a cooling off period and that paperwork in your hand when you bought the car, it may well be asked why it took you so long to find out there was a new engine. Not trying to put you off, I absolutely agree that you should go ahead, your understanding was that the car was fit for purpose, when it fact it was not. My advise would be to go to a new garage and talk to them about the problems, ask whose fault it is and see what they say. Car issues can get complex very quickly.