I recently purchased a Ford Focus car from a trader on Thursday, 25th February 2010 for £1995 paying in full by M&S Money credit card (mastercard). They (mastercard) have said as I already have the vehicle, they can't refund me as I have to go through Trading Standards route to reject the car. In view of below, do I have grounds to reject car and/or pursue credit card issuer - can i use chargeback facility through card issuer ?- i learnt this was a possible option after I called them
I have already emailed the dealer about the below issues asking for a full refund (perhaps I should not have done this at this stage but I was and still am disappointed with the car) but to my horror when I telephoned to chase up, he was verging on the rude and dismissed my issues saying that I was expecting too much from the car and that I was being pedantic etc . He actually indicated he had put my email in the bin!. Because I had asked for a refund, he basically told me where to go and that I would only get a refund from him after going through trading standards and a 3 month wait. He was also not willing to discuss possible remedies initially but then reluctantly indicated he might look at the engine management light - the dealer is a 100 mile round trip.
A summary of events so far is listed below
• The ‘Engine management light’, has now come on permanently both yesterday evening and today. Of course, we do not know what problem the light indicates, but it has the potential to be an expensive one
• Only one rear shock absorber had been replaced on collection (I knew this only because I asked for confirmation both had been replaced), rather than the two NEW ones verbally agreed at the point of sale. However, they did detail on the invoice that a further one would be replaced free of charge (the second one appeared not to have been done due to a lack of communication at their end, or so I thought at the time). However, after speaking verbally to chase up my email, I now understand that the replacement already fitted was in fact not new but from a donor vehicle. I only ever used the word "NEW" and they did not at any point say they would replace one/them from a donor vehicle - I would not have accepted this. At best the dealer has misled me, at worst he has gone back on his word/lied to me. I asked for a pair of NEW rear shock absorbers and that was verbally agreed as a condition of sale. My son and his friend were present so should remember this point.
• On the auto trader advert, the vehicle was described as having a full service history. Although it has a service history, I would not describe it as full - not in terms of it being done at prescribed service intervals anyway. For example, there is no recorded servicing between 82,000 and 108,000 miles. This means the car had been run for 26000 miles without a service. A customer automatically assumes the information in any advert is accurate. It cannot be acceptable for this to be inaccurate.
• The advert also stated 105000 miles when the reading actually was well over 108000 miles.
• The advert also stated the vehicle has ABS - it does not have this. Surely the vehicle description should be accurate. I was made aware when I viewed it that it did not have it, but only because I specifically asked - not everyone would ask this as the advert said it featured this and it is reasonable to expect this to be true.
• The advert said 2 owners but the supplied HPI info on collection indicates the first registation date being in 2002 with subsequent changes of ownership in 2003 & in 2008, so it appears to have had 3 owners prior to our purchase?
I still have the auto trader advert.
I also raised the following less serious issues, but they all build a picture of my dissatisfaction
• We have noticed that the heated front screen has a section not working, *possibly linked to the positioning of the chips/cracks on the windscreen? I expected the heated front screen to be in working order, otherwise what is the point of having it
• We also noticed that the rear heated windscreen also has 1-2 lines that are not working. I expected the rear heated screen to be in working order, if any thing this is more important than the front one which also has the additional fan heater
• I have noticed the passenger side rear window is difficult to raise - I am not sure if it is down to lack of lubrication or another issue
• The underside of the engine block is quite damp/oily and I am concerned this might be an oil or seal leak of some kind. I did make a point of mentioning "it won't have any oil leaks will it etc" as I did not want a vehicle with this possibility as the vehicle is parked on a driveway. It is not leaking at present but I suspect it is only a matter of time before it does.
I look forward to your advice and thanks in anticipation
I have already emailed the dealer about the below issues asking for a full refund (perhaps I should not have done this at this stage but I was and still am disappointed with the car) but to my horror when I telephoned to chase up, he was verging on the rude and dismissed my issues saying that I was expecting too much from the car and that I was being pedantic etc . He actually indicated he had put my email in the bin!. Because I had asked for a refund, he basically told me where to go and that I would only get a refund from him after going through trading standards and a 3 month wait. He was also not willing to discuss possible remedies initially but then reluctantly indicated he might look at the engine management light - the dealer is a 100 mile round trip.
A summary of events so far is listed below
• The ‘Engine management light’, has now come on permanently both yesterday evening and today. Of course, we do not know what problem the light indicates, but it has the potential to be an expensive one
• Only one rear shock absorber had been replaced on collection (I knew this only because I asked for confirmation both had been replaced), rather than the two NEW ones verbally agreed at the point of sale. However, they did detail on the invoice that a further one would be replaced free of charge (the second one appeared not to have been done due to a lack of communication at their end, or so I thought at the time). However, after speaking verbally to chase up my email, I now understand that the replacement already fitted was in fact not new but from a donor vehicle. I only ever used the word "NEW" and they did not at any point say they would replace one/them from a donor vehicle - I would not have accepted this. At best the dealer has misled me, at worst he has gone back on his word/lied to me. I asked for a pair of NEW rear shock absorbers and that was verbally agreed as a condition of sale. My son and his friend were present so should remember this point.
• On the auto trader advert, the vehicle was described as having a full service history. Although it has a service history, I would not describe it as full - not in terms of it being done at prescribed service intervals anyway. For example, there is no recorded servicing between 82,000 and 108,000 miles. This means the car had been run for 26000 miles without a service. A customer automatically assumes the information in any advert is accurate. It cannot be acceptable for this to be inaccurate.
• The advert also stated 105000 miles when the reading actually was well over 108000 miles.
• The advert also stated the vehicle has ABS - it does not have this. Surely the vehicle description should be accurate. I was made aware when I viewed it that it did not have it, but only because I specifically asked - not everyone would ask this as the advert said it featured this and it is reasonable to expect this to be true.
• The advert said 2 owners but the supplied HPI info on collection indicates the first registation date being in 2002 with subsequent changes of ownership in 2003 & in 2008, so it appears to have had 3 owners prior to our purchase?
I still have the auto trader advert.
I also raised the following less serious issues, but they all build a picture of my dissatisfaction
• We have noticed that the heated front screen has a section not working, *possibly linked to the positioning of the chips/cracks on the windscreen? I expected the heated front screen to be in working order, otherwise what is the point of having it
• We also noticed that the rear heated windscreen also has 1-2 lines that are not working. I expected the rear heated screen to be in working order, if any thing this is more important than the front one which also has the additional fan heater
• I have noticed the passenger side rear window is difficult to raise - I am not sure if it is down to lack of lubrication or another issue
• The underside of the engine block is quite damp/oily and I am concerned this might be an oil or seal leak of some kind. I did make a point of mentioning "it won't have any oil leaks will it etc" as I did not want a vehicle with this possibility as the vehicle is parked on a driveway. It is not leaking at present but I suspect it is only a matter of time before it does.
I look forward to your advice and thanks in anticipation