In March of this year I purchased a 2002 Toyota MR2 roadster ...not really knowing what I was looking at. Typical girl thing- put the hood down and loved the feeling so bought the car there and then., from a garage that have been trading for many years.. Yes i believed them to be a sound company. I did however ensure that it had a new MOT and I paid for a full service myself before collecting it. When I collected it, it was dirty and the hood had a hole in it and the rear quarter full of water. The salesman reply was "don't drink it all at once".
I drove it away and enjoyed the next few days driving in nice weather. It did seem a bit of a hard drive (bouncing about a bit)but as I have had nothing to compare it with I assumed all MR2's did this.
Within 1 week, the engine management light came on and after many emails they agreed to have the car repaired at their expense. I also paid for a new hood on the car out of my own pocket.
In May, after only driving it high days and holidays as second car; the engine went bang! All the dashboard lights came on and I lost total power whilst driving on the M20 3rd lane at 70mph! Whilst feeling very stupid sitting at the side of the M20, it dawned on me that I had really messed up. I had taken out a warranty with the RAC sold to me by said garage and each time I have spoken to them they have stated "its not worth the paper its written on luv" The RAC did come and rescue me and towed the car to a RAC approved garage. They diagnosed it as the big end gone as the car had been burning oil. This was news to me and I contacted the garage who sold it to me. After many calls back and forth with the garage as they tried to tell me I only had 1 months warranty from them - 3 months by law as I understand.
They offered a new engine, but at this point I had a towage fee of £108.00 and a diagnosis from a garage, it occurred to me that the bouncing around was not normal also.
I sought legal advice which stated to wait and be reasonable and give them options. I then received a letter from their solicitor telling me to accept the engine replacement and stop sending demanding emails! I felt I had no choice and 3 weeks ago replaced the engine with a "new one". New being 42k on the clock from a breakers yard but the car when purchased had 63K on it so I thought it was a better engine. They collected the acr and the garage that did the MOT and service on it, carried out the work. When the car was returned the cover on the engine was broken and the car misfiring. Then the engine management light kept coming on and the broken engine cover of the has allowed water to get in to the spark plugs.
The car dealership did agree to pay for the engine cover and the Engine managemnet light but they have made it plain that this will be the last time. The mechanic that carried out the work stresses that they are nothing to do with the dealership but they do put a lot of work their way. Having said that they refused to write me a report on the state and saftey of the car!
When I drive the car it appears to be bouncing about and there is a clicking noise, this noise gets louder the faster the speed. I have been advised that this could be the rear subframe and that is pricey. This car is clearly a pup, I really have lost faith in it. I do not believe that this car is safe to drive, nor do I feel it was ever fit for purpose.
Should I get all the paperwork and sell it being honest with the potential new buyer but sold as seen? Or is it worth pursuing this through the small claims court for my money back as the car clearly wasnt fit for purpose in the first place.
I am truly at a loss but at present I am £2750.00 out of pocket for the car, £250.00 RAC warranty, £450.00 hood, £108.00 towage fee, £23.57 diagnosis fee and a lot of stress and aggravation later!
All this and the car was driven less that 400 miles from the date I purchased it.
Any advice gratefully received
I drove it away and enjoyed the next few days driving in nice weather. It did seem a bit of a hard drive (bouncing about a bit)but as I have had nothing to compare it with I assumed all MR2's did this.
Within 1 week, the engine management light came on and after many emails they agreed to have the car repaired at their expense. I also paid for a new hood on the car out of my own pocket.
In May, after only driving it high days and holidays as second car; the engine went bang! All the dashboard lights came on and I lost total power whilst driving on the M20 3rd lane at 70mph! Whilst feeling very stupid sitting at the side of the M20, it dawned on me that I had really messed up. I had taken out a warranty with the RAC sold to me by said garage and each time I have spoken to them they have stated "its not worth the paper its written on luv" The RAC did come and rescue me and towed the car to a RAC approved garage. They diagnosed it as the big end gone as the car had been burning oil. This was news to me and I contacted the garage who sold it to me. After many calls back and forth with the garage as they tried to tell me I only had 1 months warranty from them - 3 months by law as I understand.
They offered a new engine, but at this point I had a towage fee of £108.00 and a diagnosis from a garage, it occurred to me that the bouncing around was not normal also.
I sought legal advice which stated to wait and be reasonable and give them options. I then received a letter from their solicitor telling me to accept the engine replacement and stop sending demanding emails! I felt I had no choice and 3 weeks ago replaced the engine with a "new one". New being 42k on the clock from a breakers yard but the car when purchased had 63K on it so I thought it was a better engine. They collected the acr and the garage that did the MOT and service on it, carried out the work. When the car was returned the cover on the engine was broken and the car misfiring. Then the engine management light kept coming on and the broken engine cover of the has allowed water to get in to the spark plugs.
The car dealership did agree to pay for the engine cover and the Engine managemnet light but they have made it plain that this will be the last time. The mechanic that carried out the work stresses that they are nothing to do with the dealership but they do put a lot of work their way. Having said that they refused to write me a report on the state and saftey of the car!
When I drive the car it appears to be bouncing about and there is a clicking noise, this noise gets louder the faster the speed. I have been advised that this could be the rear subframe and that is pricey. This car is clearly a pup, I really have lost faith in it. I do not believe that this car is safe to drive, nor do I feel it was ever fit for purpose.
Should I get all the paperwork and sell it being honest with the potential new buyer but sold as seen? Or is it worth pursuing this through the small claims court for my money back as the car clearly wasnt fit for purpose in the first place.
I am truly at a loss but at present I am £2750.00 out of pocket for the car, £250.00 RAC warranty, £450.00 hood, £108.00 towage fee, £23.57 diagnosis fee and a lot of stress and aggravation later!
All this and the car was driven less that 400 miles from the date I purchased it.
Any advice gratefully received