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Yet another dodgy used car dealer story I'm afraid.
So after buying my son his first cheap runabout and having to return it as it seized solid just a week in to owning it, we decided to buy a replacement from what we thought would be a reputable dealer - one with 'AA Approved' emblazoned over their premises and web adverts. We find a car, test it and notice the brakes are pretty poor. Sales guy assures me they will be fixed in the pre-delivery inspection 'regardless of cost'. Since they are AA Approved I believe him and place a deposit of £100 and go to collect it the following weekend. I pay the remaining £1395 by debit card after testing the brakes are OK and then load the car on to a trailer to take the car 30+ miles home. I was given a 30 day warranty with the car. We arrive home and I put the car on the drive way and have a good look round it. I pull the dipstick - its bone dry. I look at the engine and one side of the cylinder block is wet. I call the dealer and tell him I'm concerned - he says return the car.
Back on the trailer and another 36 mile trip up the motorway to drop the car off. 3 days later I call to find out what's happening and I am told its the cylinder head gasket. I ask for a refund and he says no, he insists on getting the car repaired. Since they are AA Approved I give them the benefit of the doubt and agree on the provision that my accepting the car back is dependent on having an independent engineer survey the car's repair. Two weeks go by. When I call the sales guy is never there. When I finally lose patience and demand my money back he suddenly appears back on the scene saying the car is fixed and ready for collection. Additionally, I am now given a 6 month warranty with the car which was a surprise to me as when I asked for one I was refused originally. The engineers contact the garage to arrange their inspection but the sales guy refuses them access to the car. I call him, he wont budge on this and leaves me no alternative other than to go to collect it myself and get the inspection done at home.
I turn up at the garage but Salesman is no where to be seen, just his useless son who just shrugs and feigns ignorance at every question asked. I lift the bonnet and pull the dipstick - just the very tip is wet with oil - probably the oil that I put in it to get it back on the trailer without seizing the engine. Nothing in the whole engine bay looks touched. Replacing a cylinder head is no small task and requires a lot of undoing of belts and components and things - yet everything looked untouched. I ask to see the receipt for the repair - useless son cannot provide me with one - says its at the accountants. No salesperson, no explanations = no choice but to drive it home. I drive it home very very slowly but nothing untoward happens. Engineers arrive. I have briefed them of the situation. Engineers takes no time at all to come back to me saying that no one has performed any work on the engine at all and that a temporary gasket sealant has been added to the coolant system to fix the broken gasket. He also uncovers a bunch of other things that should have either appeared as advisories or outright failures on the MOT that the dealer did just days before I collected the car. The engineers are recognised expert witnesses and I have substantial report detailing all this. I send a copy to the AA (who recommended them in the first place).
Deeply disappointed, I call the dealer to tell him I want a refund - they refuse. I call the AA - they offer to mediate. They try to reason with the dealer for the best part of a week. Dealer refuses their requests too. So now I have written to the dealer with the timeline of events and given them 14 days to produce a full refund. The 14 days ends on Monday 9th April.
I feel I have no alternative but to go to small claims court. The dealer says he will 'fight me in the highest court in the land' and has since miraculously found the repair invoice - I got a copy from the AA (who requested to see it) and its just a piece of paper saying 'CHG repair £500' with a cheap rubber stamp of some vehicle delivery guy at the top. When I googled the address it was just some random terraced house and didn't even appear to have a garage attached to it.
I've not had cause to take anyone to court before and I'm a little worried - I would appreciate some advise before I take the leap.
Thanks in advance.
Mak.
So after buying my son his first cheap runabout and having to return it as it seized solid just a week in to owning it, we decided to buy a replacement from what we thought would be a reputable dealer - one with 'AA Approved' emblazoned over their premises and web adverts. We find a car, test it and notice the brakes are pretty poor. Sales guy assures me they will be fixed in the pre-delivery inspection 'regardless of cost'. Since they are AA Approved I believe him and place a deposit of £100 and go to collect it the following weekend. I pay the remaining £1395 by debit card after testing the brakes are OK and then load the car on to a trailer to take the car 30+ miles home. I was given a 30 day warranty with the car. We arrive home and I put the car on the drive way and have a good look round it. I pull the dipstick - its bone dry. I look at the engine and one side of the cylinder block is wet. I call the dealer and tell him I'm concerned - he says return the car.
Back on the trailer and another 36 mile trip up the motorway to drop the car off. 3 days later I call to find out what's happening and I am told its the cylinder head gasket. I ask for a refund and he says no, he insists on getting the car repaired. Since they are AA Approved I give them the benefit of the doubt and agree on the provision that my accepting the car back is dependent on having an independent engineer survey the car's repair. Two weeks go by. When I call the sales guy is never there. When I finally lose patience and demand my money back he suddenly appears back on the scene saying the car is fixed and ready for collection. Additionally, I am now given a 6 month warranty with the car which was a surprise to me as when I asked for one I was refused originally. The engineers contact the garage to arrange their inspection but the sales guy refuses them access to the car. I call him, he wont budge on this and leaves me no alternative other than to go to collect it myself and get the inspection done at home.
I turn up at the garage but Salesman is no where to be seen, just his useless son who just shrugs and feigns ignorance at every question asked. I lift the bonnet and pull the dipstick - just the very tip is wet with oil - probably the oil that I put in it to get it back on the trailer without seizing the engine. Nothing in the whole engine bay looks touched. Replacing a cylinder head is no small task and requires a lot of undoing of belts and components and things - yet everything looked untouched. I ask to see the receipt for the repair - useless son cannot provide me with one - says its at the accountants. No salesperson, no explanations = no choice but to drive it home. I drive it home very very slowly but nothing untoward happens. Engineers arrive. I have briefed them of the situation. Engineers takes no time at all to come back to me saying that no one has performed any work on the engine at all and that a temporary gasket sealant has been added to the coolant system to fix the broken gasket. He also uncovers a bunch of other things that should have either appeared as advisories or outright failures on the MOT that the dealer did just days before I collected the car. The engineers are recognised expert witnesses and I have substantial report detailing all this. I send a copy to the AA (who recommended them in the first place).
Deeply disappointed, I call the dealer to tell him I want a refund - they refuse. I call the AA - they offer to mediate. They try to reason with the dealer for the best part of a week. Dealer refuses their requests too. So now I have written to the dealer with the timeline of events and given them 14 days to produce a full refund. The 14 days ends on Monday 9th April.
I feel I have no alternative but to go to small claims court. The dealer says he will 'fight me in the highest court in the land' and has since miraculously found the repair invoice - I got a copy from the AA (who requested to see it) and its just a piece of paper saying 'CHG repair £500' with a cheap rubber stamp of some vehicle delivery guy at the top. When I googled the address it was just some random terraced house and didn't even appear to have a garage attached to it.
I've not had cause to take anyone to court before and I'm a little worried - I would appreciate some advise before I take the leap.
Thanks in advance.
Mak.
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