Tweet
Hi, sorry for the long post. Right at the bottom is an e-mail I sent to my finance company (Oodle) on 17th May.
Since then, they have told me that they accept I have a good case for rejection and will support me with it. They have to do this through the broker, Evolution. Evolution were asked to inform The Car People of this on Tuesday 21st May. Also on 21/05 Oodle sent me £100 to help with travel costs as I’m still without a car. The Car People are saying they can’t find a fault, which is ridiculous as I guarantee 100% if I go down there and drive if with them in the car again they’ll acknowledge the noise/fault. I’ve done this many times and I’ve had enough now.
My questions are, how long can I expect this to take? I was told The Car People had 48 hours to respond to the rejection request which should have been made on the 21st, but they rang me today and asked me why I’ve left the car there? I said I’ve rejected it and he said he’d “update the records”. I’m increasingly out of pocket now and payments made are almost £1000, not including the continued cost of tax and insurance (I pay both monthly) on a car I have no intention of accepting back. Can I cancel these payments? I’m also still paying the finance. Any advice on how much longer this might go on?
Good morning,
As just discussed on the telephone with one of your customer service representatives, I think I have collected all of the dates and information regarding the car repairs and problems from my diary and phone records.
I test drove the car mid-March, and commented to the salesperson that the clutch felt high. He reassured me that it was normal, had been fully tested before being put up for sale, and maybe I needed to adjust to driving a newer car (my previous car was a 2003 Audi TT).
I collected the car from The Car People on 24/03/2019.
I called them on 27/03/2019 to advise of clutch issues, biting point very high and felt close to stalling, and the car occasionally failed to engage 3rd gear. There was also a constant loud tapping from the engine.
I returned the car for an inspection on 29/03/2019. They reassured me that the engine noise was normal running noise in these cars, but apologised that the clutch was close to failing and offered to replace it.
I returned the car on 30/03/2019 for the repair, the clutch was fitted on 31/03/2019 and I collected it that day. After returning home with the car I spent some time off work so did not really drive it for a week. I next drove it on 07/04/2019 and thought that I could hear another noise from the clutch, but due to the engine tapping I wasn’t sure. The car continued to fail to engage 3rd gear.
I contacted them again a few days later (I don’t have the date of this call) to request another inspection of the noises and advise about the gear issue. They booked me in for an inspection and I returned with the car on 16/04/2019. I left it with them to inspect. I collected the car on the 17/04/2019 and they advised that they had not been able to hear or recreate the clutch noise, but had resolved the engine tapping by securing the high pressure fuel lines underneath the car, which had been hitting the chassis.
I returned on the 19/04/2019 as the clutch noise was much more noticeable with the tapping resolved. It sounds like scraping/grinding when the clutch pedal is depressed. I arranged to go out with a technician to recreate the noise. He heard it, and agreed to inspect further. I waited with the car and an hour later he told me that he could find no problems but retrieved “a small stone” form somewhere inside the gearbox that might have been rattling around and making a noise. I started to feel dismissed at this point and found this explanation unlikely.
I contacted them again and arranged to take another technician out to listen as the noise was still there. I explained that I had multiple videos that had picked up the sound but was advised that this is not useful. I took the technician out on 29/04/2019 and he heard the noise, and suggested that the flywheel was rattling. He confirmed that the flywheel had not been replaced on 31/03/2019 when they replaced the clutch plate. They told me to take the car away and they would call me to book in when the parts arrived.
They called me on 30/04/2019 and booked the car in for 14/05/2019. I asked if the car was ok to drive for 2+ weeks, they said it would be. As days passed and I was using the car, I started to notice the distinctive clutch smell. I called them back on 09/05/2019 to advise, and to ensure that it was still ok to drive, and I specifically asked if the flywheel had been ordered and would be replaced, as simply replacing the clutch last time did not work and it appeared to be failing very fast. I was reassured that the flywheel had been received and would be fitted the following week.
I took the car back on 13/05/2019 (I don’t live close by and could not drop it off early enough on 14/05/2019). I collected it 15/05/2019, and asked for a copy of the receipt to keep with the cars’ service history. I noticed that the receipt did not reflect a new flywheel. I queried this, and was told that this car does not have a flywheel. The salesman gave me a tale of how the technicians split the gearbox and saw that it does not have a flywheel so returned the part they had ordered. I told him that I know this not to be true and asked to speak to the technician. The technician told me that it does have a flywheel, but not a dual mass as I had commented to the technician on 29/04/2019 when we were having a chat about cars and clutches. He said they had ordered a dual mass and had to return it. I told him I don’t feel that’s an excuse not to replace it; I am not a technician and they should know what flywheel the car has. I told him the technician on 29/04/2019 told me that the flywheel was the problem and sounded as if it were rattling. He replied that flywheels cannot rattle, and the clutch they took out was so scored and with “high points” that they have concluded that I did the damage by riding the clutch. I argued that I do not ride the clutch, I know the damage this can cause and I have barely driven the car enough to cause any damage even if I had rid it, so they needed to look at other reasons why the car had decimated a clutch plate in less than 5 weeks. He suggested that the clutch plate might have been a faulty part. I took the car for a test drive and immediately noticed the noise had not gone. I asked the sales manager to come out with me and he heard the noise, but said it might be normal engine noise and I should take the car away and see how it goes. I queried rejecting the car at this point but he said I couldn’t as they had fixed the car and referenced the obsolete Sale Of Goods Act. By the time I got the car home (6.10pm, 15/05/2019) the noise was worse than before and I called them to advise that I would be returning the car for another inspection. I returned the car yesterday, 16/05/2019, and contacted yourselves to make you aware of the problems. I was advised that I would be within my rights to reject at this stage, but I felt worried about how long I would be without a car, so I agreed to let them try and fix it again.
After speaking with family and friends, I am not satisfied that The Car People have the knowledge or skills to diagnose and repair this car, and I have lost faith that the car will even last me the term of the finance. I can’t keep a faulty car because I am worried about being without one.
If possible at this stage I would like to initiate rejection of the car as faulty and unfit for purpose. They have attempted repair twice and failed to fix the problem that is causing destruction of the clutch plates. I still have a number of videos of the clutch noise if they are helpful in any way.
I do need a car to carry out my job, and I would be keen to know what the process for rejection is, what refund of monies paid/out of pocket expenses I can expect from them and whether I could finance another car, and the possible timescales for this? I also have some personal items in the A1 that I would need to pick up so please let me know when they accept the rejection and I will collect my things before they take the car back formally.
Since then, they have told me that they accept I have a good case for rejection and will support me with it. They have to do this through the broker, Evolution. Evolution were asked to inform The Car People of this on Tuesday 21st May. Also on 21/05 Oodle sent me £100 to help with travel costs as I’m still without a car. The Car People are saying they can’t find a fault, which is ridiculous as I guarantee 100% if I go down there and drive if with them in the car again they’ll acknowledge the noise/fault. I’ve done this many times and I’ve had enough now.
My questions are, how long can I expect this to take? I was told The Car People had 48 hours to respond to the rejection request which should have been made on the 21st, but they rang me today and asked me why I’ve left the car there? I said I’ve rejected it and he said he’d “update the records”. I’m increasingly out of pocket now and payments made are almost £1000, not including the continued cost of tax and insurance (I pay both monthly) on a car I have no intention of accepting back. Can I cancel these payments? I’m also still paying the finance. Any advice on how much longer this might go on?
Good morning,
As just discussed on the telephone with one of your customer service representatives, I think I have collected all of the dates and information regarding the car repairs and problems from my diary and phone records.
I test drove the car mid-March, and commented to the salesperson that the clutch felt high. He reassured me that it was normal, had been fully tested before being put up for sale, and maybe I needed to adjust to driving a newer car (my previous car was a 2003 Audi TT).
I collected the car from The Car People on 24/03/2019.
I called them on 27/03/2019 to advise of clutch issues, biting point very high and felt close to stalling, and the car occasionally failed to engage 3rd gear. There was also a constant loud tapping from the engine.
I returned the car for an inspection on 29/03/2019. They reassured me that the engine noise was normal running noise in these cars, but apologised that the clutch was close to failing and offered to replace it.
I returned the car on 30/03/2019 for the repair, the clutch was fitted on 31/03/2019 and I collected it that day. After returning home with the car I spent some time off work so did not really drive it for a week. I next drove it on 07/04/2019 and thought that I could hear another noise from the clutch, but due to the engine tapping I wasn’t sure. The car continued to fail to engage 3rd gear.
I contacted them again a few days later (I don’t have the date of this call) to request another inspection of the noises and advise about the gear issue. They booked me in for an inspection and I returned with the car on 16/04/2019. I left it with them to inspect. I collected the car on the 17/04/2019 and they advised that they had not been able to hear or recreate the clutch noise, but had resolved the engine tapping by securing the high pressure fuel lines underneath the car, which had been hitting the chassis.
I returned on the 19/04/2019 as the clutch noise was much more noticeable with the tapping resolved. It sounds like scraping/grinding when the clutch pedal is depressed. I arranged to go out with a technician to recreate the noise. He heard it, and agreed to inspect further. I waited with the car and an hour later he told me that he could find no problems but retrieved “a small stone” form somewhere inside the gearbox that might have been rattling around and making a noise. I started to feel dismissed at this point and found this explanation unlikely.
I contacted them again and arranged to take another technician out to listen as the noise was still there. I explained that I had multiple videos that had picked up the sound but was advised that this is not useful. I took the technician out on 29/04/2019 and he heard the noise, and suggested that the flywheel was rattling. He confirmed that the flywheel had not been replaced on 31/03/2019 when they replaced the clutch plate. They told me to take the car away and they would call me to book in when the parts arrived.
They called me on 30/04/2019 and booked the car in for 14/05/2019. I asked if the car was ok to drive for 2+ weeks, they said it would be. As days passed and I was using the car, I started to notice the distinctive clutch smell. I called them back on 09/05/2019 to advise, and to ensure that it was still ok to drive, and I specifically asked if the flywheel had been ordered and would be replaced, as simply replacing the clutch last time did not work and it appeared to be failing very fast. I was reassured that the flywheel had been received and would be fitted the following week.
I took the car back on 13/05/2019 (I don’t live close by and could not drop it off early enough on 14/05/2019). I collected it 15/05/2019, and asked for a copy of the receipt to keep with the cars’ service history. I noticed that the receipt did not reflect a new flywheel. I queried this, and was told that this car does not have a flywheel. The salesman gave me a tale of how the technicians split the gearbox and saw that it does not have a flywheel so returned the part they had ordered. I told him that I know this not to be true and asked to speak to the technician. The technician told me that it does have a flywheel, but not a dual mass as I had commented to the technician on 29/04/2019 when we were having a chat about cars and clutches. He said they had ordered a dual mass and had to return it. I told him I don’t feel that’s an excuse not to replace it; I am not a technician and they should know what flywheel the car has. I told him the technician on 29/04/2019 told me that the flywheel was the problem and sounded as if it were rattling. He replied that flywheels cannot rattle, and the clutch they took out was so scored and with “high points” that they have concluded that I did the damage by riding the clutch. I argued that I do not ride the clutch, I know the damage this can cause and I have barely driven the car enough to cause any damage even if I had rid it, so they needed to look at other reasons why the car had decimated a clutch plate in less than 5 weeks. He suggested that the clutch plate might have been a faulty part. I took the car for a test drive and immediately noticed the noise had not gone. I asked the sales manager to come out with me and he heard the noise, but said it might be normal engine noise and I should take the car away and see how it goes. I queried rejecting the car at this point but he said I couldn’t as they had fixed the car and referenced the obsolete Sale Of Goods Act. By the time I got the car home (6.10pm, 15/05/2019) the noise was worse than before and I called them to advise that I would be returning the car for another inspection. I returned the car yesterday, 16/05/2019, and contacted yourselves to make you aware of the problems. I was advised that I would be within my rights to reject at this stage, but I felt worried about how long I would be without a car, so I agreed to let them try and fix it again.
After speaking with family and friends, I am not satisfied that The Car People have the knowledge or skills to diagnose and repair this car, and I have lost faith that the car will even last me the term of the finance. I can’t keep a faulty car because I am worried about being without one.
If possible at this stage I would like to initiate rejection of the car as faulty and unfit for purpose. They have attempted repair twice and failed to fix the problem that is causing destruction of the clutch plates. I still have a number of videos of the clutch noise if they are helpful in any way.
I do need a car to carry out my job, and I would be keen to know what the process for rejection is, what refund of monies paid/out of pocket expenses I can expect from them and whether I could finance another car, and the possible timescales for this? I also have some personal items in the A1 that I would need to pick up so please let me know when they accept the rejection and I will collect my things before they take the car back formally.
Comment