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Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice on regarding a used car I've bought. My car was stolen 2 months ago and I was in a position where I needed a replacement ASAP. I decided to go to a seemingly reputable, independent dealer and buy an older, well looked after car to save on some money. It had had a new exhaust and water pump within months of me buying the car. I ended up paying £3000 for a 2008 car with FSH and 1 previous owner and 6 months warranty. I've now done about 1000 miles in it.
About 3 weeks after purchase I noticed a strange flushing noise from the coolant system on start up, all signs pointed towards air in the coolant. I videoed this and sent it to the dealer who asked me to take it to their chosen garage for investigation. The garage had a superficial look over the car but the mechanic hadn't been given permission to have an in depth look (i.e. pressure test etc). There were no signs of major problems, no overheating, no oil in the coolant etc, and a such the dealer told me to report back if it got any worse and then they'd look into it. At this point I decided to change the radiator lid with an OEM part from a motor factors just in case this was failing and letting in air, but this made no difference.
About a week ago (now after the 30 days) it did indeed get worse. The flushing sound behind the dash was also happening on acceleration now. I sent a video documenting this noise to the dealer who again asked me to take the car back to their chosen garage. This time the mechanic was allowed to pressure test the coolant system and he found that it was pressurising extremely quickly, and he also found that the noise was indeed caused by air in the coolant system but after bleeding it built back up. All symptoms point towards head gasket failure (exhaust gasses into coolant). However, the dealer once again put the brakes on any further investigation and is refusing to pay the mechanic to definitively confirm the diagnosis or take steps to repair. The car has never overheated whilst in my ownership, but in hindsight I suspect the previous owner changed the water pump due to failure, which would cause the car to overheat, which is what damaged the head gasket. Having bought a brand new exhaust and water pump in the space of a few months they decided not to spend any more money and just traded the car in. Of course, I can't prove this and so it's just speculation.
It's been a week and I've refused to pick up the car from the garage so far in hopes they put pressure on the dealer to act. The dealer is just telling me I need to speak to my warranty company and is no longer communicating with me further, the garage is saying I should stand my ground but they also don't have space to store my car indefinitely without it being worked on. If it IS the head gasket I could be looking at a £1000-1500 bill (far exceeding my £500 warranty limit), and I get the impression that if I were to pick it up myself the dealer would completely wash their hands of responsibility. I have said that I'm happy for the dealership to use my warranty to limit their costs, but I want them to pick up the responsibility.
There was a comment from the dealership that I might have caused/worsened the fault by changing the radiator cap, they said that I tried to fix it myself rather than making them aware. I pointed out that I had made them aware and they refused to investigate until it got worse, at which point I informed them again them which brings us to where we are now . Not investigating the fault when reported within the first 30 days could have made it worse, but swapping out one lid for another OEM spec lid absolutely is not the cause. This is likely an attempt to make the case that the car did not have this problem at the point of sale, but I think any reasonable judge would see through it.
Most of our conversations had been via WhatsApp, but I've now sent an e-mail on Saturday escalating my complaint and again asserting it is their responsibility to repair, referencing CRA and acknowledging my rights. This morning I also sent a far more formal letter via Special Delivery to arrive tomorrow demanding either repair at no cost to myself or a refund minus fair usage.
If the dealership don't do the right thing and respond I'm torn about what to do next. I could either repair it myself with help of the warranty and then try to take them to small claims for the excess costs (but this feels like a tough option), or taking them to court for a rejection (but this would leave me needing to buy a new car while the broken car sits on my drive for up to 12 months).
My questions is - how long should I reasonably wait for a response to my letter and email, and if they don't respond what should my next steps be?
Thank you in advance, I appreciate any and all input.
I'm looking for some advice on regarding a used car I've bought. My car was stolen 2 months ago and I was in a position where I needed a replacement ASAP. I decided to go to a seemingly reputable, independent dealer and buy an older, well looked after car to save on some money. It had had a new exhaust and water pump within months of me buying the car. I ended up paying £3000 for a 2008 car with FSH and 1 previous owner and 6 months warranty. I've now done about 1000 miles in it.
About 3 weeks after purchase I noticed a strange flushing noise from the coolant system on start up, all signs pointed towards air in the coolant. I videoed this and sent it to the dealer who asked me to take it to their chosen garage for investigation. The garage had a superficial look over the car but the mechanic hadn't been given permission to have an in depth look (i.e. pressure test etc). There were no signs of major problems, no overheating, no oil in the coolant etc, and a such the dealer told me to report back if it got any worse and then they'd look into it. At this point I decided to change the radiator lid with an OEM part from a motor factors just in case this was failing and letting in air, but this made no difference.
About a week ago (now after the 30 days) it did indeed get worse. The flushing sound behind the dash was also happening on acceleration now. I sent a video documenting this noise to the dealer who again asked me to take the car back to their chosen garage. This time the mechanic was allowed to pressure test the coolant system and he found that it was pressurising extremely quickly, and he also found that the noise was indeed caused by air in the coolant system but after bleeding it built back up. All symptoms point towards head gasket failure (exhaust gasses into coolant). However, the dealer once again put the brakes on any further investigation and is refusing to pay the mechanic to definitively confirm the diagnosis or take steps to repair. The car has never overheated whilst in my ownership, but in hindsight I suspect the previous owner changed the water pump due to failure, which would cause the car to overheat, which is what damaged the head gasket. Having bought a brand new exhaust and water pump in the space of a few months they decided not to spend any more money and just traded the car in. Of course, I can't prove this and so it's just speculation.
It's been a week and I've refused to pick up the car from the garage so far in hopes they put pressure on the dealer to act. The dealer is just telling me I need to speak to my warranty company and is no longer communicating with me further, the garage is saying I should stand my ground but they also don't have space to store my car indefinitely without it being worked on. If it IS the head gasket I could be looking at a £1000-1500 bill (far exceeding my £500 warranty limit), and I get the impression that if I were to pick it up myself the dealer would completely wash their hands of responsibility. I have said that I'm happy for the dealership to use my warranty to limit their costs, but I want them to pick up the responsibility.
There was a comment from the dealership that I might have caused/worsened the fault by changing the radiator cap, they said that I tried to fix it myself rather than making them aware. I pointed out that I had made them aware and they refused to investigate until it got worse, at which point I informed them again them which brings us to where we are now . Not investigating the fault when reported within the first 30 days could have made it worse, but swapping out one lid for another OEM spec lid absolutely is not the cause. This is likely an attempt to make the case that the car did not have this problem at the point of sale, but I think any reasonable judge would see through it.
Most of our conversations had been via WhatsApp, but I've now sent an e-mail on Saturday escalating my complaint and again asserting it is their responsibility to repair, referencing CRA and acknowledging my rights. This morning I also sent a far more formal letter via Special Delivery to arrive tomorrow demanding either repair at no cost to myself or a refund minus fair usage.
If the dealership don't do the right thing and respond I'm torn about what to do next. I could either repair it myself with help of the warranty and then try to take them to small claims for the excess costs (but this feels like a tough option), or taking them to court for a rejection (but this would leave me needing to buy a new car while the broken car sits on my drive for up to 12 months).
My questions is - how long should I reasonably wait for a response to my letter and email, and if they don't respond what should my next steps be?
Thank you in advance, I appreciate any and all input.
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