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Bought faulty car - dealership refused to accept return
Hi all, could you please see my whole story below and advise me what should I expect/do.
On 25/06/2022 I bought a Volvo v70 D4 for about £7000 from used car dealer. Three days after buying the car, a notification on the dashboard of the vehicle notified me to add 1 Litre of oil (photos attached), after adding 1 litre the notification disappeared until 7 days later when the notification reappeared mentioning the loss of oil again and asks to add 0.5 litre to the engine! Day 13 - same thing again... Message to add 0.5 liter of oil to the engine. I have driven this car about 380 miles so far, and I had to add 2 liters of oil to the engine.
I work for a large retail company who have an in house vehicle maintenance unit and was fortunate enough to have a colleague check the situation who suggested there is most likely a defect in the engine.
Subsequently, the orange engine management light was on which I'm told is an EGR problem? There is also a Climate control Issue with the right side temperature control nozzle motor apparently.
The vehicle is faulty. I felt very disappointed and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I requested for a full refund - I informed seller about it in formal letter in first 30 days after transaction. Next few weeks I spent on "fighting" them on e-mails. They weren't writing back for nearly a month, when they finally did, they refused to accept the return - they didn't even proposed to fix up the car, literally nothing. During this whole, long process of trying to contact them I called them few times and send a few official letters. Also, I did vehicle inspection in independent Volvo garage and send copy of that report to them (screenshoots - https://ibb.co/QQ5YKNW , https://ibb.co/7RS0dvc). Please see few fragments of e-mails from dealership below:
"Please find a response to your recent emails.
May I start by saying you have a warranty on email now that supports your car.
This warranty forms part of the sale pack and is in place for support if required.
You state an issue with the car taking oil. Often cars can use oil that may appear high in consumption, we do not guarantee oil consumption levels.
Should you feel the consumption levels feel high, this alone is not a reason to reject.
We would need to see evidence of failing parts and a reason with professional diagnosis.
We would also need evidence of failure.
The orange light needs professional diagnosis, EGR valves are not an item covered on warranty and warranty clearly states this.
Again, it would need to be evidenced that the vehicle needs that and put in writing by a professional garage.
Should a climate motor have failed this may be covered under warranty I would need this to be checked.
Should you document the required evidence to this email address, with accurate assessment I will then add further comment."
"You will need to evidence a reason to reject the car with detailed diagnosis of the suggested issue.
I outlined this in my response.
We don't operate a simple rejection policy based on consumables such as oil.
All car's differ in consumption and it's not unreasonable to request further information.
The consumer rights acts still require evidencing.
You have a view and concern which we didn't have so it's fair to request evidence and not that of a colleague or employer who will naturally support what you wish."
After last e-mail I was unable to get any response from them anymore.
I was in contact with Citizen Advise all the time and due to their advices I sent letter before court claim to them - no effect as well.
At the moment I'm awaiting date of first hearing in small claims court. So far, I have prepared records of all e-mails (from me and from them), letters and phone calls witch attachments.
My questions to you:
- What are the chances of win in court and get my money back?
- What should I expect in court?
- What should I prepare and do before trial?
- Any other suggestions from you?
Thank you in advance for any responds, it is highly appreciated.
On 25/06/2022 I bought a Volvo v70 D4 for about £7000 from used car dealer. Three days after buying the car, a notification on the dashboard of the vehicle notified me to add 1 Litre of oil (photos attached), after adding 1 litre the notification disappeared until 7 days later when the notification reappeared mentioning the loss of oil again and asks to add 0.5 litre to the engine! Day 13 - same thing again... Message to add 0.5 liter of oil to the engine. I have driven this car about 380 miles so far, and I had to add 2 liters of oil to the engine.
I work for a large retail company who have an in house vehicle maintenance unit and was fortunate enough to have a colleague check the situation who suggested there is most likely a defect in the engine.
Subsequently, the orange engine management light was on which I'm told is an EGR problem? There is also a Climate control Issue with the right side temperature control nozzle motor apparently.
The vehicle is faulty. I felt very disappointed and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I requested for a full refund - I informed seller about it in formal letter in first 30 days after transaction. Next few weeks I spent on "fighting" them on e-mails. They weren't writing back for nearly a month, when they finally did, they refused to accept the return - they didn't even proposed to fix up the car, literally nothing. During this whole, long process of trying to contact them I called them few times and send a few official letters. Also, I did vehicle inspection in independent Volvo garage and send copy of that report to them (screenshoots - https://ibb.co/QQ5YKNW , https://ibb.co/7RS0dvc). Please see few fragments of e-mails from dealership below:
"Please find a response to your recent emails.
May I start by saying you have a warranty on email now that supports your car.
This warranty forms part of the sale pack and is in place for support if required.
You state an issue with the car taking oil. Often cars can use oil that may appear high in consumption, we do not guarantee oil consumption levels.
Should you feel the consumption levels feel high, this alone is not a reason to reject.
We would need to see evidence of failing parts and a reason with professional diagnosis.
We would also need evidence of failure.
The orange light needs professional diagnosis, EGR valves are not an item covered on warranty and warranty clearly states this.
Again, it would need to be evidenced that the vehicle needs that and put in writing by a professional garage.
Should a climate motor have failed this may be covered under warranty I would need this to be checked.
Should you document the required evidence to this email address, with accurate assessment I will then add further comment."
"You will need to evidence a reason to reject the car with detailed diagnosis of the suggested issue.
I outlined this in my response.
We don't operate a simple rejection policy based on consumables such as oil.
All car's differ in consumption and it's not unreasonable to request further information.
The consumer rights acts still require evidencing.
You have a view and concern which we didn't have so it's fair to request evidence and not that of a colleague or employer who will naturally support what you wish."
After last e-mail I was unable to get any response from them anymore.
I was in contact with Citizen Advise all the time and due to their advices I sent letter before court claim to them - no effect as well.
At the moment I'm awaiting date of first hearing in small claims court. So far, I have prepared records of all e-mails (from me and from them), letters and phone calls witch attachments.
My questions to you:
- What are the chances of win in court and get my money back?
- What should I expect in court?
- What should I prepare and do before trial?
- Any other suggestions from you?
Thank you in advance for any responds, it is highly appreciated.
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