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Hello,
I hope everyone is well.
On the 10th of August I purchased a used 2017 Vivaro van that came with a 1 month warranty. I paid a £100 deposit on credit card and the rest via bank transfer. Unfortunately, the very next day I was on the phone to the used dealer I bought the van from as the cruise control kept switching itself off and the error message "Check Cruise Control" appearing on the dashboard, as well as other messages such as Check Hill Start Assist, Check Braking System, Check ESC as well as the AdBlue sensor showing 0% in the tank even though there was some AdBlue within it. The garage said to drop the van off on the Monday, as it was Friday afternoon at this point. Over the course of the weekend most of the error messages stopped appearing but there was still a issue with the Cruise Control, AdBlue and noticed that first thing on a morning (when the engine is cold) it was taking around 5-7 seconds to turnover and start.
I dropped the van off at the garage, went through everything I experienced and also brought up the fact of the slow turnover - They said their mechanic will look into the issues and will let me know. A phone call on the afternoon revealed that a faulty pedal sensor was causing the issues, I asked what was causing the Adblue issue and they mentioned that it was due to the pedal sensor. I'm not a mechanic but worked on enough cars in the past to know that this can't be related, but apparently the van would be ready for me on the Tuesday.
Tuesday morning came and I travelled the 40 minutes to the dealer, the first obvious thing I could check was the Adblue level as you can check this on the dashboard; it was showing 0%. The owner of the dealer was busy with another customer, so I was dealing with one of the employees at this point. I showed the fact it was at 0% still and the employees response was that it should have been fixed by the garage, I replied that clearly it is not fixed as it's showing 0%. After a bit of back and forth, he let slip that they disabled the sensor because it's faulty but there's nothing wrong with it. I argued the fact that if there is Adblue fluid in the tank and it's showing 0% then there is a issue, but he kept saying there's nothing wrong it. My suspicion is that the Adblue system has been mapped out of the ECU either by themselves or a previous owner.
I noticed the owner walking the forecourt with no customers, so thought I would speak to them to clear up the issue, but when the owner seen me approaching, they quickly went inside the building.
Not being the confrontation type, I told the employee I will keep an eye on the issue and be back in touch.
I ran the van as normal for a few days to see how things went - the cruise control issue had been resolved, however the slow start issue and Adblue issues persisted. On the weekend of 19th August, I noticed that the bottom of the gearbox was wet which it definitely shouldn't be, I cleaned this up with some brake and clutch cleaner to see if it came back. I checked a couple of days later and the gearbox was wet again which indicates a leak, I don't have enough space to get under the van to see exactly where the leak was coming from, so took the van to a garage around the corner to take a quick look. They said it was either the clutch slave cylinder or driveshaft seal but without taking the gearbox out there was no way of knowing.
I rang back the used dealer again on 24th August and explained the situation as well as mentioning the slow start is still happening, they said their mechanic was on holiday and to bring the van on 18th September so they can take a look. I dropped the van off on the morning, and they were in touch by lunchtime to say it was the driveshaft seal leaking which was on order directly from Vauxhall and will be delivered on 19th September, they mentioned this will give them a good chance to see the van starting cold to take a look at this issue.
Just before the end of the day on the 19th, the dealer rang to say the van is ready and I agreed I would pick it up today (20th September). When I arrived onsite, the owner mentioned the driveshaft seal was at fault and has been replaced. I asked what was wrong to cause the slow start up, they said there was no issue and started fine every time - the owners phone then rang and walked away. I've driven home and popped the bonnet of the van and noticed straight away that the number 2 glow plug is unplugged. It could make sense as faulty glow plugs can cause slow starting, so it's a possibility they have unplugged it to get rid of the fault and thought I would never noticed. Just for reference I know 100% all glow plugs were plugged in before they had the van.
At this point, I am sick of dealing with them and just want the issues fixed but it doesn't seem as though they are willing or capable.
It's obviously too early to tell if the leak is still there and I will need to check over the next few days, and I will need to check the start up tomorrow morning when the engine is cold.
However, as far as I'm aware they haven't tried to fix the start up issue and if they think unplugging a faulty glow plug is the fix then it's not right.
I'm aware I have protection under the Consumer Act where they have 1 chance to resolve the issue. I'm also aware that I have Section 75 protection due to putting a £100 deposit on a credit card.
The outcome I would ideally like is a refund to cover the cost of resolving these issues at another garage that I trust. I understand that the Consumer Act could be the longer and more involved route, from what I've read online. Whereas under Section 75 the credit card company would deal with most things, but I'm unsure on the process of this. If I go the Section 75 route, would it be possible to get a partial refund to resolve the issues, or would they provide a full refund and I have to sell or give the van back to the dealer?
I appreciate this is a long post, but I wanted to be clear on the situation and thank you for any advice in advance.
I hope everyone is well.
On the 10th of August I purchased a used 2017 Vivaro van that came with a 1 month warranty. I paid a £100 deposit on credit card and the rest via bank transfer. Unfortunately, the very next day I was on the phone to the used dealer I bought the van from as the cruise control kept switching itself off and the error message "Check Cruise Control" appearing on the dashboard, as well as other messages such as Check Hill Start Assist, Check Braking System, Check ESC as well as the AdBlue sensor showing 0% in the tank even though there was some AdBlue within it. The garage said to drop the van off on the Monday, as it was Friday afternoon at this point. Over the course of the weekend most of the error messages stopped appearing but there was still a issue with the Cruise Control, AdBlue and noticed that first thing on a morning (when the engine is cold) it was taking around 5-7 seconds to turnover and start.
I dropped the van off at the garage, went through everything I experienced and also brought up the fact of the slow turnover - They said their mechanic will look into the issues and will let me know. A phone call on the afternoon revealed that a faulty pedal sensor was causing the issues, I asked what was causing the Adblue issue and they mentioned that it was due to the pedal sensor. I'm not a mechanic but worked on enough cars in the past to know that this can't be related, but apparently the van would be ready for me on the Tuesday.
Tuesday morning came and I travelled the 40 minutes to the dealer, the first obvious thing I could check was the Adblue level as you can check this on the dashboard; it was showing 0%. The owner of the dealer was busy with another customer, so I was dealing with one of the employees at this point. I showed the fact it was at 0% still and the employees response was that it should have been fixed by the garage, I replied that clearly it is not fixed as it's showing 0%. After a bit of back and forth, he let slip that they disabled the sensor because it's faulty but there's nothing wrong with it. I argued the fact that if there is Adblue fluid in the tank and it's showing 0% then there is a issue, but he kept saying there's nothing wrong it. My suspicion is that the Adblue system has been mapped out of the ECU either by themselves or a previous owner.
I noticed the owner walking the forecourt with no customers, so thought I would speak to them to clear up the issue, but when the owner seen me approaching, they quickly went inside the building.
Not being the confrontation type, I told the employee I will keep an eye on the issue and be back in touch.
I ran the van as normal for a few days to see how things went - the cruise control issue had been resolved, however the slow start issue and Adblue issues persisted. On the weekend of 19th August, I noticed that the bottom of the gearbox was wet which it definitely shouldn't be, I cleaned this up with some brake and clutch cleaner to see if it came back. I checked a couple of days later and the gearbox was wet again which indicates a leak, I don't have enough space to get under the van to see exactly where the leak was coming from, so took the van to a garage around the corner to take a quick look. They said it was either the clutch slave cylinder or driveshaft seal but without taking the gearbox out there was no way of knowing.
I rang back the used dealer again on 24th August and explained the situation as well as mentioning the slow start is still happening, they said their mechanic was on holiday and to bring the van on 18th September so they can take a look. I dropped the van off on the morning, and they were in touch by lunchtime to say it was the driveshaft seal leaking which was on order directly from Vauxhall and will be delivered on 19th September, they mentioned this will give them a good chance to see the van starting cold to take a look at this issue.
Just before the end of the day on the 19th, the dealer rang to say the van is ready and I agreed I would pick it up today (20th September). When I arrived onsite, the owner mentioned the driveshaft seal was at fault and has been replaced. I asked what was wrong to cause the slow start up, they said there was no issue and started fine every time - the owners phone then rang and walked away. I've driven home and popped the bonnet of the van and noticed straight away that the number 2 glow plug is unplugged. It could make sense as faulty glow plugs can cause slow starting, so it's a possibility they have unplugged it to get rid of the fault and thought I would never noticed. Just for reference I know 100% all glow plugs were plugged in before they had the van.
At this point, I am sick of dealing with them and just want the issues fixed but it doesn't seem as though they are willing or capable.
It's obviously too early to tell if the leak is still there and I will need to check over the next few days, and I will need to check the start up tomorrow morning when the engine is cold.
However, as far as I'm aware they haven't tried to fix the start up issue and if they think unplugging a faulty glow plug is the fix then it's not right.
I'm aware I have protection under the Consumer Act where they have 1 chance to resolve the issue. I'm also aware that I have Section 75 protection due to putting a £100 deposit on a credit card.
The outcome I would ideally like is a refund to cover the cost of resolving these issues at another garage that I trust. I understand that the Consumer Act could be the longer and more involved route, from what I've read online. Whereas under Section 75 the credit card company would deal with most things, but I'm unsure on the process of this. If I go the Section 75 route, would it be possible to get a partial refund to resolve the issues, or would they provide a full refund and I have to sell or give the van back to the dealer?
I appreciate this is a long post, but I wanted to be clear on the situation and thank you for any advice in advance.
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