Problems with 2nd hand Fiat Van

[dogtired]

Second post so should be better this time!
In April we had a Ford Transit van that failed its mot, partner needed van for tools for work and had see a Fiat Ducato at a 2nd hand garage we had already had dealings with. (no problems with the car as yet).
He said he would sell it to us and get a new mot.
Two weeks after getting it we had to get a new front tyre as it burst and when the tyre place inspected it it was that bad it was just dust inside. £75 thankyou.
Then about three weeks ago we noticed a grating noise seemed to be coming from the front wheels, thought it may be stones as we live on an unmade road so that was likely but were unable to see properly.
We took it to a local lad this week and the front brakes and disks were "shot" the front passinger side was that bad the disk had fallen out. also the rear shocks were shot .£400 thank you
We asked him if it should have passed its mot in this state he would not say directly but his expresion said it all.
My question is would we have any "come back" from the garage we bought it from or is it just a case of "buyer beware"

[Amy]

Re: Problems with 2nd hand Fiat Van

Have you spoken with the trader who sold you the van about these problems? If not, you should and you really should have taken the van back to him and shown him the problems before you had them fixed.

The trader should be given the option to rectify the situation before you take any action and if he chooses not to then you are within your rights to reject the vehicle formally under Sale of Goods Act 1979 s.14 (2) that the vehicle be of satisfactory quality and s.14 (3) that the vehicle be reasonably fit for purpose.

The problem is likely to be that he will say he could have had the van fixed for less, but you won't know this unless you ask him.

[dogtired]

Re: Problems with 2nd hand Fiat Van

Yes we did tell him about the tyre problem, we had to get that fixed locally as his place is about 15 miles from us.
He has had "staffing" problems and after several tries to contact him by phone re the brakes we again took it locally.
I eventually got hold of him last week and all he said was "oh dear" ..We dont do the mots here the bloke over the road does them .. he is usually very good!"
"Our" mechanic is a decent bloke and I dont think he would have ripped us off, besides he showed me the remains of the brakes and although I have limited experiance as to what they should look like ( I ride a moped!) they looked bad to me.
Think we will have to out it down to expereance, get any other car/van checked before we buy it and NOT give the guy who sold it to us our custom again!

[Amethyst]

Re: Problems with 2nd hand Fiat Van

Have mechanic and MOT tester on phone so apologies if this is a bit rambley. He'll pop along later and correct anything if I have got it wrong.

Re the tyre - at the time of the mot as long as the tyre had a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm across central 3/4 of tyre width around whole circumference without any visible cords and was the same size as opposing tyre - and as long as the load rating was correct - then it would of passed an MOT.

A burst tyre can happen at anytime and its running it deflated that causes the rubber to granulate inside ( creates the dust ). So am afraid the tyre - you dont have a leg to stand on.


Brakes - minimum standard for an mot test is that the brake pad has to have a minimum of 1.5mm friction material remaining (they start off with 10mm). this can sometimes be difficult to see ie if its fitted with wheel trims etc so they cant physically measure and the mot tester has to use his own discretion (as the mot tester isnt allowed to remove anything from car inc wheel trims etc) Its highly unlikley that it was a brake disc had fallen out it sounds like the brake pad had worn away past the friction material and on to the metal backing plate, this would have been noticeable long before the brake pad fell out. ie. in three months it could have worn down that far so it would have been okay at the mot. You'd have heard a grating noise coming from the wheel area before it fell out? depending on how much mileage, weight in van etc the brake pads would wear quite quickly and be impossible to prove that there was less than 1.5mm at the time of the mot - three months is a long time so its doubtful you would have any recourse on that.

Rear shocks - again three months is a long time, how were the shocks shot ? were they leaking ? were the mounting bushes worn ? depends on how its been used/driven - again be difficult to prove the shocks were faulty at time of the mot

the only way you test shock absorbers on mot is basically you push down on each corner of the vehicle and test the bounce (ie if the vehicle keeps bouncing thats a sign they may be weak) they also check for fluid leaks and worn fixing points . so again you'd have difficulty proving they were knackered at time of test.

unless you had a warranty unfortunately theres no come back. Sale of Goods act wouldnt come into it as these items are all wear and tear parts, the mot makes it fit for purpose and in a roadworthy condition and it complies with construction and use regulations and the road traffic act.

Think we will have to out it down to expereance, get any other car/van checked before we buy it

Thats the best idea when buying any vehicle something like an AA inspection(the MOT is the bare minimum standard for roadworthiness) - then if problems do come up after the mot you know that things occured after.