Bought a Lemon

[Hairy]

Hi all,hoping for a bit of advice.

In May of this year I bought a used car using a conditional sale agreement.It is a 2008 car,two former owners advertised with a full service history.It had 76000 miles on when I bought it but I thought it would be ok with it having a full service history.When I picked the car up I was told the service history had been "misplaced" but was assured it did have a full service history and not to worry they would "sort it out".After about three months I was told they had the service history and I could pick it up.Needless to say it has a 40000 mile gap in the service history but when I mentioned this I was again assured that it was just a case of getting the missing details filled in.That was over three months ago.

I have since lost all confidence in the dealer and have contacted the finance company explaining I would not have bought the vehicle without a full service history.They have told me without having the original advert stating "full service history" there is very little I can do.They have offered to pay for the vehicle to have a full health check at a main dealer but were a bit put off when I asked who pays for any faults they find?

Anyway,fast forward to today and I now have a car that is unusable.On Saturday it broke down three times and is now sitting outside my garage.It is also showing on the dash that a service is overdue,bearing in mind the dealer I bought it from supposedly serviced it and the service schedule is 12 months or 15000 miles.

I have written to the finance company asking to reject the vehicle but they have said this is not an option as I have no proof the car was advertised with a full service history.I have also stated all further payments will be made under protest until the matter is resolved.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am now at my wits end and seriously contemplating withholding payments.

I'm very sorry for the long winded post and really wish I had found this site months ago.

Thanks in advance,Hairy.

[Amethyst]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Where was the car advertised ?

I'm trying to work out the dates - you seem to have owned the car for over six months now ?

[Hairy]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Hi Amethyst,thanks for the quick reply.

I bought the car at a well known used car supermarket.It was advertised online and according to Autotrader they no longer have a copy of the advert.I have had the car since 24th of May.

[Amethyst]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Okay - I have no clue about car servicing or how long it should be between services /mileages etc.

The 40,000 mile gap in the service history - is that recent ? Had the garage you bought it from done a service ?

When you say ''They have offered to pay for the vehicle to have a full health check at a main dealer but were a bit put off when I asked who pays for any faults they find?'' Who do you mean - the car supermarket place or the finance company ?

[Hairy]

Re: Bought a Lemon

The service book I have is stamped at 35167 miles on 27/7/10 then there is a space where another stamp should be then a stamp from the garage I bought it from with 76977 miles dated 29/5/13 so it has a gap of almost 3 years and over 40000 miles.The manufacturer states in the service schedule every 12 months or 15000 miles.

It is the finance company who have offered the inspection.

[Galahad]

Re: Bought a Lemon

What vehicle is it? Depending on make and model, some ECU's store servicing details, would be interesting to find out if the service record stored in the ECU matches with what you've been told.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bought a Lemon

What vehicle is it?

Citron? :grin:

[Hairy]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Hello Galahad,thanks for the reply.It is a 2008 Land Rover Freelander 2 td4 SE.It would be very interesting indeed.

[brian77]

Re: Bought a Lemon

How would an ECU reading make any difference, if you can't prove that the advert said "full service history" ? To me it would be a waste of more money.
Cheers Brian

[Galahad]

Re: Bought a Lemon

How would an ECU reading make any difference, if you can't prove that the advert said "full service history" ? To me it would be a waste of more money.
Cheers Brian

Because if the service record in the ECU doesn't match with the paper record, then theres proof right there that something is amiss.

[Galahad]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Hello Galahad,thanks for the reply.It is a 2008 Land Rover Freelander 2 td4 SE.It would be very interesting indeed.

I would ring up your local Land Rover dealer and ask, I have a feeling this model does indeed store service records in the ECU, and a dealer can read them out to you and print them off, if they differ significantly from the paper record, then thats only going to help you.

[charitynjw]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Hi Hairy,

Have you tried the Wayback Machine?

[charitynjw]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Citron? :grin:

msl::laugh:

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bought a Lemon

I would ring up your local Land Rover dealer and ask, I have a feeling this model does indeed store service records in the ECU, and a dealer can read them out to you and print them off; if they differ significantly from the paper record, then that's only going to help you.

What nobody has yet mentioned is that it is quite easy to check the MOT history of any motor car, via the VOSA website - link

However, I believe the matter of the service history may be somewhat irrelevant, as the Sale of Goods Act requires that goods sold should be reasonably durable. Whilst one would not reasonably expect a used Land Rover to be perfect - even if it really had only been used by a little old lady to go to and from church on Sundays - one would also not expect it to pack up after only six months of use.

It may also be worthwhile to point out that, under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 - link - the finance company is also liable as well as the dealer.

[VF700fen]

Re: Bought a Lemon

Because if the service record in the ECU doesn't match with the paper record, then theres proof right there that something is amiss.

Most modern vehicles (1999 or thereabouts and upwards) have to have the service light reset after servicing. In many cases this cannot be done manually and has to be done via computer link up to the ECU. A full diagnostics check on a vehicle's ECU should show when it was last reset plus all the other service fault codes that are stored in the ECU as well. So yes you could get proof that way. But an even easier way of checking whether the vehicle was serviced by the place where you bought it from or not is to pull the dipstick, wipe it, re-insert it and then pull it again and check the level. Then smell the oil on the end of the stick - If it stinks of Diesel/Petrol then they have done sweet FA. A service on a diesel usually involves replacing the filters and oil in the engine which should still be relatively clean and not smell of diesel after 6 months of use by you.