Abarth 500 - Circa 20 faults in two years and still broke.

[BrokenAbarth]

Evening all.

I currently have an Abarth 500 which is on a PCP deal. I've had nothing but issues with it since I bought it, it's been into the dealer circa 20 times in the 26 months I've owned it for issues. It's had countless parts changed under warranty and has also been in a 6 month dispute with The Motoring Ombudsman who basically said they cannot do anything to help me except speak to the dealer and to be back in touch with them if my dealer fails to rectify problems, which surprise surprise, they have. My car has been in a further 5 times since the dispute ended and The Motoring Ombudsman are about as helpful as my dealer, they fail to respond to emails, make 'fake' promises over the phone and never return calls.

I would also like to note, The Motoring Ombudsman told me NOT to drive my vehicle whilst it was in the dispute in order for me to reject it under the Consumer Credit Act. This meant I had to insure another vehicle whilst also paying for my faulty car, in effect I was paying for two cars. The dealer I purchased the vehicle from (Arnold Clark) are quite a distance away from where I live. It means I have to take time off work, spend money on petrol and also add unnecessary miles to my vehicle in order to take my car in for work done whilst they expect me to pay £12 a day for a courtesy car.

Ive complained to Arnold Clark (including their head office), FCA as they’re my finance provider, Abarth UK (who are about as useful as Arnold Clark) and The Motoring Ombudsman and not one of them have been sympathetic and claim my car is road worthy.

This car is putting unnecessary stress on my life and has started to impact my health. I'm wanting to get rid of it but i'm unsure of the best way to do it. Do I sell private now and loose money or do I VT part way though next year? I'm worried about handing the car back at the end of my PCP and then them trying to blame me for faults that have been there since day one (radio still doesn't work and there's a load of rattles/squeaks).

For anyone interested, here are a list of faults it’s had:

Broken alloy centre caps.

The front headlamp units have been replaced as the wiring harness melted.

The daytime running light unit was rewired as the wires disconnected from the unit.

The rear light units have been changed once and still fill up with condensation.

The exhaust was resealed. This has been fitted incorrectly by Arnold Clark and now rattles when the car is cold. The tips are also uneven which is noticeable.

Loud squeak from the passenger side when driving over a hard/rough surface. Arnold Clark have failed to find the issue and this noise is still happening and has now turned into a loud vibrating noise.

Top mount has been replaced on the passenger side.

Passenger side shock has been replaced.

Passenger side arm has been replaced.

There was no top mount cover on the passenger side top mount when I purchased the vehicle. I had to ask Arnold Clark three times for this to be fitted.

Exterior door handle hinge replaced on the driver side.

Interior driver side handle came off which prevented me from exiting the vehicle.

The radio has never worked. The aerial base has been replaced twice and so has the aerial itself and still no reception. Arnold Clark claim they’re waiting for a physical radio to be delivered to them. I’ve been waiting over a month for an update on this and heard nothing.

My steering column was also not aligned properly, this had to be amended.

Scuttle panel has also been replaced as the clips were snapped by Arnold Clark.

My rear shocks now sound like they have gone,


Any help appreciated as I seriously don’t know what to do. I don’t need this stress in my life, especially at 22.

Regards

[BrokenAbarth]

Good afternoon all,

I've still heard nothing from The Motoring Ombudsman. I've sent them three emails over the past couple of weeks.

I've heard nothing from Arnold Clark regarding my replacement radio (been waiting over a month)

Can anyone help or shed some light?

Cheers

[BrokenAbarth]

R0b

I've just tagged you in the hope you could provide some info/help!

[Kati]

I'll tag des8 too xx

[des8]

Hi
So your vehicle is probably roadworthy, but would seem to be unsatisfactory in that it is not of the quality required, nor sufficiently durable.

I really don't know much about the costs of early termination, but if it is a 5 year deal I doubt you will have even paid the interest off, plus there may be penalties for early termination. There are settlement calculators available on line.



Did you purchase the vehicle new?
What is your mileage?
What is total mileage?

Although you have had a catalogue of problems many seem to have been sorted, and you are left with the following:

1)The rear light units have been changed once and still fill up with condensation.
2)The exhaust was resealed. This has been fitted incorrectly by Arnold Clark and now rattles when the car is cold. The tips are also uneven which is noticeable.
3)Loud squeak from the passenger side when driving over a hard/rough surface. Arnold Clark have failed to find the issue and this noise is still happening and has now turned into a loud vibrating noise.
4)The radio has never worked. The aerial base has been replaced twice and so has the aerial itself and still no reception. Arnold Clark claim they’re waiting for a physical radio to be delivered to them. I’ve been waiting over a month for an update on this and heard nothing.
5)My rear shocks now sound like they have gone,

It may be possible to reject the vehicle (depending on time restraints), or obtain a price reduction which would help if you were to VT

Tagging R0b again

[BrokenAbarth]

des8

thanks for the reply!

I purchased it brand new back in August 2015.

Ive already tried rejecting it which is why it went through the ombudsman and they said I couldn’t.

It just seems every time I get in, something else goes wrong and no one is willing to fix it or I’m fobbed off by the dealer.

I really did think the ombudsman would sort things out but to be honest, it was pointless me going to them.

[R0b]

Hello

Just for your understanding, it seems like you’ve made the same common mistake as most consumers in that you’ve gone to Arnold Clark. A PCP agreement like any hire purchase agreement is effectively a three way transaction. Arnold Clark negotiates the deal on behalf of Abarth and as soon as you put your name to the agreement, the ownership of the car is transferred to Abarth who in turn hires it out to you. Therefore any issues/dealings should be directed to Abarth only as they’re the contracting party.

You said you complained to the FCA but have you made a formal complaint and then pursued it to the Financial Ombudsman? If so what exactly did the FOS say? Are you able to post up there decision (personal info removed)?

if you’ve exhausted all options the only other route would be to commence legal proceedings and bring a claim that way for damages and a declaration from the court that it has been rejected and terminated. There could of course be some risk to you in the sense that your having to pay for application fees and may not be successful so it will turn on all of the evidence and what you’ve documented over the last 2 years. I’m wondering why it’s taken you so long to want to reject it or did you reject it earlier?

[des8]

I'm not a great fan of the ombudsman service, so you are just confirming my thoughts

Regarding rejection, it is not up to ombudsman but the courts if you were to go down that line.
Trouble is you are now over 2 years since purchasing and (unless the car has spent some 29 months with the dealer) you can't use the
Consumer Rights Act 2015
You would have to take action under the Sales of Goods Act 1979 which requires goods to be of ‘Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose And last a Reasonable length of Time’ .
The limitation Act allows you 6 years in which to bring an action for breach of contract.
However do not underestimate the stress and possible costs of court action.

[BrokenAbarth]

Hello

Just for your understanding, it seems like you’ve made the same common mistake as most consumers in that you’ve gone to Arnold Clark. A PCP agreement like any hire purchase agreement is effectively a three way transaction. Arnold Clark negotiates the deal on behalf of Abarth and as soon as you put your name to the agreement, the ownership of the car is transferred to Abarth who in turn hires it out to you. Therefore any issues/dealings should be directed to Abarth only as they’re the contracting party.

You said you complained to the FCA but have you made a formal complaint and then pursued it to the Financial Ombudsman? If so what exactly did the FOS say? Are you able to post up there decision (personal info removed)?

if you’ve exhausted all options the only other route would be to commence legal proceedings and bring a claim that way for damages and a declaration from the court that it has been rejected and terminated. There could of course be some risk to you in the sense that your having to pay for application fees and may not be successful so it will turn on all of the evidence and what you’ve documented over the last 2 years. I’m wondering why it’s taken you so long to want to reject it or did you reject it earlier?

Cheers for the reply Rob.

I'll post the outcome the MOS gave me when I get into work in the morning (typing this on my phone).

I don't really want to waste even more money going to court. I wasted £400 on insuring another car when The Motoring Ombudsman told me NOT to drive mine when they were dealing with the case.

It's taken me so long as it was only the odd fault appearing at first and I was in university at the time so I wasn't too fussed about taking it in but now it's gone too far and is happening every other week meaning I've got to take holidays from work which I could spend elsewhere.

I've recently gotten back in touch with Abarth so hopefully they can help, although I highly doubt they will.

I'm just worried about handing the car back (if I chose to) at the end of the PCP and them trying to blame me for little faults that have been there from the start.

Regards

[BrokenAbarth]

I'm not a great fan of the ombudsman service, so you are just confirming my thoughts

Regarding rejection, it is not up to ombudsman but the courts if you were to go down that line.
Trouble is you are now over 2 years since purchasing and (unless the car has spent some 29 months with the dealer) you can't use the
Consumer Rights Act 2015
You would have to take action under the Sales of Goods Act 1979 which requires goods to be of ‘Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose And last a Reasonable length of Time’ .
The limitation Act allows you 6 years in which to bring an action for breach of contract.
However do not underestimate the stress and possible costs of court action.

After this, I'm certainly not a fan of them either.

I don't think court will be an option as due to the bad luck I've had with this car will no doubt follow me to the courts and I'll end up losing there.

Regards