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Hi everyone,
I've been reading through all the car rejection posts on here and finally decided to sign up so I can get some advice from the amazingly helpful peeps on here.
17/11/2021 - paid £200 deposit for a 2009 BMW 1 series (120i). It was advertised on Auto Trader for £3295 with 127,000 miles on the clock. The price on AT was highlighted as being higher than average but the description made it seem worth it. It was described as having one owner from new, superb condition throughout with full service (not service history btw), new mot and 12 months warranty. I was desperate for a 120i and all the others I had seen had 6 plus owners with quite a few advisories on the mot's. This one had 1 owner and only one advisory to do with misting on the shock absorber.
I went to the garage on 19/11/2021 and met with the dealer to finalise payment. I didn't have it checked as he had assured me on the phone that the car was mint and everything was working as it should. I did ask about the timing chain as I had read online that this needs to be changed at some point. He said there was nothing wrong with the chain and I would be wasting money getting it changed. I didn't test drive it which I know is a mistake now. Whilst we were doing the paperwork he mentioned that they had fixed a number of issues with the car that I wasn't aware of before, including a faulty ecu, rocker cover, coil pack, driver side seat that was ripped and a few other things. I had already paid a deposit and he seemed like a genuine guy so I paid the remaining £3095 via bank transfer. We also completed the tax and log book before I left so I was legal to drive it home.
On the way back to Birmingham (from Walsall) about 20 minutes into the drive the car began to lose power. The dashboard lit up with all sorts of warning lights, with the main one being ABS. Every time I tried to accelerate the car would slow down and the ABS light would come on. I stayed calm though and got the car home where I immediately called the dealer. He told me it was normal and that all I needed to do was turn the car off and on again. I tried this but the ABS light stayed on. I called him again and he said he would send someone to reset the ecu or something, but no one arrived and he ignored my calls. I was working over the weekend so had no choice but to drive the car. After a day or so the dashboard was clear of warning lights so I emailed the dealer on the Monday to let him know (even though he hadn't bothered to contact me) that the car was ok now, and thanked him for everything (why?).
Outside of my short commute to work I don't really use the car much except for the school run. Monday (22/11) and Tuesday (23/11) it was mostly parked on my driveway as I was off work. On the Wednesday (24/11) as I headed to work the car again lost power but this time the red oil pressure light came on. I knew this light meant business so parked the car and turned the engine off. I waited 5 minutes before restarting the engine to find the light had gone. I had to get to work so continued my journey. The light came on again before I got to work. The next 11 hours of my shift wee spent googling "red oil pressure light bmw 1 series". As you can imagine my heart sank when almost every post had the OP being advised to reject the car, or its going to cost thousands to repair etc etc. I work nights so in the morning (25/11) I called a local BMW specialist I found on Yell. He agreed to check the car for £50. I dropped it off and went back in the evening. He confirmed that the oil pressure was too low, but that the sensor and oil levels were fine. He said in his opinion it was most likely caused by a faulty oil pump. He said he has seen it before and that it would need a check/change of the timing chain and tensioners, adding that it was not a cheap repair. He also advised me not to drive the car again once I get it home. Before I left he said I should reject the car as I'd only had it less than a week. I took the car home and left it on the driveway. The red light also showed up again whilst taking it home. I did not drive it again. I tried to call the dealer all evening but no luck so decided I was going to go and see him the following morning. I got a taxi to work that night and during my break drafted a letter of rejection with the intention of handing it to him at the garage. In the morning (26/11) I tried calling him again as I didn't want to show up unannounced. The dealer called me just as we were about to leave so I ended up telling him briefly what had happened over the phone. He instantly got defensive telling me that the inspection was wrong and that he wanted to check the car. I went to see him anyway that morning as I didn't want to end it like we had over the phone. On the way to Walsall I called Citizen's advice as I was nervous about what to say. They said I should not hand him letter but instead post it recorded and explain to him that I want to reject the car and why. The meeting didn't go down too well, with him telling me that he had the right to repair and threatening to write down everything I said and use it against me. All I said was what I had read online and what the mechanic had told me, that low oil pressure is a serious fault and will lead to engine damage (if not already). I remember I called it the red light of death which he got upset about telling me to be careful about what I say. I told him It was a term I had seen the warning light called on a BMW forum and that was all. He also said the job was easy and he could do it for much less. I said I did not want a repair and wished to reject the vehicle under the CRA 2015. We left with him saying I should put it in writing, which I did and sent signed for the same day. He later sent me a text to say he had arranged for the car to be recovered on Monday (29/11), which it was. He initially wanted me to drive it to Walsall but I refused as I didn't want to damage the car. The guy that came to recover it was also trying to tell me there was nothing wrong with it when it started first time. I said that wasn't the issue, the issue is when I'm driving the red oil pressure light comes on indicating a fault. I filmed him drive the car to the truck and leaving just in case he tried to say I drove it.
I should add that because I was worried the dealer may ignore the report from the first mechanic I had a second (mobile) mechanic check the car at my home the day before (28/11) it was recovered. He also confirmed the oil pressure issue and found fault codes to reflect that on the diagnostics test. He also found other codes and an oil leak within the engine that he said was quite serious. An oil leak was highlighted in the pervious Mot which I asked about on the day of purchase and was told by the dealer that it was sorted. Hence why it was not on the new mot. The mobile mechanic sent me a report in which he stated that in his professional opinion such issues do not spontaneously happen within one week of ownership so were most likely present before purchase. The majority of his work is done on BMW's.
So as it stands today the dealer has had the car for a week and not got back to me. I have a feeling he may think he can wait for 30 days and refer me to the warranty, which is with Handler protect, who have more than their fair share of negative reviews, especially when it comes to paying out for older and higher mileage cars.
CAB say I should refrain from contacting him unnecessarily but its killing me not knowing. Not having a car is just impossible right now. I have the school run, work, hospital apps etc to do and its 10x harder ( and expensive - taxis) without my own transport. He did try to offer ( well force really) me to take a courtesy car but I refused. I want to add that I really did love the car, I bought a stop lock (£80) and other little things as I was so excited with my new motor. My kids were gutted to see it go too, as it was nice for them to seem me with a decent car for once. I had scrapped my 2003 golf tdi a week earlier after owning it from new. The day it was recovered it had £50 worth of petrol in it too so its not like I planned to give it back. I would even consider a repair but I don't trust the dealer will spend the money and do a thorough repair. According to most bmw forums the red oil pressure light always comes back, usually followed by a massive bill for engine repair. I don't want to take that risk. I took a bank loan of £3000 to get the car too which I'm paying with nothing to show for it.
Sorry for the long post but I'm just fed up with it all now. Any advice please is much appreciated.
I've been reading through all the car rejection posts on here and finally decided to sign up so I can get some advice from the amazingly helpful peeps on here.
17/11/2021 - paid £200 deposit for a 2009 BMW 1 series (120i). It was advertised on Auto Trader for £3295 with 127,000 miles on the clock. The price on AT was highlighted as being higher than average but the description made it seem worth it. It was described as having one owner from new, superb condition throughout with full service (not service history btw), new mot and 12 months warranty. I was desperate for a 120i and all the others I had seen had 6 plus owners with quite a few advisories on the mot's. This one had 1 owner and only one advisory to do with misting on the shock absorber.
I went to the garage on 19/11/2021 and met with the dealer to finalise payment. I didn't have it checked as he had assured me on the phone that the car was mint and everything was working as it should. I did ask about the timing chain as I had read online that this needs to be changed at some point. He said there was nothing wrong with the chain and I would be wasting money getting it changed. I didn't test drive it which I know is a mistake now. Whilst we were doing the paperwork he mentioned that they had fixed a number of issues with the car that I wasn't aware of before, including a faulty ecu, rocker cover, coil pack, driver side seat that was ripped and a few other things. I had already paid a deposit and he seemed like a genuine guy so I paid the remaining £3095 via bank transfer. We also completed the tax and log book before I left so I was legal to drive it home.
On the way back to Birmingham (from Walsall) about 20 minutes into the drive the car began to lose power. The dashboard lit up with all sorts of warning lights, with the main one being ABS. Every time I tried to accelerate the car would slow down and the ABS light would come on. I stayed calm though and got the car home where I immediately called the dealer. He told me it was normal and that all I needed to do was turn the car off and on again. I tried this but the ABS light stayed on. I called him again and he said he would send someone to reset the ecu or something, but no one arrived and he ignored my calls. I was working over the weekend so had no choice but to drive the car. After a day or so the dashboard was clear of warning lights so I emailed the dealer on the Monday to let him know (even though he hadn't bothered to contact me) that the car was ok now, and thanked him for everything (why?).
Outside of my short commute to work I don't really use the car much except for the school run. Monday (22/11) and Tuesday (23/11) it was mostly parked on my driveway as I was off work. On the Wednesday (24/11) as I headed to work the car again lost power but this time the red oil pressure light came on. I knew this light meant business so parked the car and turned the engine off. I waited 5 minutes before restarting the engine to find the light had gone. I had to get to work so continued my journey. The light came on again before I got to work. The next 11 hours of my shift wee spent googling "red oil pressure light bmw 1 series". As you can imagine my heart sank when almost every post had the OP being advised to reject the car, or its going to cost thousands to repair etc etc. I work nights so in the morning (25/11) I called a local BMW specialist I found on Yell. He agreed to check the car for £50. I dropped it off and went back in the evening. He confirmed that the oil pressure was too low, but that the sensor and oil levels were fine. He said in his opinion it was most likely caused by a faulty oil pump. He said he has seen it before and that it would need a check/change of the timing chain and tensioners, adding that it was not a cheap repair. He also advised me not to drive the car again once I get it home. Before I left he said I should reject the car as I'd only had it less than a week. I took the car home and left it on the driveway. The red light also showed up again whilst taking it home. I did not drive it again. I tried to call the dealer all evening but no luck so decided I was going to go and see him the following morning. I got a taxi to work that night and during my break drafted a letter of rejection with the intention of handing it to him at the garage. In the morning (26/11) I tried calling him again as I didn't want to show up unannounced. The dealer called me just as we were about to leave so I ended up telling him briefly what had happened over the phone. He instantly got defensive telling me that the inspection was wrong and that he wanted to check the car. I went to see him anyway that morning as I didn't want to end it like we had over the phone. On the way to Walsall I called Citizen's advice as I was nervous about what to say. They said I should not hand him letter but instead post it recorded and explain to him that I want to reject the car and why. The meeting didn't go down too well, with him telling me that he had the right to repair and threatening to write down everything I said and use it against me. All I said was what I had read online and what the mechanic had told me, that low oil pressure is a serious fault and will lead to engine damage (if not already). I remember I called it the red light of death which he got upset about telling me to be careful about what I say. I told him It was a term I had seen the warning light called on a BMW forum and that was all. He also said the job was easy and he could do it for much less. I said I did not want a repair and wished to reject the vehicle under the CRA 2015. We left with him saying I should put it in writing, which I did and sent signed for the same day. He later sent me a text to say he had arranged for the car to be recovered on Monday (29/11), which it was. He initially wanted me to drive it to Walsall but I refused as I didn't want to damage the car. The guy that came to recover it was also trying to tell me there was nothing wrong with it when it started first time. I said that wasn't the issue, the issue is when I'm driving the red oil pressure light comes on indicating a fault. I filmed him drive the car to the truck and leaving just in case he tried to say I drove it.
I should add that because I was worried the dealer may ignore the report from the first mechanic I had a second (mobile) mechanic check the car at my home the day before (28/11) it was recovered. He also confirmed the oil pressure issue and found fault codes to reflect that on the diagnostics test. He also found other codes and an oil leak within the engine that he said was quite serious. An oil leak was highlighted in the pervious Mot which I asked about on the day of purchase and was told by the dealer that it was sorted. Hence why it was not on the new mot. The mobile mechanic sent me a report in which he stated that in his professional opinion such issues do not spontaneously happen within one week of ownership so were most likely present before purchase. The majority of his work is done on BMW's.
So as it stands today the dealer has had the car for a week and not got back to me. I have a feeling he may think he can wait for 30 days and refer me to the warranty, which is with Handler protect, who have more than their fair share of negative reviews, especially when it comes to paying out for older and higher mileage cars.
CAB say I should refrain from contacting him unnecessarily but its killing me not knowing. Not having a car is just impossible right now. I have the school run, work, hospital apps etc to do and its 10x harder ( and expensive - taxis) without my own transport. He did try to offer ( well force really) me to take a courtesy car but I refused. I want to add that I really did love the car, I bought a stop lock (£80) and other little things as I was so excited with my new motor. My kids were gutted to see it go too, as it was nice for them to seem me with a decent car for once. I had scrapped my 2003 golf tdi a week earlier after owning it from new. The day it was recovered it had £50 worth of petrol in it too so its not like I planned to give it back. I would even consider a repair but I don't trust the dealer will spend the money and do a thorough repair. According to most bmw forums the red oil pressure light always comes back, usually followed by a massive bill for engine repair. I don't want to take that risk. I took a bank loan of £3000 to get the car too which I'm paying with nothing to show for it.
Sorry for the long post but I'm just fed up with it all now. Any advice please is much appreciated.
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