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Apologies for the long read.
Bought a used vehicle with a couple of issues, listed below. Vehicle was purchased at the end of March this year over the phone and was delivered to my house. Balance was paid by a small bank transfer for initial deposit, part exchange the majority and a reasonable chunk on credit card.
First issue - The car was described as having full service history (2 year 21,000 mile intervals) and has two service records, not the three it should have (70,000 miles now).
Second issue - large chip in the windscreen on delivery which has subsequently cracked - I get this one is hard to prove and it's a used car so maybe take this on the chin.
Third biggest issue - The car has a rattle coming from the timing chain - I have sent a video of this to two independent mechanics who have both said sounds exactly like the issue it would cost over £2,000 to replace and rectify.
I tried contacting him Thursday and Friday via email and got no reply, so had to call him Saturday, he told me he did receive the emails but was busy with his family - fine no problem. I initially asked him to have a look or if he was happy for me to get a report from the mechanics who had heard the video and send it to him. He is about a 170-180 mile round trip away so it's not somewhere I can just pop back too. He said on the phone, "the car is lovely, but this engine can suffer from this issue, it's quite common and it's not down to me to replace it, you should contact the manufacturer (the car is just over 5 years old so well out of warranty), I can get it done with my trade discount at my mechanic for you". I was a bit taken back by this having owned the car two weeks being told it has a common fault and I should be expected to pay to replace. I said to him at this point, if it's a case you're not interested in helping I wish to exercise my rights to reject the vehicle under the 14 day ruling (this was day 13). He then stated that I don't have any distance sale rights as I paid the balance when his driver delivered the car to my house. I can't see that he's correct on this point as I never once visited his premises.
He said if I could get the car to his mechanic on Monday morning (late Saturday he said this) they can do a diagnosis and if it's a fault then he will give my part exchange back and reverse the deal but only if his mechanic states there is a fault, no one else. I said to him it's impossible for me to get time off work at such short notice, plus the fact his mechanic could be prompted to say anything, I can book it in somewhere else when I can get time off but at a garage more local to me. He said fine but this must be done within 7 days and I need a full detailed report confirming the issue. He wants to return my part exchange and reverse the deal but only if a report confirms the fault.
Now I actually really like the car issues aside (hence why I bought it),I've reiterated this fact to him numerous times. I've had it professionally detailed, booked it in for a service with the main dealer as it's a car we planned on keeping for a long time. My part exchange was a very nice car and genuinely fault free, but it just no longer suits our needs and we don't really want not back as he's stated it'll have another owner listed and be devalued.
I wonder if a section 75 claim would cover the cost of a repair and the cost of the report to say there is a fault and have them battle this unnecessary saga out with the dealer. I'd much prefer the car fixed and keep the vehicle, but he isn't offering that as an option and insists that car is fully working fault free.
Thanks in advance.
Bought a used vehicle with a couple of issues, listed below. Vehicle was purchased at the end of March this year over the phone and was delivered to my house. Balance was paid by a small bank transfer for initial deposit, part exchange the majority and a reasonable chunk on credit card.
First issue - The car was described as having full service history (2 year 21,000 mile intervals) and has two service records, not the three it should have (70,000 miles now).
Second issue - large chip in the windscreen on delivery which has subsequently cracked - I get this one is hard to prove and it's a used car so maybe take this on the chin.
Third biggest issue - The car has a rattle coming from the timing chain - I have sent a video of this to two independent mechanics who have both said sounds exactly like the issue it would cost over £2,000 to replace and rectify.
I tried contacting him Thursday and Friday via email and got no reply, so had to call him Saturday, he told me he did receive the emails but was busy with his family - fine no problem. I initially asked him to have a look or if he was happy for me to get a report from the mechanics who had heard the video and send it to him. He is about a 170-180 mile round trip away so it's not somewhere I can just pop back too. He said on the phone, "the car is lovely, but this engine can suffer from this issue, it's quite common and it's not down to me to replace it, you should contact the manufacturer (the car is just over 5 years old so well out of warranty), I can get it done with my trade discount at my mechanic for you". I was a bit taken back by this having owned the car two weeks being told it has a common fault and I should be expected to pay to replace. I said to him at this point, if it's a case you're not interested in helping I wish to exercise my rights to reject the vehicle under the 14 day ruling (this was day 13). He then stated that I don't have any distance sale rights as I paid the balance when his driver delivered the car to my house. I can't see that he's correct on this point as I never once visited his premises.
He said if I could get the car to his mechanic on Monday morning (late Saturday he said this) they can do a diagnosis and if it's a fault then he will give my part exchange back and reverse the deal but only if his mechanic states there is a fault, no one else. I said to him it's impossible for me to get time off work at such short notice, plus the fact his mechanic could be prompted to say anything, I can book it in somewhere else when I can get time off but at a garage more local to me. He said fine but this must be done within 7 days and I need a full detailed report confirming the issue. He wants to return my part exchange and reverse the deal but only if a report confirms the fault.
Now I actually really like the car issues aside (hence why I bought it),I've reiterated this fact to him numerous times. I've had it professionally detailed, booked it in for a service with the main dealer as it's a car we planned on keeping for a long time. My part exchange was a very nice car and genuinely fault free, but it just no longer suits our needs and we don't really want not back as he's stated it'll have another owner listed and be devalued.
I wonder if a section 75 claim would cover the cost of a repair and the cost of the report to say there is a fault and have them battle this unnecessary saga out with the dealer. I'd much prefer the car fixed and keep the vehicle, but he isn't offering that as an option and insists that car is fully working fault free.
Thanks in advance.
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