Faulty car

[Mollyj]

Hi my 18 year old son bought a 3 year old vw golf 6 months ago with 14000 on the clock & within weeks the car stalled in the outer lane if the motorway. The dealer denied any problem, the same problem occurred numerous times & he contacted his finance company Barclays. He was told to give the dealer another chance to sort the problem. They fitted a camshaft sensor as this was a code seen by his breakdown company. The dealer denies any other fault codes were present. The day after this was fitted another car scraped down the side of his car & it went to the insurance to be resprayed. Whilst there the car wouldn't start & it showed low fuel pressure fault codes. It was sent to VW & they said it was a fuel pump problem, which accounts for the stalling problems. But the car still wouldn't start & they were unable to find the problem. Barclays said it was caused by the minor accident despite the problems with stalling & rattling being present from a few weeks after buying. So he took it to the ombudsman & they have ruled in favour with Barclays!!! They said there was no fault present when purchased because it didn't occur until after a few weeks & are basically blaming him for high mileage which he did do 14000. Miles in 5 months. But when the first problem occurred he'd only done around 1000 miles. They also said they think it could be the immobiliser being damaged when resprayed, which VW deny & no immobiliser faults are present. vW say previous fault codes have been wiped several times probably by the dealer, as they always denied any codes were present. He is now stuck with a car that won't start & £10,000 of debt!! Any other options open to him as he is desperate & is getting more & more depressed & stressed??? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.

[des8]

Re: Faulty car

Hi and welcome.
Your son has problems!

What was the exact purchase date, and when was delivery taken?

How soon after purchase did the first fault materialise?
How often did that occur?
Did he keep a log of the incidents?
Was it referred back to the dealer each time?

RE the accident... was this covered by his own insurers or the third party insurers?

Who suggested the immobiliser was damaged?

Having referred it to VW (main dealer?) were they content to diagnose a faulty fuel pump and leave it at that?
I find it odd that they can't find the problem.
Has this been reported to VW?

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

Hi thanks for your reply. He purchased & got the car on 23rd June 2015 & the stalling on the motorway happened on 11th August. The dealer was told straight away & said there were no fault codes. Then after that the engine management light kept coming on every few days. By 11th sept the car had stalled for the 5th time & had rattling from the engine. On one occasion the breakdown company was called & said a camshaft sensor fault code was present. He kept I full log of all incidents with video evidence of the fault lights on the dashboard. He also got video evidence of the vw garage saying that there was a fuel pump fault & that the stalling was a sign of this. The vw garage where the car was sent by his insurance company also provided a letter to say it was very unlikely to be accidental damage & that the fuel pump was the initial problem, but the car still wouldn't start. They tried various other stuff, but the insurance company asked them to stop with investigations due to the rising cost. They had contacted vw uk who suggested looking at the circuit board or something. The dealer whom he bought the car from, informed the ombudsman that it could of been caused by damage to the immobiliser, which the ombudsman accepted as a possible cause. The vw garage who had the car in for repair doubt very much that the fault is caused by the respray as does a mechanic whom we know. The vw garage is going to try & supply dates that the fault codes were erased, to prove the dealer was trying to hide the faults with the car. He has a right of appeal with the ombudsman but looking at others experiences this is highly unlikely to be successful. We have no idea where to turn next...it's a complete nightmare!!!

- - - Updated - - -

Everytime there was a fault the car was taken to the dealer. Barclays finance denied the car was dangerous...despite stalling on the motorway!!!

[charitynjw]

Re: Faulty car

Hi Mollyj

Was the FO involved as a result of a CCA s75 claim?

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/goods-and-services-bought-with-credit.html

[des8]

Re: Faulty car

I personally would not bother with the FO as have always found them a waste of space and time consuming.

It seems that he will have to take action under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
This requires goods to be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.
If they are not the buyer has the right to reject the goods for up to six years.
If rejected in the first 6 months it is up to the seller to show the goods were of satisfactory quality etc.
If rejected after 6 months the buyer has to show the goods were unsatisfactory at time of purchase. (there seem to be plenty of pointers to this)

When the vehicle was returned for repairs was there ever any talk about rejecting the vehicle?

If successful he will probably not recover the full expenditure, as he has had use of the vehicle, and this will be taken into account

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

Hi thanks for your reply. He told the dealer he wanted his money back & wanted to hand the car back from the first incident because the car was dangerous, but they refused. They told him there was no fault, because there were no fault codes showing up. Which is why he contacted Barclays finance & told then he wanted to hand the car back, but they said to give the dealer another chance to sort the car. Then the problem with the car not starting happened & it went to the ombudsman stating that he wanted to hand the car back & get a refund. When u say he needs to take action under the sale of goods act, do u mean he needs to get solicitor??? If that's the case do u know roughly how much ur would be?? Thanks.

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

Charitynjw I think that's probably what it was. We contacted then to say the car wasn't fit for purpose as it was dangerous.

[des8]

Re: Faulty car

Barclays Finance were out of order saying he had to give the dealer another chance.

So was the dealer told that your son wanted to reject the car during the first six months?
If yes was it by chance in writing?

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

Yes the dealer was told he wanted to reject the car several times in the first 6 months. At least one of these times was by email, so he might have a record of this.

[des8]

Re: Faulty car

Be really useful to find that email!

So what would be the best result for your son?:
i)outright rejection of the vehicle. If successful this would result in return of the vehicle to the dealer and a certain amount of refund to your son.
The refund would take into account the mileage covered by your son, and possibly loss of value due to the accident.
ii) repair and retention of the vehicle
iii) replacement of the vehicle. This would be for a vehicle similar in value to the current value of the existing vehicle (in a road going condition!)

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

If he finds that email how does he use that to resolve the situation if the ombudsman have rejected his case? Because the dealer & Barclays are basically saying there is nothing else they are going to do, in their eyes the case is closed. Where does he turn to next?

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

The best outcome for him & what he's wanted since all the faults started to appear, is to hand the car back. Even if he has to pay a few thousand back for the high mileage, it better than being stuck with a car that he can't use & £10000 of debt.

[des8]

Re: Faulty car

The FOS decision is not binding on the consumer, so it can be ignored.
Barclays would much prefer the loan remains so they collect the interest: they aren't interested in the consumer's rights.

Presumably buying on Hire Purchase?

He will eventually probably need to go to court.

First step write letters headed "Letter before Claim" to the dealer & the finance house referring to his purchase of the vehicle eg date and price etc.
Then refer to the Sale of Goods Act 1979. (and Consumer Credit Act 1974 in letter to Barclays)
Then remind them the vehicle was rejected within the six month period allowed by that act.
List the occasions (if he can remember) and confirm by reference to the email (if he traces it!)
There were several opportunities to repair the vehicle, which have failed, and so the original rejection stands.
Then tell them they have two weeks in which to come to an agreement over the amount of the refund due and to arrange collection of the vehicle.
Give an estimate of how much he requires refunded (don't underestimate and leave room to negotiate!)
Advise that lack of a satisfactory response will result in the issuance of court papers

He must not use the vehicle in the meantime (even if he gets it going)

[Mollyj]

Re: Faulty car

Thank you for the advice, it's a great help & we are willing to try anything just to get rid of this dangerous car. I will give this a try & see where we go from here. I thought the ombudsman was something consumers could rely on, but after this I've realised they are not. I really appreciate all the advice you have given me, so thanks again.