Thank you very much for your replies. I paid £1795 for a 54 reg Megane, no tax, I paid that additionally myself which was a further £90. The price seems to be about the average cost for that type of car and age, so I wouldnt say that they reflected the problems in the price. My car that went in was a great runner! Only problem was it was too small....now I wish I had made done with it, it at least I'd have a car to drive! I shall ask for the car back off the mechanic and get a quote from a garage whom I trust, and put it in writing as you suggest. The mechanicwho currently has the car said he may be able to get hold of a used part, but im reluctant to allow them as how do I know the same thing wont happen another few months down the line!

Hi, I bought a used Megane from a garage in November, I part exed my reliable working car for this one as I needed a slightly bigger car. The ad said it was in excellent condition, full service history etc, the salesman said it was an 'excellent runner'. My husband took it for a test drive and all was well. On the sales invoice the salesman wrote '2 months warranty on major items' across it. A week later the car started struggling to start. It would take 4/5/6 attempts, then once started and driving it would have loss of power and constantly felt like it was about to stall. However, it would always start, it just took a lot of attempts. As I've just had a baby I felt unsafe driving it as it was in case it stalled at a busy junction or such like. So 9 days after purchasing the car I contacted the salesman, he arranged for his local mechanic to come and have a look, the mechanic said it needed a 'dephaser pulley' which apprently is a common fault with meganes which this engine, and its big bucks. The mechanic and salesman then went back and forth and back and forth until this week when the mechanic finally came for the car, 4 weeks after I initially raised the issue. The car has not been used during this time, I've been paying out insurance for a car I was afraid to use. So the car is still with the mechanic, I get a call today saying the job is much more expensive than orignally thought and the salesman refuses to pay, so I had to ring the salesman myself. I phoned him and he said his boss wont pay, I said I've got in writing a 2 month warranty on major items and that the car cant be used as it is, he said if it still starts then they wont pay and they wont let us return the car for a refund. We are awaiting a phone call tomorrow from the boss. I dont know where I stand? Consumer Advice mentioned the Sale of Goods act, as the car was not as described etc, the car was fine when it was test driven and the fault is not something that can be seen as its deep inside the engine so we bought it in good faith,but how can I use this to my advantage, how can I word it etc? Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. We simply cannot afford the repair ourselves, even back street garages are quoting £500+. Thanks