£3000 on a car and 7 days after it breaks!!!

[spacemonkeypg]

Hi all

 

This is my first posting on the site although i have been watching the site with great interest.

 

I bought a VW Passat on 15-5-10 paying £3000 for it the car has a full VW service history and is/was in very good condition. Or so i thought.

 

Yesterday it decided to stop in the middle of Liverpool the clutch pedal had gone straight down to the floor. With oil dripping all over the road needless to say i was really down hearted. I have AA with my bank account which i found out only takes you 10 miles and you can only use it once per year!!! so that's a waste of money lol. The AA man recovered me and my partner to our home in Liverpool with the car also.

 

I contacted the seller who told me to contact the warranty company APA. We got the warranty as part of the sale with a value up to £2k in repairs. I am posting on her because i know what will happen i can predict the warranty company refusing to pay because it is an issue with the clutch. All be it not the clutch plate i believe from my mechanical experience it is the Slave cylinder or associated pipe work which has gone wrong.

 

My question is should i be contacting the seller again (a garage) and telling them to repair it or pay for repair (i live 30 miles away from the garage) or shall i be contacting the warranty company myself?

[sailor sam]

Hi all

 

This is my first posting on the site although i have been watching the site with great interest.

 

I bought a VW Passat on 15-5-10 paying £3000 for it the car has a full VW service history and is/was in very good condition. Or so i thought.

 

Yesterday it decided to stop in the middle of Liverpool the clutch pedal had gone straight down to the floor. With oil dripping all over the road needless to say i was really down hearted. I have AA with my bank account which i found out only takes you 10 miles and you can only use it once per year!!! so that's a waste of money lol. The AA man recovered me and my partner to our home in Liverpool with the car also.

 

I contacted the seller who told me to contact the warranty company APA. We got the warranty as part of the sale with a value up to £2k in repairs. I am posting on her because i know what will happen i can predict the warranty company refusing to pay because it is an issue with the clutch. All be it not the clutch plate i believe from my mechanical experience it is the Slave cylinder or associated pipe work which has gone wrong.

 

My question is should i be contacting the seller again (a garage) and telling them to repair it or pay for repair (i live 30 miles away from the garage) or shall i be contacting the warranty company myself?

 

Hi. First of all the warranty at this point is irrelevant under the SOGA. A used vehicle bought from a dealer/trader is expected to be defect free for the minimum of the first 6 months of ownership. Your claim at the moment is withe the seller and as such they are entiltled to have the opportunity to investigate/rectify the problem or to agree for you to have any necessary repairs carried out at their expence. If they want to refer the matter to the warranty company, then that is up to them, not you.

 

Contact the seller and ask him what he is prepared to do. If he replies 'nothing' then inform him that you will be formally rejecting the vehicle under the SOGA. Let us know what happens and we will advise you further.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[spacemonkeypg]

When i called him on saturday on his mobile he referred me to the warranty company. Which is closed until tomorrow

[sailor sam]

When i called him on saturday on his mobile he referred me to the warranty company. Which is closed until tomorrow

 

At this stage the seller deals with the warranty company (if he so chooses), not you. He is trying to fob you off. It is the seller's responsibility within the first 6 months to rectify. If he chooses not to do so, you may have cause to reject the car and ask for a full refund.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[spacemonkeypg]

I gathered as much but i think he is under the impression that it comes with a warranty from APA so they have to deal with it

[Conniff]

I gathered as much but i think he is under the impression that it comes with a warranty from APA so they have to deal with it

 

You can bet your sweet socks he is 'not' under that impression. Warranties are con jobs and given in the hope the purchaser hasn't a clue about consumer protection and regulation and the profit they made will not be clawed back on repairs.

 

You need to put it in writing, which can be a follow up to a phone conversation, but writing only if you have any doubt that he will accept his responsibility as the seller.

 

You mustn't ask, you must 'remind' him of his legal obligation and tell him where he can collect the car from for repairs.

[spacemonkeypg]

I agree only problem being is i need it fixing within two days as i am off out and about on Wednesday so it looks like i will have to fix it then claim the money back from the dealer.

 

I will ring the warranty company to be on the safe side in the morning and book the car in to be fixed but i agree with you he should have just taken it in his stride. Offered to take it back and fix it but i know its going to be one of those long drawn out process's

[heliosuk]

The warranty co is likely to tell you to take it back to the sellar and ask him to contact them. As it's undriveable and an easy fix then I can't see why he shouldn't do this and fix on your premesis provided it is the slave cylinder. It's what a respectable dealer would/should do. I take it you haven't been screaming reject, SOGA etc as yet as this is the easiest way to get dealers backs up at an early stage. You need to give them a chance.

 

Irrespective of the warranty which is sold in addition to your statutory rights, he has to have first opportunity to fix it at the moment.

[Conniff]

I agree only problem being is i need it fixing within two days as i am off out and about on Wednesday so it looks like i will have to fix it then claim the money back from the dealer.

 

I will ring the warranty company to be on the safe side in the morning and book the car in to be fixed but i agree with you he should have just taken it in his stride. Offered to take it back and fix it but i know its going to be one of those long drawn out process's

 

You shouldn't just take it off your own back to get it repaired, they have a right to make the first attempt and unless they have given you permission to take it elsewhere, they will be within their rights (and quite rightly) to reject any claim you make for work done by someone else.

[spacemonkeypg]

Well an update on the situation is.

 

I called the company i bought the car from who told me again to call the warranty company which i have done. The say i should take it to a garage where they will inform the warranty company of the issue and then confirm if this is covered by their terms. If so they will authorise the repair which we pay for then they return the money. They wont pay to get the vehicle there i.e. recovery which is pointless as the car does not drive at all.

 

So i called a local garage who wont do the work under the warranty as they are not VAT registered. They state it will be in the region of £100-£150 to fix if it is the predicted problem.

 

Recovery works out at the same price!

 

So i recalled the company i bought the car from informing them of the issue and that i was not happy that 7 days after buying the car its broke - and that in my view this car is not fit for purpose as it sits in my road useless. The guy i spoke to then told me that he would get his boss to look into it. I informed him of the non-viewed estimate from the garage and the recovery quote and therefore i wanted them to arrange the fixing of the car ASAP.

 

The response was we will look in to it and call you back.

 

My view i get the car fixed at the local garage and then bill the company i bought the car from.

[Conniff]

Always keeping in mind the warranty is an extra, if you don't hear back by tomorrow, ring them again to see what is going on and if it is not in your favour, write, and you can drop it off in person if required, telling them that you will take it to another garage for repair and send them the bill.

 

Also include that this does not reduce or take away your right to reject the car or reduce your statutory right.

 

Still supposing that you have to take it to another garage, if the problem isn't as predicted, then let the dealer know what it is and the new bill for rectification before you authorise the repairs.

 

As a by and by, if it requires the removal of the gearbox but is not the clutch, it would be very purdent to have the clutch replaced at your own expense at the same time.

Edited May 24, 2010 by Conniff

[Surfer01]

Don't take it on yourself to repair the car otherwise this will eb a loophole for them to declare warranty [problem] totlay null & void. Under SOGA, the onus is with the sellar not the warranty company to get the vehicle repaired. They shoudkl eb doing the chasing not you and if they don't do the chasing Trading Standards would be interested. In addiotn, any extra money spent can eb reclaimed through a small claims court, i.e. towing to a garage to get a repair done.

[spacemonkeypg]

The consumer direct helpline advised me not to get the car repaired also so i think it will just have to sit in the street!

 

But in the meantime i am loosing money by not being able to get to work!

[Conniff]

You will be able to take the car elsewhere when they have been given the chance to put things right but have refused.

 

The site of a bill from another garage can often prompt them into action, but if you do have to go the route of another garage doing the work without the seller saying so and you have to use small claims to get your money back, you can add the statutory 8% interest to the bill.

 

There is no easy answer and the regulations have tried to help the consumer as much a possible, but, like all things, it can't take into account every eventuality.

Edited May 24, 2010 by Conniff

[spacemonkeypg]

I agree that and the fact i need the car fixing right now urge me down that avenue also. But i dont then want them to wriggle out of not paying

[Conniff]

Consumer direct wasn't saying you 'cant' take it elsewhere, but that they should be given the chance to either do the work or refuse to do the work and then you can take it elsewhere.

 

I know time isn't on your side, but like all these things, red tape is a slow process asnd unless you do it the correct way, you will end up the worse off.

[sailor sam]

Sorry but there seems to be a lot of messing around here when it should be quite simple;

 

When the 'boss' of the garage calls you back, take nothing less from him that they will come and collect the car to sort it out or agree to foot the bill if you have it repaired yourself (I agree with helio its likely the slave cylinder) without further delay. If this is not fourthcoming, inform the 'boss' that you will be formally rejecting the car under the SOGA and require them to collect it and refund your money in full. You then confirm this in writing to the seller by recorded post and I would suggest you put a 7 day dead line in the letter. If after 7 days you hear nothing or they refuse point blank to play ball, you then send a 'final letter before action' (LBA) saying that you will commence proceedings in the county court to recover your money plus interest and court fees unless they refund after 14 days from the LBA.

 

Just to be clear (again!); The warranty is not your problem and may not possibly help anyway. If the seller wishes to use the warranty then fine, but is for him to do it, not you. Your claim is firmly against the seller, not the warranty company!

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[Conniff]

Just to be clear (again!); The warranty is not your problem and may not possibly help anyway. If the seller wishes to use the warranty then fine, but is for him to do it, not you. Your claim is firmly against the seller, not the warranty company!

 

That is exactly how it is. If for any reason the clutch requires renewal but there is damage to the fork or release bearing, the warranty company will say that wear and tear on the clutch caused it even if it was the other way around.

Wear and tear is uttered more by warranty companies than ho ho ho is by Santa Clause.

 

I have posted to others, and it is worth repeating here. The regulations say that if a fault is discovered within the first six months, then the fault is assumed to have been present at the time of sale.

[spacemonkeypg]

Well i have just got off the phone to the dealer who now says he will arrange the collection and everything for me i need to give him "a few hours to sort it all out"

 

He stated how they are a good company and all that jazz so lets see what he comes up with

[Conniff]

Well you can't blame them for trying. I guess we would all make an attempt to get away with something if we were in the same position and had the business welfare and profit to consider.

 

Good on them, but keep us updated, it's good for others who come after you for advice or just to read the information.

[spacemonkeypg]

Update is they have promised to pay for the repair but not the recovery to the garage!

[sailor sam]

Did you do what I suggested in my post (#17) and told him anything less is un-acceptable?

 

Assuming you did and this is their final answer, you now put in writing that they either collect the car and rectify the problem without any loss to yourself or they accept your formal rejection of the car under the SOGA. In the event of either option not being confirmed within the next 7 days may result in you taking the matter to court. You could also add that in the meatime, unless they can provide a courtesy car, you reserve the right to hire a car while yours is off the road and present them with the bill. conlude by saying that all further correspondence should be done in writing only although you will discuss arrangements to have the car collected by telephone. Personally, I would ring the 'boss' back and indicate that you are not accepting his 'offer' and you will be writing to him formally.

 

Lets see how they respond to that!

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[spacemonkeypg]

Yes i did and his response was talk to my solicitor.

 

I offered him to collect the vehicle and i would reverse the CC payment to which he told me he would take me to court.

 

It's cost me £45 to have the car towed to the garage now so as it stands its £45 which i will bill him for and see what he says from there

[Conniff]

Section 48(b) Repair or replacement of the goods

 

(2)If the buyer requires the seller to repair or replace the goods, the seller must—

(a)repair or, as the case may be, replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the buyer;

(b)bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage).

 

Quote him that if required (my bold)

[spacemonkeypg]

Conniff you are a star thank you very much.