Car bought due to misdescription, signed for 1.6 got a 2.0, Evans Halshaw

[Chloen]

Hello, on Friday myself and my husband part exchanged our ford mondeo for a ford c max grand. We said we wanted a more economical vehicle and we were shown one that was a 2011 reg and was supposedly a 1.6 tdi. We spent hours working out the finance cost, fuel costs based on the economy and tax costs. We agreed to buy and signed on the dotted line. Half an hour after we left the dealer, they called us saying they'd made a mistake and the tax was actually £20 more and could we bring the cash the next day.

 

We thought it strange but agreed. We collected the car the following day on Saturday morning. We got home, looked at the log book and it's actually a 2 litre engine. We called immediately and they admitted mistake and promised to sort it.

They've been rubbish calling us back, and offered us an insulting £200 as a 'goodwill' gesture if we'd keep the car to save the hassle.

 

We turned it down as we've signed up for the car for the next five years, the additional tax over this time is £100, additional insurance £10 per month so £600, and extra fuel is £4 per 100 miles, which their breakdown cover allows an annual mileage of 12,000, so even our lower estimate of our annual mileage estimate of 10,000 comes to £400 per year extra. So just our insurance and tax alone comes to £700.

 

 

We've given them these figures and the maximum they will offer is £500. We've said this is too little. They're arguing the car they've given us is worth £1500 more than the 1.6 (this is a lie, brand new it's only £1000 extra).

 

 

We asked to swap for another 1.6 they had in stock same spec. They refused saying this car had done less miles so was worth more so we could give our car back and essentially buy that one, at an additional cost of £31 more a month. We could also have our old car back and forget it all, this is also unacceptable to us, if we'd wanted to keep that car we wouldn't have traded it!

 

They've also offered a car that's done 10,000 more miles on the clock, this is doubly unacceptable as they also lied about the mileage of our current car stating it had done 70,000 when in fact it's done 79,000, however, we accept we should have double checked this.

 

 

Where on earth do we stand? We would never have bought the 2 litre model as the whole point of us changing car was for a more economical one.

 

 

We've said we know they won't cover all the additional fuel costs, tax and insurance costs for five years (although really they should as we bought in good faith on those figures) but we can't accept less than £1000.

I know I'd have a case for trading standards as I have all adverts and paperwork signed by us and them stating we were purchasing a 1.6.

 

 

I feel they've made a huge mistake and want us to pay for their mess up which is hugely unfair.

I've called Evans Halshaw customer care and they've said their complaints procedure is lengthy and I have to give each manager 3 working days to contact me and there are three managers I have to give a chance first. Our temporary insurance expires Friday and we don't want to pay to swap our insurance if we then have to swap it over again and pay for another vehicle.

 

Help please? Is £500 the best offer I can get despite the fact it will cost us so much more than this?

Edited June 4, 2015 by citizenB
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[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Why not just go and get your car back and start again?

[Chloen]

Our car had £400 outstanding finance which we've transferred onto this car now, so it'd be a huge hassle. As mentioned we also didn't want our car back. I was actually involved in a minor accident in the car, although the car has been fully repaired and it's probably silly, after that accident I hated driving that car. I feel the c max grand is safer than the mondeo.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Tell them you want your old car back, they can have theirs back and then ask them to pay off the finance as a gogw. If its only £400, they will prob settle just to get you out of their hair.

[Chloen]

As mentioned, I really don't want that car back. I want the car we signed for, failing that, then to cover the cost of their mistake. Am I being unreasonable?

[CraigMcK]

Parkers guide lists the Zyrtec version at only £300 difference in price for a 2011 plate, I would print their valuation off and use it as an argument.

 

But at the end of the day they have offered to cancel the deal, assuming they cover the costs of tax etc then I don't think you could ask for much more. They may as said pay off the old car as goodwill, but I doubt if they need too.

 

If you are not happy cancel the deal and go elsewhere

[Conniff]

So you have taken 'Hire Purchase' out for buying this car ?

 

 

Adding hassle into the equation is silly, the whole of life is a hassle, so forget that. Cancel the contract with the seller, if the finance paperwork has gone through, then contact the finance company and tell them what has happened and that your are rejecting the car under the Sale of Goods Act for 'not as described'.

No one in the world can make you stick to a contract that is unlawful.

 

 

You also mention Breakdown cover which I expect your paid for ?

 

 

Warranties or breakdown cover which is just a warranty in disguise, is not worth the premium, in the majority of cases any claim is put down to wear and tear and denied.

 

 

If they had a suitable alternative there, then tell them you want that. They are supposed to be there to serve you, not rip you off and then fob you off.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Conniff

[scaniaman]

As stated above, get your old car back and start again. Why? 2011 car with 79,000mls recorded is far too high. At this age you should be looking for a mileage of around 48-50,000mls, especially if it's on long term finance.

BTW, if using finance, ONLY use straight HP as you have some come back with this, but not with a personal loan, however it's dressed up eg. "Motor Loan".

[Conniff]

Are you going to update us with what you have decided Chloen ?

[Chloen]

Sorry I haven't updated. After it being clear they weren't going to play ball, we accepted the £500. They essentially wanted to have the car back and sell us another, which wouldn't have looked good on our credit file for one thing taking out that much finance in a short time. They refused to swap outright and just kept saying give the car back and buy another, and all the ones they were offering were more expensive too. We just wanted the hassle over. We did consider getting our car back and rejecting the car outright, but we do like our new car and again, buying another would be hassle. I'm still not particularly happy when I think how underhanded it was to a) sell us a car that wasn't described b) deliberately mislead us over the mileage and c) add on all the extras and tell us if we didn't take them the offer they presented us was invalid so we had to have them, we've also been told we cannot now cancel these added products. Lesson for future I guess. Do not trust car salesmen!

[Conniff]

Oh dear!

 

 

What are these extra products please ??

[Chloen]

Gap insurance, breakdown cover, paint and fabric cover and I'm sure there was something else. We did say we didn't want those and could we cancel them and they said no, that was the deal, take it or leave it, because they were already giving us £20 per month for a year we had to take these products to qualify for that offer.

[Conniff]

Ok, you can claim back all fees paid under duress.

 

 

Any advert would have to say words to the effect 'if you agree to take breakdown cover and paint and fabric cover, we will give you £20 per month'. How are you receiving this £20 per month ?

 

 

How much is the breakdown cover and what does it cover and who is it with ??

[Chloen]

I didn't know that, thank you. We pay £228 per month and they put the £28 into our account by direct debit I believe, although I'll be honest and say my husband set that part up, I did go in to double check their figures and was told the same thing though. Car price was £8996, with all the extras they added on it was £9919 so nearly £1000 in extras they added on.

[carbuyer101]

oh dear, 10k for a 4 year old high mile C-max. Definitely do as Connif suggests if you have the energy. They are taking the mickey.

[Conniff]

I didn't know that, thank you. We pay £228 per month and they put the £28 into our account by direct debit I believe, although I'll be honest and say my husband set that part up, I did go in to double check their figures and was told the same thing though. Car price was £8996, with all the extras they added on it was £9919 so nearly £1000 in extras they added on.

 

 

Are you submitting a claim for all the extras ??

[Yukiko]

To be fair, you've dodged a bullet. The 2.0 engine is far superior in reliability and durability than the 1.6 PSA unit. I understand your concern, but trust me, no warranty in the world will cover the amount of damage that a 1.6 TD Ford unit can do to itself. Also, you're not pressured into not taking your old car back - You just don't want to cos' you bent it up and feel that you're better off rid of it. Feel glad you've got a good engine, in a good car, which won't grenade itself when the injector seals go and you've even got £500 to put in the tank and enjoy too. Job done.