Potential issues with new car

[BankFodder]

your right to reject has not been affected.

at the very least you now have moved into the 6 months period where under the Consumer Rights Act you are entitled to give a single opportunity to repair after which you are entitled to reject the vehicle.

maybe it will be a good idea to provide them with a letter to make  clear your position and what will happen if the whole matter isn't completely sorted out.

 

If that appeals to you then you might like to draft a letter and post it here and we can have a look.

I think it's a good idea to state your position clearly so that nobody is in any doubt.

 

in terms of your part exchange vehicle, if you reject your new car then they will be obliged to refund you the entire asking price of it. In other words they will be obliged to substitute a money value for your old vehicle.

 

it might be worth stating that as well in your letter for clarity.

I would suggest that in the intervening time it would be worth making a list of all the losses that you have suffered as a result of this situation and then if it looks like a worthwhile figure then we can help you claim it back

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aj84]

Thanks again BF apologies for the late reply, year end has got me very busy at the moment!

 

I'm going to leave the letter part for now unless you advise it should be done regardless - the tone in your reply sounds more advisory should we want to reject it if it fails?

I think as it stands, we are more than happy for it to be fixed or replaced for a like for like spec/better if it is not.  Not interested in at this stage another model or even another brand 

 

Let me mull it over the weekend and figure out if it is something to raise or like you say, worth stating /clarifying the position.

A lot of the above was due to the fact having handed back the brand new 70-plate Q3 back to them and driving our one back down,  I realised how much of a good car we have got our hands on.

[BankFodder]

I think that you should write the letter - partly to reserve your position but mainly to concentrate their minds

[aj84]

Apologies not had a chance to drafting anything as of yet - will try tonight/tomorrow although I have made a start!

 

I went through the terms of exchange and interestingly it is only on monetary value - ie, same or higher where the customer pays for the difference and it has to be from the centre (or group I assume).

Looking more into it, if it went that way, there is not a single Q3 with this spec and even similar price - not only in the centre or group but nationwide!  Nearest spec would be around £3.5k and a different group, the next is 2k more but 12k more in mileage.  So it seems if we want to stick with the Q3 with this spec and price (give or take a little), there are no options.

 

I have however found another bit of a funny - I ran a HPI check (total car check) prior to purchasing and it came back with 2 previous which was fine as this was first an Audi car.  This did tally with what the salesman said when I asked him on pickup day  Logbook arrived today stating 3 former keepers making us the 4th not 3rd. I can't see a main dealer registering it while in their stock so where the mysterious 3rd has come from is a bit puzzling.

 

As long as the car is fine mechanically which it does seem to be, I can only think this will impact (maybe) residuals down the line.  I assume there is no way to get further information on previous buyers/changes of ownership?

 

Also do you know what happens in the event of a reject but where the logbook has transferred over?  ie if we did reject it, does the next person become the 5th buyer?  Curious as maybe thats how it has an extra owner and maybe it got rejected in the weeks before pickup.

[aj84]

I think I have complication as my middle name !

 

Just got a call from the service advisor - I can only imagine, not an easy one to make!

Apparently they have now been told to get the car back in for another software update as this may fix it.  This does mean more time off, another 100 mile round-trip and if it fails, 3-4 week delay which due to the state of lockdown, Christmas etc, would be January before the part arrives + another 100 mile round trip and time off.

 

Just waiting on a call back as I've asked for an update on the gear/brake service - while this should be done...if not, have asked if this is to happen, the least they can do is ensure the services are done at the same time.

Had another look for other potentials but still nothing and again lockdown will probably mean no used stock coming in for a while.

 

 

[BankFodder]

Well keep on maintaining your log of all the inconvenience and losses. It seems to me that you will have quite a reasonable sum to go after

I've just noticed your other question about number of owners incrementing – and yes, every time a new owner is registered, their name isn't taken off simply because the car has been rejected. So if you have suspicions that the other owners are simply down there because they have previously rejected the car then I suppose that could be correct.

If you have any way of finding out who they are and contacting them then you might have an interesting conversation

[aj84]

Thanks- will do!

 

I wish I could - on my own cars V5, it states under section 2. The Previous registered keeper:

Z.1 Previous owner details including full name.

Z.2 Acquired vehicle <date>

Z: No. of Former Keepers 2

 

But on the Q3, logbook, it states:

No of Former Keepers: 3

1. Declared new at first registration.

 

Logbook layout seems to have changed, no information on the previous keeper - but it still does not explain why my own HPI checks stated 2.  Might check another and see what it comes back with.

[ukshane4life]

i wouldnt worry on former keepers just on a car i wouldnt go past 5 and must have service history

[aj84]

Thanks ukshane4life - I usually don't go for anything higher 2-3 from a main dealer as we usually go for ex-demos and so only expect 1 owner after this.  It's again more the fact they told us one thing and we seem to have something else - something that could/will impact sale price/residuals.

 

ok small update: They still cannot find the job-card for it to confirm whether the gear and brake service has been carried out.

They have however said we can now have the software update carried out locally at our dealership however I have said I want to know whether the services have been done and if not, they can to do the services + updates at the same time.

 

 

 

 

[aj84]

I think I have closure!

I dropped the car off on Wednesday for the gearbox service and also the software update they insisted on before they ordering the expensive part.

 

Gearbox: Please do contain your laughter and/or shock.  I am glad I kept banging on about this.  It has transpired yes it needed one, yes they billed sales but no they did not carry it out because at the time, a part/s were out of stock.

If I had not chased it up or accepted it may have been done and the gearbox went pop as a result of not having the service, I'm sure it would have been me to blame.

This has now been done and I have an invoice to show this.

 

Sat Nav: Amazingly, the software update seems to have worked.  They mentioned in around a 9 mile test-drive it remained on and sure enough, the 50 odd miles back home it remained on and working fine.

 

Going to drop a line to the salesman now as I just remembered the number of owners query but as far as the physical car is concerned, all outstanding issues are now resolved.

 

Thank you once again for all your help

 

[BankFodder]

Well I'm glad it seems to be sorted out. However I think that you have suffered a lot of inconvenience and also incurred costs which I think would it be easily recoverable if you are interested.

If you'd like to itemise the inconvenience and expense to which you have been put – including lost time working, we can have a look at the value and you can decide whether you think it's worth your while pushing for it.

[aj84]

Thanks BF - I'm happy to just let it go now and not deal with them again unless something drastic goes wrong.

The car is under Audi warranty and any issues now would go via our trusted local Audi dealership 

 

The salesman just called me regarding the final issue of number of owners.  Not a really good explanation but I have learnt a good lesson today.  

What seems to have happened is the HPI check they carried out did indeed state 2 previous owners however this was based on the current owner at that time.  The HPI check I carried out early October also stated the same and now looking closer to it, :

Ownership No. Previous Keepers 2 BUT there is a section above stating:

V5C log book date: 12/05/18

 

And I think this is where it has gone wrong - it's also based on the logbook of the person who traded it in and not after Audi took ownership of it 

 

I don't know the ins and outs of what happens with DVLA but the assumption is:

Owner trades car in, hands in the slip/v5 to dealer.  Dealer sends section 4 : Selling, transferring, or part exchanging this vehicle to a motor trader to DVLA.  This turns ownership to the dealership but does not register them as an additional owner.

And finally once a new buyer purchases it, the green slip goes off making that person the next official owner.

 

I think the section 4 part either did not update on HPI check sites or there has been a delay but both checks we have done has not taken into account the previous owner handing it to the dealership.

 

I spoke to DVLA just now but they refuse to hand any information over so no go there.

 

Car is good, works fine, warranty covers us for 2 years and after all the issues, they lost a second sale for my own car which I purchased this week from another Audi dealership so I think I can wash my hands with them now.

At most, I know I have someone I can talk to at servicing who has been excellent throughout however his manager/management team not so much

 

Oh I should note, I just ran the same HPI check I ran in October against the car and this does now tally with the logbook as 3 previous owners making us the 4th.

[BankFodder]

Okay well thanks for the update.

If you get any further problems then get back here.

I'm glad you've reached a conclusion that you are happy with.

 

Finally, just in case things go wrong – I would send them on SAR to get hold of the complete file of information that they have built up about you over this problem. Store it away just in case.

It doesn't cost you anything and it won't do you any harm.