Cheadle Car Sales/Oodle Finance - a used BMW 3 series clutch gone! **Settled by finance company**

[jimlfc6]

 

Hi,

 

I need some help if possible please?

 

On October 2nd 2021 I bought a used BMW 3 series from Cheadle Car Sales of Cheadle Hulme Manchester for £11500, I paid a £2250 deposit made my bank transfer, and the rest was financed from Oodle Finance.

 

Before I continue, I have to admit to being too trusting and a little naive at times, anyway here goes:

 

I inspected the vehicle prior to buying and noticed an engine light on, I questioned what this was but was told it was a sensor that would be fixed and it wasn’t a big issue, however I was not allowed to test drive the car as it was juddering due to the sensor issue. I stupidly took their word for it, and decided to go ahead with the sale.

 

When I collected the car on the 2nd October, I noticed the engine light was out and the dealership told me it had cost £500 to fix the issue and it was ready to drive home. I drove the car back to Blackpool (around 60 miles away) without an issue.

 

After having the car roughly a week, I felt the car majorly juddering and it came to a point where I couldn’t drive it, the engine light came back on and I had to have it towed home by the AA as the engine was misfiring.

 

I spoke to the dealership who were now incredibly rude now that they had my money, they said I had to return the car to them in Manchester if I wanted it fixed, I must say I wasn’t overly happy about this as I thought they would do a bodged job, I also reported the issue to the finance company.

 

Reluctantly I had to have the car towed all the way back to Manchester at my own cost, for them to attempt a repair, they had the car about a week ( whilst I had no courtesy car) and I got a phone call saying the car was ready to collect as the issue was with the spark plugs and they had been replaced.

 

I collected the car and got nearly half way home and the engine light came back on, once again the car had to be towed home at my own cost.

 

I reported the issue was not fixed to the dealership and finance company who insisted I needed to have the car towed back to Manchester again at my own cost, I therefore reluctantly agreed again.

 

They had the car around a week again (once again I was without a courtesy car and spending a fortune to and from work in taxis) and I was told the problem was something to do with the ECU wiring, and it had been fixed. I collected the car and noticed the issue had been fixed however I was still noticing juddering in the lower gears but there was no engine light on. 

 

I left it for a few weeks to see if the problem went away (not knowing if the car drives like that as it was a new car to me) or if there was still an issue.

 

On the 21st of December the car became ridiculously juddery in 1st and 2nd gear, I realised that also gear changes were getting very tight so I had the car independently inspected by a local dealership who had said the clutch was at the end of its life. 

 

I reported the further issues to the finance company who got an inspection done by Scotia, the report said the clutch was at the end of its life, but would have been okay at the point of sale and is down to wear and tear of a car that has done nearly 60k miles and a 16 plate car. The dealership have refused to do anymore repairs on the car saying its out of warranty.

 

I don’t know what to do next really, to my mind I wouldn’t even have had the car three months when I reported the clutch issue, also got with all the other problems its had,

 

I am getting another independent inspection done on Wednesday by a BMW specialist that is local to me, and was going to use this as evidence that there is no way I’ve ruined a clutch when I’ve only driven 1.5k miles in it and actually only had the car around 6 weeks when you take into account the time its had back at the dealership due to the previous repairs.

 

Do I have a chance if this goes to the ombudsman, and what should I be doing next?

 

Sorry for the long post, but I’m really worked up about this due to the amount of money that I’ve spent, it feels like I’ve been conned out of money.

 

Thanks for any help.

Edited January 10, 2022 by dx100uk
added A few blank lines only..dx

[jimlfc6]

Many thanks for your reply, I have sent Oodle a lengthy email outlining what you have wrote so I appreciate your help.

 

The agreement is a hire purchase, and the dealer is around 60 miles away.

 

Good point too in insisting the car has a full inspection, not just the clutch, as the previous repairs may have been bodged.

Edited January 10, 2022 by dx100uk
unnecessary previous post quote removed

[jimlfc6]

The MOT was fine in June 2021 the Scotia report is saying it wouldn’t pass its MOT with a clutch problem, yet it had an engine light on when I inspected it, had ECU problems and now a clutch problem, sounds abit iffy so a new MOT might be a good idea too. 

[jimlfc6]

Nativity and too trusting, been like that all my life, at times it has it pluses, but it also means you are open to getting ripped off as was the case here. 
 

I honestly believed every word they said, needless to say my wife has called me an idiot since! 

[jimlfc6]

Thanks for all your help everybody the finance company are paying 100% of the clutch replacement plus labour aswell as the £39 for the inspection from the BMW specialist. It comes to £1300 in total which I’m really happy about. 
 

The finance company rejected my complaint but as a gesture of good will paid out in full.