Stratstone - Issues with in car electronics linking to phone since taking delivery

[axil23]

I bought a expensive luxury car from the dealer itself. Now please don't judge it took me 10 years to save up the deposit for my dream car and I am paying it off monthly.  The car was 4 years old but one of the benefits of buying from the Authorised dealer was that the car came with a new 2 year extended warranty and apparently they did 200+ checks to it. 

 

- On delivery day the Sales agent tried to configure my phone to the bluetooth + media and it didn't work. They took it to the workshop and tried with various other phones and none of them connected. I was assured that if there was a fix they would fix it. But it would take time as the workshop had not come across this before so they would set up a support ticket with the company and see how they can fix the issue. 

 

- I bought the car at the end of July and asked the dealer for an update a number of times. They kept on telling me that there was no update. 

 

- Having lost my patience I took the car to my local dealer (Selling dealer was down south) at the start of November who said it should never take this long for a support ticket to be resolved. It's often done within a couple of weeks max. 

 

- They offered to look into it and ended up keeping my car for 2 weeks doing various tests and coordinated with the manufacturer. 

 

-  After 2 weeks they said the fix was to update the software on the car and that took a further week  but this resulted in more issues with the car. The radio, navigation and all media stopped working. 

 

- I was advised it then needed a new unit which the selling dealer offered to pay for.

 

- They kept car for another week and installed the new unit and claimed that problem was resolved but when I picked

up car the same problems were still there. Plus more now the side mirrors randomly drop all the way down too. 

 

Two weeks along I have chased the dealer for an update every 2 days and they still don't know what to do. Apparently they are waiting on the manufacturer. 

 

The problem was there since I bought the car and they have been unable to resolve it almost 5 months down the line. They have kept my car for almost 1 month and I have only managed to drive it 500 miles since I bought it. 

 

What are my rights? 

[axil23]

The dealer is Stratstone and its financed through the manufacturers own finance company. 

 

Ok so here is the timeline. 

 

- 26th July bought car from Manchester dealer. Reported problem at delivery of vehicle. Told they would set up ticket and revert. 

- August two phone calls and told there was no update as of yet. 

- 24th August - Sent email asking for update and got reply that there was no revert from Manufacturer yet. 

- 14th Sep - Phone call to ask and again told no update. 

- 7th Oct - Sent email and again told no update and gave me number for service department to contact for this. 

- 8th Oct - Spoke with Manchester Service and they said they were not aware of any support ticket on this issue and would look into it and revert

- 14th Oct (roughly) - No calls yet from Manchester so called them up and was told they would revert

- 17th Oct - Sent email to my salesperson in Manchester advising him that service have no record of this issue. Copy of email below

Quote

"I have been in touch with the service department 2 times in the last 10 days and both times they have said there is no ticket against this car. They are not aware of any open investigation for the bluetooth issue since I took delivery of the car. Both times I have been advised that they will look into it and get back to me but no one has so far. Can you advise who you have spoken with in service who I can chase? Or would you rather I take it to Newcastle and let them handle it? But in this regard are you happy to sort out any payments with them directly as you had committed to me on the day of delivery that you would get it fixed if there was one."

 

- 20th Oct - Reminder email sent as no reply to the above. 

- 30th Oct - Reminder 2 sent asking for the salesman to confirm if he is getting my emails. No reply. 

 

- 7th Nov - Drop it off to JCT600 in Newcastle who advise me that since the problem was there at time of delivery it would not be covered under warranty. They speak with Manchester who authorise them to proceed with the repair and they will pay for it. 

 

- I spoke with Service manager on the phone at Manchester and asked him if he is happy for Newcastle to do the job or would he rather call for the car back and he confirms he has agreed with Newcastle to pay for the work. 

 

- 15th Nov - They do a software update that makes things worse as no Navigation, Radio or bluetooth working now. 

 

22nd Nov - They hand car back awaiting instructions from Manufacturer as to what they need to do next. 

 

28th Nov - Advised that it needs a new Unit which Manchester have agreed to pay for. Drop car off again at Newcastle for the fix. 

 

6th Dec - Get car back and issue is still there. Show the problem to Service manager at Newcastle. 

 

After this I have not heard back apparently the issue is with some senior technical person. I have asked 3 time for a update and they keep on saying they haven't heard back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[axil23]

It’s bought on a PCP. Well it’s like a PCP where I have paid 50% down and only paying interest for 3 years and then I have option to buy car or return it.  But there isn’t a guaranteed buy back price as in normal PCP’s. They take a very reasonable residual figure for the calculations. 
 

I would rather get my money back if that’s possible as if they can’t fix the problem after so long I would rather buy a different one. 

 

Just  checked the Finance documents. It's a Hire Purchase agreement. 

[axil23]

I don't want to name the car on a public forum yet but no its not one of those two. Should be quite easy for you to check though. 

 

The thing is its coming to the end of the 6 months and they still have not been able to resolve the issue so I really don't want to go over the 6 months and then have to take it up with them when things will be harder to prove. If there is an option to return the car then I would prefer that. 

 

I have been very patient and given them ample time. 

[axil23]

What should I write to the dealer as BankFodder says I need to write telling them that they have a single opportunity to fix the vehicle. In my case the Newcastle dealer has kept the car for 2 weeks once and then 1 week the other time trying to resolve the issue. 

 

Do I need to give Manchester one more chance? Do remember I was calling and emailing them from the date of delivery in July till the 7th of November asking them to do something about the issue which they never did. 

 

In regards to the Hire Purchase agreement I will upload it shortly once I have deleted the personal info. 

 

By the way thank you so much for your help so far. I really appreciate this. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by axil23

[axil23]

It's an Italian horse. I am worried about what Homer67 said. If it's facing issues now what happens if a new one pops up next month once the 6 months are over. 

 

Just to confirm that I am not breaking any rules right by putting up the legal finance documents online?

[axil23]

Yep. You are looking at the correct website.The car was 170k. 

[axil23]

56 minutes ago, Manxman in exile said:

(Forgive me asking, but from your opening post I assume this wasn't a frivolous "playboy lifestyle" purchase?  It's a dream car and it's taken years of sacrifice from you to be able to save up for the deposit?  So this money is REALLY important?  And just to be clear - I'm not making any judgement at all about how you spend your money.  I perfectly understand it).

 

Yeah. Saved up for years to be able to afford this and since I bought it all I have been doing is paying it off. It was always a dream of mine. It's not been what I imagined with the car being at the dealers for almost 3-4 weeks of the time that I have owned it and the media issue being there throughout. In the meantime I have had to take Taxis about as they refused to give me any car while they were doing tests. 

 

@Manaxman in exile

 

1. Yes that is exactly what happened. 

2. Yeah I have a email where it says that since fault was present at point of purchase it won't be covered under warranty and should have been fixed by dealer before the sale. Hence why Manchester agreed to pay for the rather expensive part. I also have confirmation email from Newcastle that Manchester will pay for the diagnostics. 

3. Not sure what you mean by that as the dealer has advised me that any faults before you buy the vehicle are not covered under warranty. 

 

[axil23]

Yes I have a email confirming that since the fault was there at the time of delivery it would not be covered by the warranty. I was hoping to not get any solicitors involved. I love the car and am still hopeful for a resolution hence why I have been so patient. 

 

dx100uk I have the agreement on my iPad and ideally would need to print it off and black out the details. Please bear with me until I am back in the office to do this. In the meanwhile if you need me to copy and paste anything I can do that. Thank you so much for your help. 

[axil23]

Thank you so much your help. I am glad to say the issue has been resolved. Honestly you guys were amazing. 

[axil23]

A senior manager from the dealership called me and I mentioned the entire history to him. He wasn't too impressed with how it had been handled by another dealer and offered to take on the car and fix any issues. I would prefer to get this fixed rather than return and look for another car so happy for them to give it one more shot.

 

 

[axil23]

Considering that I have given the original dealer another chance to rectify the issue. Would my rights still apply if the same problem comes back? Or do I give up my rights?

Is there anything I should get in writing to say they guarantee that particular issue? 

[axil23]

It is being fixed by Statstone the original dealers. I want to keep the car so really don't mind giving them another chance. But if the problem comes back then my rights should still apply right?