BMW problem

[patdavies]

I wonder if anyone can offer advice.

 

Last week (Wednesday) I paid the balance on the wife's car and we collected it on Friday. It is a 2000 BMW 530d Touring. We paid £5995 (Electron card) and trade in of her Audi A4 (£1000).

 

We have paid £340 for insurance as the Audi was due to run out on Saturday anyway.

£62 to fill the car with diesel

£175 VED

£80 registration number transfer.

 

The car was fine on Friday evening and we went to Birmingham and back to Newbury on Saturday without a problem. We stopped in Newbury and then the car wouldn't start. The AA were called and couldn't get it started. It was recovered to the dealer.

 

On Sunday, we collected the old car (Audi) so that she could have some transport. On Monday, the BMW was sent by the dealer to a local diesel specialist. Despite chasing nothing was done to the car until yeserday afternoon. The specialist has tested the car and has got it started, but doesn't know the cause of the problem. They state that they may have corrected something whilst checking out the wiring, etc. but can offer no guarantee that it won't happen again. Their tests show that 2 of the 6 injectors is not functioning properly - these cost £220 each. The dealer has not authorised the replcement of these (yet) but has told my wife she will have the car back today. The injector failures would not prevent the car starting.

 

As we cannot now be sure that the car will not ket her down again, we are of a mind to reject the car and demand out £5995 back. Are we entitled to do this? Also what about our out-of-pocket costs? And what about the fact that we cannot yet hand back the logbook + MOT certificate for the BMW as they have yet to come back from DVLA - even then, we will need to re-transfer the registration number - another £80 plus delay in getting registration doc and MoT.

 

 

Sorry to go on so long. Any advice?

[rosiecotton]

You can try writing to the dealer in the first instance stating that the car is not of satisfactory quality and therefore does not comply with the terms of the Sale of Goods Act and therefore you are rejecting it and claiming a full refund. Describe the faults, explain what you were told about the mechanic being unsure of the cause and state that you have lost faith in the car and therefore you want your money back in full, plus consequential losses for your costs as a result of the car being faulty.

 

(Number plate transfer I am not entirely sure about, since it's not something which is a "normal" cost in the sale of a car)

 

It's tricky as it's hard to know what is wrong with the car. If it's a reasonably minor fault, it may be seen as reasonable for the trader to offer a repair in the first instance.

 

Sometimes judges will think like that, so be prepared to be reasonable if you can. Ultimately it is only a court who can decide whether it is reasonable to reject and claim costs, but it's at least worth trying a letter to them along these lines and see what response you get.