dodge138

okay this is a bit long winded, but if anyone has any advice and cares to read it, thanks!

i bought a my96 jap sti back in february, which i was and still am over the moon with. the only problem with it was that the speedo was still reading in kms, as standard on a jap. only the clocks had been done inside to read mph. i didnt notice this until the deal was done and i was on my way home (i live in fife, bought the car down south), so i phoned the dealer, who said it should have been done, and to bring it back.
this was not a problem as i am down that way quite a lot, although it did take them around 5 weeks to say they had the part(the bit that goes on cable between gearbox/speedo). so, i headed back down, their man installed this part and my car read in mph! great! , well not for long as by the time i got to carlisle my speedo had stopped working at all! and my 'check engine' light was on! so i calls back the dealer, who says the part they installed must have 'popped' off. ok, so i take it to a local subaru/import specialist, who puts on a new clip, and everything works fine for about a week, at which point the speedo stops working again! back to the local specialist, who clips it in again, but expresses that he thinks its a dodgy part, and thinks it will come off again.
so, back on the pnone to the dealers(this is now about 6 weeks ago), who tells me he will send up a new part. he has been f'*king me about ever since, saying its in the post, that his supplier was sending it direct to me, blah blah..........

anyway i have reached the end of my tether with this, and am thinking that i'll just go and pay to have it done myself, its only a hundred quid! but do i let this person off with this, or ,indeed, is there anything that i can do?
i cant really let this go on much longer, as the car is suffering - check engine light coming on and car only reving to 4000revs - so is it worth hassling the dealer any more? this could go on for another 6 weeks....

well any help or advice much appreciated, dodge


btw the dealer that i bought the car fom is a 'jap specialist' who advertises cars totally converted to UK spec

mart360

Hi Dodge138

legal head on now!!!

under the sale of goods act (recently ammended)
the two main areas are
fit for the purpose intended & of merchantable quality

it could be argued that the part is fit for the purpose intended
IE it works.. however it keeps coming unclipped this would then give clear evidence that it is not fit for the purpose or of merchantable quality..

one question though (devils advocate) with the clip bit that it attaches to / by was it ok before they fitted the part, as they could use this to push the item back to you.. Also have you got the agfreement to have the work done by an independant / dealer in writing as they could argue you have invalidated there warranty.. if the answers yes and you have paper authorising someone else to work on the clip/ box, then i would say you have a clear right to reject under the sale of goods act..

remember your contract is with them and not the supplier of the part.. thats a standard fob off technique.. just state clearly you wish for a refund under the sale of goods act. if they offer a repair instead of a refund you do not have to accept, however if you do, you forfeit some of your rights of rejection later on ..

if they still get A**sy just state that you will bring out a private action in the small claims court.. it costs abound £30 i think.. it then goes one of 3 ways

1) they respond and sort out the problem
2) they ignore it and judgement will be made ( usually against them)
3) it is recorded on file !!

please do not accept this as a clear guide, I know all this as i studyied this for collage for a year!!

citizens advice can fill you in on the blanks or the recent changes..

sounds like the dealer is relying on you doing nothing..

however because i only have your side of the story i cannot comment further, but if as you say this is correct then yes it would seem you have a case

keep us posted

Mart

dodge138

cheers for the reply mart.
in answer to your question, yes everything was fine before they installed the new part. it took them a while to get it, so i ran the car for 5-6 weeks without any problem at all, only it read in kmph.
im pretty sure from what you say that i have a case, but i'm at the point now that i just want it fixed. its such a small problem that it hardly seems worth the hassle, and im sure thats why the dealer is doing this! i may look into going through the small claims court tho, if its only 30 quid.
i will also phone the dealer today, as he told me he was definetely sending it on tuesday morning, so i'll see what he has to say for himself......
cheers again for listening, dodge

Foot_Tapper

Dodge , if/when you have had enough, and maybe decide to get it done yourself, you can get the part on here.
http://www.esva.co.uk/

I think the part you need costs about £55.

Cheers
Glenn

dodge138

thanks lads,
think i have a result!
mentioned the small claims court to the dealer and he panicked a bit and told me it would be done as soon as.
will be down that way next weekend for japfest, so the dealer says they will get it done if i drop in when i'm down. hopefully get it done on friday......

cheers again for the replys, dodge

Andy Porter

Just for the record I had the same hassle with my converter, I live 70 miles from where I bought, took 3 trips to sort out !
All I can say is once its done its done and 3 years on I'vd had no more hassle, just fun

dodge138

thanx andy, good to hear!
hopefully i'll get it sorted once and for all on friday.