Impretzel

Just part exchanged my 94 WRX import Impretza for an 02 Clio 1.5 DCI (for economy).

Initially the dealer wanted to give me £2000 for the scooby but managed to haggle him to £2300 with the current MOT (till May) and a 'Pre MOT' to ensure that it would get through an MOT (without him actually putting it through) and a 28 day warranty.

I thought oh well i'll get an MOT as soon as i get the car, that way it'll only have paid £40. Turns out that the car failed on the handbrake ratchet, headlight alignment and has an advisory on brake disk wear (6 days and 300 miles since purchasing it)!

I rang the salesman the same day (midday yeaterday)and he said he would ask the boss if the car could be repaired within the warranty. The whole day went by, i rang him a total of 3 times and he still hadn't been able to speak to the boss yet. So i went up to the dealership today and the salesman claimed that the boss's mother had died recently and because it's mothers day it's not the right time to approach him. I made it clear that it wasn't my problem and why was the dealership even open if there was a family berheavement. Then he suggested that the faults could be attributed to wear and tear. I made it clear that a small claims court would surely find in my favour if these faults appeared 6 days since purchasing the car! Then he seemed to get aggitated and say he was on my side but he hates people who threaten small claims court because i'd need a lot of evidence. He also suggested that the boss would be more likely to fix the faults had i not come forward and threatened small claims (eventhough i didn't threaten i just said that they would surely rule in my favour). To top it all off my Subaru is on his forecourt for £4299!!

I'm furiously angry now, to the point that my eyes were watering. He says he's waiting for a deciscion from the boss but i'm very doubtful to be honest. What can i do, please help!!!!!!!!

gemmawilks

Did you see the car advertised somewhere or did you go to his garage and see it, I have a law degree if it helps, may be able to assist as it's a trader

Impretzel

Thanks Gemma, It was advertised on the autotrader website and the car was on a forcourt in a car supermarket type place (although it's not a car supermarket, it's just a collection of dealers just sharing 1 plot).

Things that worry me about my evidence are:

the date on my receipt has the date i put the deposit down (Late Jan) eventhough i have a debit receipt to say that the money was debited from my card when i picked it up last week.

I've looked at the receipt and it doesn't mention the 28 day warranty, i know i'm a fool for not checking it. I just thought that i've got a receipt for a car worth £4799, surely if anything goes wrong, he'd never be able to justify not fixing it........turns out he probably will

THe milage on the receipt says 44k eventhough it was 44313 to be exact and now reads 44650 approx

Impretzel

I have also refrained from putting the dealers name on here because he may still do the right thing, come back to me and fix it because unlike (the guy refusing to deal with my query) i have scruples

gemmawilks

You need to find out if the person is a trader as they have different responsibilities from you or me selling a car.
* Was it advertised in the Trader as a trade advertisement ?
* How was it advertised e.g excellent condition, mint condition as the Trade Description Act shows that a trader must describe the vehicle as it is not as they would like it to be to sell it.
* Have you checked to see if the car has been involved in an accident ? e.g headlights not alligned.
* The date you left the deposit is the date you made the agreement to buy the vehicle, even if you took the car today your agreement was made in Jan so really they could state that you have no 28 day come back.
* 28 day warranty not detailed on receit so was a verbal agreement. So he who shout louder gets heard.
* Out of common decency most traders would compleate the repairs to uphold there trading reputation, but im not quite sure why the car was sold with no MOT if they are trader.
* The 300 miles that were put on the car may be classed as wear and tear but did you really do 300 miles from the point you picked it up ?
* If the person you bought the car from is a trader then you need to contact your local Trading Standards, and you also need to remember back to the advert HOW WAS THE WORDING OF THE ADVERTISED CAR was is as you have found the car to be ?

Sorry to hear that you sold your 1994 I have one and would be compleatly ****** of if a trader sold it for so much more than what he had given me.
Any more info PM me and good luck

DanTheMan

Don't worry about what he's advertising your car for, hes a dealer and its his job to make a profit, just remember you were happy with the offer the dealer made for your old car.
As for your new car if he had a pre mot type deal then he should honour it, the headlight adjustment is 5 seconds with a screwdriver but the handbrake ratchet may need replacing (unless it was for excessive travel - and thats another few mins of adjustments). Really he should fix it or pay for repairs, brake wear would not be covered anyway as that really is wear and tear and you only have an advisory on that, good luck.....

dan83590

Ignore that comment and don't hesitate in taking him to the cleaners, remember, thats what he has done to you!! When dealers (should be Stealers) make these offers they know they are ripping us off. All too often we hears of stories like yours and its about time we started to hit them where it hurts, in the pocket.. Don't just claim for the car, add loss of earnings, stress etc etc.

Go for it buddy, and good luck..

Dark Blue Mark

Got to agree, effectively they have sold you an unroadworthy car.

Part of the benefit of buying from a dealer is that you have comeback.

Id never buy a car from a dealer - most are sub pond life

MB

Craigieloon

it doesnt sound like a very good dealership. Being a sales manager for Honda i can assure you we pput all our used cars through a 79 point check, we also have a 28 day excahnge policy and all cars go out with a years MOT, min 1 year warranty and 1 year aa roadside cover. The forecourt price of your car is about right. My car is a 1994 WRX and the bood price is around the 2250 mark so a £2k profit margin is about right... well in our dealership it is.... but we have extensive reconditioning costs as honda are very strict in this matter. I dont think the garage your dealing with has mate. He has a duty of care to you and you have to give him the option of putting it right. My advice is go to trading standards. They will point you in the right direction. The salesman you are dealing with is a **** and is hoping you will go away. I can assure you, you have rights to get this sorted.

tricksterfiregod

haha quality, 2 words for me... Nail + Head