Local London Car Dealer Refuses To Reimburse My Repair Bill

[yellowmellow]

Hello All I purchased a 4 year old car with 120000 miles from a independent dealer 4 weeks ago, the car had just one owner from new & has a full main dealer service history & it drove excellent without fault but unfortunately 3 weeks after the car broke down.

I drove it later to my garage & they charged me £500 to repair it. Immediately after paying the repair bill I have contacted the car dealer & demanded they fully reimburse my repair bill & that I have the right under the sale of good act. They have refused & stated they would have repaired the vehicle for free should I had given them the opportunity to investigate. 2 days later I phoned them again threatening to take legal action, they state my garage may have taken unnecessary repairs that may have not been required & they have over charged me, they claim if they repaired the vehicle & those items where at fault there own garage would have charged them just £200!

They have offered me just £200 to settle this issue however I have refused & demanded they pay the full amount, I am thinking of taking legal action but would appreciate some advise! Thank you!

[Chesterexpress]

I think they are being very reasonable in offering you £200, if I was the dealer you wouldn't get a penny off me. Why didn't you give them the opportunity of fixing it in the first place? They are correct in that it would have cost them far less to have any remedial work carried out by themselves. The reason for this is that the garage you took the car to obviously made a profit on the job, whereas the dealer would have had the work done at cost price.

[yellowmellow]

thanks for the reponse, it was made clear at the time of purchase that they are not giving any warranty & i agreed, therefore i had no reason to go back to them. I would have thought i had the right to decide where i want the repairs done & at what ever cost they have to reimburse me? I thought the sale of goods act covered me as a consumer? My friend said i have a strong case & should take them to court & not to accept a penny less from them, i actually dont beleive they where aware that the fault was present at the point of sale but surely they have to pay? how would a judge see it? i am the consumer business have to take the risk surely i would win?

[Chesterexpress]

Warranty or no warranty, you have to give them the opportunity of putting the vehicle right, and you can,t expect them to just pay out any amount. Therefore in my opinion you ought to accept their offer, as I would be extremely surprised if a judge would find in your favour considering the way you handled it.

[yellowmellow]

is that what the law states? a consumer must give the seller a opportunity to repair the car? i thought i was in the right & can hold them fully liable. i would have thought all cases always go in the favour of the consumer...

[Chesterexpress]

Originally Posted by yellowmellow

i would have thought all cases always go in the favour of the consumer...

Oh please, why should the consumer always be in the right? Each case is dealt with on it's merit and there is never any guarantee on who would win in any court action.

I still can't understand why anyone would not contact the dealer and give them the opportunity to put things right! It is your call at the end of the day, however I know what I would do.

[yellowmellow]

perhaps i need some legal advise? If they had the car inspected by rac where would i stand? They say each vehicle is tested & driven for 30 miles

[Conniff]

Have to agree with Chester. How does the dealer know you didn't just go to your mate who owns a garage and ask him to give you a bill that you will split 50/50 with. Your demanding £500 without any proof that there was a fault to start with.

Look at any government consumer site and you will find the following:

Tell the trader of the problem as soon as possible and explain what you would like to happen. Most car faults can be repaired and in most cases of genuine faults the trader will offer a repair. You need to give the trader a reasonable opportunity to repair the faults but try to get exact details of what the diagnosis is and what is to be done before the repair is carried out.

What was the fault?

[gyzmo]

If you are looking at sale of Goods then it is with the seller that you have an issue with, so yes you should take it up with them. However, if they accept that they would have repaired it (on accepting liability) then they should not really refuse to pay what they would have paid themselves.

If they are disputing that work was unnecessary, then that is down to a matter of proof and evidence. I don't think a court would look favourably on you using another service provider when the seller was available. Had you contacted the seller and they refused, then it would be a different matter.

[Chesterexpress]

Originally Posted by yellowmellow

i actually dont beleive they where aware that the fault was present at the point of sale

You have already stated above that they didn't know about any problem, and a second hand car can breakdown at any time. As I have stated you really ought to have let them deal with the problem, rather than just get it fixed without telling them and then expecting them to pay out regardless.

[gwc1000]

Originally Posted by gyzmo

However, if they accept that they would have repaired it (on accepting liability) then they should not really refuse to pay what they would have paid themselves.

That is exactly what the dealer has offered.

The customer's first port of call should have been with the dealer.

yellowmellow, you cannot expect to go elsewhere, have repairs done without the dealer's knowledge, and then expect the dealer to pay the bill whatever the cost.
You are right, you do need legal advice. Perhaps then you will realise any Court action will be futile and cost you even more money.