Citroen Saxo Clutch, do i have to pay for it?

[jaidenslot]

A few weeks ago i bought a X(2001) Citroen Saxo Diesel from a garage i found through Auto trader. I travelled 74 miles to the garage and when i tried the car i mentioned to the sales man that i thought the clutch seemed high, he then got in it and threw it about a bit and said it was fine. I drive a car and no nothing about how it works presumed this to be the truth.
I picked the car up 10 days ago and the salesman who sold me it was off and what seemed to me the boss asked me if he had mentioned warranty. I told him that i had been told(as an example) if something like the gearbox dropped out that they would fix it to which i stated i lived over 70 miles away and he said they would probably send a cheque(salesman said this not boss). I was then given a 3 month(silver) warranty that they purchase from a company for £120 and he made a remark about how they had lost money on the car thanks to the salesman!
When i hit the motorway on the way home i noticed that the clutch seemed to be slipping so the next day my father took it to the local citroen garage who to put it bluntly said the clutch was knackered! The mechanic contacted the garage as in his opinion i should never had been allowed to drive that distance with the clutch. The garage(i bought it from) seemed to be under the impression the warranty would cover it and so today it went to be fixed.
The mechanic rang the warranty to get authorisation and told them that the bearing had siezed causing the damage to clutch and plate and gave the cars mileage which apparantly didn't match as the garage(i bought it from) had put the wrong mileage down. The warranty had 82500 and the mileage was 82370 he was then told it was wear and tear and they wouldn't pay out.
My father then rang the garage(i bought it from) and was told that something would be sorted(for payment) and to ring back after 4.
The total bill was £300 and several times after 4 we couldn't get hold of the boss only a salesman who stated that they had lost money on the car and they would have done it for less which i'm not sure where as they only sell the cars hence the warranty.
I now have a bill for £300 which i can not afford to pay and not sure if i can force the garage to pay all of it or something towards it.
Sorry for such a long story but does anyone have any advice

[MrShed]

Send them a LBA then sue - absolutely the garage is liable for the entire cost of the repair.

[jaidenslot]

My father contacted trading standards this morning and they told him that we don't really have a leg to stand on and so the garage have offered £70.

[jaidenslot]

Forgot to explain why i was offered only £70.
After numerous attempts today trying to get hold of the boss i gave up(have a 3 year old can't sit dialing the phone all day) anyway eventually my father got hold of the salesman who sold the car who was instructed to offer us £70.
This is half of what they could buy the clutch for and the labour on a diesel car?? Yesterday it was £70 and £150, not sure which one was labour and which was the clutch price, £250 yesterday £140 today.
On my bill the clutch itself before vat was £130 so how they get that i don't know but unfortunately with my father being told by trading standards that we "would struggle" with this he has accepted the offer(not received it yet tho). Which is great as i have the £250 to find!

[MrShed]

I doubt you "would struggle" - the dealer has a responsibility by SOGA to provide you with an item which is durable, fit for purpose etc. If not, then he must at least cover your financial loss in not doing so. This DOES apply to second hand cars if sold by a dealer. To me, it is a black and white case - worried that trading standards see it differently!

[jaidenslot]

Oh! I'm confused now, with trading standards telling us this we thought £70 was the best we could get and unless they don't send the cheque (which i presume they will as they will know all this) I guess i'm stuck!
Sorry but what is a LBA and who is SOGA?

[jaidenslot]

to summarise the contract
from purchase date to a certain reasonable time, noted via DTI factsheets this may only be a few weeks. if the purchased product is faulty the buyer has the options of either
*repair
*replace
*refund
which the initial owner/seller of the product has to honour within reasonable time, with least inconvenience and without costs to the buyer and minimal costs to the seller.

in this short period from purchase the least inconvenient option is of course a replacement or refund.

after the short period a refund/recission of contract cannot be authorised unless the initial owner/seller breaches the contract by either.
*not offering any method of repair or replacement
*not doing so within reasonable time.
or if their are other circumstances which warrent a recission.

Found it on another thread
Would it still cover me as the garage(i bought it from) never carried out the repair as i couldn't have drove 74 miles with the clutch in that state as i may not have got that far!