Hi everyone,

June last year we decided to update my wife's car, And so she looked on Autotrader to find the car that she wanted

She settled on a 2 year old Toyota Yaris that had to have exact specifications, Built in Sat Nav, Reverse camera ect, We found the exact car including the colour that she wanted, But it was quite away away, We are in Leicester, The car was in Cambridge at a main dealers

We drove over there, She had a test drive and loved it so we decided to buy it, It would take almost a week to do a full car check, Plus some Diamond bright thing to the paint work

We went back to pick it up, And it has been a great car since, She loves it

Fast forward to 7 weeks ago it was coming up to needing it's first MOT, So we booked it in and when we went to pick it up, It had failed because the brake reservoir cap was missing and an old rubber glove had been shoved in to the top of it

I was furious, My wife had been driving around in a car that as far as i was concerned, Could have killed her at anytime, A car that we paid a lot of money for from a reputable company

I rang the company up and spoke to their Senior Services Advisor and he told me to put my complaint in writing, So i did and he seemed a really nice bloke who took it very seriously

After a few emails he finally sent this email

Good morning Mr *******

I am glad everything is now ok with the vehicle. I have had a chat with my Head of Business, as well as the invoice for the repair. If you would like to take your family out for dinner wherever you like and send me the receipt up to £200.00. We would like to get that paid for you as well.

Thank you very much for the compliment, If there anything else you need in the future please do not hesitate to ask. I am always here to help.

kind regards

Matthew Nightingale

Senior Service Advisor Toyota and Lexus Cambridge

Steven Eagell Toyota and Lexus Cambridge

1 Norman Way

Coldhams Business Park

Coldhams Lane

Cambridge

CB1 3LH

So i sent invoices and a receipt for the meal, Only £41.50 of the up to £200 that they offered, Total less than £70

That was 7 weeks ago and have not heard anything from them since, I have sent an email last week, But have totally been ignored

So my question is, Should i just forget about it, Trash them on Social media, Or does anyone have a suggestion

You have been driving around since June without a cap on the brake fluid reservoir?

I think you need to take a look at yourselves and make sure you are doing your daily and weekly checks correctly.

One of the things to check is that all caps are present and correctly fitted.

Not only are you putting your own lives at risk, but those of the other road users too.

Back to the compensation issue,

I am firstly very surprised they offered that resolution but hats off to them for not just brushing you off.

Secondly,

I would resend the email and give them a ring to check they have received it.

A new email sender that also sends attachments is very likely to get kicked into touch by a commercial firewall or spam filter.

A quick phone call ten mins after sending the email will help them find it.

Chances are, it would then be paid.

I wouldn't go slagging the off on social media,

you have no proof it is their fault and could likely be classed as libel.

The non payment of the compensation could just be an admin error that is easily sorted and would disappear completely should they be dissed on social media.

as above..you drove around for a year and never checked even the basics like enough brake fluid even once...scary...

dx

It was a 2 year old car with full service history from a respectable dealer, It has only done 1500 in the time she has had it, I have to say, I never noticed it

It wouldn't have been so bad if it was me driving it, It was my wife

In previous emails he accepted that we had received the car with the cap missing and had implemented changes into their systems

I feel let down, We paid £7.500 for a "quality" car from a quality garage, They held their hands up and made a generous offer, Then have blown us off since

seems like it was done to shut you up...

I would suspect they are on facebook etc

poss a message there?

might embarrass them into remembering...

or even twitter feed of Toyota?

yes they are @steveneagell

yes they are @steveneagell

I will give them another week then i will be writing a message on their Facebook page

It was a 2 year old car with full service history from a respectable dealer, It has only done 1500 in the time she has had it, I have to say, I never noticed it

 

It wouldn't have been so bad if it was me driving it, It was my wife

 

In previous emails he accepted that we had received the car with the cap missing and had implemented changes into their systems

 

I feel let down, We paid £7.500 for a "quality" car from a quality garage, They held their hands up and made a generous offer, Then have blown us off since

Did they actually admit to selling the car without a cap? Did they actually write that?

Or did they just offer the money as a gesture of goodwill?

I doubt it is something that can be proven that it was definately their fault, So i would guess it was a gesture of good will

Saaying that, They have he says put new proceedures in place to stop it happening again

Yes, that's fine. New procedures in place to make sure no cars leave like that, but they will have stopped short of actually admitting fault for yours.

I would just have a quick phone call, recorded, to check they have you email. Hopefully its just an admin thing and this can all be over.

Next, I'd buy your partner a Haynes manual.

To be honest, I don't really care about the money, Its less than £70,

What i care about is people doing what they say they are going to do, If you don't mean it, Don't say it

When you buy a car that is only 2 years into its 5 year manufacturers warranty,

You don't expect to have to go beyond checking oil and water levels,

Beyond that, That is what servicing and MOT are for

No, I fully agree on the part that they should do as they say.

But regardless of age, just water and oil levels is pure stupity when driving a 2 ton lump of metal which can kill.

Basic checks are levels and security in the engine bay. Brake, steering and gear checks. Tyres and rims. And visual check underneath. That is a daily check and for those that dont do it, shame on you.

The five year warranty has nothing to do with any of that. If something is found amis, then warranty may cover it as far as the repair goes, but it is the DRIVERS responsibility to check the car is safe for daily driving.

No, the servicing is there to replace worn serviceable parts and oils.

The MOT is a legal requirement as it checks certain properties about a car that the driver cannot like bearings and rubbers. However, the mot will fail you for obvious defects that should have been picked up by the driver like bulbs, tyres etc.

A bit of an update on this

My wife posted a review on their website yesterday Here is their response