We bought a car from a trader the clutch has developed a fault and we have been quoted around the £1000 pound mark to put right .the car is still driveable but we have been advised not to drive it no more as it could cause further damage to the gear box if this clutch breaks up the car as only done just over 200 miles since its left the garage forecourt .we have contacted the seller but hes on holiday ,the car came with an 6 months gold maintenance warranty but in order to use this we have to give permission for the garage to do the work on the car then they have to summit the bill the the warranty people if the part is not covered then we have to pay for the rebuild how crap is this ,we are only covered up to £500 per claim ,we have written a letter to the trader to ask for a repair how don't know how successful we will be due to the cost involved ,what happens if the trader don't respond to our letter the car is parked up and we refuse to use it just incase we get blaimed for driving a car that is faulty and causing damage to other parts .the information as come from the main dealer to confirm the fault as being a duel mass clutch or flywheel also other local garages have confirmed this also to be the cause of the fault .the car as full servise history and as only covered 74000 miles .

in the warranty all it do say is under the clutch what is covered they don't cover wear and tear

i have not had the car long enough to be wear and tear

fork, cable, master cylinder, slave cylinder.

as being covered what are my chances in getting this sorted out ???is it the case that the car will be on our drive if the trader refuses to fix it and can we claim inconviences costs if the trader refuses to sort this out .

any help on this would be great i need some information if things start to get difficult on what should i do next ??

thanks all

Hi and welcome to CAG

Lets forget about the warranty for a moment as it is a simple addition to your statutory rights you already have under the SOGA.

We first need to know when you bought the car, how much it cost, what year it is and it may help if we knew the make and model.

Clutch's can be a problem as the main components are indeed classed as wear & tear items. Can you also tell us what the symptoms of the 'fault' were?

hi the fault is vibration pulsation on the clutch pedal you can feel this when you put your foot over the clutch possible in drive as well as gears feel as if they are snatching not smooth but the gear box is ok we been told its the duel mass clutch flywheel at fault and would get worse if we drive it and cause the gear box to damage .so the car is not being used now its only been used to get some advise on it to find out what the cause of the vibration could be so being carefull we are not useing the car as we don't want to get blaimed if something else goes because of this fault .

we are hopeing to sort it out i just want to know my rights if things get tough as this job is not cheap to do .

its a vectra 2005 cost £4000 over a week ago 10th feb this year .its the 22 feb now

how can you class something as wear and tear when the car as only covered just over 200 miles 60 of them was from bringing it from the trader since we bought it the car as only covered 74130 miles and as servise history we done about 200 miles in it .

So how do you know that the seller is on holiday? Is someone looking after his interests while he is away?

In any event, you need to get the ball rolling by informing the seller of the fault NOW. If there is someone there, you need to get them to record the fault and say that under the SOGA, you are requesting that the problem is fixed at no expence to you. You should ask when the car be taken in to them. This should not be a problem due to you owning the car for less than 14 days. Any warranty involvement will be between the seller and the warranty co. You are protected under the SOGA so it is not you that needs the warranty for this.

After verbally asking for the repair to be carried out, you also need to put it formally in writing to them, even if they refuse verbally, giving them 7 days to respond.

hi letter they got today we have copy of this the warranty people phoned me not sure where we stand with these ,spoke to garage not happy with me texting the person that owns the garage have to wait till owner is back monday to find out what happens next .i told the warranty people i will not pay one pence towards the car being fixed or giving permission for the warramty people to take the car apart this is down to the garage to sort out .thanks for the reply .

hi letter they got today we have copy of this the warranty people phoned me not sure where we stand with these ,spoke to garage not happy with me texting the person that owns the garage have to wait till owner is back monday to find out what happens next .i told the warranty people i will not pay one pence towards the car being fixed or giving permission for the warramty people to take the car apart this is down to the garage to sort out .thanks for the reply .

Can you clarify that the garage have 'recorded' the fault? Have you given them 7 days to rectify? The fact the 'owner' is on holiday' isn't your problem. If you have to be unduly inconvenienced because no one can make a decision, tell them you reserve the right to hire a car and present them with the bill unless they can provide a courtesy car.

hi they know as i been texting the owner of the garage and the warranty people have also been in contact with them also the warranty people have comfirmed that the car clutch on this type of car can fail around the 70000-80000 mark .

all i can do is wait till the owners back i have given 7 days to respond to my letter but its nothing i can do but sit on it till they get back to me monday .we are ok for another car as we have my partners and my daughters so this would not be a problem .i give it a thought thou if things don't get done .

i think the garage are just as pi..ed off as me really as it is an expensive peace kit to get done up to a £1000 at the end of the day thou if i wanted to pay less for a car like on ebay you would expect something like this to needing doing but the car would have not cost £4000 more than half the price may be .

thanks i keep you posted and let you know what happening .

Hello just reporting back .the trader done the duel mass clutch and flywheel on taking the duel mass out it was starting to break up and this was the part of the cause why I say part of the cause because after fitting a new one we still got vibration on the pedal

I Contacted the manufacture of the clutch that they fitted as I know the name of the company they use I can't name then for legal reasons but they said if they had fitted a new clutch there should not be any vibration now a new ones on the car .

But said there could be unlined issues else where that should be investigated as this could have caused the previous clutch to go so soon but they said they needed to check and find the cause .

I think they fitted a new one including duel mass fly wheel this is debatable as we did not witness a new one going on as we was not in the workshop when fitting it but I can't see them taking the whole car apart and putting say a recondition one on it would be pointless .but there was a new one on the desk when we arrived well we seen the new one before they took it in the workshop for now I am saying its a brand new one that as been fitted .

The bad news is I still have a vibration on the clutch pedal so there is still a fault somewhere .after speaking to lots of taxi drivers who use here same car as I bought all said as not having no vibration on the clutch pedal so comparing car to car they should be the same .

So what next the works been done a letter as gone off to the trader trading standards are backing us and is going to phone the trader soon .if we don't get a reply .

I don't want a refund but we want a car with out this problem .so do I go back the person that fitted the clutch .

So want now with my legal rights

I have legal protection that I can use and this is family cover with Churchill and I have the letter here to fill in this gives us access to Solicitors and all fees and covers us up to £50.000 if they take the case on .they have already said we would be covered and they can get us a courtesy car if need to be .but they did say this is a last resort if all communication fails between me and the trader this is probably a fair to say .

The trader is still working with us so I do not want to upset then to much at the moment as it would not be fair to give them a chance to fix the car first

so anyone got any thoughts on this .

Your claim is with (and always will be) the seller. So why you are contacting the manufacturer I don't know. If there is a problem with the components, it is between the seller and the supplier/manufacturer of said components.

You mention Churchill... what cover are you referring to? If you are talking your normal motor insurance policy, I doubt that they will be interested as this is not accident related.

hi we have this

http://www.churchill.com/churchillguide/emergency-legal-cover.htm its not a motor insurance we took it out with our house insurance its called legal protection its worth every penny if you get into problems its don't cost nothing to use it we can even have our own solicitor if we want , if the case is strong enough they will help you fight your case in court and no costs will have to be paid if you win or lose .but your case as to pass and they must have a good chance of wining before they will take it on .

i would think if they win they get all the costs back off the 3rd party and what ever your fighting for .

i would think i would stand a good chance as they would use the SOGA against the trader thay also said to me i can claim a courtesy car and they will charge this to the trader when the case is running .but i have not desided to go down this route yet as the trader is playing fair so i have to give them a chance first to put the problem right .

Family Legal Protection will pay your legal costs to help you claim compensation for your loss. Most people don't have a personal solicitor to hand or can’t afford their charges. For a small premium, Family Legal Protection will cover your legal costs up to £50,000, win or lose, and is available for all members of your family living with you.