Hi

I'm sure this has been covered many times but I've tried searching and not found anything specific.

To cut a very long story short I purchased a second hand car on the 17th Feb 2018 on HP through first response finance via a local dealership.

On the 6th May an injector fault code had shown up

after many tooing and throwing between myself and the dealership and the finance company an attempted repair was carried out by the dealerships approved garage where they fitted a new injector.

I picked the car up on the 17th May (yes it did take that long for this garage to fit a new injector!!).

However upon picking the car up we discovered it had a diesel knock, not something it went in with!

We then had it at a further 3 garages, arranged for by the dealership and i'm assuming covered under warranty and the 3rd garage took all the injectors out and sent them for testing, all came back as ok BUT he has advised the noise we hear in the car is actually due to a failing flywheel.

Driving the car away from the 3rd garage on the 8th June we discovered the diesel knock had been fixed and realised this vibrating noise was always present in the car from purchase...

just to shed some light, its the first time I've even driven a diesel!..i thought the vibrating feeling when stationary at traffic lights was 'normal' and as i'm no mechanic I didn't realise this was to do with the flywheel.

After speaking to the finance company and raising a complaint with them we've since had quotes to repair of between £1,300 and £1,700 to fix this flywheel issue and replace the clutch, clearly after only owning the car since Feb and it's been in for repair since early May so actually only driving the vehicle for 11 weeks they're claiming wear and tear therefore not accepting any liability.

I'm obviously aggrieved at the prospect of having to pay out anywhere up to £1,700 on a car worth £5.5k (Peugeot 3008 10 plate with 59k on the clock) however my argument is this issue with the vehicle has always been present and I find it hard to claim wear and tear when I hadn't owned the vehicle for that long.

BTW the approved garage where the injector repair was supposedly carried out and who had my car for 3 weeks and came out with another fault was the same garage that MOT'd my vehicle and passed it without a working horn (something which we got fixed straight away!) therefore my confidence in that garage supplying roadworthy cars is clearly jaded.

I've sent the final response from the finance company to the FO but I wondered whether you guys have any advise for me or whether anyone has had similar experience and can offer any advise?

Sorry it's so long but this is the condensed version!!

Thanks for your help

Which dealer sold it to you?

The issue of wear and tear is not relevant. Under the Consumer Rights Act you are entitled that the vehicle you purchase – even second-hand – is of satisfactory quality and remains that wait for a reasonable period of time. If a defect appears within the first six months of ownership then the dealer has to be given a single opportunity to repair the vehicle and if they fail to do so then you are entitled to demand a refund.

You are still within six months so you should write the dealer a letter immediately and tell them that you are asserting your rights under the consumer rights act. They have attempted to repair and the car is still defective and you now want a refund.

You will probably find that in order to assert this right you will have to take them to the Small Claims Court. You haven't told us how much you pay for the vehicle.

On the basis of what you say, your chances of success are better than 90%. Which dealer is it? If they are largely that they will probably put their hands up once you issue the papers.

Please can you post up the final response which you have received from the finance company in PDF format.

A complaint to the FOS might be successful but you can be certain it will take a long time and in the meantime you are stuck with the car. If you bring a small claim then you can probably have this sorted out within 3 to 4 months. However, be aware that if you decide to reject the vehicle under the Consumer Rights Act that you should stop driving it.

Hi Bankfodder

Thank you for the reply

- I have got a copy of the response but it's got my personal details on, I'll figure out how to remove them (as it's PDF format!) and upload them in a few minutes.

It was a local small dealership called Select Motors ltd, they had 4 attempts to resolve the issue but have advised it's wear and tear now they finally know its the flywheel and not the injectors causing the vibrations.

If I'm honest I love the car therefore would be aggrieved at handing it back and asking for a refund - all I want is for them or the finance company to foot the repair costs!

After seeking advise from the citizens advise I sent both the dealership and the finance company a letter advising them:

On 17th February 2018 I entered into a Hire Purchase Agreement with yourselves for a Peugeot 3008

I now have a problem with the goods: The initial injector fault has been rectified however after speaking to the repair garage Auto Tec Northwest they have advised the fly wheel is failing which we now understand is what has been causing the vibration throughout the vehicle which has been present since the day we purchased the car.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, this car should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the car you sold me is faulty. I would like you to put this right by repairing the car at your cost.

After seeking advice from the Citizens Advise they have advised me under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I am able to claim for a price reduction for the full price of the cost of the repair, I have enclosed a copy of a quote for the repair.

I am aware that during the first 6 months after purchase it is the responsibility of the seller to prove the fault wasn’t there, not for myself to prove that it was.

As I have advised previously I am not a mechanic, I did not drive the car off the forecourt knowing there was an issue with the flywheel, it was only due to the injector failing when the 3rd garage had advised the vibrations we are experiencing within the car are due to a failing flywheel – an issue that was present from purchase but I thought was just how a diesel car drove.

I sent those recorded delivery on the 13th June, had no response from the dealership, no surprise as they never respond to my phone calls or emails and the finance company although they haven't reference my letter to them dated the 13th in their final response when I spoke to them last night over the telephone they advised me their final response was including that letter I wrote to them where they have advised wear and tear and they won't help me further.

I pay £200 a month for the vehicle, I did get one months payment back from the finance company as I wasn't able to use my vehicle for 5 weeks whilst it was in for repair.

I'll figure out how to upload the documents now

Thanks again

TBH id ask to cancel everything and walk away.

if you read upload

it tells you how to do things

amended attachment

final response 2.pdf

Reg still showing in Final Response

Should I not show the reg? is that a DP breach or anything? Sorry if it's a silly question

I've amended the reply

This is what I sent to them regarding their final response as there are a few inaccuracies I was unhappy about

In response to your final response I would like you to correct a few inaccuracies;

Paragraph 1 – whilst the finance was purchased on the 10th February 2018 I only took receipt of the car on the 17th February 2018.

Paragraph 2 – I had originally called and spoke with yourself regarding the car being taken in for repair on the 10th May, where I had spoken to James where I asked how I should proceed, your response James was not to raise a complaint at this point in the process as the dealership may become difficult to deal with and not carry out a repair. It was only when it became apparent that the initial repairs carried out by the dealerships approved garage hadn’t worked that I raised the complaint with the finance company asking yourself to step in and communicate with the dealership as I felt like I was getting nowhere and the repair was taking too long.

Paragraph 4 – The car did not go back to the dealership, at no point has the car ever been back to the Dealership as they’ve refused to take receipt of the car to organise the repairs, at each stage we have had to contact the dealership who then advise us of which garage to take the vehicle to next, we then had to ring each of these garages to book the car in and take the car to these garages.

Paragraph 5 – The only ‘repair’ that was carried out by this garage was removal of all of the injectors where they were sent for testing, however they all came back as ‘ok’ and the injectors were re-fitted to the car, no injectors were replaced. I was advised by the garage that this was more than likely to be an issue with the flywheel on the vehicle. After speaking to the finance company I advised I had lost trust in the vehicle and would like to know my options with regards to returning the vehicle and potentially swapping with the dealership or what rights I had to ask the dealership to repair the vehicle at their own cost as the finance company advised it would probably be classed as ‘wear and tear’

Paragraph 9 – The vehicle was indeed purchased with 59,400 miles on the clock and was registered in Dec 2010 and at the point of purchase had a MOT certificate, however, upon receipt of the vehicle we immediately raised that the car horn was not working, neither were the rear parking sensors (via e-mail to the dealership) which if I’m not mistaken is one of the checks for an MOT, therefore how it passed an MOT without a working horn is beyond me, we were advised to take it back to the dealerships approved garage (Lunts Heath) to repair the horn and the rear parking sensors. This, coupled with the fact it was the same garage who took nearly 3 weeks to repair an injector fault and upon receipt of the vehicle after the ‘repair’ had failed to notice a very loud diesel knock which was not present before the vehicle had gone in for repair, clearly demonstrates the ability of the garage to ensure a car is roadworthy and demonstrates the fact this car was not of satisfactory quality at the point of sale.

Paragraph 10 – It perplexes me how a vehicle received on the 17th Feb 2018 and that broke down on the 06th of May, 11 weeks after purchase can be classed as ‘wear and tear’. As I have advised the Finance company numerous times, this vibration has always been present throughout the vehicle since point of purchase, not being a mechanic I was not aware this was a mechanical fault, only when pointed out by a garage was this issue known to me however it was present at point of purchase therefore it was clearly sold with a failing flywheel.

Paragraph 13 – At no point have I declined the offer – it was only Kylie with whom I spoke to on the 12th June who advised me of this option of CRAS, at no point prior to my discussion with Kylie had I been advised or made aware of this scheme. After ringing around garages and getting quotes of between £1,200 and £1,700 I rang yourselves back and spoke to Lynsey on the 14th to advise I wasn’t happy to proceed with this option at this present moment as ultimately I would be paying the full price still and I would like to explore other options of help and advice. I specifically asked whether, if I exhaust all avenues and I still get nowhere could I still go through the CRAS and I was advised I could, therefore I did not decline your offer.

But eventually it's up to you what you want to do but it seems to me that you are being led around by the nose.

Whatever you decide to do, I would send the letter to them rejecting the car as they have exhausted their repair possibilities under the 2015 act. At least this way you reserve your position.

If they really think they're going to get the car back then maybe they might treat you more seriously.

You are a new user on this forum – but we have been here for years and we see dealers doing this kind of thing all the time and they hope that the problem will go away.

Eventually you will get fed up paying money or not being listened to or having an unreliable car. Then you will eventually want to do something about it but by that time it might be too late to take definitive action which will sort out your problem once and for all.

Our advice to you is to take control. Sort it out now. There are loads more cars around. You'll always be able to find another one that you fall in love with and also you will have learnt a few lessons here

I guess you're right, I suppose the word small claims court scares me, I've never had to do anything like this before but myself and my family are at our wits end due to the stress this has caused and we are a one car family therefore i rely on my vehicle.

That said...if i'm within my right still to reject the vehicle how do i go about doing this? As i don't technically own it, do i send something to the dealership or to the finance company - a few people have said to me just walk into the dealership and hand them their keys back, but i'm not a confrontational person and don't want to be left with a big bill at the end of this, it's a mans world out there and my husband doesn't drive so it would have to be me doing it all.

The finance company did advise me they'd spoken to the dealership who were prepared to offer me part exchange value for the car to put against a new one, but with a fault like this i figure the part exchange value will be next to nothing therefore i didn't want to do this.

The finance company also gave me the right to reject and advised i should stop driving the car if i wanted to take that option but that was a few weeks ago now and i naively said no as i loved the car and thought i could tackle this head on... would i still be able to reject now even if they've given me that option previously and i rejected?

A lot of lessons have been learnt along this journey!...trust me, no-one is kicking me harder than myself!

Thanks again for your help

The finance company owns the vehicle so the rejection letter needs to be sent to the finance company however you can also send a copy to the dealership.

I've redacted that letter fully for you

Hi

Just wanted to give a little update to show that the little man (or woman in my case!) can still win.

I've had my car repaired, a new flywheel and clutch using a garage from the good garage scheme, the total repair bill came to just over £1k and the finance company have covered the total cost!!...whoop whoop!...safe to say I've still not heard anything from the dealership!

The 7 weeks of heartache, stress and mega inconvenience of being without a car was worth it in the end, car now fixed and running like a dream

Well done I will amend your thread title.

Regards

Andy