Hi,

I purchased a Peugeot 207 from a reputable dealer (or so I thought) for just under £3000 just over six weeks ago. This car is on finance.

The car broke down, the clutch has gone completely, just after six weeks and I have driven less than 200 miles in the car.

The dealer are blaming me for the fault and are refusing to put this right.

I have quoted the consumer law 2015 at them stating that they have to prove the car didn't have the fault when I purchased it.

They are still refusing to deal with the situation and that I have to pay for repair.

Now I am desperate to get the car back on the road as I use it to commute and to pick up my kids from my estranged spouse.

Should I pay for repair and try to claim it back?

Should I just cancel the finance?

Any advice on this welcome.

Thanks

Oh and to name and shame the dealer this is "Crescent Cars" in Baldock Hertfordshire.

Have you reported it to the finance company ?

What type of finance did you take out ?

Andy

Thread title updated

Yes I have reported it to the finance company but they are dragging their heals.

I just need a car.

Type of finance....HP/PL/ ???

HP

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/goods-and-services-bought-with-credit.html#2a

Which finance company? Begin an immediate complaint against them. Contact them, give them the details of your complaint and tell them they have eight weeks and then you want to go to the ombudsman.

In the meantime I would also send a letter to the dealer and threatened with legal action within 14 days under the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 . Then begin the small claim. It sounds to me as if this is a fundamental breach of contract in which case you are entitled to reject the car completely.

If you decide that that causes too much of a problem for you because of your need for transport then the answer is – yes, have the touch repaired and then sue for the cost plus any additional losses such as car hire et cetera while the work is being done.

Write a letter to the dealer and put them on notice that this will happen in the next five days – I think five days very reasonable in the circumstances – unless they undertake immediately to collect the car and to repair it. It will only take a single day to repair the clutch.

Then tell them that you will be starting a legal action to recover the money within 14 days of the date of your letter. Don't bluff. Don't send letters like this unless you are prepared to carry out the threat. We will help you all the way.

Steer clear of Crescent cars in Baldock in future and tell your friends. Also, I suggest that you start going around the internet to the review sites and post up your opinion of them.

I have the letter all ready to go. I am getting the car delivered to them on Monday be recovery which is £50. I am giving them 14 days to refund my money for the repair and the recovery as they told me the car had six month's warranty I cancelled my Recovery services.

The letter reads:

02/11/2018

Dear Sir or Madam,

REFERENCE: P****/Crescent Cars Limited-Peugeot 207

I purchased a Peugeot 207 Registration number BJ***** from Crescent Cars Limited. At the point of purchase I paid £2850.

This Peugeot 207 is unfit for purpose. I purchased the car on the 16th of September 2018. After using the car for just over six weeks and less than 200 miles the clutch has failed completely.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes it an implied term of the contract I have with Crescent Cars Limited that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.

As you are in breach of contract and and I've owned the product for less than 6 month’s and you are refusing to repair or replace this vehicle, I am within my statutory rights to ask for a refund of up to 100% of the original cost paid.

I am giving you notice that you have refused to repair the car that I am expecting a refund from you for the costs of the repairs and the recovery of the Vehicle. This is £533 for the repair and £50 recovery.

I await confirmation that you will provide the remedy set out above within 14 days of the date of this letter. After this date I shall be making a Small Claim against you in court.

Yours faithfully,

Anthony P*****

Sounds good, but is it the consumer rights act or is it the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 s I'm not too sure. You need to check it.

According to the FOS website it is the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/goods-and-services-bought-with-credit.html#2a

The Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 covers sales when the customer has, what is commonly known as, bought the car on HP. In an HP sale, it is the finance company and not the dealer who have the legal liability to resolve the matter with the customer if anything goes wrong.

Both of those Acts will be amended come October. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 will continue to relate to business to business contracts and issues such as the passing of title in goods but, the main ‘business to consumer’ provisions will now be found in the new Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Similarly, ‘business to consumer’ issues from the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 will also now be incorporated into the new Consumer Rights Act 2015 as will the ‘business to consumer’ issues from the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

https://www.iaaf.co.uk/news-item/legal-update-from-lawgistics

Thanks. That is helpful. We need to change the Autolink

A clutch is a consumable, it is not covered by the CRA, you have confirmed the car drove perfectly for 6 weeks until it failed, it’s fair wear n tear. Harsh but true, maintenance is the owners responsibility not the sellers.

So this letter should go to the HP company? They have agreed to pay for the repair now anyway but as a matter of interest?

Thanks for everyones help. It is much appreciated.

Thank you.

Update,

The car got fixed and paid for by the finance company. However the first problem which was reported DPF clogging, which was returned within a week of purchasing has come back and now the engine has a fault. The garage are claiming this is "wear and tear". This car was purchased less than four month's ago! The finance company are getting an independent inspection done.

Avoid Crescent Cars in Baldock, they are the biggest Cowboys ever.

If you only did 200 miles in six weeks it would suggest that you should not have purchased a diesel vehicle. If you do lots of short runs or a majority of your driving is urban driving then the car is completely unsuitable for your usage. A clogged DPF is a sign it is not getting hot enough to regenerate (every 300/500 miles usage/model dependant). Diesel engines are very thermo-efficient so take a long time to warm up. For a DPF to regen the car needs to be driven at 40mph plus with the revs not too low.

The supplying garage not even getting involved with the clutch is a poor show but how do you know the clutch failure was not down to driver error?

After a few weeks? Driver error. Depress clutch and it should return, not just stay on the floor. The car is always driven at 40mph at least down the dual carriageway. The dpf shouldn't clog every week or about 30 miles?

That does sound like a hydraulic fault rather than the friction plate being burnt out. You can burn a clutch out within 50 miles if hard of hearing or inexperienced. That is precisely why i suggested the first call would have been for the garage to inspect the clutch and go from there.

Regarding the DPF if you are saying you are only doing 30 miles per week then a diesel is not suitable for your style of driving. Some 6 speed cars are so low revving that even at 60-70mph in top gear the revs are too low to create the heat to regenerate.

Did you do any research before buying a diesel car?

All the miles are done on A-Roads and motorway as per the handbook. Do not tell me that this is a normal problem.

Yes, it's a normal problem with dpf unfortunately.

As you do very little mileage, your engine doesn't works at full operating temperature and the dpf gets clogged.

Look online and you will find thousands of posts in motoring forums about problems with dpf.

If you can manage to return the car for a refund, I would advise it.

Then you can get a petrol or a diesel without dpf which would be more suitable for you.

Getting a refund will be the hard part. I am trying to reject the car as "unfit for purpose" let's see how it goes. Thanks for your help.

Getting a refund will be the hard part. I am trying to reject the car as "unfit for purpose" let's see how it goes. Thanks for your help.

I am waiting for the finance company to get this car inspected. They say this can be four weeks, in the meantime I am paying finance for a car that has broken down four times in less than three month's. What is a reasonable amount of time to wait for this to happen. I am without a car, can I just reject this now as I am getting nowhere fast?

Most diesel engined cars need to cover at least 12 miles or so before the oil starts getting warm. Forget the water temp gauge or the fact that warm air is coming through the cars interior vents as most diesels have electric air heaters as the engines themselves take so long to warm up. At Skoda, for example, i remember the sales staff being instructed to advise customers that DPF equipped vehicles should be covering 25k per year, now 25k sounds a little excessive but ive seen problems with VW's that were doing circa 16k miles per year.

Many DFP equipped cars rarely get hot enough to perform passive regeneration. Every time a forced regen is attempted it shortens the lifespan of the filter and puts the engine under strain. Most of the time the filters are replaced they didn't need to be in my experience, plus the OE part is then replaced with a pattern part which does not have sufficient flow rate to work properly. Many companies charge around £200 to perform a DPF clean where the filter is placed in a rig and chemically cleaned. This can also be done in DIY fashion using Cillit Bang and a pressure washer!

If you are using poor quality fuel you will most likely find that the car will attempt to perform a regeneration more frequently. For every person moaning saying they are having DPF issues there are many others who have never had a single issue driving DPF equipped cars.

If your car had a hydraulic fault with the clutch the supplying dealer should have come to the party. The DPF issue is less clear though, is it a fault with the system on your car (pressure/temp sensor etc) or is it simply not being used enough, and in the correct fashion, to passively regenerate. When hooked up to decent, dealer level diagnostics the live data should indicate how the filter is functioning (if its blocked and if the flow rate is ok ETC).