For future reference - the V5C2 is only valid for two months, but this is from the date you put on the green slip. In practice, you can use it whenever you like, and most post offices don't even mind a bit of tipp-ex on there. You can, however, only use it once, as they will stamp it.

Unfortunately, the documentation you get when DVLA clamp your car can be very confusing. They usually sting you for the seperate offence of not DISPLAYING valid road tax. However, they would have written to you, as would the court. I think your chances are slim, but try Pepipoo Fightback Forums - they seem to have some people there who like to take on DVLA

Is it actually a cut and shut, or is it on the Vehicle Condition Alert Register?

He took it knowing it needed a turbo and drove it? Also had payment from the OP to cover the work, and that was £750 for a turbo? He's either a [EDIT] or an idiot!

Very confusing - why would you pay a company to provide you with a banker's draft to purchase a vehicle? Why not pay the retailer direct? Can you clarify a little? Are the companies still trading?

I bet if he'd accidentally taken £1,000 too much from your debit card, you'd want it back. He's doctored the invoice out of desperation, but two wrongs don't make a right. Looking at the timescale between your original post and receiving court papers, I'm not surprised he's gone down that route - it would appear you've avoided contact for over a week. And car dealers are the dodgy ones???

Zafira?

Isn't there a section on the letter to state you were not the owner at that time?

I believe you can disclaim the vehicle, and just let them take it. Unfortunately, I think you may well lose the plate.

Thanks Crapstone - I'll do that

Hi all, Just drafting my SAR, but wondering who to address it to. The original mortgage was SPML, so should I send it to them, Capstone, or Acenden? Many thanks in advance...

Hi, the point I was trying to make was that unless you have signed finance documents, you do not have a contract with the finance company, only an acceptance that they will fund your purchase. Indeed, the finance company could even change their mind if you were proceeding right up until the point where they pay the dealer. CCA will only come into effect once you have an agreement in place. Informing the finance company of your situation would certainly do the trick, as they would most likely change their decision to a decline. In your circumstances, if the dealership has dealt with you fairly so far, a letter to the sales manager and/or dealer principal would probably be common courtesy. The dealer may feel justified to retain some of your deposit, depending on whether or not the spec of your order can still be amended, and technically, they would probably be within their rights. However most are actually surprisingly reasonable when approached in the right way. Anyway, the finance company route will definitely do the trick, and there is no way you can lose more than your deposit. Sorry to hear about your unemployment, by the way.

Minor point, perhaps, but notwithstanding all of the above, if the claimant had valid insurance, I would have thought the poster would hear from them. He will struggle to claim on his own! I agree that your brother should accept responsibilty, but he will only really have a problem if the other party had valid insurance. If not, the victim will be a victim of his own making.

Hi, as you haven't taken delivery of the vehicle, you won't have signed finance docs yet, hence this is irrelevant. Before I say any more, can I ask why you wish to cancel your order?

I take it from being a pre-reg that this is a main dealer? No order form of any description? Did they give you a value for your p/ex?

Hi, Sailor Sam is spot-on. Within that timescale, you may have to accept the car back if they can rectify the fault- but it MUST BE RECTIFIED. Otherwise you are perfectly entitled to "back it"

When you say it was sold through a business, what do you mean?

Hi, did the dealer arrange the finance with Santander?

Hi, sorry to hear about your predicament. Unfortunately you are not alone, this is quite a widespread problem- the issue came about because lease purchase agreements had some flexibilty within the balloon payment, which meant a business manager ( finance guy ) could meet a customer's monthly budget without affecting his rate spread ( commission ). In practice, the customre got almost all the benefits of a PCP, over HP, all except the Guarantee. As Used car values were fairly stable, and lending was free and easy, they could always dig the customer out and into a new agreement, often early, and everyone was happy. Unfortunately, the market has been turned on its head, used car values are nowhere near what was forecast, and rates and terms are completely different. In the majority of finance agreements, the manufacturers and finance companies took massive losses through people handing back at the end of the agreement. You will need to persevere with this, and I would suggest you tackle the dealer, as well as Audi UK, and VWFS. You won't be the only one to be complaining, and I wouldn't be surprised if VWFS haven't got a little fund set aside for this - the manufacturer I used to work for did, as Goodwill. The dealer has a duty to explain your finance agreement to you, and if they have misled you, hey have broken the law. Consider contacting the FSA and FOS if you are having no joy. Basically, it will boil down to whether or not the dealer is prepared to stand up and testify that your agreement was fully explained to you. In my experience, they will settle rather than go to court - it's cheaper! Best of luck!

Hi, very tricky one - technically you haven't much to go on, but as you say, they have looked at the car before. However, if you try this route, my guess is they would pass it off as a "goodwill" gesture. You might even find that the salesman you spoke to got them to look at it as a favour to avoid you causing him grief. I would make a written complaint first to the general manager, MD, dealer principal, or whatever the top man calls himself, stating what you have said above, and give them the opportunity to fix it. One thing that is worth a try is to find out who administers their warranties - if it is a policy underwritten by a seperate company you may be able to contact them to find out if they have authorised any work on your car previously. That way, even if the warranty is no longer valid, they would have to sort it as the issue was brought to light during the warranty period and not rectified. Worst case, the good news is that it's unlikely to be anything major, those little French cars are notorious for coil packs and sensors etc, so if you can't get them to rectify it, it shouldn't cost you too much. Do try not to use it too much in the meantime, though, as you can end up with other components failing.

Did you get a copy of the 1st agreement you signed?

Hi Shelly, I'm a car dealer and stories like this really annoy me - it's people like that who give the trade a bad name. I agree with the above - under the sale of goods act, vehicles, or anything else for that matter must be as described, fit for purpose and of merchantable quality. Unless it was expressly sold as scrap, or spares with a known fault, it is perfectly reasonable to expect to be able to drive it! Follow Sailor Sam's instructions, and you will get a result, as long as he's around long enough to take to court. ( It's not uncommon for people like this to close down a company and re-open under another name almost overnight, although from his website he looks a bit too well-established for that). It may also be worth bringing it to the attention of your local Trading Standards, they may be aware of him already, and can often be very useful in cases like this. Chances are he's calling your bluff when talking about court action, and will back-track very quickly when he realises you're serious. Obviously, it's very difficult to diagnose mechanical issues on a forum, but the gearbox issue sounds very much like a linkage to me - very minor, at worst it's a clutch or master cylinder - unlikely to be a gearbox. What he's up to is trying to get you to agree to 50%, get the work done at cost, then double the bill, hence not putting his hand in his own pocket at all! Good luck, and I'm sure you'll get a result!