Almost forgot, huge thanks to Rebel11 and everyone else who offered advice on this thread!

Glad to hear the seller will get pursued now, thought they'd got away with it to be honest. I suspect the CC provider will carry a little more weight than I did

Just thought I'd give everyone an update on here in case it helps anyone in the future. After a lot of work from and and a futile attempt to get the garage to refund me and return the car I instigated a section 75 claim against my credit card provider as, under the consumer credit act they are equally liable for the purchase of faulty goods. After an independent inspection which threw up all kinds of other issues (cracked CAT, perished bushes etc), my credit card provider have decided that it would be more cost effective to take the car off us and refund us the cost of the car, plus all consequential loss assosciated with the purchase (Cost of the cambelt change, attempted diagnosis and fix and inspection). Obviously you should always inspect a car before you buy it and if in doubt, get someone more qualified to look it over, but while the law is often an ass, in the case of section 75, it's proven to be an absolute god-send!

I don't have anything in writing unfortunately, I didn't forsee any issues and thought I was being proactive getting the belt done. I've drafted a letter requesting a refund now, will see how it plays out but I feel less hopeful than I did this morning! Thanks so much for the advice and keep it coming

I've just read through that, very useful stuff. However, the crux of my issue, as in the ecu fault relating to the cambelt change was not present at the time of sale although some of the other faults will have been.

But would they be deemed to be wear and tear items though. The lady at CAB said I could try for a refund but legally it may be questionable

Because the faults only came to light after the cambelt change. cab seem to think it may be covered under the supply of goods and services act 1982 rather than soga...

Thanks, I've prepped the letter and will send it off today. Depending on their response would I be best fringe to claim back through visa first or through moneyclaim? I suspect the case may be too complicated for visa to touch.

Thanks, I will read over that today. I paid over mine and my girlfriends credit card, plus some on a debit card.

Brief Overview: I purchased a car around 5 weeks ago from a used dealer for around £1900 on the proviso they arranged for it to be serviced as advertised (it hadn't been). Post purchase we arranged for the cambelt to be done at the same time for an extra £230. After getting the car back various bits of trim had been put back shoddily and the car was seriously lacking power compared to before. Turns out the dealer users an 'ex-ford specialist' mechanic moonlighting from his normal job and not an actual garage. A week later it goes back to them to be fixed as the timing is clearly out, I get it back and whilst it seems some power has returned it now idles at around 1200 rpm and sounds bad. I also notice at this point that the Engine Management Light bulb has been removed although I foolishly didn't check this pre-purchase. I take the car back again and leave it with them for a week while I go away and am told they will send to a different garage as I didn't want the same guy working on it. I've picked up today to be told there is a fault P1381 - Variable Cam Timing Overadvanced (Bank #1) but they're not willing to spend any money fixing it as it drives fine and must only be a fraction out. I drive the car home and it's clearly in limp mode. I decide to get it looked at by an independent with a view to getting it fixed and claiming the costs back from the seller. The car has been looked over and come back with the following faults: P1383 - Variable Cam Timing retarded Serpentine Belt in poor condition Oil and Coolant Leak Bolt in top of rocker cover stripped of thread Engine Oil Overfilled Front and Rear Brake discs badly corroded Exhaust Blow, Cracked Catalyst No locking wheel nut found Based on all this and the fact I've given them ample opportunity to fix the original issue, which still isn't fixed I want to reject the car for a refund but am unsure of the exact steps to do so. My understanding is as follows: Write a letter of rejection with reasons why Await response If none then send letter of intent re small claims court If no response then start moneyclaim proceedings. A couple of questions though... What happens with the v5 document if I'm rejecting the car? Do I mention the fact that I will consider court action if we can't reach an amicable arrangement. Do I call to tell them that I'm rejecting the car before the letter? Do I insist that they come and collect the car from me? Sorry this is quite a complicated first post, any advice is gratefully received. Cheers Dom

Where is the merged thread? This is very relevant to my current situation