You're most welcome, I hope so. I am sure it will, thank again.

Thank you Bankfodder. I have taken all of your advice onboard, and although I believe I would be awarded the funds offered by the dealer it isn't a substantial amount of money. Therefore, I have decided its not worth the prolonged stress of continuing this complaint any further for a small amount of money and out of principle. I have just booked it in to have the bonnet resprayed next month, as I feel I need to get it done before the winter sets in. I am so thankful for all of your time and advice, which you have given even though this is a minor case. So, I have just made a donation. Many thanks again.

I would have accepted the above offer due to the added stress of having to the deal with this man long term. I’m fact, if it wasn’t for the appalling customer service throughout the correspondence (regardless of my poor handling of the situation) before this offer was made, I would likely have accepted it in the first instance. Considering the dealer has attempted to misrepresent our communications by way of posting select correspondence named as responses, posting comments that contradict himself, state he had instructed a solicitor for slander, and that the content of this feed constitutes libellous defamation, I do think he would have behaved in this manner regardless, had I not accepted the offers which suited him better. Whilst I understand many would have let this go and just accepted the dealers offers, I have explained on this thread why I have always wished to keep the car. Besides which, all apart from the one he wanted from the start would have cost me considerable time and expense. For which the car not being as described was not of my doing. As stated, I am happy with the car apart from this issue. I expected the odd little stone chip here and there on the front edge of the bonnet on the car. I had my old Golf almost 20 years which had high mileage, and the bonnet condition was similar to what had been marketed on this one. The defects clearly advertised by the dealer were very minimal, expected on a used car and would not have needed any intervention. Whereas the actual bonnet requires respraying to ensure it is not peppered with little rust spots in the longer term. If anyone does read this thread in the future, other than the very helpful advice given by the site team, I would recommend the following: 1. Gather all information concerning your issue, including costs and your specific Consumer Rights before further contact with a dealer, and try to take a step back before responding to anything. Seems like common sense, but when you are upset its not that simple. 2. Do not place too much weight on reviews wherever they are posted. Most people don’t leave reviews, and many don’t feel comfortable leaving bad ones. Additionally, bad ones are open to being misrepresented by a company’s response. A company may well be predominately reputable and have some great reviews. However, think about what could happen should you respond emotionally, and not wish to accept offers which could be either what the dealer wants to ensure no negative reviews are left, or weighted to be the most convenient options for the dealer. 3. Do not assume that the AA (or any other reputable organisation) approved dealerships are necessarily any better than other dealerships. Trustpilot appears to have many horror stories in relation to 'approved dealers', and not just small ones such as this. 4. If you should ever want to stand up for your rights and seek advice online, try not to reply to or be swayed by Trolls; it is always possible that they could even be the dealer signing up with another email address and posing as someone else in the first place. 5. Whilst reputable mediators have training and experience, they are not legal experts and can only tell you what they think in any given situation. As BankFodder pointed out concerning the AA; they are a decent and reputable organisation, but they are risk averse. One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to arrange for a used car to be checked over by an expert you trust. Lastly, in this case I believe that overall, this dealer provides good cars and appears to be reputable. However, should you ever have to put in a complaint and not accept the offers provided, be very careful as you could end up in a very unpleasant and stressful fight. Apologies for another long winded post, I just want to be of help to others through my experience.

The AA mediator returned my call and has stated that they can not help any further through mediation. The dealer is not willing to amend the conditions he attached to the offer, and has made it clear this was his final offer.

Yes

I am currently awaiting a response from the mediator.

Thank you BankFodder. Wow! I guess that in a case of a dealer is selling unroadworthy cars/death traps they would be prepared to go as far as threats. Update: I refused the above offer on Wednesday, stating that I would have accepted it had it not been without the attached conditions and with the added conditions as you advised above. I have now had the car looked over by an independent I trust, and as I expected it appears to be ok. The only issue was a couple of loose bolts on the drive shaft, which they said someone probably forgot to tighten when replaced. So, thank you so much again for advising me to have the car looked over. Although not the fault of the dealer, this could have potentially caused an accident if I had waited until the M.O.T. next June.

Update: The dealer has now offered the further £112.50 via the mediation service, as full and final settlement. However, the conditions attached are that I remove all libellous defamation comments from this site and leave no negative comments anywhere else. I am not aware that I have made any such comments, as defamatory comments have to be false surely?!

Thank you again Bankfodder! I will ensure this is added to the final agreement.

I agree, you were polite during your call about this after I had called and highlighted this issue to your wife immediately after the delivery man reversed it onto my drive, handed me the documentation and left. However, I fail to see how your other correspondence and comments on here are respectful. You did tell me it would cost £150 for you and likely £200 for me here. I’m afraid the invoice you sent was contradictory. I had explained that I was grocery shopping when you called. When I saw the missed call upon my return, I decided it was better not to call you back after I made the mistake of accepting £150 based upon your word of what it would cost. In hindsight, I should have checked out what it would cost first. I can initially be a little naïve when it comes to believing things I am told, as I tend to judge people based upon my own values. Rightly, or wrongly I decided it better to communicate via email from that point. I did respond to the email instructing me the £150 had been transferred to which I stated thank you, but I have yet to get prices for it. You did not offer me ¾ of the cost of the repair in the first email, you offered: 1; Refund us the £150 I sent you then bring the car back and have a day out in Lincoln, it’s a beautiful place to visit we have one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe (used in the hit film the da Vinci code) the castle is stunning and the cathedral quarter has some lovely places to shop and eat we also have a large Primark We will drop you to get the train into Lincoln central and whilst you shop and eat we will get the bonnet painted for you we will give you an additional £20 towards food and fuel on us and then collect you in the afternoon and you can drive you car home with the newly painted bonnet. 2; Accept a full refund for the car and we will collect it next week 3; Accept the fact that it is a 10 year old car with 117000 miles it does have stone chips, we didn’t deliberately mislead you, we did send you £150 towards the repairs and pay half your delivery so buy yourself a Genuine colour pen for the car (£15) touch the chips in with the right colour and spend the rest on a spa day I’m unsure why you feel #3 in particular is relevant or respectful. For you to do the repair would have been a considerable inconvenience for me in terms of time and money. The £20 offered for lunch and petrol would not compensate for this. I could ill afford the time and petrol money to bring the car back to you. Whilst I understand you and your wife do not have the time to do this as you have businesses and children etc, I also have similar commitments and there is only one of me. As mentioned in my earlier comment on this feed, you only offered me the further contribution later after I had emailed you with my Consumer Rights and sent you photos. Before this you did not wish to negotiate any further. I had not received any further advice before I decided to accept the further £112.50 contribution if it were still an option or stated that I am happy about it. As mentioned, this is only due to the time and stress of this. Please may I request that you formally respond via the mediation service with this offer.

Thank you Bankfodder, your knowledge and advice are very valuable. I have taken the car to a few independent body shops in my area who are all of the same opinion, although I told them what was stated by the dealer, they have not seen the video walk round. if necessary, an independent to assess both the car bonnet and the advertisement is very helpful piece of advice. As I stated to the dealer, I was happy to continue to search for a cheaper price. I have since found a couple of body shops who will do the works at a slightly cheaper price. I have only received advice concerning my Consumer Rights on this, which I sought after correspondence with the dealer. I was informed that this falls under “Public statements such as those in advertising or on labelling, made by the trader, the producer or their representative about the vehicle, must be accurate.” Additionally, that irrespective of initially accepting £150 and rejecting a refund, the remedies must not be of inconvenience to me and must constitute full cost of rectifying the issue . However, I was not aware of how a Court would assess the issue or indeed the rewards process. This has helped me gain a greater perspective from an objective viewpoint. I have never wanted anything but the car in the condition as described, if I could get the bonnet resprayed leaving it in the condition as advertised I would do so. I have also been told that a colour match can not be guaranteed and advised to blend into the wings. This is a further cost I was not aware of, and do not expect the dealer to pay for this as I thought that only fair. As it turned out my contribution would amount to over £180, when I was led to believe I was going to be contributing £50. I do of course have the option of getting the bonnet sprayed with no blending into the wings, but don’t want this to be glaringly obvious, so currently unsure. I’m sure many would have just sent the car back. However, on this occasion I had a specific model I was searching for due to reading up on MK6 Golfs (VW Golf 1.4TSI Match) within a certain budget. I was seeking a minimum of two owners (ideally one), full service history, great condition for year and a dealer with great Google reviews. This one was the closest to me I had found, and the video walk round sold it to me straight away. I thought I was just lucky or it was meant to be considering it had been on the market since June. I have now also arranged to have the car to be checked over next week for peace of mind upon your advice. Update: I called the AA mediation team first thing Friday morning to accept the extra contribution of £112.50 from the dealer, should this still be on the table. I decided that the time spent and the stress this was causing was too much. I have not heard anything back yet but will keep you posted.

Thank you. Oh and I haven't had the car inspected, I just paid for a car check online for details of the latest M.O.T as I didn't have it.

I understand where you are coming from Bankfodder, and agree that I have not handled the situation well from the start. This I told the mediator. The information I have posted is factual, all I was looking for was some advice. The dealer has not posted the all correspondence on here, so I have uploaded a pdf with all correspondence, video screenshots and photos of the bonnet. car correspondence and photos etc.pdf

Hi Zac, You mention the comments of the site team. Whilst I understand your comments, I believe that on forums it's common place to comment given your own experiences and people can make up their own minds as to content posted. Your comment on thinking the AA are correct also contradicts what I have been told by the CTSI. As Honeybee asked, do you have any experience or expertise in this area, or is this just your opinion as a lay person? The issue is not about what is acceptable with car being old, my old car was almost twice that age and the bonnet in a far better condition. If the dealer was upfront about this it would have been my choice and I could have negotiated based upon this. I did not negotiate a discount for the car and had accepted the odd little (barely noticeable) stone chip on the front edge of the bonnet, as that was what I was expecting. I also accepted other little things here and there due to the age of the car even though not as advertised. What is acceptable is the car in the condition as clearly advertised. I have explained in the thread why I want to keep the car. I'm not sure what you mean by what any normal person would do, but I do understand that you are entitled to voice your opinion. I'm just confused by why you would join now after a year browsing this forum to comment on this particular post and why you would call the dealer... and deduce from that that they are just an honest, local run business with lots of good car sales. Although I agree this is likely the case, did you see the photos I uploaded of the bonnet? This may well seem like a minor issue to you (or perhaps not, considering you joined specifically to comment). However, this for me was a high value purchase of a carefully researched model I had been looking for (in a fantastic condition for year, which it is... apart from the bonnet) within my budget.

Hi Zac, Also, you mention the comments of the site team. Whilst I understand your comments, I believe that on forums it's common place to comment given your own experiences and people can make up their own minds as to content posted. The issue is not about what is acceptable with car being old, my old car was almost twice that age and the bonnet in a far better condition. If the dealer was upfront about this it would have been my choice and I could have negotiated based upon this. I did not negotiate a discount for the car and had accepted the odd little (barely noticeable) stone chip on the front edge of the bonnet, as that was what I was expecting. I also accepted other little things here and there due to the age of the car even though not as advertised. What is acceptable is the car in the condition as clearly advertised. Your comment on thinking the AA are correct also contradicts what I have been told by the CTSI. As Honeybee asked, do you have any experience or expertise in this area, or is this just your opinion as a lay person? I have explained in the thread why I want to keep the car. I'm not sure what you mean by what any normal person would do, but I do understand that you are entitled to voice your opinion. I'm just confused by why you would join now after a year browsing this forum to comment on this particular post and why you would call the dealer... and deduce from that that they are just an honest, local run business with lots of good car sales. Although I agree this is likely the case, did you see the photos I uploaded of the bonnet? This may well seem like a minor issue to you (or perhaps not, considering you joined specifically to comment). However, this for me was a high value purchase of a carefully researched model of car I had been specifically looking for (in a fantastic condition for year, which it is apart from the bonnet) within my budget.

Yes, you are right and it is unacceptable. He called me back after I complained to his wife and told me it would cost him £150 to rectify, but would likely be £200 here. So he offered me £150 and I said ok. They transferred the money into my account and emailed to confirm, I responded with a thank you, but I have yet to get any quotes. There was no written agreement as such. I have been talking with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute who have been advising me, although I stated that I did not want my data etc shared with anyone so they have not passed any information through to Trading Standards based upon this.

I haven't but it's M.O.T is June and did pay for a car check and all looks fine. Thank you for your advice, it is all valuable advice. I was hoping to find someone who could advise me on whether I should continue to push for full repair cost as the AA mediator has contradicted herself and it feels like they just want me to give in. I have been advised I under the Consumer Rights Act that the car (bonnet) is not in condition as advertised and therefore the dealer should pay full costs to rectify, irrespective of whether I initially accepted the £150 and refused a refund to return the car. I believe the dealer is legitimate and that they do not supply dodgy cars, just in this case I think they were just hoping I wouldn't notice or be overly bothered. Plus, I was upset and angered by their rude and belittling comments in each communication and fired responses across without firstly knowing my rights. Would a generally decent car dealer really want Trading Standards involved or small claims court over what I'm basically asking for is further £200 (total of £350 for bonnet respray) not the £112.50 offered (if indeed still on the table). I am thinking that I would pay for the blending into the wings to be flexible/fair, which is another £100.

Thank you for your responses, and yes I may have been naïve in purchasing a car online I was looking for a specific model as recommended from my research, and this was the closest to me at what I had thought a fantastic all round condition for its year and priced as such! These aren't easy to find. I don't think they are necessarily an untrustworthy dealer generally. I think they just hoped I wouldn't notice or be bothered by it. From a distance you probably wouldn't notice, and in bright sunlight they are harder to see, but I have attached a PDF with photos. I'm unsure whether anything is still on the table (they wanted me to return the car) and I'm afraid I don't find the AA a reassuring mediator given that she appears to have contradicted herself already. Also, what she is telling me is different from what the CTSI are. I do still want to keep the car though (I know...) Car Bonnet Photos.pdf

Thank you for your comments and I understand where you are coming from. The dealer is Gem Cars Ltd, Lincoln. www.gemcarsltd.co.uk They're a husband and wife team who I had thought from their Google reviews were different. They appear to be legitimate as I have looked them up on Companies House, although interestingly the wife is the sole owner and the husband is the owner of another company for maintenance and repair of motor vehicles. The ADR mediator is the AA and the dealer is signed up to the AA dealer promise. However, the AA mediator sent me an email stating to let her know whether I want to accept a full refund or the further £112.50 after telling me that the dealer had covered their obligations and are not obligated to offer me anything now due to me initially accepting the £150 and them offering a full refund?! One of the points I raised to the dealer was that the car was priced on the high side (to which he stated it was £400 under value, but having done my research it appears I am right). I didn't mind this because of the all round fantastic condition described, the one lady owner and full service history.

Hi, I'm a little weary of posting the car dealer name and the mediation service (is a car specialist mediation service to which the dealer is affiliated) on a public platform as this is an ongoing issue. I hope this is ok?... The car was paid for with an initial deposit of £200 online via debit card and the balance by bank transfer, I purchased the car at the beginning of this month for £4,395. It is a VW Golf Mk6 2011 1.4TSi Match 5 Door. Mileage 117,500.

I wonder if anyone may be able to help. I recently purchased a 10 year old used car online based upon the dealer walk round video and excellent dealer reviews 4.8 stars (dealer 150 miles away). This I had thought to be very detailed and honest as he stated that there were only very minor age related marks which he would point out on the way round. However, after the car was delivered by a outsourced company I looked around it and immediately noticed that the bonnet was not in the condition described. In fact it is in far worse condition than my almost 20 year old car bonnet was! There were some other things not as described, only I don't consider them to be an issue. The invoice stated I will be given opportunity to look around the car upon delivery and this did not happen either. Description: "Bonnet; if we look closely, we might find the odd little stone chip here and there that have been touched in.... little one there, very difficult to see. Little one there, look. So, it's got the odd little stone chip on the front of the bonnet edge, apart from that it's very very clean." Actual: There are hundreds of stone chips in various sizes over the bonnet. The larger of which have been very poorly touched in with a cream colour paint (car is white). To cut a very long story short: The dealer said I could not get these done by a chip repair company as there are hundreds, and that it would need respraying. He offered me £150 over the phone, which I accepted as he had told me that's what it would cost him, but it might cost me £200. Since found out the cheapest I can get the bonnet resprayed for is £350 and that is without blending the colour into the wings. I emailed to say he had clearly mislead me with the description etc. to which he replied he would not sell a car to someone who insulted and bullied him???!! I was clear that I wanted to keep the car as other than this issue I am happy with it. Negotiations continued with some offers from the dealer which would have cost me half the costs of collection and delivery (approx. £200) or inconvenienced me greatly. also offered a full refund (he clearly doesn't want a bad review). I still wish to keep the car so rejected this. The dealer stated he did not want to negotiate any further and that I should return the car to him. I mentioned trading standards and emailed the photos I had taken of the bonnet. I also stated that I did not expect full cost from him (without knowing my rights at the time). He emailed with an offer for a further £112.50 (total £262.50) to which I replied after seeking advice on my consumer rights, i.e. that it should not cost me anything to rectify etc. He responded by stating I had forced him to seek legal advice and formally retracted all previous offers. Mediation is now taking place, the mediator told me that they think I am not entitled to anything as I initially accepted £150 and the dealer had offered me a full refund. I have since received an email from the mediator suggesting the full refund or further £112.50 towards repair is now be back on the table?! I sought further advice and was told that I am within my rights to ask for the full cost of repairs from the dealer under the Consumer Rights Act. This issue should not cost me anything to rectify nor should it inconvenience me. I now have to consider whether to take this to Trading Standards and possibly the Small Claims Court. I want the dealer to pay the repair shop directly for the cost of respraying the bonnet and not necessarily for blending the colour onto the wings as I do not want to be unreasonable. I know I didn't necessarily deal with this well from the start as I didn't get the facts before entering into negotiations. I am just so upset with the way the dealer has been quite rude and sarcastic in his email correspondence throughout and just want the car as it was described. Would anyone have any idea whether this is a case that is likely to go in my favour if I end up taking it to small claims? This has already caused a considerable amount of time and stress Thank you in advance.