Just an update, now they're refusing to let me collect the car until I've paid them for their collection and their inspection. Is it best to just pay it? I've said I'd pay for inspection as long as I get the report but not paying for their collection as they never said I'd have to pay for any of this beforehand.

Thanks

Just an update,

finance company rejected my complaint saying they've found damage but can't tell when it's from even though I've shown them how the front end is misaligned in the advert photos compared to another identical model car they're selling. 

Dealership now want to charge me to get the car brought back to me but will only discuss over the phone which seems off.

They're also saying no damaged was picked up by JLR main dealership before I purchased it but my local JLR dealerships till this day haven't mentioned the damage to me because they don't go into stuff like that for some reason lol 

Ombudsman case is still open, not sure if I should leave the car with them or just pay to have it brought back.

Funnily enough the ad is still available online

Range Rover 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography LWB Previously Sold | Clinkard Performance Cars

WWW.CLINKARDCARS.CO.UK

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Performance, Prestigious and Specialist cars Dealers in Romsey, Hampshire

but the autotrader version isn't which was probably slightly different potentially with more information.

Reported to FOS over the phone but essentially gave them the same information I've stated here, updating them that I'm paying for a car I haven't had for nearly a month now etc I'll certainly come back with an update. Fingers crossed they will realise it's not worth taking to court. So the inspection among other things found a hairline crack across a load bearing section of the chasis which at the minute to the naked eye looks tiny but could turn out to be catastrophic and has had some filler chucked on top of it but we'll see what Clinkards inspection comes back with.

Distance wise I believe they're around 165-170 miles away from me.

Also I'm sure many people will have PCP agreements as it's the most common way to buy cars under 5 years old but they just forgotten the terminology or name for it. Pay deposit, choose a length then pay the difference between value today and guaranteed future value at the end of that agreed term

Whole experience has scarred me and moving forward I'd be tempted to pay for a pre purchase inspection myself because these guys are bigggg traders with a lot of top end cars. I just hope they don't make any more silly offers

Thanks for your reply.

Their final response was just an email (seemed a bit unprofessional) but FOS seem to have accepted it as their final response.

So the issues that I realised within the first few weeks to me at the time seemed like age related stuff and I didn't want to cause trouble and in hindsight I realise I should have pressed harder but I think my heart was being used more than my brain at this point.

And yes I now believe extended warranties aren't worth the paper they're printed on, in all fairness to the dealer they did sort these initial issues out when warranty wise rejected them.

To touch on your questions, the car was purchased using PCP so deposit with 4 years of monthly payment then a balloon payment at the end or return the vehicle. My pcp agreement was on the basis of 10k miles per year but I think I've currently done 12k miles since Sept 2022 lol.

Elite Inspections suggested FOS as stage probably because they're free so I took their advice.

When I got the car it had an MOT around 4 months beforehand I believe

My MOTS after have been done by private MOT garages (I guess they tend not to comment on panel alignment etc)

As for defects from day one - please note they gave 6 month warranty through warranty wise but everything was rejected through them:

Passenger side ambient lighting wasn't working (whole trim panel needed to be replaced - dealer paid)

Engine would randomly shut the down completely (instead of start stop function) at traffic lights and junctions (software updated in the end - dealer paid)

Sat nav screen would freeze/ stay off for a whole journey (intermittent fault, still not sorted/diagnosed)

Boot stopped working (new battery needed - dealer paid)

The A-pillar trim between the passenger door and windscreen was coming away from the car making a very loud whistling noise as you drive on the motorway ( dealer paid to replace but has come off twice since this repair which shows me the car has potentially bent out of shape so that panel won't go back on)

initially was reported within 3 months of ownership and due to part shortages I held out for the parts to come back into stock which ended up taking 6-7 months (TECHNICALLY they had their first chance to fix, and within 2 months it went wrong again but the first repair was massively delayed due to part shortages)

Seat belt warning wasn't working (not beeping if you drive without belt on - software reset dealer paid but really put me off from this point as it suggested car had been electronically tampered with)

Sun roof was stuck open on one side due to a bent rail around 1 year after purchase - warranty company rejected due to it being pre existing fault apparently. Bodyshop repaired and from this point he pointed out the damage on the car but Alphera just wanted me to deal with Clinkard

Clinkard were offering solutions which ended up with me losing nearly £40,000 in a year and them being able to sell another car to me at full price. It was this point I regretted being too nice and trying to keep the peace as it had gotten me nowhere.

Advised Clinkard of the cost and opportunity for them to speak to the customer they bought the car from but advised there weren't any issues and advised Alphera too and they suggested that I get the inspection done and here we are now lol

Please let me know if I've missed anything out sorry about the essay

email.pdf

Sorry forgot to mention the dealership is around 3-4 hours away from me and was a distance sale and I just went to collect it after transferring deposit/ Finance being accepted.

Just now, dx100uk said:

thread title updated

Just to clarify it's a 2019 car that I bought in 2022

Thank you  

Just wanted to prepare myself mentally incase they pull out some rabbit out of a hat with these bodyshops as they will most likely be places they've used regularly in the past and over 150miles away from where I am.

Sorry just get worried that they will make my life harder than they already have lol

Bought the car around 12th Sept 2022 for £78,000 from clinkard cars.

Performance, Prestigious and Specialist cars in Romsey, Hampshire | Clinkard Performance Cars

WWW.CLINKARDCARS.CO.UK

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Performance, Prestigious and Specialist cars Dealers in Romsey, Hampshire

Performance, Prestigious and Specialist cars in Romsey, Hampshire | Clinkard Performance Cars (clinkardcars.co.uk)

Was a 2019 Range Rover with 25k miles, £20k deposit at £750pm pcp over a 4 year period.

Finance company are alphera (bmw finance)

spoke to them in October 2023 about the damage my bodyshop advised me of but they told me to deal with the dealership.

Paid for the repair myself as I was told the extended warranty I paid for (recommended through dealer) wouldn't cover it as it was an existing fault and not mechanical breakdown.

When I got the £40k offer from the dealership they still didn't want to get involved unless I got an independent inspection done.

Used Elite Forensic inspections as they seem highly rated online (more comprehensive than your average AA inspection).I just looked online for the best inspections for customers who have already purchased the car.

Their report was super comprehensive over 50 pages of text and photos. Comparisons to the advert photos against what the inspector saw made it clear that the damage was before I purchase it.

Got the report back 10th Jan 2024 and couldn't believe that they'd picked up the level of accident the car had been in and raised an official complaint through Alphera, they couldn't come to a decision with 8 weeks so raised with FOS around the 7th March 2024.

Small issues started within the first week of purchasing like ambient light not working on the side the car was hit and car randomly switching off completely when I'd stop at traffic lights/junctions.

Dealers eventually got this sorted which I appreciate, but doesn't change the fact that they didn't check the car as well as I'd been told it had been checked and they'd sold me an accident repaired car and initially tried to say all cars have had paint due to stone chips etc. Also turns out the car had only had 1 service before I serviced the car in mid 2023 (when the service light came on the car).

So far Clinkard have had my car for nearly a month (my wife and I have had no share cars since), they've said we've taken the car to 2x garages so far to inspect it and got 1 more garage to take it too.

Currently refusing to tell me what those 2 garages have said because you've gone through FOS we have to follow the correct channels and respond to the complaint through them which is quite annoying.

Hi thanks for your reply,

is it safe to name the dealership etc?

Lol just want to make sure as they seem to be annoyed that I've gone through the FOS anyway,

just don't want someone from here maybe contacting them as they've still got my car now nearly a month later 

Hi All

After a bit of advice to see where I stand. Bought a car in Sept 2022 on pcp. Been told it had a big inspection and was good to go.

Had many issues with it throughout the year including trims coming off the car and sunroof not closing.

While getting the sunroof repaired at month 12, in Sept 2023, the bodyshop guy said your cars been in a bad accident. Garage said it hasn't but offered to take the car back at half of what I paid for it as long as I buy a replacement from them before inspecting it (probably damage control) (car was £78k, said they'd offer £40k "trade in value" as if doing me a favour).

Ended up getting a forensic inspection done for £2400 in Dec 2023, confirmed car was in a bad smash (write off level but unrecorded on hpi) and potentially unsafe to drive - front end is slightly bent towards 1 side, what looks like a hairline crack on the chasis, overspray, bonner with patches of filler all over it, damaged rubbers etc

Raised complaint to finance company and few weeks ago to FOS... just wondering what people's experiences have been like going through the FOS, main thing that concerns me is that it was 12-13 months after I bought the car that I realised what caused these issues and raised the issue to the garage/ finance co but the damage/ misaligned panels are actually visible in the advert photos which I saved thankfully. 

Dealership has had my car for 4 weeks to let a few bodyshops look at it (without giving me a courtesy car!!!) Not giving me any updates either because I went to the FOS about it and didnt want to speak to them over the phone anymore as opposed to emails.

Note: hanging trim was reported within 3 months but due to part delays it didn't come until like July 2023, within 2 months the piece came off again, claimed under repairers warranty for another replacement 6 weeks ago and within 2 weeks this time the trim is coming off AGAIN (assuming it won't stay on due to the car being actually bent out of shape slightly)

Any idea if I have a good case or if there's anything else I can do?

Thanks