Faulty Car from Dealer

[SD80]

Hi all, Bought a used freelander from landrover dealer in June. Had some problems recently and took it in to Landrover dealer to have a look. They uncoverered a bigger problem which may not be covered by the warranty that came with it. According to them, the part in question may not be detectable through the usual checks and service they do when prepping a car for the customer to pick up. My question is whether they should be liable for paying the repair? Reason I ask is because they said that I may have to contribute! Ive only had the car 6 weeks and only been to Tescos in it. How on earth can they expect me to pay towards the repair? Ive done nothing wrong. Surely they should have made sure this car was in a mechanically reasonable condition to sell it, in the first place? Does anyone know how I stand regarding this? Many Thanks S

[raydetinu]

Yep under SOGA the dealer you purchased the car from is respnsible for any fault, whether covered by warranty or not. you must take it back to original dealer to sort out.

[SD80]

So if they refuse to pay for it and expect me to pay towards it, should I write a formal letter to them bringing to thier attention the SOGA?

Would I be in the right to demand repair. Failing that, a full refund?

 

Thanks

S

[raydetinu]

Talk to dealer first and point out that under SOGA they should repair at no cost to yourself. only then if they play up would you need to put it writing.

Depending on how serious the fault is you need to make your mind up now if you are goin to accept a repair or reject it and ask for a refund. note if you reject it, which must be writting and the reasons why, you must not use the vehicle again.

[gwc1000]

They uncoverered a bigger problem which may not be covered by the warranty that came with it. According to them, the part in question may not be detectable through the usual checks and service they do when prepping a car for the customer to pick up.

 

So, they are saying that only faults that they are aware of a covered by the warranty? Absoloute rubbish. The idea behind having a warranty is to cover unforeseeable problems.

[SD80]

In the Landrover warranty booklet, it says the warranty doesnt cover faults that existed before the warranty began and that any pre-existing/known of faults must have been fixed before the new warranty begins.

 

This fault was undetected due to the nature of it being consealed and beyond the standard service and inspection they carry out, so they couldnt have known about it or else they would have rectified it.

 

Bit of a grey area it seems.

 

Do I still have a case - its the responsibilty still with landrover? Should they have carried out more checks?

 

Incidently, the part alone will cost £1000 then there is labour on top and other expenses.....only had the vehicle 6 weeks!

[Conniff]

What is the fault SD?

 

If they found the fault now, they could have found it before selling.

 

The warranty does not come into play here, that is an extra, a selling point.

 

You are covered by soga and as Ray says, see what they have to say before invoking the soga and decide if you intend to reject the car or have it repaired.

 

This sounds as if it would be under the 'not of merchantable quality'.

[JonCris]

I strongly advise rejecting the car as they are notorious for having repeated head gasket failures & losing water with no warning often costing a few thousands to repair because of the damage that is caused to the engine which has to be replaced as a result such as dropped liners etc.

 

This situation is well known within Land Rover it's dealers & the trade in general. Try taking it to another dealer & ask for a purchase price & be ready to shocked, even allowing for a trade reduction. Some dealers won't even take them in p/x

 

Cut & paste into your browser prelovedfreelanderheadgasketfailure & you will see many, many other victims who bought freelanders & have suffered considerable financial loss as a result

 

Sorry but it's real lemon get rid while you can & asap

Edited August 8, 2008 by JonCris

[gwc1000]

In the Landrover warranty booklet, it says the warranty doesnt cover faults that existed before the warranty began and that any pre-existing/known of faults must have been fixed before the new warranty begins.

 

Yes, that is stop fraudulent warranty claims. However your case is different. How can the garage be certain that the fault existed before you purchased the car? Even if it did, it is their responsibility not yours.

 

I strongly advise rejecting the car as they are notorious for having repeated head gasket failures & losing water with no warning

 

Totally agree. Almost every one I have bought for resale has had head gasket problems. I will not touch them now.

[gwc1000]

Another thing to consider is that the garage by their own admission are saying that they sold you a car that at the point of sale had a major fault. Even if you didn't have the warranty cover, you would still demand that the dealer repairs the car.

[SD80]

Hiya,

 

From the top...

 

I took the vehicle to landrover Bedford for the repairs. The car was actually purchased from Luton landrover, but I checked that it was ok to do this. They said as long as it was a landrover dealer it is not a problem.

 

Bedford began the repairs (under authorisation from the waranty people) and upon fixing the problem (oil leak/sump) they discovered a bigger problem with the IDR unit(dont know what that is). Bedford did get clearance to repair the 1st problem from the warranty people, but not the IDR unit (2nd problem). So Bedford have stopped work on the car untill they got clearance. Luton wont give clearance because it isnt at thier garage. They say I have to take it to them. They say until its at thier garage they wont give permission for repairs.

 

Basically bedford wont let me have the car until someone pays the labour cost for the work already carried out and for the labour to put it back together. Luton say they wont pay and reckon I should pay or bedford (bedford definately wont pay)! At present the car is in bits on bedfords ramps. It is in no state to drive and it would cost more in labour to put it back together. Why should I pay when the warranty covers this?

 

So before I even get to the issue of who is responsible for the actual problem, they wont let me have the car. Bedford said it can only be towed away which luton wont do.

 

bascally we have reache a stalemate. I dont know what to do

 

S

[JonCris]

In that case reject the vehicle now! telling the supplying dealer that you want your money refunded (if it's on HP tell the finance company your rejecting it) & that they can collect their vehicle at a time they should arrange with the other franchisee.

 

Whatever you do do not accept the vehicle even from the repairing garage no matter what they say........ or threaten.

 

It's clear that your supplying dealer has caused this argument by demanding the vehicle be returned to them before the will authorise this further repair. The repairing garage will be affronted by what they will see as a smear on their reputation by another franchised dealer & have retaliated by refusing to release until their bills paid.

 

In other words your piggy in the middle & being asked to suffer because they both have their butts up their backsides.

 

I doubt Land Rover Customer Care Department will be best pleased at their antics so if you want it back, together with the problems that will ensue, contact them otherwise take the advice & reject it & get your money back pronto

[SD80]

Had a call from Bedford Landrover (where the car currently is). They organised for a Landrover engineer to come and assess the vehicle. The engineer checked it over and has had rejected the car. He said the damage existed before I purchased the car (given Ive only had it a short time and only done 1000miles in it). Either someone at luton knew about it or the previous owner (its only had one owner before me)

 

He says the part has been tampered with at some point and in effect I have been sold a car with faults, whether Luton Landrover knew about it or not. He also said the oil leak which lead to this find should have been identified on the forecourt too.

 

In the meantime, bedford LR have re-assembled the car as it was taking up garage space. They have replaced the oil seal (only a minor problem) and have moved it to thier compound.

 

I know that Luton will want me to take it to them, but would I be in my rights to refuse doing this as, as I see it, the car is faulty and driving it could cause further damage, or even accident.

 

Can I reject the vehicle now even if Luton LR accept blame and repair cost even tho I wont risk driving it to them.

 

In a nutshell. I have been sold a faulty car, repairs or no repairs so I imagine I am justified in wanting a full refund.

 

Incidently, the Landrover is half financed on HP and the other half Paid for by me.

 

Thanks

S

[JonCris]

Yes reject the car REFUSE to accept whatever the promises or attempts to bribe you with free this or free that & rescind the HP contract. If you don't you really will regret it

 

If you don't believe me & the dealer here who confirmed my remarks Google either preloved freelander head gasket problems or just freelander head gasket (I can't give you links because this site doesn't allow them) & you'll find forums full of disatisfied owners one of which (preloved) has posts now exceeding a thousand or more

[SD80]

its not a head gasket problem, its a IDR unit or something. (at least £600-£1000 not including labour etc)

 

Should I still reject.

 

What would happen with the money side as only half was finance. the other half was paid to Luton LR. Bet they wont make that easy to get back?

 

S

[SD80]

Should I get leagal/citizens advice on this to be sure or just go ahead and reject?

[JonCris]

SD80 I'm not going to keep repeating myself reject it or don't Then when the DG does fail (as it certainly will as night follows day) you can have fun trying to get anyone including LR to sort it.

 

As I keep advising if you don't believe me or others Google it. Yes they may be reluctant to return your money but that's no reason not to pursue your claim with vigour particularly as within 6 months of sale the burden of proof is reversed

 

If you don't you'll regret it & I can't be anymore explicit than that

[JonCris]

Incidently which model is it & what's the engine size

[SD80]

Its a 2004 Freelander 2.0TD HSE. One owner and immaculate (so i thought)

 

im sorry to go on. I just new to all this consumer rights and with it being alot of money (£11k) Im so scared I come out of this the loser.

 

I do appreciate all your help and pleased there are forums and knowledable people such as youself to help.

 

As i said just really stressed with matters such as this and worried.

 

Thanks

S

[JonCris]

Even though it's a diesel (the petrol versions are the worst) get rid of it

[JonCris]

forgot to mention it was probably immaculate cos it's spent most of life off road & I don't mean driving through the countryside

[ReasonableRon]

I might be wrong but I'm guessing you don't drive a Land Rover Freelander at the moment then JonChris - lol !!!

[gwc1000]

Valuable lesson to be learned here. Always take a faulty secondhand car that is still under warranty back to the dealer that sold it to you. Don't get repairs done elsewhere.

[JonCris]

Not always possible if it conks out miles from home. Also that's why there are franchised dealers who are supposed to act together for the benefit of the paying customer

[raydetinu]

Dont be coy about this, just reject it and ask for the money back. they know where the car is so they can collect it. if they still play up take them to court. keep the hp people informed, it is patrly their car.