Advice for car just bought

[waccyman]

I picked up a 56 reg Vauxhall Zafira last Tuesday 7/02/12,

 

the dealer I purchased the car from did inform me that the O2 sensor needed replacing and that they will be doing it but the car is ok to use.

 

Fast forward to Friday 10/02/12 and I had to take the car into Kwik Fit because the rear brakes were making a grinding noise.

I got them to do a free brake check and they discovered that the rear discs were corroded, the rear pads had worn to the metal,

the front discs were on minimum and the same with the pads.

 

I informed the dealer and was told that 'Don't let Kwik Fit do them bring car in on monday 13/02/12 and we will have a look'.

 

All good by the dealer except for the fact that due to the rear pads and brakes the car was in not really safe to drive and could cause further damage

also I had to go to a family party this weekend and with 3 kids in the back I didn't feel very safe.

 

So I paid £350 and got them to fit all new disc's and pads.

 

I know some people are hard on kwik fit but in my years of motoring the local one that I use has never done a bad job

and always looked after me and my father who uses them all the time so I don't think kwik fit were trying to pull a fast one,

in fact i looked at the state of the brakes myself and they were corroded and non existent as such.

 

I'm off back to the dealer tomorrow to get my O2 sensor replaced and wanted to know what I can do about this added expense for new discs and pads,

can I ask the dealer to refund me the money at all.

 

As you can imagine I am not very happy and just want some advice on what to say to the dealer.

[dx100uk]

show him the bill

 

to be honest thats a bit steep but there you go, kwik fit for you.

 

i think the dealer should certainly pay the price of the parts and labour

but if there is any law [dont think SOGA covers you]

i don't know.

 

it might be an idea to get him to price the parts and a couple of hours labour

and agree to that if he'll cough.

 

then query why KW was so much more exp if they were.

 

dx

[crem]

Cost of disks, about £20 - £30/ pair

Pads for a "standard" type Vauxhall, about £15 - £20/pair

 

Total retail price around £70 - £100 (although I'd want a discount on a large spend like this too ). Time to fit for a competant DIYer, 1.5 hours

 

So yes, as you made no mention of the fronts needing doing anyway, the general concensus that Kwikfit will rip you off stands true.

 

The selling garage are under no obligation to refund any money you spent at another garage for work that may or may not have needed doing, and at the very least could have been done at their garage using their mechanics.

[oddjobbob]

You have to give him a chance to fix it, he may also want to see the worn out parts, and in his defence he may well say that seeing as its a 2nd hand car, the brakes are entitled to be partly worn out so here's what may happen

 

1. dealer finds he can get work done for £200

2. the brakes are entitled to be partly worn.

3. here's £100 goodbye.

4. do you accept this?.. well you ARE definitely supposed to give the dealer an opportunity to fix it before you do so, so I would say yes to avoid what could be a long drawn out episode.

 

Kepp us updated though, yu may well do better than this!

 

He should never have sent the car out with worn out brakes, I'm just saying what the dealer might well say.

[waccyman]

I know I paid over the top at Kwik fit, but they needed doing that day, didn't want to take the risk especially with the back so bad of driving around and waiting until Monday until the dealer looked at the vehicle. I wanted car fixed asap not wait until Monday and risk any further damage to the car, and considering the dealer told me the car had been checked by his mechanics and they put it through a mot you expect that the breaks wouldn't be so bad, I expect some wear and tear but to have corroded discs at the rear and the pads worn completely down is not very good practice. I will take the car there tomorrow along with my bill and see if I can get some sort of payment out of them, I don't expect to see the whole £350 refunded but would like at least half back. Cheers for all the advice guys, when it comes to cars i'm a complete numpty, I just drive the things lol.

[crem]

When a car has been stood unused for even a short period of time, it is perfectly normal for the brake disc surface to become rusty simply because they are not being kept "fresh" by the pads fiction against them in normal use. I do not believe they would be "corroded" in any real sense of the word. Even if the pads were down to their last millimetre or 2 they would still operate ok and as the front brakes take 75% of the braking force of the car, the car wouldn't be imminantley going to suffer brake failure.

 

You also say they told you the front discs and pads were "down to the minimum". Not sure how they would have defined this, especially with regard to the discs as I don't believe there is any specific test for the width of a brake disc.

[waccyman]

Well with the rear brakes making a horrendous grinding noise, a long drive up to Norfolk from Essex and with three kids in the car would you have taken the risk that the brakes may have failed or caused worse damage. As i said i expect some wear and tear but the rear brakes were basically metal on metal and the discs were corroded and damaged from the braking actions of only a few days. Like i said I will go to the dealer and see if i can at least get half my money back.