Desperately seeking help used car problems !!

[jamesblade]

Hi I am a new user after some advice.

I purchased a used Porsche Boxster from a trader last week paying for the car on Tuesday 07/08/2012 and picked the car up Friday 10/08/2012.

 

On the drive home I noticed a problem engaging 4th gear which continued for nearly all the gear changes on the way home.

 

I was offered a test drive but only got to drive a mile and only engaged 4th gear twice in that as it was on a country road and the problem did not show.

 

Also the car was advertised as having 77000 on the clock and actually has 80000, a stamp in the service book confirms it had done 79000 at the beginning of July.

 

The advertisement also states "Porsche service history" but on closer inspection only 2 out of the 9 stamps are actually Porsche.

 

Also before purchase I asked the dealer if there were any faults with the car to which he replied "No Known faults" I have this as a text message.

 

The dealer claimed to have driven the car some 200 miles to have a new rear screen fitted the week before, so must have experienced the fault.

 

Having contacted one or two specialist garages who say that there is a fault with the syncromesh on this gear, a serious and expensive repair.

 

I have written to the dealer stating that I wish to reject the vehicle on the grounds that it is not of satisfactory quality and the fact that I was mislead over the mileage and fault situation.

 

I am awaiting a response from the dealer and welcome any comments as to what I shoild say when the dealer contacts me ?

[sailor sam]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

Did you not notice The mileage and service discrepancies when you test drove/viewed the car?

[jamesblade]

I did not notice the mileage discrepancy as I was concentrating on checking that everything worked.

 

The service book had stamps in it but at that time I was unable to verify whether they were dealers or not,

its only on later checking that I have confirmed them to be ordinary garages.

[sailor sam]

Well I would say that there is mileage (pardon the pun) in pursuing a claim for the mileage and service discrepancies alone as it is obviously a case of miss-selling. Did you give the seller a time limit in your letter? Also if you have indicated that you are rejecting the car, you cannot use it again.

[jamesblade]

Thanks for the response. Yes I have given the dealer 7 days to rectify the matter i.e to refund and collect the vehicle. I have also stated that apart from the trip home I have not and will not use the car. Any advice on what I should say when he contacts me >

[Conniff]

I fully understand what you are saying here, but I don't think you have much to go on the 'play of words' you are complaining about.

 

It's not tens of thousands of miles, just a couple of thousand and might well have been correct at the time the advert was written, it can hardly be classified as an attempt to falsify the mileage. The same goes with the servicing, a play on words, it says 'Porsche service history' and it has Porsche service history.

Gearbox problem! he said 'No Known faults', there may well have been no known faults when he said that. You didn't notice any problem with the gearbox when you test drove it.

 

We had this problem with I believe the same car a few years ago, (I can't find the thread at the moment), and that was sorted in the end with I believe court action or threats of such. Maybe the others involved in that thread will remember more and help in finding it.

 

It's a costly fault and you should get the opinion of a gearbox specialist on the cause of the fault so your complaint and rejection has a solid foundation, it should also be on headed paper with full company details to give it credibility.

The regulations say that it is up to the seller to show the fault wasn't there at the time of sale, so keep that in mind.

 

Let us know how he responds to your rejection request.

[jamesblade]

No response from dealer as yet! Have booked the car in with a gearbox specialist for a diagnostic next week. If the dealer does not respond do I send another letter stating that I am taking him to court or just lodge the claim on line with the court system costs £210. Anyone had experience of anything similar and if I take him to court what are the chances of winning as I simply cannot afford to loose this money. Will post the dealers response as soon as I recieve one.

[Conniff]

Always give a warning and a date the letter expires on. Send a letter headed Letter Before Action and give him 14 days. Time is a pain I know, but courts don't like being the first port of call over civil disputes.