Garage refuses to repair head gasket after 7 days of purchasing the car still within the 14 day guarantee

[Holloway93]

206 Diesel turbo. 2L 51 reg

Money paid for car £740

money back for bold tyres £80

money back for head gasket £170

 

 

I bought a second hand car from a big named garage in July. The car is a Peugeot 206 D-turbo 2L. 51 Reg.

 

The day i drove it off the forecourt i had to take it straight to Kwick-fit to replace the front 2 tyres as they were completely bold and highly illegal.

Shortly after i took it to get the tracking done in hope of this being the reason the car was pulling to one side when accelerating.

I got this done but it still did it.

 

I then took it to the local garage and they informed me that it was something that needing bending back into shape and supporting.

 

Within a week of having the car i took it to the local garage for a 'health check'

they noticed the car warning light to top up engine coolant kept appearing and suggested i took it back to where i had bought it from as they suspect a blown head gasket.

 

I quickly took it back to the dealer i bought it from and they asked to take a look themselves and clarified the diagnosis of a blown head gasket.

 

we asked if they would fix it for us free of charge or to give us a full refund seen as the car is still in the '14 day no quibble money back guarantee'

 

they refused bluntly that they will not take the car back but would fix it for a reduced fee,

quoted £960 from them as opposed to £1000 quoted by my local garage.

 

There reason for voiding the guarantee was that i have had the front 2 tyres replaced which should not have been left on the car for me to drive away in

and that hey had given us a cheque for £80 to go towards the fee of replacing the tyres.

 

I had asked the sales assistant when viewing the car if the tyres would be replaced on purchase and was told 'no'

when i first saw the car myself (an 18yr old female with only basic knowledge of cars) had a short drive around the business car park.

 

I then went to view the car with my older brother who is a bit of a DIY mechanic

but we were not able to get inside the car as the keys had been locked away in the warehouse.

 

In the end myself and my mother did some sums and worked out a deal to offer the garage.

 

We totted up the money i had spent fixing the car and the money i had bought it for and the amount i had to spend on the car in the first place.

 

We worked out that if the garage coughed up £250 towards the repairs of the head gasket then i could afford to fix the car.

 

in the end we got back an extra £170 to go towards the payment of fixing the head gasket which in total has cost me £1100.

 

i would like to know what you think the chances are of me getting any of my money back if i went through the small claims court which has been suggest by a solicitor.

 

Do i stand a chance against the top branded garage?

are they right to have done what they did?

Any advice/opinions on this problem would be VERY much appreciated.

 

Thank you very much for reading.

 

Barbara

Edited August 19, 2012 by Holloway93

[dx100uk]

any chance of using the edit button inthe gray bar below the above msg and adding some blank lines please?

 

dxc

[dx100uk]

warranty or not [they are EXTRA on top of you statutory rights]

under SOGA you have every right to refuse the car and demand a full refund.

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/forcustomers

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer1_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/cars_buying_a_secondhand_car_e.htm

 

dx

[nohope]

Not sure which garage is the biggest rip off, the one that sold you a dodgy car or the one that charged £1100 for doing head gasket. Head gasket on your car is at most a £500 job including all parts and having the head skimmed if it needed doing.

[sailor sam]

Why would anyone buy a car and drive it away with 'extremely illegal' bald tyres? But on the other hand, a trader is not allowed to sell an un-roadworthy car which means that if the tyres were that bad then you should be talking to Trading standards and VOSA.

[raydetinu]

Write ( take by hand and get them to sign or send recorded ) to to them asking for your money back as car faulty ( head gasket etc.) and not fit for purpose under soga giving them 7 days to repond or will take them to court. ( you must ask first as this is the court rules )

[Surfer01]

Problem is how will she prove that the tyres were illegal? Doubt if Kwikfit will want to be involves against a brand name garage.

[raydetinu]

head gasket is enough without the tyre prob.

[nohope]

Head gasket has already been done by the sounds of whats been said so if they get money back for car then they will still be out of pocket by a lot of money. Would it not be wiser to do a letter for payment in full of having head gasket done and if they are not willing to pay then a LBA to get money back that has been spent..