Bought a van today and had it delivered

[barbershop0]

Hi all,

 

went to see a Merc Sprinter van yesterday and it looked okay. I asked the seller (trader) if everything worked and he agreed.

 

the van was dropped off at my house this morning and I went for a run in it after I had taxed it and insured it.

 

I found the Speedo didn't work and the glowplug light was on constantly.

 

I took it back to the dealer and he couldn't rectify the faults and told me he needed to contact an auto electrican and then get back to me.

 

This afternoon, I have also found the heater is not getting hot, the interior lights don't work & there is no spare wheel.

 

Where do I stand and what time limits do I have, he told me that he would give me 3 months warranty.

 

Thanks in advance.

[sailor sam]

First of all the warranty is irrelevant as it is merely an extension of your statutory rights under the SOGA. The seller should rectify these faults at no expense to you. No spare wheel is (as far as I know) an MOT failure. Heater not blowing hot suggests a possible overheating problem. Have you checked the state of the coolant? Or it could be merely an air lock. Glowplug light is obviously an electrical problem and so possibly is the speedo.

 

Give the seller till tomorrow lunch time and contact him again. To be honest, you should have left the van with him.

[barbershop0]

Many thanks will take it back.

[Yukiko]

The Glow Plug Light staying on could mean there's an issue with the plug, turbo or intercooler (Dependant on what make and model it is!). It means lots of things, but should go out within a few seconds in these temperatures.

 

No spare wheel isn't an issue, in fact, a lot of cars now have them removed as part of the "Diet" new cars go on to pass into the lower tax brackets in the UK.

 

The Speedometre could be ABS problems (Check that the light comes on and if all seems well, find a dead bit of road and tread on the brakes to make sure the ABS kicks in and acts appropriately).

 

All in all, I'd reject and request a refund and then find another.

[Bang!]

The heater not getting hot points to there being too little coolant for it to circulate to the heater matrix.

 

This normally points to the vehicle not being maintained, or a blown head gasket replacing coolant with air.

 

From cold take the cap off, replace it, run the engine for 2 mins and rev it a couple of times, stop it, and take the cap off again.

 

If is shoots water, hisses loudly, or has considerable pressure, then the head has blown.

 

Its very unlikely there will be hot coolant, especially if you have added any, but using a towel reduces any risk if you have not followed things exactly.

 

This also wont detect every blown gasket, as some may only blow after warmed up etc.

[barbershop0]

Took van back, heater problem rectified.

 

Waiting to hear if they can resolve the speedo problem.

 

They have the van at the moment.

 

They were reluctant to refund.

[sailor sam]

Took van back, heater problem rectified.

 

Waiting to hear if they can resolve the speedo problem.

 

They have the van at the moment.

 

They were reluctant to refund.

 

If they cannot rectify the faults to your satisfaction, then they will have little choice.

[barbershop0]

the van centre told me that they couldn't fix the speedo until Thursday of next week. I accepted this as I need the van for work.

 

Apparently the owner is on holiday so they cannot refund.

 

I went back to pick up the van and the clutch went on the way home. The clutch is now flat to the floor and the van is undriveable.

 

I have messaged the van centre to come and colllect it from my parents as I couldn't get it back to them.

 

Ever felt like you're having a bad week? Would Trading standard be of any use?

[sailor sam]

Hmm, it's amazing how many times we hear that the owner is on holiday when things go wrong.

 

My advice is to write a formal letter rejecting the van as being not fit for the purpose and of unsatisfactory quality and as such you require a full refund of monies paid within 7 days. When they come and collect the van hand them the letter along with the keys.

 

However, if you would rather not do that, make sure they can also get the clutch fixed at the same time as the speedo. My only concern is what other underlying faults does it have.

[barbershop0]

I have loads of work booked for this week and desperately need a van.

 

can anyone help me with the letter? I need to hire a van whilst this gets sorted.

[vax2002]

was the receipt made out to a private individual, example van sale Joe blogs, or was it in your business name.

Consumer rights only apply to consumers, the clue is in the title.

If you bought the van as a private consumer, you have legal rights and you should exhaust formal conversations, such as asking for a refund, if this fails, serve a WRITTEN notice upon them of formal rejection of the vehicle, I will show you how to construct a legal one, please observe the capital letter areas.

(a written notice of rejection)

 

YOUR FULL NAME IN BLOCK CAPITALS

address and contact details

Purchaser of vehicle REG HERE from dealer

FULL TRADING NAME OF DEALER IN BLOCK CAPITALS .

Notice is SERVED that the vehicle purchased is not fit for purpose.

Subsequent offers and acceptance of attempts made to repair the defects listed below have proved unsuccessful.

(list all defects)

I now SERVE NOTICE that in accordance with the sale of goods act the vehicle is rejected was not fit for purpose and the refund of full purchase price shall be refunded.

I demand that arrangements are made to facilitate the refund.

yours signed.............

name in BLOCK CAPITALS

Date:

 

This notice then needs to be served, placed in to the hand or at the feet of the trader with some evidence such as camera phone . This will give you a better legal position if a court dispute arises.

 

Now the reality bit, your rights and the real world can be some what different.

Whilst ever you have the van you have some collateral, if the dealer has the van and your money, if he is a LTD company he can fold and keep both leaving you chasing your tail.

This is all too common in the Auto trade, a big loss arises and they liquidate and start up again, often the same day.

Stock can be sold on commission from a separate asset holding company and the assets of the selling company can be as little as a desk and telephone, so do be careful with the asset collateral

[Conniff]

Vax2002's questions must be addressed. If the answer is the latter, then you are in a pickle.

 

Also, the dealer doesn't have to fix the speedo at his cost, it's a fault that should have 'reasonably been expected to be noticed at the time of purchase', and brought up then, (if it was a private sale).

[barbershop0]

Hi Conniff,

 

The van is still at the garage and he will not refund, I guess that I am "in a pickle".

 

I did not test drive the vehicle priod to the purchaser, so couldn't possibly know that the speedo wasn't working prior to receiving the vehicle. Nor that the clutch would fail on the way home.

 

I have sent the letter as per vax2002 by registered post.

[Conniff]

Can you confirm that it was a private sale, ie bought by you and not a/your company ?

[barbershop0]

yes, private sale

[barbershop0]

If I drove this could I be in a position whereby I may be prosecuted under section 41c of the road traffic act and face a £60 fine and 3 penalty points, for the speedo not working.

[Conniff]

Having a test drive is what I was on about, it's normal to have a test drive even as just a passenger, so you could have reasonably been expected to see a fault with the speedo.

 

Yes it is against the road traffic act to drive a car with a faulty speedo. If you are hoping to reject the van and get a refund, you 'must' do that in writing and stop using the van.

[barbershop0]

Hi Conniff, I didn't have a test drive as the seller told me that everything was ok and in good order. I feel that the trader should have noticed the speedo was not working and told me about it.

 

I am hoping to reject the van. I have written the letter to them that vax2002 suggested. The van is in there compound at the moment.

 

Don't know what will happen next? Is it any use getting onto trading standards?

[Conniff]

Not at this point, you will only get some advice from TS, they don't act for indivuals so won't take this up for you.

 

You are certainly inside what is classed 'for a short period', but lets see what he says in response.

[barbershop0]

Thanks for your help.

 

I clarify, it was dropped off Wednesday, taken back Wednesday. Taken back Thursday to check the faulty speedo and then picked up on Thursday and driven 7 miles to my parents. During this time the clutch failed. They picked it back up on friday morning, so I haven't had any used from the van.

 

What difference does 'a short period' mean?

[Conniff]

You only have, (as it's termed in the regulations) a short period in which to reject, it doesn't say how long that short period is though but you are well within that, you can't get any shorter.

 

Do you know what the clutch failure is, clutch itself or cable?

[barbershop0]

The garage say that the clutch has 'burned out'. They were trying to suggest that I had made it fail intentionally. I wouldn't know how to do this.

 

The van had a power take off compressor on it and they said that I must have messed about with that. I don't know how a pto compressor works, and didn't touch any of it.

 

I have been driving for 30 years and have never had a clutch failure before.

[barbershop0]

Hi all,

 

thanks for your advice so far. I shall be going to see the owner tomorrow morning (thursday) to ask him for my money back.

 

I sincerly hope that he gives it back to me as I can do without the hassle of going to "war" and I a need a van for work.

 

Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

[Conniff]

Well your number 1 piece of ammunition is the speedo, without that the van is not roadworthy.

[barbershop0]

Been to see dealer and he refuses to refund.

 

I rang Co-op legal services and they told me that I neded a timescale as to when repairs would be carried out.

 

They dealers said "I don't care about repairing it because of the hassle you have caused me"

 

He then rang me back and said "I shall be moving your van out of the yard, where would you like the keys putting?"

 

Coop legal services have advised me to write him a Letter before action.