Reject a car on Hire Purchase

[nporter]

Hello all

 

I bought a Mondeo TDCi 2006 plate on 11 October this year with 77k, was also sold to me with 12 mths MOT and a full service history last done 2Oct.

Spent £4300 on vehicle (£300 of this was cash/px deposit)

 

It is on a Hire Purchase agreement over 3 years.

 

Had car 2 days when noticed the fuel range after filling car was really low - at this point I called the seller who advised to "read an online forum" - great help.

Called the Finance company a few days later to lodge this initial complaint with them, as the car was very noisy, and I was unhappy with it. They advised I must give the dealer a chance to resolve.

 

Called Dealer back, spoke to same guy as before, also advising him I was now experiencing black smoke from the exhaust, under acceleration, in every gear. This helpful chap then just told me to put some redex in.

 

Emailed him my dis-satisfaction with the reply, got response from his manager at this stage, who advised me to go to his mechanic, who advised it was an EGR Valve, inlet and manifold that gets covered in soot (crap) and is almost an engine rebuild.

Was basically of the opinion these cars are utter crap and I should get rid of it.

 

 

 

At this stage I have turned this into a formal complaint - because of the following issues

• Black smoke, in every gear, under acceleration. Present since the 13/14th, and its not going away
  
• Noisy, Like a 30 year old tractor, and even noisier under acceleration. I have had older, much higher mileage diesels quieter than this.
  
• Despite numerous requests, the service history the car was sold with has not appeared - so it therefore doesn't exist.
  
• The car was, to my horror after I had bought it and was trying to find some fuel range figures for the car the night after, for sale from another garage for 2895. My exact car - because I took screenshots of it. Clearly there was an issue with the vehicle to be on sale so cheap. The dealer also misled me in saying he bought the car from a trade auction.
  

I spoke to trading standards on Friday - who advised I can reject the letter and I basically did so using their template letter, stating the points above as the reasons.

It appears the finance company are "rejecting" my rejection - as the reasons are not sufficient enough. I must apparently prove that its not of a satisfactory quality.

 

My argument with the finance company is that in them stating this - they are basically saying that a 6 year old, average mileage, well serviced (or not as may be) diesel is normally of such a poor quality. Black smoke from an exhaust is normal. A tractor engine sound is normal.

Possibly my biggest refusal is the lack of a service history - it is not as was advertised to me.

I said I refuse to pay for such a vehicle.

 

What I want to know now is - do I just stick to my guns, and issue court proceedings to recoup all monies spent so far since purchasing vehicle (£300 deposit, £93 road tax, £31.50 admin charges moving insurance around, £22.73 to keep mondeo insured until 5 November)

I have purchased a second hand Audi for cash on Saturday and advised them I am no longer driving the vehicle - that they must refund me and collect it asap or I will stop insuring the car and take no responsibility for it.

 

Given the mechanics assessment, and the utter lack of trust in the dealer providing anything close to a suitable quality replacement - the only real choice I have is to reject it.

 

Does anyone have some further advice, letters I can send, should I initiate court proceedings to return me to the position I was in before the transaction?

 

Thanks in advance

[nporter]

I have found this link (sorry had to change it as I cannot post links due to post count)

 

honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

And this part seems to back up that it is down to the dealer to prove the motor was fault free at the time of sale (unlikely given its 2 weeks since the purchase)

 

The consumer returns the goods in the first six months from the date of sale and requests a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In that case, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale. This comes from Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003

[scaniaman]

Sorry i can't help answer all your points but there are a few Mondeo diesels (06) in our town at present and they all sound like 30yr old tractors. My Mondeo diesel was P reg. and this car was as quiet as any diesel is. If black smoke is excessive how did it get through an MOT?

[nporter]

Sorry i can't help answer all your points but there are a few Mondeo diesels (06) in our town at present and they all sound like 30yr old tractors. My Mondeo diesel was P reg. and this car was as quiet as any diesel is. If black smoke is excessive how did it get through an MOT?

 

Yes I thought it was just the car, but my brother had an identical car and his wasn't as noisy.

As for the smoke - I am going to get the car inspected at ATS down the road from me, including an MOT as I don't believe it will pass that anyway, coupled with some issues in the engine.

[Prolix]

You could complain to the Finance Co that the car wasn't as described (service history) but you could have checked that yourself. I think you'd be better saying that it isn't of satisfactory quality in that it's not free from minor defects. Write to them with this and state that you will take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman (and i know they aren't perfect and it takes ages, but it is free to you). The applicable legislation for the quality of goods on HP is the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973.