Electrical Faults

[chuffter]

Hi All,

 

Very quick question, I've recently bought a used car. It has a couple of niggly faults:

 

1. Wheel Bearing - this is being sorted by the dealer

2. Automatic Head Light Adjustment Fault

 

Its the 2nd part I need clarification on, it happened a week after owning the car, I've reported it to the dealer but they have stated that only major mechanical faults are covered under the warranty they have given me. They are only doing the bearing as it would have been bad before I took possession of the car.

 

Its a 06 Plate Citreon C4 2.0 HDi paid £3999.00

 

Thanks.

[sailor sam]

In the time scale you are in, all know faults with the car are the responsibility of the seller to rectify. The car should be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. The warranty is irrelevant and merely an extension of your statutory rights under the SOGA. The head light adjustment could be an MOT fail so get them to put it right.

[Conniff]

Agree fully with Sams post especially the bit about an MoT failure.

 

And just to reiterate, the warranty does not come into it at all, that is just an enticement to bring in the buyers.

[chuffter]

Hi,

 

Gone back with that and they are still stating that they will not pay for the fix.

 

Is there some official blurb I can throw back, if I quote line and verse they might start to listen?

 

Thanks.

[Conniff]

How long ago do you call 'recently' ?

[chuffter]

I picked it up last Saturday May 11th.

[Conniff]

In that case it is definitely an inherited fault. The relevant legislation to quote is the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). That act states that any fault that appears within the first six months is assumed to have been there at the time of purchase. Also during that first six months, it is up to the dealer to prove it wasn't. After six months it is up to the buyer to prove it was.

 

You can tell him that if he doesn't fix it then you will take it to the main dealer to be fixed and bill him for the cost. It might be a good idea to get a quote from the main dealer to correct the fault before you tackle him again.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Conniff

[sailor sam]

In addition to what Connif says, tell the seller that unless he agrees to fix it, you will consider formally rejecting the car all together. In the time scale involved, you would have a good case to do so. My advice would be not to accept the car back unless it has been rectified satisfactorily.

 

Obviously the latter path of action may involve you progressing the matter to court under the SOGA. Again, time is very much on your side atm but it is important not to allow that advantage slip away.

[chuffter]

Thanks Guys,

 

I'll wait till Tuesday after they have paid for the bearing to be repaired so I can get a quote for the repair.

 

I'll let you know how I get on.

[chuffter]

Hi Guys,

 

Just an update, I've sent an e-mail to the seller -

 

Hi ****,

 

I’ve received the cheque thank you very much, most appreciated.

 

Coming back to the lighting fault, I’ve now discovered another fault which is related to the same system, the directional headlights do not work either.

 

The system was turned off and I didn’t even realise the car had it till I went looking.

 

I understand your point about your warranty however I’ve unfortunately been doing some research, according to Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). That act states that any fault that appears within the first six months is assumed to have been there at the time of purchase. Also during that first six months, it is up to the dealer to prove it wasn't. After six months it is up to the buyer to prove it was.

 

I’ve checked with Trading Standards and if either fault is a MOT failure then the car is not fit for purpose which is when the above comment is applicable.

 

How would you like to proceed? I’ve already checked with my local garage and they have unable to help on this occasion, they have explained that it might be a main dealer only repair for both faults due to the system affected.

 

I don’t like complaining but having spent almost 4K on a car I feel that it should come without any faults.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Best Regards,

 

 

I've waited till the cheque for the wheel bearing cleared before going further (paranoia) I'm sure they will sort it they have been pretty good till this point (i hope)

 

Thanks,

Chuffter

[chuffter]

Hi,

 

I've had a response from the re-seller below:

 

 

 

A lot of cars come with a lot of things you don't need, which are not detramental or affect the driving or performance of your car

I have checked with a mot station and it is not a mot failure so that makes it fit for purpose.

I am also sure that you are aware that if something serious was wrong with your car we would have been looking at resolving the matter from first contact.

 

 

What do I do next?

[Conniff]

Ah right, so not having wheels on a car can't be classed as an MoT failure, but if the car is made with wheels you want wheels with it.

 

Ok, so the self adjust may not be included in the MoT, but if it means the beam can be out of adjustment, then it is, but beside that, if the car was supplied with it, you want it working.

 

You should respond that if he is unwilling to repair the headlights, then you will take it to the dealer to be fixed and bill him for it. I haven't seen the advert, but I would put my money on it not saying 'with faults'.

[chuffter]

Thanks!

 

Really appreciate the help so far, never bought a car from a dealer before.

 

Anyway this was my response:

 

Hi ,

 

Thanks for the quick response.

 

I’ve checked with trading standards, their view is that if the car was sold with no faults being advertised or being brought to my attention then everything on the car should work, if it doesn’t their view is that the seller should pay for the repair. If I bought the car knowing these faults where there then it would be down to me.

 

I’ve checked the advert (I kept a PDF knowing that Autotrader get rid of completed ones quite quickly) and there is no mention of any electrical faults with the car, if there was, sorry to be blunt, I wouldn’t have wasted my time coming to see it being quite a distance from where I live.

 

If we can’t get this resolved, I will have no choice but to pursue the matter with Trading Standards.

 

 

I'm guessing its TS I'll need to go to next to do the main dealer repair? As I would imagine that the main dealer will need something from them to go ahead with fixing my car?

 

Thanks,

Chuffter

[chuffter]

On the advice of the CAB, I've sent a letter recorded post asking that the car be collected, I be provided with a hire car and they are to fix mine at no cost to me.

 

10 Days to respond otherwise TS will take further action.

 

I'll update once I have got further along.

[chuffter]

**Update**

 

I've sent two additional letters one being a letter before action before I got any response from the dealer, they are trying to get the car back so it can be inspected.

 

Already told them that my local garage (part of the good garage scheme) cannot diagnose the fault and have said it will need to go to Citroen to be fixed properly. However they are trying to say they can't garente a courtacy (sorry my spelling is really bad) car while they have mine for repair so just digging my heels in with that at the moment. I'm hoping they will come back with the suggestion to go to a local main dealer to me to have it repaired which is my preferential way to deal with it.

[chuffter]

**UPDATE**

 

Phoned back and they are still saying they cannot gaurentee a car for me, said to the guy I was dealing with that I would leave it with him but I'm going to write to his boss and have another go.

 

Will update when I get a response.

[sailor sam]

Your being a lot more patient than I would of been. By now I would of either got it rectified myself, hired a car while it was being done and presented them with the bill, or i would of formally rejected the car and demanded a full re-fund. You should of maintained the cut off point in your LBA and taken the action indicated. You may be prejudicing your legal position by not doing so.

[chuffter]

I don't have the money to sort it myself or hire a car so I'm a bit stuck, I'm going to write another letter asking for a hire car at their cost or for them to let me go to a local main dealer and will keep the original time to respond.

[chuffter]

Hi,

 

Just found out something that might completely change how this goes, I took finance out by myself to get the car. The finance company paid the car dealer direct its hire purchase.

 

I didn't think this made a difference but apparently (according to trading standards it does, does this change what I am meant to be doing/complaining to>?

[Conniff]

Yes, it makes a lot of difference. It means that the car doesn't belong to you but to the finance company. All and any letter sent to the seller should also have been sent to the finance company.

It's not too late to do this, the finance company are the ones who bought the car, not you so the problem is theirs.

[chuffter]

Right okay, thanks sorry I didn't mention this before I really didn't think it made a difference!

[chuffter]

Sorry, is there a specific department that I should be writing to?

[Conniff]

Who is the finance company ?

[chuffter]

1st Stop Car Finance, was arranged through carfinance247

[chuffter]

Right spoken to the finance company, they have said that they would only need to get involved if the company refused to pay for the repair which is when they would step in to get the refund to cover the works but as the dealer has now said they will fix the faults they don't need to do anything but I should keep them up to date.