Help please -only half solved !

[Helpme11]

Hi

Hope someone can help...

We got a car on finance almost 2yrs ago..

We had a few minor problems which we got repaired at our cost and continued paying the finance company.

At the begining of this year the car developed more major faults and after taking it several garages it was discovered the gearbox in the car does not belong to our car!

Hence why all the problems..

We have had this confirmed by a mercedes specialist and sent the written report to the finance company.

 

They have today said they will do the repairs for us but it means they have to take the car away ( no idea how long!)

Also not local.. So i asked them if they would give us replacement car but they are refusing saying they are not obliged to offer us anything!

So my question is am i in the right asking them to provide a vehicle? Not sure what my rights are..

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I don't think there is any obligation on the finance company nearly 2 years after purchase.

[Helpme11]

Ok thank you from what i understand i was covered under the sale of goods act..

The car was sold to us faulty but was not discovered until taken apart which we did not expect to do.

We were told it would of given up eventualy it was just lucky we drove it for this amount of time.

Yes i am relieved they will take it away and repair it but that leaves us without a vehicle which we have been paying the finance on all this time. . As well as spending over £2000 on repairs all connected to the fault.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Perhaps you should contact the supplier.

[Helpme11]

The garage has now called and said they will offer a replacement car to use but now they are saying they will only pay 50% towards the repair!

We do not want to be out of pocket any more we have already paid over £2000 so where does this leave us?

They are saying because we have already had it nearly 2yrs we would not be favoured in court anyway...

[heliosuk]

Neither the original supplier or the finance company is under any legal obligation to supply a temporary replacement vehicle. This even applies to brand new cars. I don't know where this myth originates from. You can though pursuit for consequential losses but after two years that might be asking too much. You also need to be a bit careful about what the specialist tells you. The car might have been built with a deviation notice in place. The only real way to tell is to ask a MB dealer for the original serial numbers.

[Helpme11]

So basicaly we have no rights.. even though the car was sold to us with a faulty part in it? A

Mercedes garage have told us the gearbox is not the one that belongs to this car.

We have not ever changed it so it was sold that way by the dealer who got it from an auction.

I know its not entirely the dealers fault so we are trying to negotiate with them.

Just wanted to know where we stand legally.

Unfortunatly yes we drove it for nearly 2yrs without realising the fault although we did have minor problems all connected.

It was only when mercedes opened it up that the issue was discovered.

Thank you for any help

[Helpme11]

Anyone please?..

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

TRY your local trading standards department, they may have had dealings with the supplier.

 

You may need to be patient over the weekend all who advise here including the site team are volunteers.

[Helpme11]

Ok thank you for your help

[oddjobbob]

Why has having the wrong gearbox fitted to the car caused other problems?

Exactly what ae the other problems please?

[Helpme11]

It started with an issue with throttle body...when that was changed we still had transmission problems car going into limp mode or losing drive .so they had to change some pulleys ...still error showing on transmission!

Finally we took it to mercedes who had to put a hydraulic valve unit ..and when they tried to put it on it was not fully compatible even though the unit was for our chasis number.

So after some investigating they discoverd the gearbox is from another vehicle..possibly a diesel car of same make ..even though ours is petrol.

[heliosuk]

You need to be quite clear here, is it an Mercedes Benz dealer or a Mercedes specialist? The two are quite different. Only an official dealer will be able to tell if it is the wrong box. There were issues with the valve block on some Merc gearboxes. What it sounds like that if the wrong box had been fitted then there will potentially be a calibration and communication problem between the control units of the gearbox and the engine. This though would most likely have been apparent when the allegedly wrong box was fitted.

 

Which Mercedes is it and how old plus how many miles when you bought it and now?

 

The throttle body fault was probably a fault code registered as a result of the box going into limp home mode. This shows a lack of experience in todays mechanics whereby they think what the computer tells them is correct and start changing parts willy nilly without understanding why the code exists in the first place. Dealers, supposed specialists and general garages are all guilty of this unfortunately.

[Helpme11]

Thank you ...yes what you have described is exactly what we have been told ..calibration etc.

Its a mercedes specialist.

The car is an a170. 05 reg .

Cant rmbr mileage ..possibly was around 60000..

The thing is we had no issues up until throttle body went which was just after a year of getting the car.

[heliosuk]

Where abouts in UK are you?

 

Only a MB dealer can confirm if it is the right box in the car as they will have the original build records. They will be able to access the original serial numbers. You don't need to take the car. The number is used to be a printed label and attached to the original service book along with other information that might be significant to a dealer workshop but won't mean much to anyone else.

 

MB dealer will also be able to confirm if the box was changed during it's warranty period which might explain any discrepancy. Do you have the original service records? If so, in which year did it appear to leave the dealer network? By reckoning and known data if the box had been changed including the ownership time that you have had it, the box would have been changed between 2008 and 2011 should it turn out to be the wrong box.

[Helpme11]

I dont think we have any of the original records.. We got it of a dealer on finance who got it from an auction.

Now the dealer apparantly has been onto mercedes who told us that these cars dont come of the production line with gearboxes!..?? Not sure what has happened but they have agreed to take it away and fix it but only pay 50% even though we paid silly amounts already!

[heliosuk]

This is just rubbish. All manufacturers record serial numbers of just about every major component or safety related item on a car.

 

Suggest you e mail customer services at MB UK in Milton Keynes and just ask them for the build record numbers from the assembly plant. By law they have to keep them readily available for 10 years. This is how they work out affected cars for re-calls etc.

 

If you can confirm this then there is a chance to get it fixed properly first time. It also sounds like the specialist does not know what they are doing.

[Surfer01]

I don't think there is any obligation on the finance company nearly 2 years after purchase.

The car has an inherent fault namely the gearbox so I think it should be covered under SOGA. The car is still owned by the finance company so the finance company also have some responsibility!

[Helpme11]

Thank you Brigadier2 thats what i was confused about as the finance company/dealer are pretty much saying that they are doing us a favour and technically they have no responsibility.

They are now saying they will pay half of whatever it costs but all depends how much they say as its not cheap and we have already spent so much!

Are they obliged to change the car in the event it is uneconomical to repair?

[heliosuk]

The car has an inherent fault namely the gearbox so I think it should be covered under SOGA. The car is still owned by the finance company so the finance company also have some responsibility!

 

This is not so, it can hardly be an inherent fault if it managed 2 years without issue. And it might be that the box is actually correct. Only a MB dealer or MB in Milton Keynes can confirm this.

 

Personally I think the specialist is out of their depth with this one and the car should be going to a MB dealer to establish what is wrong. Then a judgement as to whether or not the problem is SOGA related can be made.

[Helpme11]

I understand that is what the the finance company plan on doing..(checking with dealer)

But in the event it was wrong when we were sold it i just need to know where we stand.

As at the moment its a 90% chance that is the problem as its been checked by 2 separate garages both coming to same conclusion.

[heliosuk]

Id have said more like 10% to zero chance it's the wrong box but highly likely the wrong control unit.

[Conniff]

Neither the original supplier or the finance company is under any legal obligation to supply a temporary replacement vehicle. This even applies to brand new cars.

 

I think that might be why it's termed a 'Courtesy' car.

 

I agree with all H has said and if you feel you are getting nowhere, then give your story to the big boss - [email protected]

[heliosuk]

Problem with that Conniff is that the car hasn't been to an approved MB dealer yet. The issue just smacks of an un-compatible control unit being fitted at some point which subsequently conflicts with software updates. For a while now manufacturers have fitted the same box to petrol and diesels the difference being control units to match the engine through a calibration. It makes no economic sense to do otherwise. Specialist are good for routine servicing etc but when it comes to problems like this you need to go back to basics/start point and work it out from there.