Issues following vehicle purchase from Dealership- Long thread sorry!

[juliaholroyd]

Hi

 

 

I am hoping someone will be able to help me.

 

 

My partner and I paid £5250 for a Nissan Navara pickup 54 plate just after Christmas. The vehicle is great for us as my partner is a gas engineer and he would be able to use the vehicle for work, and we would be able to fit our growing family in as we have dogs and a baby on the way (due April). It was the ideal replacement for his van, as I only have a small car on finance.

 

 

We paid the money by bacs as the dealership requested, the same day - and as I'd negotiated a full service we went to pick it up a week later.

 

 

After sending the money we were told literally as we picked up the keys that there was an issue with the central locking (it doesn't work) and that the lock on the back cab was broken - a nightmare for a bloke who keeps his tools in there for work!

 

 

Anyway, we let this go and paid for the back cab lock to be fixed and although the lack of central locking as promised was disappointing, we let it go. However, 4 weeks ago, the vehicle broke down. The vehicle came with a 3 month warranty so we immediately informed the dealership.

 

 

Here is a rough time line

- 24th Feb - vehicle broke down. Dealership immediately informed

- 3rd March - one week later vehicle picked up by a different garage. Was told approx. 2 week wait.

- 4th March - I asked if we had an update. Was told at least a week. Enquired re courtesy car. Was told no and to expect a 2 week wait.

- 7th March - rang the garage that had picked up the vehicle. When asked how much longer it would take, he laughed. Rang dealership, was promised a call back - never had any communication

10th March - Rang dealership to check date for collection - Was promised a call back, again no call back

13th March - Rang dealership. Was promised a call back. Someone rang back to say it would be tomorrow that they got back to me

14th March - Rang dealership, spoke to a man who told me that the car engine was in Slough and that the dealership needed to pay them, which would take 2 days, then the car engine needed to be brought back to the garage. No clue as to how long, but definitely not within the week.

 

 

Now, my issue here is not with the warranty as clearly they are carrying out the work on our behalf, free of charge.

 

 

My issue is with the communication and the customer service. I am beyond angry that we were't able to get a courtesy vehicle. My partner is self employed and no vehicle means no work. We have had to hire a van, and as he is only 23 this is expensive - £31 per day plus VAT! That means we have spent just under £1000 on hiring, and it looks like we will need to spend even more for the next week. We have also had to pay extortionate insurance prices too - on top of the £160 we have spent on insuring the faulty vehicle.

 

 

I know the dealership will have spent a lot of money on this repair but it wouldn't have hurt them to offer a courtesy vehicle to limit the inconvenience and cost for us. They have sold us a vehicle in a unfit state as far as I am concerned.

 

 

My question is - Can I just ask for our money back (I am okay to lose my £250 deposit)

They will be able to sell it again with a reconditioned engine. I have lost all faith in the vehicle and I don't want to break down with a new born baby in the back - who knows what else could be wrong, clearly they don't do full checks. I am annoyed at the way the dealership have treated us and I never want to see the vehicle again. Am I within my rights to demand the money back?

[Conniff]

You sounds as if you have sympathy with this seller, don't. If they had checked out the car before they sold it, there wouldn't be problems with it now.

 

 

Have they said they are getting a recon engine as you indicate above? I would be very doubtful. If they are changing the donk, my money is on it being one from a scrappy.

 

 

You should not have accepted the car with the faults notified without assurance it would be fixed 'properly'. You have taken delivery of a car that was not as described and not of satisfactory quality. Sorry to say that they are not obliged to offer a courtesy car, that's something only decent garages do.

 

 

If you reject the car, you should get back your deposit as well. I take it as you mention BACS there is no finance involved?

Edited March 14, 2014 by Conniff

[juliaholroyd]

Thanks for replying. Yes we paid £5250 - I paid the deposit on my debit card but the remaining 5k was in our savings account. I had to go home and send it by bacs as I didn't have my online banking details.

 

Do you think that I am within my rights to demand that they give me my money back? Is there any part of the law that I can refer to to back up my case?

 

I know they shouldn't have to help with the courtesy car - it's in the name I guess.... It's just that it would have saved us so much money. It would have been cheaper for me to arrange to repair the engine and pay myself!

 

They mentioned that the engine is in Slough not sure if it's reconditioned or what really.

[Conniff]

Keep in mind for any further purchases, especially of this value, use a credit card if you have one, the safety it gives you can't be overstated.

 

 

Until you know exactly what is being fitted, it's almost impossible to give advice.

 

 

There is nothing wrong with a used engine, after all, the car is used as long as the engine hasn't covered more miles than the one you have at present.

[juliaholroyd]

Hi just an update - the owner of the dealership has offered us £4000. I paid originally £5250.

 

When questioned he stated that he can't give me the tax back as it's "not your money, or my money- it's the Tax man's!"

 

Is he allowed to do that?! Surely it's a case of just putting a credit note through his accounts?

Edited March 25, 2014 by Conniff
Corrected auto typo

[Conniff]

If you accept the offer, you can bet your life it will be offered again at that price and he will again add the VAT. Nice little earner me thinks.

 

 

He's not buying the truck off you, it's being returned which is completely different.

 

 

You can drop the tax man an email or ring him - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/problems/getting-answers.htm - get it from the horses mouth so to speak.

[ssparks2003]

I would second Conniff's suggestion of speaking to HMRC, in my experience HMRC are morev than happy to give you answers to questions

[ssparks2003]

I was just thinking about this, and I don't belive that the garage can hold on to the VAT, since they are providing a refund no sale will have taken place so no VAT is due. It sounds like they are offdering you a partial refund only.