Clutch failed after 2 weeks ownership

[tony3x]

Friend of mine bought a second hand car from a dealer about 2 weeks ago. Today the clutch has failed and the RAC have said a new clutch is required.

 

Dealer has been contacted and said it is nothing to do with him.

 

Car is 10 yrs old with 95,000 on the clock. The price paid was about right for the car with that mileage.

 

Are there any rights under SOGA or CPA.

 

thanks

Edited December 5, 2015 by Conniff
removed the £ sign in front of the mileage

[Conniff]

Can you describe how it's 'failed' in a bit more details please tony ?

Edited December 5, 2015 by Conniff
correct typo

[tony3x]

Driving along in 5th gear then lost all drive. managed to get stopped and out of gear but then could not get back into gear at all.

 

After I posted on hear the RAC arrived and said could be clutch or gearbox.

 

Car now back to dealer for investigation.

[Conniff]

A sudden failure can of course be the clutch but is more likely to be on the operational side, ie cable/hydraulics. As for the RAC saying clutch 'or' gearbox, he might as well have said rear exhaust.

He didn't know so just fobbed you off with an answer.

 

Can you update us with what the seller comes back with pse.

[tony3x]

will do. thanks

[tony3x]

Quick update. Friend phone the dealer this morning. Apparently the gearbox is u/s as it won't go into 2nd. They have replaced the clutch but have not said why and are deciding what to do about the gearbox. My guess is they will try to find a second hand one rather than a recon. This is a small dealer that does not offer a proper warranty just relies on the consumer protection regs and obviously hopes the cars last longer than 6 months.

[Conniff]

It's very easy to determine if it is the clutch or the gearbox that is the problem and I can't see any garage saying 'well lets replace the clutch and see it that works', it's not a five minute job to pull one out and replace it.

 

You won't be able to demand that a recon box is put in, a used box will satisfy the regulations, as long as it is a working box.

[Surfer01]

Then again under the new regulations they should be able to request a refund.

[Conniff]

Then again under the new regulations they should be able to request a refund.

 

Yes if the repair fails.

[Surfer01]

Yes if the repair fails.

I was under the impression that under the new regulations if the goods failed within the first 30 days the consumer coulf claim a full refund?

[Conniff]

Not quite. If that was the case, we could go and buy a car suitable for some occasion say wedding or even holiday. We could then proudly take the bride to the church or the family on holiday and after that was all out the way and we no longer needed the car, take it back and claim a full refund saying this or that was wrong or it wasn't of satisfactory quality. That would be the same as hiring free of charge.

 

Sellers as well as consumers have to have some protection:

 

(5) A consumer who has the right to a price reduction and the final right to reject may only exercise one (not both), and may only do so in one of these situations—

 

(a) after one repair or one replacement, the goods do not conform to the contract;

 

(b) because of section 23(3) the consumer can require neither repair nor replacement of the goods; or

 

© the consumer has required the trader to repair or replace the goods, but the trader is in breach of the requirement of section 23(2)(a) to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

[tony3x]

Latest - dealer has said the clutch has 'burnt out' although at this stage has not apportioned any blame. My friends wife is the driver and in all their years of car ownership have never had to have a clutch replaced so I would guess the clutch was on the edge when they bought it. I drove the car and there was no sign of any slipping and gear change was fine.

 

The dealer has also said that it will not go into 2nd gear so needs to investigate further. My take is that it could be gearbox or gear selector.

 

My friend has given the dealer until the end of the week and if not fixed (or properly diagnosed) he has said he wants a refund.

 

have to wait and see.

[tony3x]

Dealer has just said that the clutch is not down to him and it must have been my friends bad driving that caused the clutch to go. Now wants £300 to put right.

 

No I don't believe that you can burn a clutch out in 2 weeks. Time to read up on CRA 2015.

[tony3x]

I have found this template letter, any advice;

 

[insert your name

and address]

 

[insert date]

 

[insert name and

address of retailer]

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Reference: [insert reference number if you have one]

 

Consumer Rights Act 2015

 

I am writing with regards the [enter item] I purchased from you on [enter date of purchase] for £[enter cost of item] which is not [select from as described / satisfactory quality / fit for the purpose] due to the following problems: [enter problems with the item]. Further details to support my complaint are enclosed.

 

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that goods should be as described, of a satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. As the [enter item] is not, you are therefore in breach of contract and I would like to reject the goods and request that you [select from issue me with a full refund as I am notifying you of my short-term right to reject within 30 days of receiving the good / refund me the partial amount of £[enter amount you are requesting] / arrange to have the item fixed at the earliest opportunity / provide me with a replacement at the earliest opportunity].

 

[use this section if you want to request additional costs or delete]

Plus, as a consequence of the faulty item I have incurred extra costs for [enter items you have had to purchase eg the cost of registered post, damage to an additional item caused by the faulty good] and I ask that you repay me an additional £[enter extra cost] to cover these costs and the cost of my time in making this complaint.

 

I look forward to a full response to my letter within [select from 7 / 14] days or I shall seek legal advice in order to take the matter further.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[enter your signature]

 

[enter your name]

 

[Enclose any relevant evidence for your complaint]

[tony3x]

the dealer gets worse.

 

Friend called him this morning to point out that under the CRA 2015 he has to repair or give money back. The dealer says either pay him £300 for the repair (which he now says is the gearbox) or come and take the car with the broken gearbox. He will not paying for the repair or refunding anything.

 

My friend is stuck between a rock and a hard place as he needs a car and does not have and funds to but another one while this is being dealt with.

 

The dealer is a ltd company (accounts are up to date)but has quite a bit of stock so can sort of hold be put on his stock.

[martin2006]

it looks like a good template letter tony except i wouldnt add anything about additional costs, or at least re word it to say additional costs MAY be incurred if no results within your given timeframe

[tony3x]

thanks, will be sending this once I have the rest of the info

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Reference: Mazda 6 Reg

 

Consumer Rights Act 2015

 

I am writing with regards the Mazda 6 I purchased from you on [enter date of purchase] for £[enter cost of item] which is not fit for the purpose due to the following problems: Failure of gearbox and clutch.

 

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that goods should be as described, of a satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. As the Mazda 6 is not, you are therefore in breach of contract and I would like to reject the goods and request that you issue me with a full refund as I am notifying you of my short-term right to reject within 30 days of receiving the goods or arrange to have the item fixed, at your cost, at the earliest opportunity.

 

Plus, as a consequence of the faulty item I may incur extra costs and may need these costs to be recovered if you have not refunded or repaired the car within the next 7 days.

 

I look forward to a full response to my letter within 7 days or I shall seek legal advice in order to take the matter further.

[tony3x]

also tempted to send a copy of the letter to the sole director at the address given on companies house.

[Conniff]

Seven days is plenty, it only needs the one day to change the parts.

 

Yes, send it to all the company bosses and do it by recorded delivery.

[tony3x]

Thanks for the reply but there has been a bit of a change.

 

My friend has agreed to pay for the repairs, against my better judgement, as he needs a car. He suffers from mental illness (has had 2 previous breakdowns) and was getting really stressed about the whole thing. He knows that he is doing the wrong thing but is caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

Is there a way of trying to claim the cost of the repair back from the dealer when he has the car back?

 

The thing is my friend is 6ft 5" and built like the side of a house and 10-15 years ago would have dealt with this is a slight different way if you understand what I mean. He is not the sort of person to con anyone and gets quite upset when things like this happen.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Conniff]

If he has paperwork and/or witnesses then he certainly could try a claim.

 

So you never got to send that letter ?

[tony3x]

No never got to send the letter.

 

I hate it when someone is blatantly ignoring rules/regs but can see my friends point of view. He needs to have a car and its costing him not to have one. I explained that it would be possible to claim any expenses but its the time it takes to get anything back and then look for another car.

 

Would dearly love to get some money back.

[zumbanikki]

are you sure he should be driving with his illness?

[tony3x]

are you sure he should be driving with his illness?

 

He doesn't actually drive, his wife does but see your point if he did.

[Conniff]

As 85,000 is a pretty good mileage for a clutch and no one should be surprised if it was worn out at that mileage, then your friend should bill him for half the cost. Give him 7 days to pay up or your will take it further which will incur further charges.

 

If he refuses then your friend can issue a small claim against him. Mind if he is not the sort to want to make a fuss, then don't bother, but surely this has to be worth a couple of letters and a few quid to get back a few hundred.

 

Doing nothing is giving him permission and the confidence to do it again to the next customer.