Taking car dealer to small claims

[uub]

I bought a car last year for £3000, a month later a hole blew in the block and the engine was a complete write off as you can imagine, I was on the M6 and had been driving at a steady speed for over an hour when this happened. I had only driven the car for 1000 miles since buying it when this happened.

The car was sold with a 6month / 3000mile warranty.

I had the RAC tow the car to the garage I bought it from. The garage provided me with a courtesy car for 2 weeks until I had purchased another car and assured me they would honour the warranty and repair the car.

Since this time the garage has still not repaired the car 6months on and I'm at my wits end with it now and have had enough, I have spoken to CAB in relation to it and they have advised me to send a letter before action to the dealer and take them to small claims court for breach of SOGA.

The letter I had sent to the dealer is below.

 

Quote

REF: Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 Auto 09 Silver [FE09 xxx]

On Monday 27th July 2015 I purchased, and took delivery of, the above vehicle Vauxhall Corsa from you. On Sunday 7th September 2015 I discovered that it was not of satisfactory quality: Mechanical engine failure after 4 weeks of ownership and 1000 miles of ownership.

Since this time you have failed to repair the vehicle contrary to your own warranty and I have failed to reach a satisfactory proposal for settlement with yourself.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 requires dealers to supply goods of satisfactory quality.

However, the vehicle is clearly unroadworthy. You are therefore in breach of contract.

I am legally entitled to reject the vehicle and to be reimbursed for its full purchase price of £3000.

I look forward to receiving your cheque for this sum within 14 days. If you fail to reimburse me I shall have no alternative but to issue a claim against you in the county court for recovery of the money without further reference to you.

My question is what is the next step in relation to the small claims court, I understand I can do it online but I'm unsure what to put for the particulars for the claim, the claim amount and whether I can add compensation and interest to the claim.

Any help would be appreciated.

[AndyOrch]

Hi uub

 

Take a read of the following stickie...this provides an excellent detailed account of the process.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?460124-Excellent-interactive-guide-to-the-small-claims-process-from-Warrington-Trading-Standards

 

Regards

 

Andy

[uub]

Thanks for this, it looks like exactly what I was looking for

 

I will keep the thread updated on my progress for future reference for anybody in a similar situation, the dealer is still within the 14 days at present that I have given them.

 

Is the letter I have sent them good enough to satisfy a court in regards to notice before action?

[BankFodder]

Yes, the letter you have proposed is fine.

 

Make sure that you follow through with your threat at the moment the 14 days expires. Otherwise you will lose your credibility and your letter will join all the other ones in the bin from the other customers who have attempted to bluff their way to getting some kind of proper response.

 

Make sure that you have got all your evidence prepared – any garage reports, bills, and also make sure that you understand the process of bringing the action.

[Conniff]

Don't be surprised if you are not awarded the full £3,000 as they are entitled to deduct a reasonable amount for the use you have had, termed by the regulations as 'enjoyment'.

[uub]

I do fully intend on taking it to court I have let it drag on for nearly 6 months already, I don't expect to get the full amount back and even then I don't expect any judgement to be paid immediately either, can anything be claimed compensation wise for the stress and inconvenience of it all?

I already have pictures of the damage and the RAC report, I could get a local mechanic to do a small write up report for the court as well.

Couple of pictures of the hole blew in the block, the number 1 piston was completely smashed into pieces in the sump as well.

[uub]

Well I didn't receive a response as expected, I have just finished filling in the forms to send to the small claims court, printing multiple copies along with evidence on which I intend to rely upon, I will be sending it off in the morning.

 

Does anybody know how long it takes to receive a notice of allocation?

[Conniff]

Be sure to make you claim for the full amount of the car. I said they can deduct for 'enjoyment', but I don't think you can count 4 weeks and one thousand miles to be included in that, it is a very short period and one thousand miles does not really deduct anything from the value of the car.

[uub]

3 copies of the small claims form was sent to the court yesterday attached along with receipts for the vehicle, a copy of the guarantee and a copy of the breakdown report.

 

Brief details of the claims

The claimant seeks damages for losses arising out of the purchase of a motor vehicle for breach of contract under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended).

 

A vehicle was sold to the claimant on 27th July 2015. On 7th September 2015 after 6 weeks / 1000 miles of ownership the claimant suffered a catastrophic engine failure with the vehicle rendering it unusable.

 

Since this time the defendant has failed to repair the vehicle or offer any reasonable comprimise despite repeated verbal and written requests.

 

Amount claimed

The claimant expects to recover damages to the sum of £3,000.

 

and the particulars

1. On 27th July 2015 the claimant purchased a motor vehicle (Vauxhall Corsa FE09 xxx) from the defendant for the sum of £3,000.

 

2. The vehicle was sold with a 6month / 3000mile guarantee.

 

3. On 7th September 2015 the claimant suffered a catastrophic engine failure with the vehicle after 6 weeks / 1000 miles of ownership rendering the vehicle unusable.

 

4. Despite numerous verbal and written requests made by the claimant to the defendant the defendant has failed to rectify the problem or offer any reasonable comprimise.

 

5. The claimant has refused the vehicle under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) as the vehicle was

a) not of satisfactory quality

b) not fit for purpose

c) as described

 

AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS

 

1. The sum of £3,000.

[Old Cogger]

hope it does not go the way it did for me a few decades ago, once legal action taken against them - they went bust! I ended up with nothing but an engine with hole in it and a costly repair bill, even then that went wrong.

[uub]

I am taking the action against the dealer directly with his 'trading as' business name on the forms as he is not ltd registered.

The repairs are nearly done on the car and I have a bunch of receipts totalling over £1000 now.

On another note I received Notice of Issue Today.

Quote

Your claim was issued on 9 March 2016. The court sent it to the defendant by first class post on 10 March 2016 and it will be deemed to be served on 14 March 2016. The defendant has until 28 March 2016 to reply.

[AndyOrch]

Keep your eyes on the timeline.

[uub]

Thanks I intend to

I have received a few nasty messages and threats from the dealer very recently since filing the papers, I've been accused of harassment, blackmail and abusing the car. I offered the garage to settle the matter previously by paying 50% of what it cost me to get it repaired as I wanted a quick, easy, amicable settlement to the whole issue as it had dragged on for so long when they refused this I said I would take the matter to court then hence their allegation.

They are also claiming that their warranty does not cover neglect and abuse, I was travelling from London to Liverpool at a set speed on the motorway about an hour and a half into my journey when the engine popped, surely this and the fact I had only done 1000 miles since purchase would not be classed as abuse?

I had problems with the car from day one with the wheels not being correctly balanced/tracked and then an oil leak 2 weeks after purchase.

The dealer had no problems accepting responsibility initially, apologizing profusely, assuring me it would get sorted and also giving me use of a courtesy car until I purchased another vehicle.

[king12345]

He's talking rubbish.

Nobody could blow a hole in an engine by mistreating the car.

I would understand if it was suspension failure, but a hole in the engine means only one thing: Lemon!