Existing fault with second hand car***Resoved and full refund of costs***

[taximan45]

Looking for some advice please.

 

I bought a second hand car just under six months ago, it is on HP.

I also took out an aftermarket warranty with Warranty Direct.

The dealer gave a 3 month warranty but I know the company they use are rubbish so I decided to get my own.

 

A few weeks ago it broke down.

Had it towed to my local garage (didn't take it back to where I bought it as its quite a way from where I live and they have any proper workshop facilities).

 

To cut a long story short the engine has been stripped right down, and the diagnosis is seized oil control rings.

Warranty Direct sent an engineer out who has reported back to them ( I am getting a copy of his report) and they have refused to pay out as in his opinion the fault has been present since before I bought the vehicle and has just got worse over the time I've owned it.

 

The car only has 77000 on the clock and has a full service history so no one had expected an engine of that age to have this fault.

I'm now left looking at at £1300+ bill.

 

Given that I have something in writing to say that the fault was present when I bought the car do I have a claim against the dealer and/or finance company? And if so how should I proceed?

 

Thanks for any help

[Conniff]

What type of finance it is, HP or loan ?

 

What were the circumstances of the car breaking down and why did it have to be towed ?

[taximan45]

Its on HP. Engine management light came on and it started to run like a bag of bones so I pulled over and stopped it.

[tobyjugg2]

The rac forum members don't seem to rate warranty direct at all

 

http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?18013-Warranty-Direct-does-everyone-have-this-experience

 

Lots of bad feedback on trustpilot - but more good

[Conniff]

I don't and never have rated car warranties, they are designed to make a prospective buyer more likely to purchase because he will feel reassured.

It should be the other way around, if a warranty is offered, treat it as all's not right with the car.

 

I'm afraid in this case, and probably the first for many many years, the warranty company are right to dismiss the claim. This is not a breakdown,

gumming of the oil control ring is a slow gradual process usually brought about by cheap supermarket petrol or cheap engine oil or both.

 

Having taken someone elses car, (belongs to the finance company), and had the engine stripped down without permission is also a no no.

Your first port of call should have been the finance company and the correspondence copied to the seller.

 

You have done this all wrong I'm afraid and I can't see either the finance company, the warranty company nor the seller bearing any responsibility for this.

 

Edited to add: It doesn't take a stripdown to diagnose or treat gummed rings.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Conniff

[taximan45]

But the car had to be stripped (at the request of the warranty comapny) to find out what the fault was.

I agree they are right to reject it as they clearly state pre-existing conditions are not covered.

 

I had no way of knowing there was a fault with the car until it stopped working, and then taking it back to the dealer wasn't an option as they are a long distance from where I live.

 

Given that I have an independant engineers report stating that it is a long term fault do you think I have no come back at all on the dealer under the Sale of Goods act?

[Conniff]

The car is owned by the finance company, they bought it and are only renting it to you. You should now contact them and see what they come up with, they might well help with a payment as a gesture of goodwill.

 

The problem is that the engine didn't need stripping down to diagnose the fault and there are a few cheap methods that could have been tried to cure the problem before such a big

thing as an engine strip.

 

What car is it, make and model ?

Edited May 5, 2016 by Conniff

[taximan45]

I've spoken to the finance company, they've opened a complaint and are going through the process.

They said that the car being worked on already complicated things but didn't say it was a massive stumbling block.

 

The problem with the strip down is that the garage did compression/leakdown tests and diagnosed faulty rings, correctly.

 

The warranty covers rings so they then requested the garage to strip the car to confirm the problem, and also said they wanted an engineers to visit and see the faulty parts.

At this point we all assumed they would cover the repair cost.

 

As it turns out the garage were correct in their diagnosis but it wasn't a broken ring, it was seized rings that caused it, something that couldn't be known until the pistons wee taken out.

 

Thats when the engineer decided, probably correctly, that it was a long term issue and wasn't covered.

Its a Ford Smax 2.0 petrol.

[Conniff]

The problem with the strip down is that the garage did compression/leakdown tests and diagnosed faulty rings, correctly.

 

Yes, but then instead of trying a £10 fix first, they went right into a strip down.

[BankFodder]

Sorry, but I'm not too sure why were discussing warranties or any of the other stuff on this thread.

 

You've bought a car six months ago. That means that you bought it after October of last year. That means that it is subject to the Consumer Rights Act. Even though it is second-hand, you are entitled to buy a vehicle which is of satisfactory quality and remains that way for a reasonable period of time.

 

Consumer Rights Act section 9.

 

It is all down to the seller. It is the seller's responsibility. Because you have bought it using finance, then falls to the finance company.

 

I would send the finance company very stern letter saying that the car was sold to you in breach of the seller's obligations under section 9 and as they are the finance company, they are responsible and you are requiring them to have it repaired.

 

The finance company's remedy is against the seller.

 

The answer would have been the same even if the car had been bought before October of last year – except it would have been under the Sale of Goods Act section 14 which basically provides exactly the same consumer protection.

[Conniff]

The problem I see with that is the engine has been stripped down complete with piston removal and all that is visible are gummed oil control rings which isn't a breakdown.

 

No disrespect to you taximan, but unless they had witnessed the fault, it could just be having an overhaul, so I'm not sure they will want to take responsibility, they aren't obliged to foot the whole bill if any.

[taximan45]

Just to update the thread, after a few emails going back and forth, a threat of legal action and an angry phone call to a 'manager', the finance company finally agreed liability and refunded me my full costs. A happy ending.

[AndyOrch]

Well done taximan...thread title amended to reflect the outcome.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Conniff]

Just to update the thread, after a few emails going back and forth, a threat of legal action and an angry phone call to a 'manager', the finance company finally agreed liability and refunded me my full costs. A happy ending.

 

Quite right too. We have to remember that the finance companies, (not loan companies) buys the car and not the public.

If they don't want to send a rep out to check the car before handing over the money, that is their choice, one they can't later dump on the person named on the agreement.

 

Well done for getting angry with them.