£17.5k for 3 hours car ownership!

[kele16v]

I collected a used car 10 days ago.

I did not even make it home from the dealer!

I had to be recovered from the roadside due to breakdown (no gear selection or drive possible on S-Tronic gearbox).

 

 

Car went into main dealer who subsequently diagnosed gearbox failure due to a previously incorrectly fitted gear oil cap that resulted in loss of fluid and then catastrophic failure of the gearbox.

 

 

£10.5k is quoted for the repair. (gearbox had been recently serviced prior to sale by a main dealer).

I am not able to use the car until it is repaired.

 

So my response yesterday (well within 30 days) was to write to the dealer requesting a full refund.

Sent via recorded delivery and I will follow with an email once I see the letter is signed for.

 

 

In that letter I state that the car is unroadworthy, not of satisfactory quality and is unfit for purpose.

I state that The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires dealers to supply goods of satisfactory quality.

 

Since I paid over 50% of the cost with a credit card.

I also notify the credit card company of the issue and ask that they send me a section 75 claim form in case the dealer does not respond positively to my request within 14 days.

My intention is to pursue a section 75 claim if the dealer does not respond positively to my request for a refund.

 

I am curious to understand if I should physically return the car to the dealer at this stage or if I wait for the dealers response?

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions others may have as to the steps I am planning…

[BankFodder]

As you now know that the dealer has received your correspondence, I would suggest that you follow up now with a telephone call – after first having implemented the advice in our customer services guide – and try to have an amicable conversation and get the dealer to agree that you can return it.

 

If he prevaricate's about this then you will probably be best off returning it to the dealer – as long as you can delivery onto his forecourt because you definitely don't want to leave in the road.

 

Also, I suggest that you protect yourself by getting somebody else to come along and witness that it was returning good condition and then take photographs of it and also maybe video of it being returned and being left on the forecourt so the condition of it is clear. This will help to stave off any arguments later on that you might have returned in a damaged condition.

 

The dealer may want a final opportunity to repair it but as you know, you're not obliged to agree to this – and it sounds to me as if this is the kind of contract you want to get out of as quickly and as cleanly as possible.

 

How are you proposing to deliver the car? At whose expense?

 

How you made it clear to the dealer that you are putting in for a section 75 refund? I think that it is worth letting him know this and inform him that if there is any problems about his obligations under the CRA that this could affect his relationship with the credit card company and make it difficult for him to use the facilities in future. I suspect that this would concentrate his mind

[kele16v]

Thanks your comments... The dealer should get the letter tomorrow.

I will take your advice to call and speak with him to try to reach an amicable solution.

It is just business, things happen - I am annoyed but I don't take it personally.

 

I did not mention section 75 refund to the dealer so far.

First, I try to seek a refund from the dealer directly.

A Section 75 claim is "plan B".

 

 

My view was that if after 14 days I do not have my refund, then I progress a section 75 claim.

I am even happy to return the car to the dealer at my own expense -

but since it does not drive, it would need to be recovered there.

The cost of recovery is negligible compared to what I have paid so far.

 

I think I would accept a repair but a repair done by an appointed repairer of my choice

. Otherwise, a full refund is my preferred remedy.

[NGEddie]

Following with interest, hope it works out for you mate

[kele16v]

Update: Spoke to the credit card provider today who said that at this stage it was not possible to open a section 75 claim but they would put the transaction "into dispute". Someone else would call me to discuss this dispute and at that stage I could discuss a section 75 claim. My concern there is that section 75 covers the whole purchase cost; whereas the transaction that is now in dispute is only around 50% of the purchase price..

 

 

Next step, to speak to the dealer once I see they have signed for and received the letter. They are anyway aware of the issue. I sent them pictures and email of my car broken down on the motorway 3 hours after collection. I have been keeping them informed with polite emails so far. The letter is the first clarification of how I would like them to remedy my issues.

[liverpoolluke]

have you rang the dealer yet to find there position ? you may have to wait for them to send you a letter accepting or declining your rejection

[kele16v]

Dearer has now received my letter. They came back to me with 3 perfectly reasonable questions to establish further insight and details. They understand my request and will come back to me... I give them to the middle of next week and then follow up with a call.

Meanwhile, the credit card company have also received my written letter of intent to pursue a section 75 claim.

[Conniff]

£10.5k is quoted for the repair. (gearbox had been recently serviced prior to sale by a main dealer).

I am not able to use the car until it is repaired.

 

Don't bank on either the seller or the finance accepting that obvious rip-off quote for a repair.

[kele16v]

Refund is anyway my preferred option. That price is Audi main dealer "retail" price. I agree cheaper options would be possible. Like a used or reconditioned unit for example..

[liverpoolluke]

How old is the car and what sort of milage has it done? You would expect most gear box's to be maintenance free for 100k and the you would change oil and filter

[king12345]

How old is the car and what sort of milage has it done? You would expect most gear box's to be maintenance free for 100k and the you would change oil and filter

 

Done 200k miles on my A6 on the same gearbox.

Changed gearbox oil at 60k interval.

Still smooth and precise.

[kele16v]

Car is a 2012 (C7) model registered late in 2011. 92k miles on this car and it had a gear oil and filter service at 89k by Audi main dealer. I always get gearbox services periodically (and if I do not see one previously in the service history when I buy a car). My local ZF specialist recommends to service them every 38k but that sounds a bit over zealous to me considering some used to claim the boxes are "sealed for life". 60k feels about right and has served me well on my other car with a ZF box @146k miles so far and still feels like new...

[Conniff]

If you are going for a rejection and a refund, then don't give the dealer permission to fit a new gearbox. The seller can do it for a couple of hundred.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Conniff
corrected spelling typo

[kele16v]

If you are going for a rejection and a refund, then don't give the dealer permission to fit a new gearbox. The seller can to it for a couple of hundred.

 

Update: The book time on this job is nine hours and I can't find a used 7 speed S-Tronic gearbox anywhere for less than £1k. But regardless; the finance company have paid a credit of £10.5k which is the cost of the repair as quoted by the Audi main dealer. So it worked out in the end