Used Car Repairs - Dennis Buyacar, £8300, on PCP, via Alphera/BMW Financing

[mrbrooks]

Hi All, please ask any Qs if you have any or need more info.

 

26th May agreed to purchase a Ford Fiesta Titanium X 66 Plate, 35,500 miles on the clock, from Dennis Buyacar, £8300, on PCP, via Alphera/BMW Financing over 4Y and all came to about £9950 with loan interests, delivery, etc etc...Paid £2700 deposit, the rest on PCP.

 

I have had a couple of issues with it, first falsely, or their explanation was, it was a Covid mistake, advertising the car with Sat Nav, anyway they coughed up £250 for me to purchase a Sat Nav unit. They never gave me an explanation for the rear view mirror falling off the windows while I was trying to adjust it, luckily one of my friends works at Ford and explained to me I had to twist it back on. Yes I promise you it fell off.

 

Next the drivers seat is quite badly worn, clearly someone has been getting in/out and scraping the seat with an abrasive buttock or something, they would only cough up £200 saying that 'any agency would agree this is to be expected on a car of this age...' which of course is possible, but incredibly rare on a car that is only 4y old and 35k on the clock, so I am left with fixing it myself to the tune of somewhere between £450-£1000 depending on the route I take it, yes I have checked it out and gotten all the quoutes, and yes it is an eye watering amount, even the guy at Ford coughed when I asked for the price for the drivers seat covering, or just leaving till I can no longer stand it.

 

Anyway, BAC said the car would be fully serviced and MOT'd when I asked them about whether there would be a service/MOT at point of purchase or whether this is something I should arrange myself, so I thought, great nowt to do for a year or so apart from the incidental stuff like, top up the oil, maybe get some wipers, sort out any punctures, stuff like that.

 

So first things I noticed happening more often, steering wheel wobble, engine had little stutter and shake now n then, like it was almost about to stall, the aircon did not seem too cool either, ok not a big deal, fuel economy not great, a very big deal, so I decided I really needed to take it for a service, if nothing else for my own peace of mind.

 

On the service I was advised the service schedule recommends to change the brake fluid and service/re-gas the air-con amongst other things and they said the brake fluid looked a bit grungy when they drained it, and they mentioned that cos the car is now at 37000 it was worth checking if the spark plugs had been done in Y3 has they should have been or whether I wanted to replace them now just in case. I decided to get them changed, and the ones that came out were in a really bad way, even the mechanic said they were in shocking state, and squealed like crazy on the way out, and were almost seized, so clearly they had either never been changed or the engine has got some issue that I have yet to discover. Great.

 

Then he tells me the wheels are out of balance, not sure how he knew to be honest, or whether this is just something they say to everyone to bump up sales, but I knew this was true cos I had already experienced the wheel wobble thing and been hearing a little knock from the nearside front.

 

So I get the wheels balanced and he tells me all 4 wheels are badly out of balance which would explain why the front tyres have got uneven wear on them (the chap did not know I had only had the car 8 weeks at this point) and I should get them checked more regularly, so they begin to do the balancing taking off the wheels etc and then they start to check the alignment and tracking and 5 minutes later come back and tell me they cannot do it because the steering is loose, well he said it was n/side inner tie rod has excessive play in it, and that is making the steering impossible to centre and thus impossible to align.

 

Oh, really, blimey, he asks when it was MOT'd cos it will likley fail and I should think about getting it done before hand, I said May 26th, or about 1500 miles ago, and he says, oh, yeah, mmm, and explains though there is huge incosistency with quality of MOTs and Services, the issue would almost certainly have been present when they MOT'd it back in May, and should have been listed as an advisory at the very least, even if the dealership did not want to fix it.

 

Now I know dealing with the motor trade is fraught with issues, incosistencies, lies, jobs paid for that never get done and more, and it is tough to know who to beleive, so I am not really sure whos fault is what, all I know is this, I have commited myself to almost £10000 worth of car, I am only 2 months in and am alreayd having issues, so I am not overly happy about it.

 

OK, so my question is this, or questions, firstly have I got any ground here? Have I got any case? I would like to get a refund on the service as I do not beleive this was ever done, though I accept this may prove difficult to show with any compelling force, I would also like them to refund me for the spark plugs and installation, I would also like them to pay for the wheel balancing, again I can see this may be a difficult one to prove, but the one thing they should absolutely pay for in my mind is the repair of the tie rod and the wheel alignment and tracking.

 

Next, who do I tackle about this? Should I tackle BAC? or should I approach Alphera/BMW as I have a credit agreement with them, and assume as they technically own the car that my deal is now with them?

 

Any advice on how to proceed with this is most welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mr B

 

 

 

 

 

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[mrbrooks]

I have emailed BaC and asked nicely if they would consider re-imbursing me for all or some of the costs of the service etc, and also requested that they pay for the repairs to the tie rod and the alignment.

 

They have today responded with a request for invoices for the service and parts and also asked me to get some pricies/qoutes for the repair/alignment work.

 

So it is a positive start.

 

Thanks all.

[slick132]

Hi Mr B,

 

Sounds like you have a chance of them taking this seriously.

 

Not sure why no one else commented after your post above but keep us posted.

[mrbrooks]

Hi Slick, thank you for the response.

 

I was unsure if I should speak with Alphera first or BuyaCar, so thought as I have technically only been driving it 59 days, even Alphera would be looking to BaC to sort this out? And figured I would give them a try first and approach Alphera if I get no postivie response from BaC, but again was unsure if this was the proper path to go down or not, but hey, its done now and they have not told me to get lost yet!

 

Also was not too sure how it all works with 2nd hand cars from dealerships via the internet and just wanted to make sure I do not put my foot in it before I start out.

 

I have asked them to consider re-imbursing me for the service and extra scheduled maintenance jobs such as changing the brake fluid and servicing the air con, also for the cost of the spark plugs and then the wheel balancing because the steering had a noticeable wobble at about 60-65 MPH.

I know that used cars are not perfect, and I accept that there are going to be some things I just have to accept, but I figure, I have commited myself to a near £10000 investement, which in some respects is not a massive amount of cash, but I am not at all happy about the fact that I am already being told I need to spend cash on mechanical factors that should really have been checked/picked up on the service and MOT, when I have only had it for 59 days.

 

I just hope they sort it as overall I am really very happy with the car, and now the balancing is fixed it feels much better on the steering.

 

I have some quotes from 3-4 garages in my area for the tie rod and it is quite astonishing at the range of prices, £149 being the cheapest and £268 being the most expensive, anyway I have sent them to BaC today and so am waiting to see what they say about the prices and the re-imbursements.

Edited July 30, 2020 by mrbrooks
mispellings

[slick132]

There are others who post here far more knowledgeable than me, however............

 

You have serious consumer protection (Consumer Rights Act 2015) when buying a used car from a car dealer. You have the right to expect a car of this age to be sold to you in good roadworthy condition. No matter if you paid £5K or £50K, you have rights.

 

Hence any defects that are found within the first 30 days give you a right to reject the car for a full refund from the dealer. You could also ask them for a repair or replacement.

 

Beyond 30 days up to 6 months, any fault is deemed to have been present when sold and you're entitled to a repair or replacement. If a repair fails, you're entitled to a refund (less an amount for your use of the car).

 

Also, within the first 6 months, the onus is on the dealer to prove a fault was NOT present when sold.

 

Research on the protection you have from CRA 2015. Then give the dealer written notice of the faults that remain, and their obligation to repair them under CRA 2015, failing which you will reject the car and seek a refund.

 

It's not your responsibility to get quotes have the car put right. However, you may prefer to arrange the repairs yourself, rather than leave the dealer and their "own garage" to sort the issues.

 

Consider what you really want as the outcome. You may not be able to get back the Service Costs as you should have given the dealer the chance to sort any issues. But you can ask them to contribute.

 

Send a written letter and get a free Certificate of Posting at the PO telling them what you want. If it comes to a dispute, you may want written proof of your garage's opinion about the defects like the sterring rod, wheel balancing, brake fluid not changed, etc

[mrbrooks]

Hi Slick, thank you for the input, it is very much appreciated.

 

Regarding the quotes, I agree they should be getting some prices and arranging the repair.

 

However, if figure it would be quicker if I did it and arranged the repair myself, also it saves me having to give up the car for a period while they take it back for repair.

 

I know the request for reimbursement for the previous actions taken by the garage may not come to anything but figure I can only ask.

 

If they refuse to make any contribution, well, I would have done the work anyway, partly because the wheels were wobbling and also for my peace of mind, so though I am not happy about having to do it, I am glad I have.

 

If they give me anything towards the service, sparks and wheel balancing, then I will take this as a positive response and will be very happy to receive whatever contribution they offer.

 

I hope they do respond with some positive news about a contributory payment and for me to arrange the repair to the steering as soon as I am able.

 

I will let you know when I have a response.

[slick132]

Ok, but bear in mind, while they have obligations to address problems under CRA 2015 they may be more focused.

 

If you get the problems fixed and then look to them for reimbursement, you may have fewer options but a Small Claim in court would be one of them.

[mrbrooks]

Hi @slick132 I have received an email from BaC and they have offered to pay for the work based on the quotes I provided.

 

They have also agreed to re-imburse me for the service and related items, which I think is a fantastic gesture on their part.

 

The after sales chap has been super, very polite, asked me a couple of things, requested invoices and such like and gave me a response last night.

 

I have the car booked into a local garage for the work at 09:30 tomorrow.

 

After reading some of the other posts and advice, from some of the site team posted within similar posts, before sending my email to BaC, I decided a friendly, polite introduction to my ssues with a request for help was best, and this was the correct approach at this stage, luckily there has been no need for any heavy handed approach or any drawn out affairs, BaC have been really good in dealing with this, polite, speedy and reasonable.

 

They said the funds will be paid into my account this afternoon, I will let you know when the money lands just to confirm.

 

Thanks all for giving us a place to ask questions and to 'just make sure' we are doing the right thing.

 

Best wishes all.

Edited August 4, 2020 by mrbrooks

[slick132]

All sounding positive but let us know that funds arrived as promised.

 

Yes, a friendly polite approach is a good place to start and has worked well for you here.

 

But it's good to know you have back up from Consumenr Legislation as well.

 

If you can manage a Site Donation, it'll help us stay here for you and others, thanks.

[mrbrooks]

Hi @slick132, thank for the reply.

 

I will let you know when it lands for sure.

 

I made a small donation last week and will see about making another one when I can.

 

Thank you again.

 

Mr B

[slick132]

Yes, let us know if they honour the agreement to pay.

 

Thanks for Donation made and anything further you can make - it helps us keep helping !

[mrbrooks]

Hi @slick132, BaC paid the funds into my account today, the car has been in and work been completed.

 

All good.

 

Made another donation to CAG . . .

 

Thank you for your time.

[slick132]

Excellent news about the car and many thanks for the Donation