Hounslow Cars Ltd - faulty used car

[Scaredandalone]

Please help me ;( 

Bought a used car on Thursday night - Corsa VXR - low milage, 58 plate , paid 5k

drove it home (almost 90 miles) 

used it the next morning - there were noises.. 

 

took it to my mechanic for a compression test - dealer had agreed to give me in writing that if it failed the compression test he would give me a full refund

it passed the test (just needed a new plus - £40 which was fine) 

 

mechanic checked out noise and as I thought, it was coming from gear box. mechanic said gear box will go at any point, could literally seize up. said needs new one and only drive it if have too. checked the car over and told me that most major parts under the car have corrosion - he said to repair this car to a good standard would cost much more than he car would be worth, he suggested I return the car for a refund if I could. 

 

rang the dealer, he said he didnt think there was anything wrong with the gear box but to take it back (90 miles) he would get has man to check it out.. said the last mot advisory was corrosion under car - I didnt know this. I am a fool for not checking. 

some emails went back and forth. dealer said he will put right any thing mot fails on, I think he will get a new mot done ? I would prefer he didnt use his man.. I dont want this car, it also has some sort of bad leak.. 

 

I want my money back... 5k ! I saved every penny for this car and bought from a dealer as I thought I would be safe... 

I have my 2 year old travel with me and I wont put her in this car ever.. 

many say I should be covered under the 30 day rejection  but some say if he dont want to refund he wont 

I have an invoice stating work needed from my mechanic

can I get a refund... ? what are my chances realistically ?

 

I am under a lot of stress at the moment and dont wish to fight a battle I cannot win 

I am without a car now ;( 

 

I believe I am supposed to send a rejection letter to the dealer asap and would do that tomorrow but cannot find a template one online - help please some one ?

 

shall I email him tomorrow as well and say I want a refund and will be sending rejection letter or do I not communicate with him and just send the letter ? 

 

He says I have to return the car to him for his man to check it out ! when I was advised not to use it unless I have to as the gear box could seize !

 

dealer said to get it to him using the free 1 months AA that came with the car...

 

I dont know if I should do that 

please some one help me..... ;( 

[jimmy mumu]

Glad you managed to post it on here. Hopefully you'll get sorted now. Good luck again

[Scaredandalone]

Thank you, it was a bit hard working out how to do it but I got there. thank you for your help 

 

[dx100uk]

simply WRITE and reject the car under your consumer rights as not fit for purpose - you are witihin 30days the dealer cannot refuse.

 

please name names

 

dx

 

[Scaredandalone]

dx100uk - is there a template I should use though ? dealer will call me tomorrow, should I email him to tell him im rejecting car due to faults and that a letter is in the post to him? 

 

Im seriously considering having car mot'd tomorrow if I can - I was told it would fail. more proof for me if needed... 

 

I have to work out how I can get the car back to him as well. he said use free AA that came with car, he didnt give me anything, no paper work, didnt even have log book ! so I have no details of this free 1 month aa he said about 

[dx100uk]

collecting the car is his problem not yours. forget the mot or anything that caues you expense not your problem.

 

if you go back to the forum page where you started your thread and scroll down there are 100's of like threads 

you'll find exapmles of rejections letters in most

pers id not ever be using the phone nor mail as you have no papertrails but back up email by royal mail letter in the post 

 

and you havent named the dealer... why?

 

dx

 

[Scaredandalone]

On a fb consumer group I was told it was down to me to return the car to the dealer. Which seems really unfair. Are you definitely right that it’s down to the dealer to come snd collect it from me ?? I really hope that’s the case.
 

If I don’t get it mot’d he could just say he’s man said it’s ok and make me keep it ? I really don’t want this car and want my money back. Wouldn’t having it mot’d give me a stronger case?
 

  I didn’t think I could name the dealer. Sorry 

 

I bought it from this dealer; 

Hounslow cars ltd. 

they advertise on auto trader and appear to have outstanding reviews. Hence buying from them

[BankFodder]

You can certainly reject the car for defects which manifest themselves within the first 30 days.

You seem to be anticipating problems with this dealer that it hasn't been come clear yet that this dealer will try to shirk from their proper obligations to you as their customer.

There is a huge hurry so a delay of a few days shouldn't be a big problem and so I would suggest that you take things a bit carefully and find out exactly what is wrong with the car.

You have simply told us that there is some kind of leak and that there is a noise that you haven't really told us very much about the cause of those symptoms.

I suppose that the car has come with an MOT – is a recent MOT? If it is a new MOT then is the address of the MOT station near the dealer at all?

You have told us that you spend £5000 on the car – but how do you pay? Did you pay by bank transfer? Did you pay by cash?

Did you see the car before you bought it? Please tell us something about the transaction and how it was conducted.



 

[Scaredandalone]

The dealer is coming across in that way. 

 

The mechanic has said the noise of from the gear box and after checking it, said that it has had it and could go at any time. 

the dealer has disagreed with this. He doesn’t have the car back there yet. 
 

the mechanic not sure what the leak is but needs further investigation. 
 

mechanic said the car is so corroded underneath to all main parts that it really wouldn’t be cost effective for me to have all this work done, being that I have just bought the car for 5k to spend so much more money on it after having it one day (when he checked it Friday) so suggested I try to return the car for a refund. 
 

the car was Mot’d in February. I believe by the dealers man (that he uses. But I would need to check this out to be sure) 

 

i paid by bank transfer (had to do it in 3 separate payments for it to go through so done 2k 2k 1k ) 

 

Quote

we had traveled far to see another car that was no good. A member of family sent me this car, it was almost on my way back so went there to look at it after calling to see if it was still available. Asked to test drive. The dealer said we could but only the round the block as wasn’t insured for any further without him in it. Time was getting on. The car seemsd to run well. The dealer had good reviews. He answered our questions. Reassured us it a good car. Told him we had saved very hard for it and a 2 year old would be in it regularly so had to be safe.  We went into hes office thing and he said we could look at mot online. He said it had passed with some advisories but it was all ok and a good car. We didn’t know he didn’t even have the log book till after we paid. It was getting close to hes closing time. We didn’t get any paper work really just the book about the car with service dates (fsh) it was low mileage and he emailed you check.  That was it really. On hind site we should’ve have bought it without a longer test drive. A longer look at mot advisories. And should have had an aa check but didn’t know they existed till then. Dealer seemed nice. 
doesn’t seem quite as friendly now. 

 

we had traveled far to see another car that was no good.

A member of family sent me this car, it was almost on my way back so went there to look at it after calling to see if it was still available.

Asked to test drive. The dealer said we could but only the round the block as wasn’t insured for any further without him in it.

Time was getting on.

The car seemsd to run well. The dealer had good reviews. He answered our questions. Reassured us it a good car.

Told him we had saved very hard for it and a 2 year old would be in it regularly so had to be safe.  

We went into hes office thing and he said we could look at mot online.

He said it had passed with some advisories but it was all ok and a good car.

 

We didn’t know he didn’t even have the log book till after we paid. It was getting close to hes closing time.

 

We didn’t get any paper work really just the book about the car with service dates (fsh) it was low mileage and he emailed you check.  

 

That was it really.

 

On hind site we should’ve have bought it without a longer test drive. A longer look at mot advisories.

 

And should have had an aa check but didn’t know they existed till then.

Dealer seemed nice. 
doesn’t seem quite as friendly now. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by BankFodder
Restructured in order to make it readable

[BankFodder]

Just you don't do anything yet but standby for a full reply later.

 

I think it is important that you get a proper diagnostic as quickly as possible. This may cost you a fee.

[BankFodder]

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a defect manifest itself within the first 30 days then you have a right to reject the vehicle and ask for a refund. The extent of the defect is not completely clear but you can certainly take it that the defect has got to be enough that the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality.

"Satisfactory quality" is difficult to define but basically means that a reasonable consumer would find that the condition of the vehicle is not acceptable in all the circumstances.

Any defects which manifest themselves must be defects which were not necessarily drawn to your attention at the time of the sale. Your attention was drawn to the advisories on the MOT and so it may well be that that would not be a basis for complaining because they have been brought to your attention and yet you had decided to go ahead with the sale.

What is more interesting is the condition of the gearbox. It is making noises – but on the other hand, it hasn't failed yet so the condition of the gearbox is a bit ambiguous although I understand that your mechanic has told you that it could go at any time.

I understand also that the dealer – Hounslow Cars Ltd – are sounding a bit reluctant to step up to the mark. We will have to see what happens – but unfortunately you could be right. I'm afraid you've made some basic mistakes. You have bought a car 90 miles away, you have paid by bank transfer, he didn't really understand what you are buying, and used apparently have bought it on the basis that the dealer assured you that it was okay and that he was a nice man.
Also I understand that the MOT test was carried out by a garage which was associated in some way with the dealer – even if it was simply that the dealer was a regular customer.
We will have to see what happens when push comes to shove but I think that before doing anything you need to find out exactly what the problems are and that means that you should get the car taken for a full diagnostic test – possibly by Halfords or by the AA. I think you need to book this in very quickly to find out exactly what the situation is.

Also I think that I would book it in for another MOT at your own local garage – look for something good quality – and when we understand completely that the condition of the car then we can help you make representations to the dealer to see if the dealer is prepared to give you your money back without any trouble or whether we will have to choose a more challenging approach.

At the moment you are in a position where all you can really complain about our gearbox noises and because you haven't had any independent assessment of the condition of the car, the dealer is in a position where they could leave you around by the nose and simply cause you difficulties and stress.

Start off by getting the diagnostic and then come back here



 

[Scaredandalone]

ok thank you for your reply. 

 

this morning I have read all the replies out my son (who was with me) and he has explained that the dealer di not  make us aware of corrosion advisories on the previous mot. He said he checked this out after the garage had said about the corrosion. I know this is still our fault as should have checked. 

 

the diagnostics check via the AA - is this it? - 

Vehicle inspection - check a used car | AA

WWW.THEAA.COM

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Diagnostic Check | Halfords UK

WWW.HALFORDS.COM

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Shop the latest Trouble-shoot warning light or dashboard signals with a car diagnostic check from Halfords. Find a garage near you and book a check-up online easily. at Halfords UK

 

 

is almost £200 

I think that the Halfords one os £50 

 

have i got this right. ? 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Scaredandalone

[BankFodder]

I'm afraid I can't make any recommendations as to the best diagnostic check but you should be aware that Halfords, as far as I know, do a health check which is pretty cursory and a full diagnostic.

If you are going to do this then you need a maximum diagnostic check so that you can identify all the issues.

200 quid certainly sounds like a lot of money – but 50 quid sounds very little and may simply be a quick health check which is not really very helpful.

You really need to get the best and most detailed information possible – and also a new MOT test.
Maybe should start with a new MOT test – which might be cheaper and if that identifies any serious problems then that will be enough to go on.

How much is an MOT test?

[Scaredandalone]

the soonest I could get the MOT booked in for is Friday.. is that too far away do you think?  the cost as you asked is £45 and they said they would check the corrosion as part of the MOT anyway. 

 

[BankFodder]

Friday is fine. Tell them that you are very worried about it and you would like the inspection to be as thorough as possible.

I think you should write to the dealer – Hounslow – right now and send them a gentle message simply saying that you are worried about the car and that you are having checks carried out and you will come back to them with the results.

Does anything more than that for the moment. Then get the MOT done and let us know what happens. However you should get the diagnostic as well because the MOT won't do things like the gearbox and other issues which don't particularly count towards road safety

[Scaredandalone]

the garage that are doing the MOT on Friday have agreed to look at the car for me tomorrow to check corrosion, this is what im really concerned about. time wise is having the mot done Friday too far away ? I cant find any other diagnostic check other than the £50 Halfords one or the £200 AA one, what would you advise please? 

 

We think the mechanic who looked at the car Friday isn't confident (it seems to be how he is) so the mot is booked in with a garage that I know and trust to have the confidence to tell me truthfully what they find.  I just spoke to the unconfident one and he said just stand strong and be firm, call and say you want you money back !! its not that easy though... 

we think we remember that the car dealer said hes man (mechanic) is hes dad.. 

 

will the failing gear box show up through a MOT? 

 

When you say write to the dealer and send them a gentle message simply saying that you are worried about the car and that you are having checks carried out and you will come back to them with the results. do you mean via post/Royal Mail or via an email please ? 

 

thank you so much 

[BankFodder]

Email is fine.

Also I think you should stop obsessing about the corrosion. Obviously the corrosion is important and you should have it looked at but I think you need to be aware of the defects generally throughout the car. You need a complete diagnostic so that you understand exactly what the problem is and the value of the problem and then you will be properly informed and in a position to decide your course of action in relation to the dealer who sold to you.

The gearbox will will not be inspected as part of the MOT inspection.

The inspection will be concerned with the state of the steering, the brakes, the suspension – lighting et cetera and to an extent the corrosion.

However there are a lot more things which can go wrong with the vehicle and you want to know about everything.

You may find this all rather a nuisance but I'm afraid that you have brought this on yourself and now we are trying to help you get back into control and to deal with the mess that you may find yourself in

[Scaredandalone]

I am sorry if I have come across that way. I do not find it all a nuisance and am really great full for everyone’s help. Thank you. 
 

I will get a diagnostic but I don’t know which one to get.  
sorry 

[BankFodder]

Well give the various garages a ring and find out about their diagnostic report, what it covers, is it a proper written report – and obviously, how much it costs.

Let them know that this is a car which you have just purchased and you are worried about it and you may be dealing with an uncooperative dealer and so you need a very thorough assessment of the condition of the car and a proper written report together with any computer printouts et cetera evidence.

 

[Scaredandalone]

please could you confirm that this the diagnostic test I need to get 

 

/vehicle-inspection/sales//assets/images/favicon.png Vehicle inspections for cars, vans and motor homes | AA

WWW.THEAA.COM

 

 

I think its the one when you are thinking of buying a car, I dont want to pay £200 and its the wrong one ;( money is getting tight on this car now 

[Scaredandalone]

I just called the AA to arrange this diagnostics test, they said thats not what I need and gave me a number for an engineers report. I told the aa I was the diagnostic test and they said no, for 200 its very basic and not what I need... 

the engineer people are sending a form to me. 

 

I feel like im going round in circles with all this... 

[BankFodder]

I'm sorry but I don't really know what to recommend here. Maybe if other people will come in and contribute but I'm not really familiar with all the different types of tests but simply that you need more than a mere health check.

How much does an engineers report cost?

We are able to direct you and to make suggestions as to the kind of information you need to obtain, but I'm afraid that your puppy has to look at the Internet to see what tests are available and what you get for your money. Once you get the information then we will certainly help you decide on the best course of action to get the dealer to respect your rights under the consumer rights act.