Cheadle Car Sales/Oodle Finance - a used BMW 3 series clutch gone! **Settled by finance company**

[jimlfc6]

 

Hi,

 

I need some help if possible please?

 

On October 2nd 2021 I bought a used BMW 3 series from Cheadle Car Sales of Cheadle Hulme Manchester for £11500, I paid a £2250 deposit made my bank transfer, and the rest was financed from Oodle Finance.

 

Before I continue, I have to admit to being too trusting and a little naive at times, anyway here goes:

 

I inspected the vehicle prior to buying and noticed an engine light on, I questioned what this was but was told it was a sensor that would be fixed and it wasn’t a big issue, however I was not allowed to test drive the car as it was juddering due to the sensor issue. I stupidly took their word for it, and decided to go ahead with the sale.

 

When I collected the car on the 2nd October, I noticed the engine light was out and the dealership told me it had cost £500 to fix the issue and it was ready to drive home. I drove the car back to Blackpool (around 60 miles away) without an issue.

 

After having the car roughly a week, I felt the car majorly juddering and it came to a point where I couldn’t drive it, the engine light came back on and I had to have it towed home by the AA as the engine was misfiring.

 

I spoke to the dealership who were now incredibly rude now that they had my money, they said I had to return the car to them in Manchester if I wanted it fixed, I must say I wasn’t overly happy about this as I thought they would do a bodged job, I also reported the issue to the finance company.

 

Reluctantly I had to have the car towed all the way back to Manchester at my own cost, for them to attempt a repair, they had the car about a week ( whilst I had no courtesy car) and I got a phone call saying the car was ready to collect as the issue was with the spark plugs and they had been replaced.

 

I collected the car and got nearly half way home and the engine light came back on, once again the car had to be towed home at my own cost.

 

I reported the issue was not fixed to the dealership and finance company who insisted I needed to have the car towed back to Manchester again at my own cost, I therefore reluctantly agreed again.

 

They had the car around a week again (once again I was without a courtesy car and spending a fortune to and from work in taxis) and I was told the problem was something to do with the ECU wiring, and it had been fixed. I collected the car and noticed the issue had been fixed however I was still noticing juddering in the lower gears but there was no engine light on. 

 

I left it for a few weeks to see if the problem went away (not knowing if the car drives like that as it was a new car to me) or if there was still an issue.

 

On the 21st of December the car became ridiculously juddery in 1st and 2nd gear, I realised that also gear changes were getting very tight so I had the car independently inspected by a local dealership who had said the clutch was at the end of its life. 

 

I reported the further issues to the finance company who got an inspection done by Scotia, the report said the clutch was at the end of its life, but would have been okay at the point of sale and is down to wear and tear of a car that has done nearly 60k miles and a 16 plate car. The dealership have refused to do anymore repairs on the car saying its out of warranty.

 

I don’t know what to do next really, to my mind I wouldn’t even have had the car three months when I reported the clutch issue, also got with all the other problems its had,

 

I am getting another independent inspection done on Wednesday by a BMW specialist that is local to me, and was going to use this as evidence that there is no way I’ve ruined a clutch when I’ve only driven 1.5k miles in it and actually only had the car around 6 weeks when you take into account the time its had back at the dealership due to the previous repairs.

 

Do I have a chance if this goes to the ombudsman, and what should I be doing next?

 

Sorry for the long post, but I’m really worked up about this due to the amount of money that I’ve spent, it feels like I’ve been conned out of money.

 

Thanks for any help.

Edited January 10, 2022 by dx100uk
added A few blank lines only..dx

[RedLenin]

1. Gather as much eveidence as possible be it receipts, photos, follow-up all conversations with an email, and insist on similar responses, keep snapshot of call logs, phone calls cannot be vouched for but as proof of attempted contact.
2. Read all the paperwork they supplied you with the sales pack.
3. Seeing that this is January 2022, there is usually a 14day cooling-off period to return the vehicle, but in your case thats not possible, even the 30 day option is no longer valid.
4. Speak to your bank or the financing company and seek their assistance
5. Speak to Citizens Advice, who will escalate the issue to Trading Standards
6. Check if they are affiliated to proffessional ethics bodies, ege Motor traders association, Motors ombudsman, call them and they will confirm membership.

I am sorry for you as I am also going through a similar issue from a late December 2021 purchase.

[BankFodder]

19 minutes ago, RedLenin said:

1. Gather as much eveidence as possible be it receipts, photos, follow-up all conversations with an email, and insist on similar responses, keep snapshot of call logs, phone calls cannot be vouched for but as proof of attempted contact.
2. Read all the paperwork they supplied you with the sales pack.
3. Seeing that this is January 2022, there is usually a 14day cooling-off period to return the vehicle, but in your case thats not possible, even the 30 day option is no longer valid.
4. Speak to your bank or the financing company and seek their assistance
5. Speak to Citizens Advice, who will escalate the issue to Trading Standards
6. Check if they are affiliated to proffessional ethics bodies, ege Motor traders association, Motors ombudsman, call them and they will confirm membership.

I am sorry for you as I am also going through a similar issue from a late December 2021 purchase.

 

I've put a line through all the advice here that unfortunately will prove not to be a lot of use.

@RedLenin you are going through similar issues then it would be a good idea if you posted up on a new thread and gives the name of the dealer you are dealing with. Also, if you purchased your vehicle in late December then you are probably still within the 30 day period for asserting your right to reject and you should tell us about that as well. It may be that you don't have much more time to taking appropriate action.

I'm sorry but expecting citizens advice to help and expecting trading standards to want to get involved – simply doesn't happen.

The only thing you can do is start taking your own direct action.

Fortunately the bulk of this was financed through some kind of loan agreement and that means that you will be able to do something even if the dealer eventually doesn't want to get involved or if they decide to disappear.

If you have any doubt, read what happens if you buy a used car and pay by cash or pay by bank transfer.

[BankFodder]

@jimlfc6 there is no effective ombudsman service at all which regulates or arbitrates the motor trade.

The first useful thing you can do is to understand that by and large you are on your own.

Luckily you purchased this car through a finance agreement and so there will be some protection there but on the other hand don't expect your finance company to be enthusiastic or helpful. You will have to push it and force them to take action but we will help you to go forward.

You say that you used a finance company but was this by means of a loan or was it hire purchase?

The first thing you should do is right either to the dealer or if it was hire purchase write to the hire purchase company and put on notice that you are asserting your six-month right to reject the vehicle because of its defects.
Inform them that under the consumer rights act, they have a single opportunity to carry out a repair or if they decline or if the repair fails then you will be rejecting the car and expecting a full refund.

Tell them that you want this done in a reasonable period of time. Tell them that the repair must include arrangements to collect the car for the purposes of the repair.

Tell them if they cause any trouble with either the collection or the repair that you will then proceed to enforce your rights in the County Court.

You're absolutely correct to get in independent assessment of the problem and also reporting on the steps needed to address the problems and quotations for doing the work.

While you are having the inspection done make sure that the entire car is inspected for all of its defects so that you get a full picture of the quality of the vehicle that you have bought.

How far away is the dealer from where you live?

[jimlfc6]

Many thanks for your reply, I have sent Oodle a lengthy email outlining what you have wrote so I appreciate your help.

 

The agreement is a hire purchase, and the dealer is around 60 miles away.

 

Good point too in insisting the car has a full inspection, not just the clutch, as the previous repairs may have been bodged.

Edited January 10, 2022 by dx100uk
unnecessary previous post quote removed

[BankFodder]

Has it come with a recent MOT? If so, who did the MOT? Is the MOT garage somewhere close to the dealers who sold you the car?

I would put in for another MOT

 

You should copy them both in. If you send a message to the finance company then copy the dealer and if you send a message to the dealer then copy in the finance company.

[jimlfc6]

The MOT was fine in June 2021 the Scotia report is saying it wouldn’t pass its MOT with a clutch problem, yet it had an engine light on when I inspected it, had ECU problems and now a clutch problem, sounds abit iffy so a new MOT might be a good idea too. 

[BankFodder]

I'm going to say that I find it puzzling that you accepted a vehicle with a warning light on the basis that you were told it was simply a sensor.

In other words you accepted a story that the warning light had nothing to do with actually doing what it was meant to do – flagging up a fault. They seem to have said that it was simply a faulty warning light.

Wasn't there a major air disaster recently because the pilots didn't believe the warning lights?

Anyway you should get every piece of inspection that you possibly can so that you have a full view of the condition of the vehicle and the cost of fixing it

[jimlfc6]

Nativity and too trusting, been like that all my life, at times it has it pluses, but it also means you are open to getting ripped off as was the case here. 
 

I honestly believed every word they said, needless to say my wife has called me an idiot since! 

[ashmk]

Car salesmen should always be close to the bottom of your 'People to trust' list.

[jimlfc6]

Thanks for all your help everybody the finance company are paying 100% of the clutch replacement plus labour aswell as the £39 for the inspection from the BMW specialist. It comes to £1300 in total which I’m really happy about. 
 

The finance company rejected my complaint but as a gesture of good will paid out in full. 

[dx100uk]

Yea yea. Pretending that they dont have to do anything...they DO!!! Its their car.  and are duty bound by the CCA and CRA laws!!

 

Ruddy fleecers the lot of 'em.

[BankFodder]

Well done. Please keep us updated in case there are any problems.

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