Bought a car from a dodgy dealer!
Discussion
Hi there I was looking for some help with a car that I bought a little over a month ago.
When I bought the car it had a full years mot but had missed a service which we lowered the price of the car for to get it done. However since I’ve bought the car I’ve had nothing but issues with it now my local garage have deemed the car not safe to drive and that it shouldn’t be on the road. I’ve rang the dealer I bought it off and he’s telling me he can’t afford to give me a refund and trying to get me to purchase a more expensive car. Does anyone have any advice on what I could do as it’s a bit of a hard situation
When I bought the car it had a full years mot but had missed a service which we lowered the price of the car for to get it done. However since I’ve bought the car I’ve had nothing but issues with it now my local garage have deemed the car not safe to drive and that it shouldn’t be on the road. I’ve rang the dealer I bought it off and he’s telling me he can’t afford to give me a refund and trying to get me to purchase a more expensive car. Does anyone have any advice on what I could do as it’s a bit of a hard situation
So it’s a 2015 bmw 335d
Have advised the battery was soo small for the car also by putting a resistor on the battery to make the car think the battery was fine( mot failure)
they had change 1 brake disk rather then the pair also an mot failure.
A week prior to me buying the car they cleared all the fault codes including
The chassis has been bent to one side
Wrong oil was put in the car
There’s a safe system warning on the dash saying all air bags and seatbelts aren’t working.
Have advised the battery was soo small for the car also by putting a resistor on the battery to make the car think the battery was fine( mot failure)
they had change 1 brake disk rather then the pair also an mot failure.
A week prior to me buying the car they cleared all the fault codes including
The chassis has been bent to one side
Wrong oil was put in the car
There’s a safe system warning on the dash saying all air bags and seatbelts aren’t working.
Brad_such said:
Paid 13k for the car via bank transfer
Do you have a receipt? Is this dealer a registered business with premises, etc?
If so, you need to formally reject the car. This will mean rejecting it in writing, taking the car back to where you got it from and leaving it there.
If the dealer will not/can not refund your money, you will then need to pursue it through the courts.
If the dealer says he cannot 'afford' to refund you, it's a red flag. You want this to end with either you having the car or your money back - having neither is worse-case scenario
If this process is new to you, suggest speaking to a Solicitor and/or the CAB.
As you purchased from a dealer, you have rights.
There are knowledgeable people here but I’d be looking at the Honest John website - they’re pretty good at this stuff.
Also, Citizens Advice will definitely be able to point you in the right direction.
Failing all of that, small claims court.
There are knowledgeable people here but I’d be looking at the Honest John website - they’re pretty good at this stuff.
Also, Citizens Advice will definitely be able to point you in the right direction.
Failing all of that, small claims court.
How long after purchase did you discover the first fault, and did you contact the dealer about it?
Unfortunately as it's been over 30 days since purchase, the dealer must be given opportunity to repair or replace the vehicle before you can reject it. If it was under 30 days then you could have rejected straight away.
What I would do in the meantime:
1. Take a log of the vehicle using a diagnostic tool (VAG cars store something 'distance driven since codes cleared', your car may have similar)
2. Take the car to another garage to verify the same faults in writing, preferably take pictures too.
If dealer doesn't play ball and you have to take legal action, make sure you thoroughly check the directors and company accounts on companies house beforehand. It'll be a lot harder for a dealer who's been in business for years, has a decent perceived reputation, and is partnered with car finance companies/has a unit stocking plan to get out of paying, vs a back street shoddy dealer who can close down and reopen on a whim for a lot less than £13k!
Unfortunately as it's been over 30 days since purchase, the dealer must be given opportunity to repair or replace the vehicle before you can reject it. If it was under 30 days then you could have rejected straight away.
What I would do in the meantime:
1. Take a log of the vehicle using a diagnostic tool (VAG cars store something 'distance driven since codes cleared', your car may have similar)
2. Take the car to another garage to verify the same faults in writing, preferably take pictures too.
If dealer doesn't play ball and you have to take legal action, make sure you thoroughly check the directors and company accounts on companies house beforehand. It'll be a lot harder for a dealer who's been in business for years, has a decent perceived reputation, and is partnered with car finance companies/has a unit stocking plan to get out of paying, vs a back street shoddy dealer who can close down and reopen on a whim for a lot less than £13k!
Brad_such said:
So it’s a 2015 bmw 335d
Have advised the battery was soo small for the car also by putting a resistor on the battery to make the car think the battery was fine( mot failure)
they had change 1 brake disk rather then the pair also an mot failure.
A week prior to me buying the car they cleared all the fault codes including
The chassis has been bent to one side
Wrong oil was put in the car
There’s a safe system warning on the dash saying all air bags and seatbelts aren’t working.
Battery has nothing to do with the MOTHave advised the battery was soo small for the car also by putting a resistor on the battery to make the car think the battery was fine( mot failure)
they had change 1 brake disk rather then the pair also an mot failure.
A week prior to me buying the car they cleared all the fault codes including
The chassis has been bent to one side
Wrong oil was put in the car
There’s a safe system warning on the dash saying all air bags and seatbelts aren’t working.
Brake disc again fitting one isn't an MOT failure
How do you know what oil has been put in it ? providing it meets LL04 it should be ok
Warning for airbags is an mot failure
13k for a 2015 335d is cheap
Have you HPi'd it ?
What kind of fault code does “chassis bent to one side” cause?
Whilst there are clearly myriad issues with this car, there appears to be an agenda and direction predetermined by the OP.
Everything on the list of faults is easily rectified with the exception of a potential bent chassis, but I’m still intrigued on how the bent chassis was determined, as it sure as hell wasn’t a fault code.
Whilst there are clearly myriad issues with this car, there appears to be an agenda and direction predetermined by the OP.
Everything on the list of faults is easily rectified with the exception of a potential bent chassis, but I’m still intrigued on how the bent chassis was determined, as it sure as hell wasn’t a fault code.
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