Looking for advice. Might be a bit long one!
Discussion
Apologies in advance, not really a car guy! Just looking for advice from those of you potentially in the know.
I purchased a car online in November. I was told it was going in for a gearbox service before delivery. I was then informed it needed a new gearbox.
The car was eventually delivered on 28th November at around 1am. When I inspected the car in the day I noticed the alloys were in a bad state. I contacted the garage and they offered for me to take it somewhere local to me to have them repaired. I accepted this and started looking for somewhere.
When I drove the car it then became apparent there were other issues. One of the speakers was highly distorted to the point you couldn’t have anything due to the noise. Again, they offered to get this sorted locally to me and even offered to find somewhere for me to take it so that I didn’t have to ring around. That never materialised.
I drove the car a couple times over the next few days, on motorways or roads where not much gear shifting is required, it seemed fine. But on the third use I started to notice that there was an issue with it braking. When driving around normal streets and the car is downshifting (it’s an automatic), there is a very concerning issue with the braking of the car. At one point my daughter who was in the car asked me why I was slamming the brakes on. I wasn’t. The car was doing it itself when it was dropping down gears.
It’s that bad it actually jolts you forward as it does it. It is extremely unsafe, very dangerous to drive. I had a car beep at me from behind because of the sudden braking. My partner drove the car the same day, noticed the issue and called me later in a state of panic as it had slammed the brake on for her so sharply it launched her forward.
I informed the garage of my wish to return the car within a week of taking delivery. I did this via phone call, WhatsApp where the salesman and I had been communicating and to the company email address. He told me he was on holiday on the Friday until Tuesday but would arrange for it to be collected upon his return. He acknowledged and agreed to collect the car.
I waited for him to return to work from holiday and called shortly after. I couldn’t get in touch with him. I was advised that his child was in hospital. Because of this, I left it a few days as I obviously didn’t want to pester him.
When I eventually spoke to him he said he was going on holiday again that week but said that he had arranged for someone to collect it on Wednesday 20th December. At this point the car had been sitting unused for almost 2 weeks.
I contacted him at on the 20th to confirm all was still going ahead.
He replied within a minute saying all ok and the driver was leaving at 18:30. I replied asking if the refund would be processed the next day once the car was back as he’d originally said and he confirmed this was the case.
He told me to send my bank details to him or write them down and give them to the driver.
Then at 21:56 he messaged to say that the driver had had to return back home “for some reason”. He said he would sort out a recovery truck to collect the car in the AM.
At this point I became very suspicious. I looked a bit more into the company and found similar issues and complaints online.
I sent a few messages with my concerns with no response. I then called him that evening as now I was really panicking about my money.
Eventually he told me he would have someone collect it on Friday 22nd as he was going on holiday again. I was wary as he’d already failed to arrange it in the weeks prior.
I messaged on the day with no response. Concerned about the time I had to “reject” the car I spoke to Trading Standards who drafted a letter for me to send to him.
I did and he replied saying that someone would be in touch via email. That was the 22nd December and I have heard nothing at all.
I am in the predicament now where I have a car sat outside which is unsafe to drive and due to be collected. I have no car of my own and I am unable to purchase one as I spent anything I had on that one.
I have sent other messages without reply. As a family we’ve had quite a lot going on so my father offered to call for me. He promised him it would be collected but again, nothing.
The car was delivered by someone who the salesman advised did not work for him. There were no trade plates on the car and the car was untaxed at the time of delivery. There were also multiple cans of redbull in the car and two strips of “ProPlus”, one of which was found by my daughter in the back of the car! The delivery driver also told me when he got out of the car that it “goes like f**k” (excuse the language), which I guess is a nice way of saying he drove it really fast up the motorway. Not something you wish to hear about a car you’ve purchased for family use and spent almost £14,000 on.
I have been very patient with the salesman and the garage. I waited whilst he went on holiday and then again when his child was unfortunately Ill. In the time since I have had to navigate Christmas and my own families’ illnesses - one which unfortunately lead to a bereavement - all without a car or the means to purchase another one.
In the time he was ignoring me he was active on social media with promoting other cars for sale and were running competitions over the festive period all whilst leaving me with an unsafe car and no money to replace it.
I’ve tried the chargeback route as I paid a deposit on credit card but have been advised this could take weeks.
Upon the advice of my credit card company I did enlist the services of an independent mechanic through “ClickMechanic” who reported that the below:
"Carried out a diagnostic check, faults present in car. Road tested the vehicle, in my professional opinion the car is dangerous to be driven due to the extreme gear shift problem. The downshift in gears in like doing an emergency stop."
He also plugged it into a computer and it displayed a number of faults.
Im unsure if there’s anything else I can actually do but was hoping someone with similar experiences could share? Trading standards have drafted me a follow up letter advising of further action but with everything going on, I want to sort it asap. If the car was safe to drive, I would’ve driven it down myself.
If you’ve read this far, thank you very much.
I purchased a car online in November. I was told it was going in for a gearbox service before delivery. I was then informed it needed a new gearbox.
The car was eventually delivered on 28th November at around 1am. When I inspected the car in the day I noticed the alloys were in a bad state. I contacted the garage and they offered for me to take it somewhere local to me to have them repaired. I accepted this and started looking for somewhere.
When I drove the car it then became apparent there were other issues. One of the speakers was highly distorted to the point you couldn’t have anything due to the noise. Again, they offered to get this sorted locally to me and even offered to find somewhere for me to take it so that I didn’t have to ring around. That never materialised.
I drove the car a couple times over the next few days, on motorways or roads where not much gear shifting is required, it seemed fine. But on the third use I started to notice that there was an issue with it braking. When driving around normal streets and the car is downshifting (it’s an automatic), there is a very concerning issue with the braking of the car. At one point my daughter who was in the car asked me why I was slamming the brakes on. I wasn’t. The car was doing it itself when it was dropping down gears.
It’s that bad it actually jolts you forward as it does it. It is extremely unsafe, very dangerous to drive. I had a car beep at me from behind because of the sudden braking. My partner drove the car the same day, noticed the issue and called me later in a state of panic as it had slammed the brake on for her so sharply it launched her forward.
I informed the garage of my wish to return the car within a week of taking delivery. I did this via phone call, WhatsApp where the salesman and I had been communicating and to the company email address. He told me he was on holiday on the Friday until Tuesday but would arrange for it to be collected upon his return. He acknowledged and agreed to collect the car.
I waited for him to return to work from holiday and called shortly after. I couldn’t get in touch with him. I was advised that his child was in hospital. Because of this, I left it a few days as I obviously didn’t want to pester him.
When I eventually spoke to him he said he was going on holiday again that week but said that he had arranged for someone to collect it on Wednesday 20th December. At this point the car had been sitting unused for almost 2 weeks.
I contacted him at on the 20th to confirm all was still going ahead.
He replied within a minute saying all ok and the driver was leaving at 18:30. I replied asking if the refund would be processed the next day once the car was back as he’d originally said and he confirmed this was the case.
He told me to send my bank details to him or write them down and give them to the driver.
Then at 21:56 he messaged to say that the driver had had to return back home “for some reason”. He said he would sort out a recovery truck to collect the car in the AM.
At this point I became very suspicious. I looked a bit more into the company and found similar issues and complaints online.
I sent a few messages with my concerns with no response. I then called him that evening as now I was really panicking about my money.
Eventually he told me he would have someone collect it on Friday 22nd as he was going on holiday again. I was wary as he’d already failed to arrange it in the weeks prior.
I messaged on the day with no response. Concerned about the time I had to “reject” the car I spoke to Trading Standards who drafted a letter for me to send to him.
I did and he replied saying that someone would be in touch via email. That was the 22nd December and I have heard nothing at all.
I am in the predicament now where I have a car sat outside which is unsafe to drive and due to be collected. I have no car of my own and I am unable to purchase one as I spent anything I had on that one.
I have sent other messages without reply. As a family we’ve had quite a lot going on so my father offered to call for me. He promised him it would be collected but again, nothing.
The car was delivered by someone who the salesman advised did not work for him. There were no trade plates on the car and the car was untaxed at the time of delivery. There were also multiple cans of redbull in the car and two strips of “ProPlus”, one of which was found by my daughter in the back of the car! The delivery driver also told me when he got out of the car that it “goes like f**k” (excuse the language), which I guess is a nice way of saying he drove it really fast up the motorway. Not something you wish to hear about a car you’ve purchased for family use and spent almost £14,000 on.
I have been very patient with the salesman and the garage. I waited whilst he went on holiday and then again when his child was unfortunately Ill. In the time since I have had to navigate Christmas and my own families’ illnesses - one which unfortunately lead to a bereavement - all without a car or the means to purchase another one.
In the time he was ignoring me he was active on social media with promoting other cars for sale and were running competitions over the festive period all whilst leaving me with an unsafe car and no money to replace it.
I’ve tried the chargeback route as I paid a deposit on credit card but have been advised this could take weeks.
Upon the advice of my credit card company I did enlist the services of an independent mechanic through “ClickMechanic” who reported that the below:
"Carried out a diagnostic check, faults present in car. Road tested the vehicle, in my professional opinion the car is dangerous to be driven due to the extreme gear shift problem. The downshift in gears in like doing an emergency stop."
He also plugged it into a computer and it displayed a number of faults.
Im unsure if there’s anything else I can actually do but was hoping someone with similar experiences could share? Trading standards have drafted me a follow up letter advising of further action but with everything going on, I want to sort it asap. If the car was safe to drive, I would’ve driven it down myself.
If you’ve read this far, thank you very much.
YGR29 said:
Thank you.
I honestly hadn’t thought of enlisting my insurance company for help. Didn’t think they would get involved if it wasn’t an accident or something of that ilk to be completely honest.
Legal assistance is usually an option on car insurance, see if you ticked the box. You may also have it on your home insurance (not sure what the cover limitations are though as I have never used it)I honestly hadn’t thought of enlisting my insurance company for help. Didn’t think they would get involved if it wasn’t an accident or something of that ilk to be completely honest.
Sorry to hear of your problems with the car.
What age of car and make and mileage has it , and also how long warranty?
What garage , and is it a big group or single dealer ?
Send them a letter (recorded delivery and e mail stating the problems you have and advise you want either a courtesy car and your money back within 1 week seeing you have had no car.
or you will be taking legal advice .
Get your finance provider on the case as they own the car.
You also have some protection with the sale of goods distance regulations.
If you stay near the garage then go in and ask for the big boss and complain directly.
Good luck.
What age of car and make and mileage has it , and also how long warranty?
What garage , and is it a big group or single dealer ?
Send them a letter (recorded delivery and e mail stating the problems you have and advise you want either a courtesy car and your money back within 1 week seeing you have had no car.
or you will be taking legal advice .
Get your finance provider on the case as they own the car.
You also have some protection with the sale of goods distance regulations.
If you stay near the garage then go in and ask for the big boss and complain directly.
Good luck.
Edited by The big yin on Monday 8th January 18:47
The big yin said:
Sorry to hear of your problems with the car.
What age of car and make and mileage has it , and also how long warranty?
What garage , and is it a big group or single dealer ?
Send them a letter (recorded delivery and e mail stating the problems you have and advise you want either a courtesy car and your money back within 1 week seeing you have had no car.
or you will be taking legal advice .
Get your finance provider on the case as they own the car.
You also have some protection with the sale of goods distance regulations.
If you stay near the garage then go in and ask for the big boss and complain directly.
Good luck.
Thanks for replying.What age of car and make and mileage has it , and also how long warranty?
What garage , and is it a big group or single dealer ?
Send them a letter (recorded delivery and e mail stating the problems you have and advise you want either a courtesy car and your money back within 1 week seeing you have had no car.
or you will be taking legal advice .
Get your finance provider on the case as they own the car.
You also have some protection with the sale of goods distance regulations.
If you stay near the garage then go in and ask for the big boss and complain directly.
Good luck.
Edited by The big yin on Monday 8th January 18:47
It was a garage 7 hours away. It’s a single dealer.
It wasn’t financed. I was in an accident in September and used the money from my insurance to pay for this car.
If it was closer and the car was safe to drive, I would’ve taken it back.
I have a second letter from trading standards ready to send. I spoke to someone in the office today who apparently sent me an email on 22nd (he didn’t). It’s the “big boss” I’d been dealing with in messages and on the phone. Honestly starting to think they’re really dodgy after looking more into them.
YGR29 said:
Apologies in advance, not really a car guy! Just looking for advice from those of you potentially in the know.
I purchased a car online in November. I was told it was going in for a gearbox service before delivery. I was then informed it needed a new gearbox.
The car was eventually delivered on 28th November at around 1am.
Who delivers a car at 1 in the morning?I purchased a car online in November. I was told it was going in for a gearbox service before delivery. I was then informed it needed a new gearbox.
The car was eventually delivered on 28th November at around 1am.
TooLateForAName said:
You paid deposit with a credit card? How did you pay the rest?
Look up section 75 of the consumer credit act - you may be in the position that your bank is equally liable for it.
Paid the rest via my bank card. I’ve been in touch with my bank, they’re currently looking into it.Look up section 75 of the consumer credit act - you may be in the position that your bank is equally liable for it.
I posted on here a few weeks ago, link below if you wish to read it:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Long and short of it. Purchased a faulty car from dealer down south. Rejected it just over a week later. They arranged for collection which never materialised. They apparently then were arranging for a logistics company to collect, nothing happened.
I was in the process of raising a chargeback and the dealer still has 6 weeks to respond. Dealer was refusing to talk to me directly, only through mediation (The AA were the middle man).
All of a sudden I get a call today from the dealer stating that they will collect the car in the AM tomorrow and that the funds are with WorldPay? No updates as far as my bank are concerned on the chargeback.
I have no way of verifying this as I don’t have a merchant account with WorldPay and based on my interactions with this dealership, I’m obviously wary of just handing the car over.
I’ve emailed the dealer to ask for confirmation of the refund in some way.
Anyone else had similar or able to offer any advice?
Thanks in advance.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Long and short of it. Purchased a faulty car from dealer down south. Rejected it just over a week later. They arranged for collection which never materialised. They apparently then were arranging for a logistics company to collect, nothing happened.
I was in the process of raising a chargeback and the dealer still has 6 weeks to respond. Dealer was refusing to talk to me directly, only through mediation (The AA were the middle man).
All of a sudden I get a call today from the dealer stating that they will collect the car in the AM tomorrow and that the funds are with WorldPay? No updates as far as my bank are concerned on the chargeback.
I have no way of verifying this as I don’t have a merchant account with WorldPay and based on my interactions with this dealership, I’m obviously wary of just handing the car over.
I’ve emailed the dealer to ask for confirmation of the refund in some way.
Anyone else had similar or able to offer any advice?
Thanks in advance.
Don't let that car leave your possession without the funds in your bank account.
If this is a straight up rejection, surely your monies should be refunded via the same method of payment. If they used WorldPay as an intermediary, it may take some time for your money to be returned, but I still wouldn't let the vehicle go anywhere until it hits your bank account.
If this is a straight up rejection, surely your monies should be refunded via the same method of payment. If they used WorldPay as an intermediary, it may take some time for your money to be returned, but I still wouldn't let the vehicle go anywhere until it hits your bank account.
Edited by Sslink on Tuesday 30th January 15:28
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