Faulty car advice

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Soldato
Joined
28 Feb 2006
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No longer riding an Italian
Hi folks,

I'm after a bit of advice, maybe someone has been in the same situation, and can help...?

I purchased a second hand car on the 1st of August this year, it was a part ex with the remainder (about 40%) on finance, the garages website mentions free warranty and most cars listed show with at least three months. Though checking my paperwork, I have nothing relating to warranty - only the finance agreement and a sign off chit.

The head gasket looks like it's about to fail - mayo under the cap, constant topping up of coolant, and today warnings about oil pressure - it's a mk5 Golf 1.4 TSI.

Where do I stand with this? I'm calling the garage in the morning, but I'd like to know if/what rights I may have, do would really appreciate any help.

Many thanks
 
SoGA is 6 months.

If a fault is found within 6 months then it is assumed to have been present or in progress at the time of sale and it would be the garages job to prove that it wasn't there (very hard to do).

After 6 months it is still possible to claim, only the onus moves on to you to prove it was there or in progress at time of sale.

Just to make things a little easier if they claim 3 month warranty, get in touch with them first thing tomorrow and follow it up by email/registered letter.
 
Thanks for the advice chaps :)

Took the car back to the garage on Saturday, they now have it, but I've not yet heard from them - I chased at lunch time today and was told its 'waiting to be assessed'...

They were very dismissive when I called it in on Saturday - re. the gunk under the oil cap, the bloke told me that it was just condensation, due to modern engines breathing internally... hmmm. He also seemed unphased that I had to top the coolant up often daily! It was only when I mentioned the warnings, the he seemed to change tact, and asked me to bring it in.

One thing they did tell me, is that I'd have to pay for parts - is that correct, or are they blowing smoke up my ****?

Many thanks.
 
You won't have to pay for parts if you are going down the SoGA route, he is talking crap. That would defeat the purpose of the act.
 
Shouldn't have to pay for anything.

When i bought my Megane from Renault (2nd hand 8 year old at time), the EGR valve blew after 2-3 months. Called them as they gave the 6 month warranty only to be told it was not covered in warranty BUT that they would fix the problem free of charge and warranty it for 12 months.

Read up on consumer rights and as others have said, if it's under 6 months they should pay for everything. Not sure if you are even allowed for a courtesy car, Renault offered anyway.
 
That's what I thought tbh, I've told them to speak to me first before they carry out work - so I'll raise it then. At this stage, I guess they're processing it as their touted 'three month warranty'; I guess if I stick to that route they can/will try to charge me?
 
Thanks for the advice, I'll have to do more reading methinks - should have asked for a car; as a motorcycle commute in today's fog wasn't all that fun :d
 
Scort said:
They were very dismissive when I called it in on Saturday - re. the gunk under the oil cap, the bloke told me that it was just condensation, due to modern engines breathing internally... hmmm.
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He has a point. Mayo under the cap doesn't mean the head gasket is leaking, but combined with the loss of coolant it doesn't sound too healthy.
 
Be interested to hear how this pans out. My brothers 2009 golf 1.4 tsi has exactly the same symptoms but he's not got it looked at yet..
 
leoncuprar said:
Be interested to hear how this pans out. My brothers 2009 golf 1.4 tsi has exactly the same symptoms but he's not got it looked at yet..
Click to expand...

Well, I heard back from the dealer...

They found that the HG was ok (phew!), but did find a coolant leak and have fixed that, they also changed the "oil lamp" (as he put it) to try and remedy the oil pressure warning coming up - but the mechanic wasn't happy that this would be a definitive fix; so carried out further investigation.

Apparently one of the traits of the 1.4 twin charger engine, is that the sump can get 'gunked' up - so this is what the mechanic focused on and has cleaned the sump up - whilst the engine is stripped they also suggested some preventative maintenance - to replace the oil pump.

In addition to the above, there was a mis-fire; I had noticed *something* but had though the DSG gearbox was shafted by the oil issues, or the clutch was going (I'm not mechanically minded mind!). It often felt like an automatic gear change would clunk into place and there was a shove feeling - like a split second lapse in power.

Final bill for all the above is 600-700 quid, but I am only contributing to the preventative stuff and fixing the misfire - so that £250 to me.

I'm happy enough, I know I could probably argue a low fee, or nothing at all, but they'd simply bolt it all back together and I'd still have the misfire and who knows; maybe that pump will fail some day maybe not... I had prepared myself for a decent sized bill before going down the garage route, so I can take this fee on the chin.

Here's to getting back on 4 wheels for the commute, after having some stupid bint almost wipe me off of the bike last night :mad:
 
At least you got it back, just make sure you get th receipts for the work and any warranty sos with it as should be some with a oil pump change etc
 
What you paid the £250 for work they said "was needed", why are you paying to fix a misfire?

I'd have been very wary about paying them anythign TBH, you bought a car, it has problems, it's upto them to fix.
 
The missfire should have been covered under their warranty.
The OIL pump.. Ok wont have been as it still worked but was changed "just in case" (and why not when your in there eh?).
 
The misfire, at least to the dealer, is wear and tear and not covered under warranty - I could probably argue it under SoG, but I'm happy enough with the outcome - and providing it comes with all the paperwork etc, I'm happy with this part payment.
 
Kamerad said:
The twin charged version of these engines seem pretty unreliable.
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I'm hearing that more often - I guess it's where the little 1.4 is so highly strung. It's also in a high tax bracket for emissions, 200-and-something-odd quid.
 
How is a misfire "wear and tear"? :confused:

By that logic, everything is wear and tear.

Anyway, they should have fixed that for free. Do you have any proof that they changed the oil pump?

It sounds like you've been stitched up like a kipper because they didn't want to honour the warranty/SoGA and be out of pocket.
 
Ummmm...a misfire isn't wear and tear, lol... especially as it occurred within 3 months of purchase, then the fault is legally deemed to have been present or in progress at the time of sale and as such, they are liable to fix it.

You usually need to pressure garages, it's a pain in the arse - but put the pressure on and they'll sort it properly.

It's a tactic a lot of garages/dealers seem to use as most people just back down or don't know their rights... like you, seemingly.

The cost of the oil pump... fair enough. The labour to change that while they have the sump off will have been all of 10 minutes.

FYI - the cost of the oil pump and replacement gasket is just under #90 quid including VAT... round it up a bit after 15-30 minutes labour to #125 and that's the maximum I would be paying.
 
Fair comments, I have looked into the SoG to a degree, but it seems quite ambiguous to me - with the repair side of things, it doesn't explicitly state that the garage will/must pay for it all. I freely admit I'm probably being a div, and over reading/thinking it.

I'll be picking the car up on Saturday, so far it's only been a phone conversation with the dealer, and a verbal agreement of work and costs - I did ask them to email me exactly what would be done and what it will cost; they never did that - so I guess I can use that to have a revised discussion on Saturday when picking it up.

Frankly, paying £125 is a lot better for me.

Once again, many thanks for all the input guys.
 
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