Reject the car or fix it?

iaind

iaind

iaind

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Joined
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So some of you might have noticed my posts in the "what have you done to your car today" thread. I'm torn about a problem so wouldn't mind polling for opinions on what to do about it.

From the beginning - I bought a car, a 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero from a dealer in London. It was a moderate size private dealer, with a proper lot of 30+ cars. Important to note the dealer is about 4 hours away from me. The dealer seemed honest and upfront, so I got the train to see it. The car was as described and drove fine so I bought it and drove it home.

After getting it home and reading the manual, I realised that some of the warning lights weren't coming on. I had the codes read this morning which confirmed an issue with the abs pump/valves/control module. This could cost £100 to remanufacture the control unit or into 4 figures of its the pump/valves. I took apart the instrument cluster and found the warning LEDs taped over, removing the tape shows the Christmas tree of warning lights I was expecting. I have photographic evidence of everything

Now, I've got no proof that this dealer did this, it wasn't the most obvious thing to pick up on but ultimately the car is unsafe (it has no ABS or ESP functionality!) so even if they didn't do it, they are still responsible for it. They also MOTd it but I don't believe that it would have been part of the test of the lights weren't visible.

I think I have three ways forward with this

1 - talk to the dealer, get them to agree to covering the cost of repairs, either through DIY parts (cheap for them!) or by a full diagnostic and repair at a Saab specialist

2 - reject the car, which I understand is my right under SOGA. I haven't spent a penny other than new wiper blades on it so I'd only be down on travel costs

3 - if he won't play ball, get it repaired then small claims court.

Part of me just thinks option 2 would be simplest but these cars are getting rare and there's nothing to say that another won't have the same or more issues! The car is far from perfect but mechanically it's in really good order and everything apart from the ABS/ESP works. No suspension noises, no interior rattles, engine is smooth and no blue smoke. It was only a few grand so can't expect too much, I'd be completely happy with it (albeit needing a few smaller jobs to make it perfect) if it wasn't for the ABS issue.

Which route would you take? Note, NOT ending up with a 9-5 aero at the end of it isn't an option.
 
paradigm said:
Option 2.
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You'd not be worried about the "out of the frying pan and into the fire" potential?

Dis86 said:
I'd be reporting him to trading standards and potentially the police.
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Bit soon for the nuclear option, whichever route I take is going to be calm and courteous with him until he gives me a reason not to be. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity :)
 
Meh. I always prefer the full nuclear approach. Gets people moving more quickly. Also means they don't have time to cover their tracks.
 
Reject it, you'll find out from their attitude just how complicit or otherwise they are in it.

They may well want a chance to fix it first/have it repaired first themselves though - which should be accepted
 
The thing is, if it wasn't his own malice and was a genuine mistake then being firm but courteous might make him say "ok I'm really sorry, bring it back and we'll refund you" but starting to threaten police and trading standards might make him drag his heels as he'll see me as acting like a ****

If it was his own doing then he's probably not going to do the former regardless, so a single phone call to judge the mood won't delay things.
 
iaind said:
You'd not be worried about the "out of the frying pan and into the fire" potential?
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"I" would be, if "I" weren't insistent on buying a discontinued, failed brand, on the cheap.

As it stands, you will have to take what you can get, but starting with a car that's clearly been neglected isn't going to bode well as a starting point.
 
rodenal said:
Reject it, you'll find out from their attitude just how complicit or otherwise they are in it.

They may well want a chance to fix it first/have it repaired first themselves though - which should be accepted
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That's where I'm unclear on my consumer rights.

If they do want the opportunity to put it right then I'm ok with that, but how should it go - given the distance involved? I don't want them to say "bring it back to us and we'll fix it" as they're the other side of the country and I don't know whether they have the capability to do a proper job. Would I be within my rights to ask for a local independent specialist to assess it and fix it, at their expense?
 
In the situation I think it would be reasonable to suggest someone local fixes it - where this presents a problem.is actually getting the invoice paid

You have little choice though, none of the authorities capable of making a decision on your behalf will look favourably on instant refund demands when the car could have been repaired
 
paradigm said:
"I" would be, if "I" weren't insistent on buying a discontinued, failed brand, on the cheap.

As it stands, you will have to take what you can get, but starting with a car that's clearly been neglected isn't going to bode well as a starting point.
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I'm not trying to do anything on the cheap. It's a car I've wanted for a while, but if you can find a prefacelift 9-5 aero saloon for more than a couple of grand, it's a rip off!

Apart from this (admittedly quite major) issue, it seems to have been pretty well looked after. Service history all checks out and it drives a lot better than a lot of these. Hence my slight reluctance...
 
rodenal said:
In the situation I think it would be reasonable to suggest someone local fixes it - where this presents a problem.is actually getting the invoice paid

You have little choice though, none of the authorities capable of making a decision on your behalf will look favourably on instant refund demands when the car could have been repaired
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Fair enough, makes sense.

I think I'll call him and put both options to him - say id be happy to bring it back and walk away if he's not happy to pay the full costs of repair at a local garage.
 
You had that at the point where the lights weren't coming on when the OBD was showing a fault, re-enforced by the fact they didn't come on during the self-test.
 
To be honest I did it on the assumption id be keeping it. I was assuming it would be a 100 quid rebuild of the control unit and not worth trying to get back. That may still end up being all it needs but it may end up being a lot more. It's only from siting down and researching more tonight that has made me even consider taking it back - but I don't see that having a working cluster with photographs of the tape covering the lights will do my argument any harm
 
I think before anything you need to speak to the dealer.

Personally i really, really hate it when a customer comes back to me all guns blazing on a situation that can be sorted easily or amicably.

Speak to then first, see what the reaction is and then proceed in a manner of what seems fit.
 
GinG said:
I think before anything you need to speak to the dealer.

Personally i really, really hate it when a customer comes back to me all guns blazing on a situation that can be sorted easily or amicably.

Speak to then first, see what the reaction is and then proceed in a manner of what seems fit.
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I'll be doing that first thing tomorrow, I've had the car just under a week but only got the full picture today - or as much of it as I can.

You can probably tell from my demeanour that I won't be going guns blazing and threatening trading standards or police. Going to explain what I've found and let him offer suggestions. If those aren't reasonable then I'll tell him outright that I want it fixed by a trusted specialist or a refund.... If that doesn't work then I'll start talking about consumer rights and trading standards

Are you a car dealer yourself?
 
I think its part of the MOT to test that the ABS light comes on then off with the ignition to show the bulb/led had not been tampered with.

Reagrdless of whether the garage knew of this the MOT tester should know or have tested for it. Its only a visual test.
 
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