Rights following used car purchase (back street garage place)

Martynt74 · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:07

We bought our son a Mk5 2005 Ford Fiesta from a back street style garage about a month ago. My wife gave it a test drive and it seemed reasonable, except for a front tyre which was knackered and they replaced before purchase.

However since then the exhaust sounds a bit rattly as if it might be coming loose and the drivers electric window motor seems to have packed in as the window falls down by itself and the motor sounds a bit knackered.

Just before i ring the guy to ask about trying to get it fixed i just wanted to check what my legal rights were.

Should he fix the issues or since the car is fairly old can it be expected that it's just bad luck given the timing? I recall him mentioning a 3 month guarantee but think that just covered mechanical rather than electrical so wanted to check from the resident experts before i rang and agreed to anything.

Failing any agreement, i've had a look and it looks like about £80 for a new window motor which i imagine isn't too difficult to replace.

Dureth · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:57

You bought it from a business not privately so within the first 6 months it is his duty to show that any fault was not already existing. Both the exhaust and the window should be fixed by him as within the time frame you have owned the car it is not reasonable to expect those to fail (they are not consumables!).

shauncr91 · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:00

Did the motor go with a bang when it packed in? Common failure on these as the plastic cog snaps after a while and it's quite pricey to fix..

TaKeN · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:01

The garage can't have anticipated the window motor going, so IMO it's unfair to ask them to replace it. It's a 9 year old car not a brand new Porsche.

The exhaust I feel is as above too.. it might be something simple like a rubber hanger having failed.

Liquidfox · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:03

It's probably not the motor itself that's failed, more than likely it'll be the actual mechanism which is a mechanical failure not an electrical one

Martynt74 · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:05

I don't recall the motor going bang (however i've not really been out in it much), it was making some grinding type noises.

Just to add that my sons still learning so it's not really been used a great deal since we bought it.

To be honest i didn't think that we'd have any rights as the car is still road worthy which from my reading was the criteria. However i'll give him a call and maybe we can come to some arrangement.

shauncr91 · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:13

Rights or not it would be shocking service from the garage if they didn't at least cover part of the bill.

Haggisman · 29 Jul 2014 at 21:55

Dureth said:
You bought it from a business not privately so within the first 6 months it is his duty to show that any fault was not already existing. Both the exhaust and the window should be fixed by him as within the time frame you have owned the car it is not reasonable to expect those to fail (they are not consumables!).

Ding ding ding, we have the correct answer.

This is precisely why you've paid more to a trader than buying privately.

SB118 · 29 Jul 2014 at 22:02

I'd be looking for help on the window mech but surely the exhaust is a consumable item? They rot and rust from the day they are fitted.

Janesy B · 29 Jul 2014 at 22:58

Haggisman said:
Ding ding ding, we have the correct answer.

This is precisely why you've paid more to a trader than buying privately.

It's a 9 year old car. Exhausts are consumable items.. I'd maybe let them know about the window and exhaust and see what they offer but going all SOGA on them on day one is going to get you nowhere.

Martynt74 · 30 Jul 2014 at 08:30

Cheers guys, i wanted to get a look at the window myself anyway as a mate can get me a whole regulator unit for £40 and i've been struggling to get hold of the seller.

Not sure whether it's best to start a new thread but i've removed the screw from the door handle (the opener not the grip thing) and then the 2 pop clips from the bottom of the door and i can't seem to see any other methods of attachment.

It seems to unclip around the edges, but something feels like its holding the panel onto the door around the middle but i'm struggling to find anything. Some guides suggest that theres a screw in the storge compartment at the bottom but i can't see/feel anything. Nor can i see anything around any other section.

For reference its a 2005/6 Ford Fiesta Style which has the electric windows, however a lot of guides seem to be for manual windows which may cause some differences.

Haggisman · 30 Jul 2014 at 09:33

SB118 said:
I'd be looking for help on the window mech but surely the exhaust is a consumable item? They rot and rust from the day they are fitted.

Janesy B said:
It's a 9 year old car. Exhausts are consumable items.. I'd maybe let them know about the window and exhaust and see what they offer but going all SOGA on them on day one is going to get you nowhere.

This would depend on how bad the exhaust is though. If it's a hanger that's failed and the exhaust is just hanging off a bit, but otherwise in decent condition, fair enough.

If it's full of holes and completely rusted through, then the garage should never have sold it in that state, in much the same way they shouldn't sell a car with brake pads down to the metal or bald tyres. Just because it's a consumable item, doesn't free the garage from their obligations to ensure the car is in a roadworthy state (unless the car is clearly indicated as such).