Taking franchised dealer to small claims

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Sorry for the long thread but I after some thoughts if I have a chance of winning at the small claims court as I am unsure if I should carry it through.

I purchased a used 2013 plate VX Corsa 1.4 SE with 15800 miles on 3rd August 2015 for £7495, trading in my 2003 Golf TDi (something I now regret). The Corsa has made numerous visits to the dealership for repair some of which include replacement of the clutch, gearbox, exhaust camshaft and timing chain kit. I rely on the vehicle for travel to and from work and it now has covered 21000 miles. Only last week it was in again for gearbox oil leak on a 4 month old new gearbox and again I had to pay for alternative travel because no courtesy car was available.

I have spoke to the dealership Business Manager and Sales manager and the Complaints Department at head office but I am not getting anywhere with them saying they have bent over backwards to help me.. The Sales Managers stated "we are repairing it under warranty" and his final words were "you had better see a solicitor then". After 4 months of ownership the dealer offered to buy the vehicle back for £6000 saying they had to pay £1500 vat, a substantial loss to me after 4 months use.

I feel we are at the end of the road and the only option now is to start legal proceedings at the small claims procedure using the money claims online service at a cost of about £450 to myself. The list of faults is below.

July 2014 15800 miles - Battery ( before I purchased)
Thur 11th Sept 2014 16929 miles Water pump & wiper linkage & AC Purge £24.99 (Garage recommended to purge ac so I paid 24.99 myself)
Thur 18th Sept 2014 17500 miles - New Clutch
Thur 25th Sept to Wed 1st Oct 2014 – Diag + wait AC compressor. AC Comp not arrive by 1st.
Fri 10th Oct 2014 – fit AC compressor
Thur 16th Oct – Diag for tapping but nothing found
Fri 17th and Mon 20th Oct – visit dealer so I can explain to Darren the location of tapping
Thur 23rd Oct 2014 – fit timing chain.
Fri 24th Oct to Thur 28th Oct 2014 – returned and stayed at garage because ECU light on. Garage told me a sensor on the chain had moved.
Thur 13th Nov 2014 – visit for gearbox diag.
Mon 17th Nov to Thur 20th Nov 2014 – in for gearbox replacement.
Mon 8th Dec to Wed 10th Dec 2014 – Diag clutch judder and suspension knock since gearbox replaced – No faults found but still faults there
Fri 12th Dec 2014 – Visit dealer to explain to tech Nigel about suspension noise he suggest replace anti roll bar.
Mon 22nd Dec to Tue 23rd Dec 2014 – in for replace anti-roll bar, got back Tue but still suspension noise/knock
Sat 27th Dec 2014 – Noticed cam lobe fracture.
Tue 30th Dec 2014 – In for camshaft replacement, check suspension noise. Received car back Wed 7th Jan 2013. Garage can not find the fractured lobe that had chipped off. Still suspension noise, Justin said he can not stop the noise as it is a trait of the vehicle even though I explained it was not there before the gearbox off. Justin said maybe I just never noticed it!!
Tue 10th Feb 2015 – in for Gearbox oil leak, received car back Thur 12th Feb 2015 as garage had to wait for part. No car available again and I had to pay travel to work.


Conversations/letters with Complaints or higher management.

Numerous phone calls to Darren (Workshop Manager) and Justin (Service Manager)

Sent complaints letter 24th Oct 2014 to Louise Casey at Pentagon and VX Customer Care
Thur 30th Oct 2014 receive call from Louise about my complaint
31st Oct 2014 visit & talk Andy business manager, insulted & Dan salesman offered £6000 cos they had pay vat £1500!! but vat was £1227.99.
31st Dec 2014 I phoned Louise at Pentagon Customer Care to try sort out the situation. Received call from Louise at 13:30pm saying Chris will call me.
31st Dec 2014 Chris Rochdale 15:30 received call, insulted and he advised me to go see a solicitor.
 
Can't help with much, but the VAT bit doesn't sound right.

Car dealers use the VAT Margin Scheme for used cars, whereby they pay VAT on the mark-up between what they sold the car for and what they paid for it. It won't be £1,500.

Plus, and more importantly, the transaction should be treated as a refund (which it is), in which case they would claim back any VAT they had paid.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
How much are you seeking to claim?
Is there not a limit on the 'small claims' process?
Lawyer up would be my suggestion.
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There is a limit but it's quite a high amount and OP will be ok.

I would write a letter to them seeking a refund send it recorded delivery and see what happens.

Before consulting any legal advice which will likely cost you, do as above stating that the car is not of satisfactory quality.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/engla...t_is_meant_by_not_of_satisfactory_quality.htm
 
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If they offer a refund, then I'm pretty sure they are entitled to make a reduction based on the fact you have had some usage... However, considering you've only had it ~4 months, and from the looks of it, it's been with them for almost half that time, that deduction should be minimal, and certainly not ~20% of the cost of the car!

As others have said, the VAT thing is nonsense, as if they refund you then they get that back.
 
Thanks for the advice, I was just fobbed off then about the vat...

I have spoke to a solicitor and they have said, write asking the dealer "to buy back the vehicle for £6600 as I have had use of it for 6 months. If this reason is unacceptable I will have no option but to pursue the matter through the small claims" I am looking at £200 an hour for a solicitor to represent.

The limit is £10,000 for small claims.

I have had the car 6 months now and I have noticed a tapping when cold from the top end near the chain so I just waiting for it to fail again.
 
They've probably already contacted their legal time, had a laugh and told you to contact yours if you like. With it being a franchised dealer they are going to be more than ready for any action taken against them and they'll have the right boffins working for them.
 
Atom said:
Thanks for the advice, I was just fobbed off then about the vat...

I have spoke to a solicitor and they have said, write asking the dealer "to buy back the vehicle for £6600 as I have had use of it for 6 months. If this reason is unacceptable I will have no option but to pursue the matter through the small claims" I am looking at £200 an hour for a solicitor to represent.

The limit is £10,000 for small claims.

I have had the car 6 months now and I have noticed a tapping when cold from the top end near the chain so I just waiting for it to fail again.
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Woah. IANAL however I have been to county court on numerous occasions. You don't need to go all lawyer'd up. And may (although it shouldnt) go against you.

The county court judge is a human. He will empathise with you especially if he's been had off by a garage before. What your asking for is NOT unreasonable.
 
pepsilol said:
They've probably already contacted their legal time, had a laugh and told you to contact yours if you like. With it being a franchised dealer they are going to be more than ready for any action taken against them and they'll have the right boffins working for them.
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I doubt it. Chances are its little hitler sales managers who think the auto industry is excluded from the sales of goods act. Because 99% of people listen to the bull when they have major issues.

I don't think anyone here would have put up with the amount of failures and repairs had it been a TV.
 
mattyg said:
I doubt it. Chances are its little hitler sales managers who think the auto industry is excluded from the sales of goods act. Because 99% of people listen to the bull when they have major issues.
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I very much doubt this on the basis that it has gone in and out. They'll have something up their sleeve for this, guarantee it.
 
pepsilol said:
I very much doubt this on the basis that it has gone in and out. They'll have something up their sleeve for this, guarantee it.
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But they have no defence. The vehicle is faulty. Has been faulty and by the sounds of it will be faulty again.

Not fit for purpose. Dealer takes the hit. Thats why they are the middle men between manufacturer and customer.

If they've offered £6k and the reason was VAT then tell them you accept the £6k plus VAT settlement. Afterall they will be claiming the VAT back

pepsilol said:
I very much doubt this on the basis that it has gone in and out. They'll have something up their sleeve for this, guarantee it.
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This is the issue with the public knowing a little about cars. They can be fobbed off with. Well it was the gearbox last time now its the rear axel. They aren't connected.

However if your TV doesn't switch on and gets repaired then fails again with the same symptoms. People would scream for a refund. Even though it may be any number of other components causing similar symptoms
 
mattyg said:
If they've offered £6k and the reason was VAT then tell them you accept the £6k plus VAT settlement. Afterall they will be claiming the VAT back
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This. In fact, make sure you have it in writing that they have offered you £6k and the reason they wont offer you more is because they can't get the VAT back.

No way they will win if you take it to court then.
 
As above, get it all in writing, get your story straight then file the relevant papers yourself.

There is no need to get lawyered up for a small claims case, so long as you have clearly showed that the problem exists(you have), you have lost out financially (you have) and have shown desire to resolve the problem (you have). Keep it clear, concise and be ready to calmly explain your side of the story on the day.

You also need to be prepared for it to drag on a bit, potentially 6 months to a year depending on whether they actually try to defend it or not. It's not unusual to turn up only for the other side to ask for an extension of time when you go for the preliminary hearings.
 
rodenal said:
As above, get it all in writing, get your story straight then file the relevant papers yourself.

There is no need to get lawyered up for a small claims case, so long as you have clearly showed that the problem exists(you have), you have lost out financially (you have) and have shown desire to resolve the problem (you have). Keep it clear, concise and be ready to calmly explain your side of the story on the day.

You also need to be prepared for it to drag on a bit, potentially 6 months to a year depending on whether they actually try to defend it or not. It's not unusual to turn up only for the other side to ask for an extension of time when you go for the preliminary hearings.
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Don't forget to call the Judge "Sir"too. Respect his position.

If they want an extention. Then thats fine but you will suffer more out of pocket expenses so the judge will award you higher costs. I got awarded the costs of having a subby fill in for me everytime I went to court and the other guy didn't show.

Judges don't like having the mick taken out of their court.
 
Jesus, what a lemon! I'd be fuming. Small Claims judges seem to be fairly sympathetic to the consumer and with all those faults I'd think you have a very good chance to winning (and represent yourself, not hire a lawyer!)
 
Thanks for all the advice. I have sent a letter to them by recorded explaining what I request. If it fails I will have to go court and try that. Also spend a few days sat in the dealership advising potential customers what they are getting into.

I can honestly say I have never had to deal with such a bad company before and I am prepared to accept less just to end my dealings with them.
 
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