Used car broke down, who pays recovery costs ?

MassiveJim

MassiveJim

MassiveJim

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We bought a used car from a dealer around 50 miles away (cost ~£9k)
After about a week of use the car broke down and was undriveable
we contacted the dealer and they asked for the car to be recovered to them, which we did.
Luckily we hadn't sold our old car yet so we still had that available to drive.

around a week later they called to say the fault was the drive shaft bolts had come loose and it was fixed.
They then kept the car a further 2 weeks to investigate another reported fault with the aircon.

When they called to say it was ready, we asked if they could return the car to us, they said they weren't able.

I have asked if they would reimburse some of our incurred costs.

Our costs (discussed)
recovery - £150
2 weeks temporary car insurance ~£50
additional month tax ~ £20
150 miles fuel - trip up in 2nd car to collect it, then 2 x trips back in said cars

our costs (not discussed)
loss of a days wages for my missus (she was on her way to work when it happened)
loss of wages on the day we go to collect it



This is a small dealership, as far as I can tell they have an owner, a car salesman and 1 or 2 other people in the yard washing cars etc.
So far I have only spoken to the car salesman and he has said the owner is flatly refusing to reimburse anything.

We would have been happy to call it quits if they would return the car to us, but they said they aren't able to.

the car insurance and tax might be a moot point, as they did offer us a courtesy car after a few days, but we decided the cost of the round trip would be a similar cost to 2 weeks temporary insurance and a months tax (about £45) but without the inconvenience of having to do a 3hour round trip to collect the courtesy car.


I don't think its worth a legal battle for a couple of hundred quid (if I even can legally recoup these costs), but is there any law I can quote that might sway the owners mind when we go to collect the car ?
 
I'd probably just leave it tbh. It sounds like they sorted the issues & fulfilled their CRA obligations.

Wages & travel etc, not their problem.
 
Unless you can prove they willingly/knowingly supplied faulty goods there isn't any real comeback here and even then you'd likely have a legal battle.

One of the things I will say for the dealer I use a lot, at least the branch near me - they'd 100% voluntarily recover and drop the vehicle back off if something like this happened within days of handing the vehicle off.
 
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might/did they expect, you'd have recovery in any break-down cover
- nonetheless I think you'd expect some gesture/contribution towards the £150 for a dangerous problem they should have found (as said) eg tank of fuel.
 
You could try and argue the car was sold in an unroadworthy state, which is fraud. If it's something an MOT should have spotted it also MOT fraud, which comes with prison time. I don't think driveshafts just fall off.

I once had a serious fault on a used car which had been MOTed and nothing mentioned when it should have been. They didn't have a leg to stand on. As soon as I mentioned unroadworthy they caved in and fixed it, even leant me a car while they waited for parts.

From reading the laws on it a while ago, I think you actually get 6 months to go back to the dealer. After that you have to prove it was an existing issue. They can't just mug you off after the 3 months.
 
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I don't know how driveshaft bolts come loose, I've never heard of it before.

The car was mot'ed on 19th sept, failed on these items.
Then passed the next day.

Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
  • Brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened both fronts and rears (1.1.14 (a) (ii))
Repair immediately (major defects):
  • Offside Front Inner Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn and near side front inner (5.3.4 (a) (i))
  • Nearside Front Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.1.7 (g) (ii))
  • Nearside Front Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))
I can see new disks and pads, I can see the new coil.

I'm told the driveshaft that came loose was the offside.
Weirdly though there is a receipt in the paperwork for a Nearside driveshaft a year ago.

Most annoying is because of how long it has taken them, it's now so cold outside that I won't be able to check the aircon is working properly.
 
It took them a week to figure out the drive shaft bolts had come loose, but managed to fit front/rear pads and discs, 2 suspension arms, a CV boot and a coil spring almost immediately!, and then a further 2 weeks to sort the AC!
Sounds like a clown outfit imo.
Personally I’d be after all of your out of pocket expenses for the inconvenience, and if not repaid I’d certainly be looking at leaving reviews where you can detailing the poor experience.
Just because they eventually fixed the issues doesn’t mean it was acceptable service.
Half the reason customer service is so poor these days is because people just accept it and don’t complain or push enough to get things sorted.
Btw, what make/model car did you buy?
 
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JonRGV250 said:
Drive shaft bolts came loose?
They don’t just come loose.
Has it had a new clutch or similar work previous to you buying it, and why wasn’t that noticed on a pre delivery inspection.
Click to expand...
I've seen that before, **** happens, the only thing I would add it is a testable item on the MOT, but proberly with the undertrays on a tester wouldnt see them.
 
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JonRGV250 said:
It took them a week to figure out the drive shaft bolts had come loose, but managed to fit front/rear pads and discs, 2 suspension arms, a CV boot and a coil spring almost immediately!
Click to expand...
like he and Nasher said, if those repairs need removal of drive shaft for that car - he should have some come-back
should be able to see replaced arms& extent of repairs, through wheel arch.
 
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