Used car issue, where do I stand?

Skilid

Skilid

Skilid

Soldato
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
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Location
Hampshire
Just bought (less than a week ago) a used Renault Clio from an indie dealer. The day we viewed the car I tested the air con. I heard the motor kick in and the air felt cold (although it was a cold day). I've gone to use it today and it isn't getting cold. It just makes hissing noises inside the cabin and does nothing. You can hear the air con clutch kicking in however.

Are the garage liable for this? What action do we take from here?

Thanks.
 
Just called them and they have said that they will vacuum the system free of charge and see if it holds the vacuum to check for leaks. However if it holds fine and just needs a recharge they won't do that free of charge. Fair enough, I guess it can be classed as a consumable.
 
EliotG said:
Just called them and they have said that they will vacuum the system free of charge and see if it holds the vacuum to check for leaks. However if it holds fine and just needs a recharge they won't do that free of charge. Fair enough, I guess it can be classed as a consumable.
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Was this a £500 cheap & cheerful Clio or one that cost you thousands?

Personally, were it the latter, I'd expect the re charge to be FOC and tbh given its from a trader I'd still expect it to be right were it a cheap one to clear, if the car had issues he should have sent it to an auction rather than punt it out imo.

Was the car advertised with A/C as a selling point? - imo its not unreasonable if it was to expect it to work and / or them to rectify it if it does not.

I expect to pay myself to fix issues with private sales, anything from a dealer I expect them to put right at no cost to me.

Ultimately, it wasn't a private sale so the onus is on the seller to either prove the fault wasn't there at sale (which tbh is nigh impossible) or for him to put it right.
 
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It wasn't an expensive car (£2800) but it was advertised as having AC and therefore I believe it should work. If it comes down to paying £40 for a recharge I am not bothered. However if it has a leaking condenser or motor etc this should lie with the garage that sold it.
 
Ac system isn'ta consumable.

if iit's fault free it should never loose gas for many years.

if the seals perish because they were cap in the first place and the gas it lost then that's a fault imo
 
Rightly or wrongly the gas is considered a consumable service item (especially on an old Clio) and its the regas they have said wouldn't be covered.
 
[TW]Fox;28874651 said:
Rightly or wrongly the gas is considered a consumable service item (especially on an old Clio) and its the regas they have said wouldn't be covered.
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Whilst it is indeed a consumable, I wouldn't be happy for example if I bought a car and found its brake pads - also consumable - to be on the limit and would expect the dealer to rectify them, same for the A/C, they advertise A/C as a selling point yet then have the audacity to charge to re-gas without which it's useless?

Taking the mick if you ask me, regardless of if its a "consumable" or not.
 
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