Dealer Refusing To Rectify Car

[Rob1980]

Hello all.

Could someone please take a minute or two to read this:-

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=121636&pid=1090389&st=0entry1090389

Basically I brought a Toyota Corolla Compressor a few weeks ago from a Nissan Dealer 60 miles from where I live. The car crunches slightly when changing from 2nd to 3rd gear but does not do this for any other gear. The knowledgable people on here have suggested that the syncro is on the way out. I have taken it back to the garage and they recognise that the car is doing what I have said but they do not see it as an issue so will not fix it. I have taken it further to a manager and I am waiting for his response.

Can I demand a full refund if they refuse to fix it or does the law not allow this? I am thinking about taking it to Toyota and getting them to confirm that there is a fault and then giving Nissan the chance to rectify it. I will be demaning that Nissan cover the cost if Toyota confirm the fault. If I do this and they still will not fix the car can I then demand a full refund?

Any advise from anyone who know the law would be greatly appreciated.

[Raistlin]

Contact your local CAB for some advice on where next to take your claim.

[Phoenix999]

If the car does turn out to be faulty then go back to the dealer and tell them that the car was 'not fit for purpose' and offer them the chance to fix it at zero cost to you. Should they refuse then politely tell them that you will seek advice regarding a small claims case.... but if my memory serves me right a small claims case is price dependent with a maximum value of £5000 I hope someone on here knows better.

Regardless, if it does not go your way then seek advice via the Citizen Advice Bureau.... good luck

[acetip]

If the car does turn out to be faulty then go back to the dealer and tell them that the car was 'not fit for purpose' and offer them the chance to fix it at zero cost to you. Should they refuse then politely tell them that you will seek advice regarding a small claims case.... but if my memory serves me right a small claims case is price dependent with a maximum value of £5000 I hope someone on here knows better.

Regardless, if it does not go your way then seek advice via the Citizen Advice Bureau.... good luck

thats sound advice.i beleave these courts are not vey expensive.

[Sandy52]

there is some good advice on the honestjohn website about returning a car and using the small claims court, if you have to.

[Daveyonthemove]

You should have a minimum of 3 months warranty from the dealer, and you have 6 months to find a fault and make the dealer responsible as the the law assumes that the fault was there at the time of purchase.

After the 6 month period, the fault is now your problem and the dealer don't have to do anything.

[bothwell_buyer]

put everything in writing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rob1980]

You should have a minimum of 3 months warranty from the dealer, and you have 6 months to find a fault and make the dealer responsible as the the law assumes that the fault was there at the time of purchase.

After the 6 month period, the fault is now your problem and the dealer don't have to do anything.

Thanks for the advise everyone, it will be followed.

Yeah I have 1 years warranty but while there is a slight crunch and they can hear it, they refuse to accept that this is a fault and nothing to worry about!! It beggers belief to be honest! Still I will wait and see what their manager says when he calls me today, I will keep you updated.

On a different note, If he refuses to fix I believe that will be grounds to claim back my money, I will do some reasearch to confim but I will need to go through a bigger court as I bought the Compressor for more than 5k.

[hertsnminds]

Something else you can do to prove a fault is find other examples of the car (same spec as yours) and get them to the dealer on the same day. My wife had a similar issue with her MX-5 1st gear not engaging properly, had the usual fobbing off and leave it a few weeks to see what happens response. We then saw the same spec car on the dealers forecourt and asked to test it (without telling the sales team about the fault on our car). The car they were selling had no problem, so we got their engineer to sit in both and note the difference he then acknowledged the fault and it was fixed under Mazda warranty.

I am sure you could persuade a few TOC members to have a meet in your area and all just happen to arrive at the dealers at the same time :)

Once you have proved there is a fault and the car was sold to you with the fault the dealer must be allowed three attempts to rectify the fault in a set time frame after which you can reject the vehicle and get a full refund. As others have said you must put all of this in writing with reasonable dates (within 3 months of the purchase) after which you will reject the car. The other thing is to try not to use it too much, the more miles you put on it the more the garage can say you accept the fault but it does not stop you driving the car.

[Rob1980]

Something else you can do to prove a fault is find other examples of the car (same spec as yours) and get them to the dealer on the same day. My wife had a similar issue with her MX-5 1st gear not engaging properly, had the usual fobbing off and leave it a few weeks to see what happens response. We then saw the same spec car on the dealers forecourt and asked to test it (without telling the sales team about the fault on our car). The car they were selling had no problem, so we got their engineer to sit in both and note the difference he then acknowledged the fault and it was fixed under Mazda warranty.

I am sure you could persuade a few TOC members to have a meet in your area and all just happen to arrive at the dealers at the same time :)

Once you have proved there is a fault and the car was sold to you with the fault the dealer must be allowed three attempts to rectify the fault in a set time frame after which you can reject the vehicle and get a full refund. As others have said you must put all of this in writing with reasonable dates (within 3 months of the purchase) after which you will reject the car. The other thing is to try not to use it too much, the more miles you put on it the more the garage can say you accept the fault but it does not stop you driving the car.

That sounds like a great idea, if anyone is available then please PM me.

I can see what you mean about the mileage, that why I do not want to keep on making a 120 mile round trip to get it fixed, I would like them to do it now. If need be then I will just pay the £40 to take it to Toyota and get them to diagnose the fault and then give them the 3 months to fix it.