Gear Shifting Issue

[square1]

Hi everyone,

My name's Toby and this is my first post having bought my Aygo (06 reg) 2 months ago from a used car dealer. It is my first car and I'm still on the motoring learning curve having only sat behind a steering wheel for the first time in Jan this year.

I'm a bit concerned about something so would appreciate people's advice. I have noticed that the gear shifting feels different to what I experienced in my driving instructor's C1. In general, gear changes between 3 & 5 as well as reverse are OK, a tad groggy perhaps, not that I have much experience of these things! However, when going down to first gear, and to a slightly lesser extent, second gear, it often feels like I need to give it more pressure and feels/sounds rather 'crunchy' or 'notchy'.

I didn't really notice this when I test drove it as I had so much to take in and I suppose it just accepted it as being an idiosycracy of this particular vehicle. I was also in a bit of a rush to buy a car as I was starting a new job the following day.

I should mention that at the point of purchase it had around 28k miles on the clock done by one lady owner from suburban Surrey. I have done around another 1k miles since I bought it.

A few days ago I took it to my local Toyota specialist and they recommended a new clutch, which would cost £700, but recommended leaving it for a few months. They said that although the mileage is quite low, the wear on the clutch could be quite high if the previous owner did a lot of urban driving. This makes sense to me although I'm unclear on how clutch wear could contribute to the feel of the gear shifting.

What should I do? Is there any point in contacting the dealer I bought it from? Should I get a second opinion from another garage?

Toby.

[FROSTYBALLS]

If it has got a clutch problem after only two months, I would probably suggest it was present when you bought the car. In which case I would raise a question with the dealer you bought the car from.

Have a look at the following: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights

[square1]

I've just looked at the invoice and it says that for major faults (presumably those that make the car undriveable?) there are two months of cover. The text of this was stamped onto the invoice with the word 'three' crossed out and changed to two! Unfortunately I bought it on 27th May! So I don't think they'll be that helpful now.

[Awebb180]

Im pretty sure it should be 3 months from a dealer. But it does sound like you will need a new clutch. Its not clutch wear thats the issue here its the pressure plate and the metal fingers have worn or possibly cracked on them.

Alex

[MikeSh]

I've just looked at the invoice and it says that for major faults (presumably those that make the car undriveable?) there are two months of cover. The text of this was stamped onto the invoice with the word 'three' crossed out and changed to two! Unfortunately I bought it on 27th May! So I don't think they'll be that helpful now.

If you don't ask them then I'm pretty sure they won't say "yes".

[FROSTYBALLS]

Irrespective of their 'warranty' you have some protection from the 'Sale of Goods Act' - see below (which is copied from the link I included in my first post):

"during the first six months:

The consumer returns the goods in the first six months from the date of sale and requests a repair or replacement or a partial refund. In that case, the consumer does not have to prove the goods were faulty at the time of sale. It is assumed that they were. If the retailer does not agree, it is for the retailer to prove that the goods were satisfactory at the time of sale. This comes from Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003"

You are entitled to return the car to the dealer and request a repair.

[square1]

Well, I've emailed them, asking nicely. Surely they would know about they Sale of Goods Act though, wouldn't they?

I've read the Honest John advice (thanks Mike for posting this), and it's just occurred to me that perhaps mediation (using my local mediation service) could be an option if the dealer is not in agreement. Has anyone ever tried this?

[FROSTYBALLS]

They may well know of the Sale of Goods Act, but most businesses would use whatever warranty they provide in the first instance to cover repair costs, etc as cheaply as possible. Also some consumers, who may not be aware of consumer rights outlined in legislation, would probably be rebuffed successfully, and actually pay for repairs themselves.

[eygo]

here is a link for the sale of goods act

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54

[square1]

I thought I'd just dredge this one up for the sake of completeness to say that I resolved this in the end. It was a case of poor technique on my part; I was simply shifting down to first gear too early on those occasions in traffic where it looks like it is necessary to slow right down to walking pace and then pick up again. I've also learnt that often I can pick up the pace again without needing to shift down to first by applying a bit more pressure to the accelerator. I'm not sure if that's correct technique but the car doesn't complain when I do it.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Glad you got it sorted.