My "new" Rav Is Damaged!

[LUIGI_]

Just bought another Rav, I exchanged my 95 3 door for a 98 5 door and it's a great drive, little problem though , I boguht it on Saturday and immediately noticed a funny sound when turning left at slow speeds , today it was confirmed that the CV gaiter is deteriorated is the sellergarage that sold it to me obliged to repair it as he seems to be avoiding the subject at all cost!! Also any idea on how much it will cost to get this repaired?

Any help will be highly apreciated.

[anchorman]

In law a test of reasonableness will apply. If you only bought it on Saturday the dealer would find it difficult to argue that the gaiter had failed since. The gaiter would cost about £20 from Toyota and a fiver from a motor factor and he needs a couple of hours to fix it. I would say about £100 all in.

Tell him to fix it or you want your money back.

Cheers

[mike xt-r]

Hi, I doubt that the noise was the gaiter but the CV joint, caused by the torn gaiter.

[bitman]

open your windows, put the front wheels in full lock and make circles by driving slowly. do this left and right. now listen to any clicking noise. if so you will need an new cv joint. and that will cost some cash! and as anchorman writes, that stealer should fix it! otherwise go and get some legal advise.

if the rubber gaiter is worn the grease gets out and the sand gets in to polish your cv joint!!!

[LUIGI_]

Thanks for the advice guys unfortunately it is clicking, I'm preparing for an argument with this guy on Saturday, I've had problems with independent dealers before!! one more question : any idea how much a new CV joint plus labour will cost?

Cheers.

[bitman]

i don't know since i did it my self years ago on a daihatsu charade. i bought the drive shafts including the cv joints from a scrap yard. just a lot of work. but don't worry they sold you an broken car so sue them!

good luck!

[LUIGI_]

Guess what??? The dealer said that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the car. I'm sure many of you will be surprised LOL . Anyway does anyone have any sound advice on how to fight the Dealer on this matter? I'm definately not letting him get away with this crap!!

[gasser]

Take it to a different dealer. Its under warranty so you can take it to another Toyota dealer and have it checked FOC

[LUIGI_]

Take it to a different dealer. Its under warranty so you can take it to another Toyota dealer and have it checked FOC

I wish it was a Toyota Dealership but it isn't , unfortunately it's one of these independant dealers.

[anchorman]

You could still get another garage or the AA to examine it. If they say its faulty and your dealer won't give in take it to Trading Standards. Some on here have done it so hopefully they will fill you in on the process.

Regards

[LUIGI_]

You could still get another garage or the AA to examine it. If they say its faulty and your dealer won't give in take it to Trading Standards. Some on here have done it so hopefully they will fill you in on the process.

Regards

Thats a great idea I'll get the AA to see it ASAP!! Thanks, Anchorman.

[LUIGI_]

You could still get another garage or the AA to examine it. If they say its faulty and your dealer won't give in take it to Trading Standards. Some on here have done it so hopefully they will fill you in on the process.

Regards

Thats a great idea I'll get the AA to see it ASAP!! Thanks, Anchorman.

I had a look at the AA website and it's £180 plus to check a 4x4 vehicle!! I'll take it to the garage.

[duncerduncs]

I had a look at the AA website and it's £180 plus to check a 4x4 vehicle!! I'll take it to the garage.

Luigi

I'm not sure what dealer you want to use, but I've had dealings with Basingstoke, Bracknell, Oxford and Reading. I've found the Bracknell and Reading dealers to be very helpful (just to warn you, they all charge £90 plus vat per hour!), they're also very busy so you may need to book. The less said about the Basingstoke and Oxford dealers the better...

[Parts-King]

Right then, this is what you should do

Have an independant inspection carried out on your car (it may highlight any other problem lurking) with the AA RAC etc

If it highlights a problem with the CV/ Driveshaft, confront your seller with the evidence and get him to repair it, because he said it wasnt faulty to start with, tell him you want paying for the independant report also. If it ever has to go to court, you would get this back

Anything purchased that is inherrantly faulty, has to be repaired, replaced, or refunded. If it is under 6 months old, you dont have to prove anything, the seller does, if it is over 6 months old, it is up to you to prove it was faulty

Actually knowing your rights will help greatly when walk in to get it sorted, keep your cool, be firm, dont take any s*it !!!

Kingo

[Mc Tavish]

Why don't you put your car through a MOT? it's cheaper and it should pick up any other problems including your torn gater and suspect cv joint ...???!!! good luck any ways and try citizens advice centre legal advice free and will help you with any possible small claims procedure :P

[LUIGI_]

Right, I contacted Trading stadards around a week and a half ago , when I contacted them they said that I was entitled to a refund. So what do I do , I sent them a resgistered letter stating that I was rejecting the vehicle and that I would like a refund , yesterday I received a letter from them stating that according to trading standards they sold me a vehicle with damage that was expected on a vehicle of 10 years of age and 90000 miles , that is just the gaiter which they only admitted to after I metioned that this was on the mot report(previously they insisted that the vehicle had absolutely nothing wrong with it, despite the fact that they had the MOT done and handed me the advisory sheet etc). Trading standards now tell me that my refund request isn't reasonable and that I should inform them that I will be repairing the cv gaiter and that if the knocking noise persists that I will hold them liable for the cv joint. Does anyone have any further advice?

Not to mention that when braking the right front brake has a juddering feel to it which probably also means that the brake disc is warped right? Am I just supposed to sit back and accpet all of these expenses, not to mention that initially I had accepted the fact that I would need 4 new tyres to begin with and it's looking more and more like I will need to fork out over £600 to have the !Removed! vehicle in decent shape, I feel like such a sucker right now!!!!!

[LUIGI_]

Would a broken CV joint and warped brake disc pass an MOT (especially when you get the feeling that these guys all know each other and prob. do "favours" all the time)?

[Parts-King]

It looks like your trader is trying to wriggle out of things that need sorting. Have your car independantly inspected as soon as possible, or ask your seller to get it done, either way, the report will be VERY important if it come to litigation. Trading standards are correct, you cant reject a car for a torn CV boot, but get it checked to see if there are a list of faults. The discs being warped would not necesarly fail an MOT, if they pass a brake test then they pass, you cant accuse the seller with being in cahoots with the MOT station, dont put your efforts into that one, concentrate on getting your car sorted with an independant check

Kingo

[LUIGI_]

It looks like your trader is trying to wriggle out of things that need sorting. Have your car independantly inspected as soon as possible, or ask your seller to get it done, either way, the report will be VERY important if it come to litigation. Trading standards are correct, you cant reject a car for a torn CV boot, but get it checked to see if there are a list of faults. The discs being warped would not necesarly fail an MOT, if they pass a brake test then they pass, you cant accuse the seller with being in cahoots with the MOT station, dont put your efforts into that one, concentrate on getting your car sorted with an independant check

Kingo

Cheers Kingo , I just happened to decide on having an inspection Yesterday , spoke to them today and having it done tomorrow!! I'll be back with more news!! Oh by the way the discs weren't warped , they were 2mm under the legal limit , I think the gent at ATS said they were 14mm which is 2 under the limit of 16mm???? I have the discs and pads in the boot of my RAV.

[Parts-King]

Keep all the old parts and any receipts you may have, anything in writting will help also (maybe a report off ATS to say they were under the limit???)

Kingo

[LUIGI_]

Keep all the old parts and any receipts you may have, anything in writting will help also (maybe a report off ATS to say they were under the limit???)

Kingo

I'll give them a call.

[hertsnminds]

Did you test drive the car before you bought it? If you did the garage could claim that you performed your own inspection of the car before purchase and because you then went ahead with the purchase you were happy with the quality of the car.

In any letter you write to the garage you can list all of the faults and give them a reasonable time frame to repair them. You can then state that if things are not fixed to you satisfaction by a caertain date you will be rejecting the car and want a refund.

Again this depends on any warranties and if you tested the car before purchasing. If the dealer has a new MOT for the car they could reasonably claim it is fit for purpose. If you feel the car would fail an MOT then you have to start fighting the garage that issued the MOT certificate.

It's a real pain but you need to be as methodical as you can be and gather as much evidence as you can. Maybe even contact the previous owner and ask them about the condition of the car when they sold it.

[anchorman]

I don't think "buyer beware" counts with a trade sale. The seller has a legal obligation to make sure it is fit for purpose and of merchantable quality. Luigi has a case, its just a bind getting the seller to uphold it.

[Parts-King]

I don't think "buyer beware" counts with a trade sale. The seller has a legal obligation to make sure it is fit for purpose and of merchantable quality. Luigi has a case, its just a bind getting the seller to uphold it.

Buyer beware or "Caveat Emptor" as it is best known no longer applies in European law, it is more a case of seller beware or "Caveat Venditor" You cant do a "trade sale" to a retail customer, so whatever he sold you has to be of a reasonable quality. Getting it sorted out as AM says is where it is tricky, but armed with an independant report, you can start the ball rolling

Kingo

[TheNissanMan]

A bit late now but if you pick up a used vehicle from a motor retailer independant or otherwise and you find fault with your vehicle always follow it up with a letter re-confirming the discussion you have had on the phone and ensure that you keep a copy yourself with the date and class the letter was posted.

If you have informed the dealer within a quick timescale that the vehicle is faulty you should be fine as all traders must sell a vehicle with a minimum of three months mechanical warranty (although what the warranty covers is debatable). I would argue that even though the vehicle is a high miler the vehicle was not sold fit for purpose as it requires mechanical correction.

At the end of the day Dealers know that if they won't help the chances of someone taking them through the legal system is slim due to cost implications, how friendly is your local newspaper and how small/big is the independant.

At the end of the day these problems are why main dealers pay a premium, I've only had one car which has caused me probs which were rectified... Customer Satisfaction results for the quarter came through today and let's just say I'm on cloud 9 and had to phone all of my sales team and give them a major pat on the back, drinks next time out will be on me!

Not all independants are bad, I know of a superb one in Southampton (he buys all the cars I can't sell) but as you have found there are the odd bad Apple still out there which give us all in the motor industry a bad name.