Head gasket gone after 3 months!!

[allah86]

Ok so I've been having a problem with coolant loss ever since i bought this second hand car off a used car dealer. Having no signs of white stuff on oil dipstick etc, i assumed it wouldnt be as serious as head gasket.

Took to have serviced and they found no leaks, then i tried a number of other things that were suggested on here but to no avail. Eventually i went for the opinion of another garage (a guy who knows his stuff) and he demonsrated how exhaust fumes were coming up through expansion tank, and coolant going out the exhaust...i.e head gasket gone!

The dealership is refusing to pay the repair cost (£650-950 depending on damage), as he says it is outside his 1 month warranty period. I am strongly considering issuing a court case against him to recoup my costs of repair. The garage who are doing the repairs say if it were their car, they would take the keys back and demand full refund.

What are my chances of getting my money back and will this be the beginning of even more serious problems to come later down the line???

 

[jgy6000]

if you reported to the dealer you bought it off there was a problem with the car within the month, but couldnt actually trace it till after then i think its still their responsibility, but this is a tricky area, id ask a soliciter to start with and see what they suggest

 

[wayne lcr]

dont think you would have a leg to stand on becose they give you a months warrenty. and there was no problems in the 1st month. these are pain in the ass becose they will say anything to get out of it, they will blame your driving and allsorts. have you got it on finance?

 

[allah86]

no i bought it out right. I didnt report it to him within the first month, but then again he only told me about this warranty when i rang him the other day to report that the head gasket had blown.

According to the sale of goods act, a car must be 'fit for purpose' on day of purchase or until a "reasonable" amount of time has passed. Therefore if i can prove that the problem existed on day of purchase then i surely have a good case. Warranties are irrelevant if the sale of goods act is breached.

 

[andycupra]

as soon as i read the initial part i thought that i bet its losing coolant via the head gasket in a way that its likely to be drawn via the exhaust and therefore not affect the oil.

Reagards the warranty, i have to say that had you reported it within the first month, (simply reporting its losing coolant etc) would mean that they would have to honour repairs.

However you reported out of this warranty... which makes it alot more tricky. Yes the dealer has a responsibility under the sales of goods act etc, however its a second hand car and its going to be hard to prove it had this problem when sold to you. - do you have any documented evidence that the issue occured in the 1st month?

A head gasket failure is not something easy for a garage to highlight if its not yet failed.

Have you got the previous owners details? i wonder if they sold it to the dealer with the knowledge it was going?

 

[Veyron]

By law any registered official used car dealer must offer a three month warranty to anything sold!

 

[allah86]

are you sure they have to offer 3 month warranty? Where did you get this info?

If that is the case then surely if this went to court i would stand a good chance of winning??

 

[Veyron]

I think the Sales of goods act gives buyers of used cars purchased from a trader three months warranty.

I remember reading it in the magazine you get when you pass your driving test and seeing a section about buying cars along with pro's and con's and this was listed under car dealers, I've found a link that might help a little bit but it's just a forum thread.

http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/...28327&nmt=The "3 month dealer warranty" thing

 

[andycupra]

the 3 month thing does sound familiar.. if its a proper VAT registered dealer.

 

[Gezz]

I'm pretty sure its actually 6 months.

The sale of goods act states that all items sold must be of satisfactory quality, and for the first 6 months the onus is on the dealer to prove the fault was NOT present at the time of sale to get out of paying. After that the onus is on you, but even then its not a guaranteed case that you would pay for the repairs.

Look up the sale of goods act on the net, print off the relevant bits and speak to the delaer quoting a few bits, if they won't do the repair then tell them you are seeing the citizens advice bureau, trading standards and that you will take him to the small claims court where he will know that he will lose so will probably start back tracking.

All that about a 1 month warranty is bull. The law is very clear, as a dealer if you sell a car it must be fit for purpose, free of major faults and of satisfactory quality.

Good Luck!

 

[Graham89]

Just be careful here. I've just come out of a 4 month case regarding my car and the courts and a dealer

Even if the dealer looses the case, he still doesn't have to pay you the money. He could simply pretend to be someone else as small claim courts aren't powerful enough to reclaim the money. I bought a car that said it had HPI report. Which it didn't, It's been clocked and a accident. Best bet is talk to trading standards regarding the matter. I've had to take car off the road for a month to get this sorted. Solicitor fees are in excess of £600 plus for a case. Is it worth the hassle and effort in case you lose you then have to pay £600+ solicitor, Court fees then repair the car at £650-900

Food for thought.

 

[allah86]

thanks for the help.

Having talked to the guy, he is refusing to pay. I even offered to go halves but i dont think he will accept. So basically, as this has happened within 3 months, it is up to him to prove that the fault was not present at time of sale. How would he do that?

According to the garage it is hard to prove how long the problem has existed but they said they would keep the broken head gasket back for me as evidence if i needed it.

I know that i can prove having a problem with the coolant within 3 weeks of having the car, because i posted on this forum about the issue.

 

[oldman]

posting in on here though i snot informing the garage you had an issue.
that will be the issue - did you speak to the garage who sold the car at any point you had an issue? or did you just speak to your independent gaarge?
if the independent, do they have a job card noting work done and what was found? was this in the 1st month?

just thinking allowed, no experience in this.

i think a proper comprehensive list of known timeline facts & issues would help you with any discussions

 

[Gezz]

Got this off a government website.

"Your rights when buying from a dealer
When you buy from a dealer, the law says a car must be of satisfactory quality. It must meet the standard a reasonable person would regard as acceptable, taking into consideration:


the way it was described

how much it cost

the age and the mileage of the vehicle

This covers things like:


appearance and finish (paintwork)

safety

durability (how strong they are)

The car must be free from problems, except where they were pointed out to you by the seller. The car must also be as described. So if the advert says ‘air conditioning’, then the car should have this feature and it should work.

The car should also be reasonably fit for any normal purpose, which means it should get you from one place to another. The car should also be reasonably fit for any other purpose you specify to the seller, for example, towing a caravan. "


This link is to the same sites proforma letters to send to an unco-operative dealer

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/template-letters/

Don't worry about how the dealer proves the fault wasn't there at the time of sale, that's their problem.

Make sure you record or get in writing that they are refusing the repair, as later they may try and argue that you gave them no opportunity to repair it themselves and then refuse to pay a bill of repair at another garage.

Basically as long as he didn't say when he sold it you that the head gasket was leaking then he's fu**ed. Its not as though its a fault that suddenly appears either. At worst you may need to get an engineers report but you will be able to claim that back from them.

 

[wayne lcr]

best going to a solicters and see were you stand then

 

[andy_lang]

Yup sales of goods act - and with a dealer you can return the car within a month regardless of what they say!!!
I got all the blurb at home somewhere - but long of the short, you can get them to pay the full bill or give you a full refund, their choice!!

Sorry to hear btw

 

[Alexis27]

thanks for the help.

Having talked to the guy, he is refusing to pay. I even offered to go halves but i dont think he will accept. So basically, as this has happened within 3 months, it is up to him to prove that the fault was not present at time of sale. How would he do that?

According to the garage it is hard to prove how long the problem has existed but they said they would keep the broken head gasket back for me as evidence if i needed it.

I know that i can prove having a problem with the coolant within 3 weeks of having the car, because i posted on this forum about the issue.

Small claims court then. Get a final quote for the work and put it in writing to him. Head the letter 'Letter Before Action'. Tell him you are requesting a refund under the 1979 Sales of Goods Act and give him 7 days to send payment, or agree to pay for the work or that you will take him to county court.

Dealer should pay and then pursue the guy he bought the car from in the same way.