First car motor advice

gid1

Hello, I am looking for some advice. I bought a ford fiesta 1998 from Prospect Motors in Drumcondra. I bought the car 2 weeks ago and last friday it had an oil leak and the car wouldn't start. The problem was the starter motor. I had a one month warranty so the dealer took the car in and replaced the starter motor and fixed the oil leak. Last night the car broke down 3 times and the last time was on a hill. I had to get it towed. I now have no confidence in the car, I feel it might break down at anytime! the problem now is the alternator. I have asked for a refund but the garage will not give me one. The car cost €1600. Can anyone give me any advice to what i should do? Has anyone dealt with Prospect Motors? I have been speaking to the National Consumer Agency and although i am entitled to a refund they also say that the garage are in their rights to just repair the car too. any advice appreciated. Many thanks!

Muckie

You got a lemon alrite. Stick to your guns. Get your money back.

Maybe the Small Claims Court can help. The garage wanna keep your

money. Don't let them bully you, your not happy with the car, its

let you down and you should be entitled to a refund.

niceirishfella

At least you did'nt buy private ehhhhhh.
Return the car and ask for a full refund forthwith, but be polite yet firm.

gid1

Thanks for the replies. I have tried the polite but firm but did not work, I think to get the refund I will have to go through the small claims court. To be honest I'd really rather not have to do this. Do u think that maybe once these are fixed it may actually run perfectly?! or am I being too idealistic. I was also going to bring it to another mechanic get a full check and their advice, and if they say it's not roadworthy then I will take it to the small claims court.....

Henry Ford III

I think you'll have no other option but pursue this in the small claims court tbh

Anan1

Why not just let the garage replace the alternator? I don't really see any grounds for demanding a refund, TBH.

unkel

Legally, you'll have to give the garage the opportunity first to fix the car under warranty.

niceirishfella

unkel wrote: »

Legally, you'll have to give the garage the opportunity first to fix the car under warranty.

Not quite.
Goods (the car)should of merchantable quality and fit for its purpose or purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly bought and as durable as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances, and any reference in this Act to unmerchantable goods shall be construed accordingly.
The cars given up the ghost twice in 2 weeks and 3 faults showed up in 3 weeks, the starter,oil leak and now the alternator - the car was hardly of merchandisable quality.

Alanstrainor

niceirishfella wrote: »

Not quite.
Goods (the car)should of merchantable quality and fit for its purpose or purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly bought and as durable as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances, and any reference in this Act to unmerchantable goods shall be construed accordingly.
The cars given up the ghost twice in 2 weeks and 3 faults showed up in 3 weeks, the starter,oil leak and now the alternator - the car was hardly of merchandisable quality.

But is it not the case that the owner of the car is entitled to either a refund, repair or replacement at the discretion of the seller. Granted they can't keep repairing it if the same problem persists.

niceirishfella

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Granted they can't keep repairing it if the same problem persists.

yep, there a sequence of events already showing the car was not of merchandisable quality and will help the buyer in any small claim - and OP, I've been through the Small claims court procedure (on both sides, claiming and being claimed off) and won on both side, both occasions:D - so pm me if you have questions. The car should not have been sold with an oil leak showing for starters.

unkel

niceirishfella wrote: »

The car should not have been sold with an oil leak showing for starters.

The oil leak didn't present itself until a week after the car was sold. We are talking about an 11 year old lower end car here, things are not unlikely to start going wrong. If the garage offers to repair at this stage (as Alainstrainor said, they can't keep repairing the car) and the OP refuses this offer and takes it straight to the small claims court, he might be unpleasantly surprised with the outcome...

niceirishfella

unkel wrote: »

The oil leak didn't present itself until a week after the car was sold. We are talking about an 11 year old lower end car here, things are not unlikely to start going wrong. If the garage offers to repair at this stage (as Alainstrainor said, they can't keep repairing the car) and the OP refuses this offer and takes it straight to the small claims court, he might be unpleasantly surprised with the outcome...

No, I don't agree. The longer the OP leaves it and does'nt dump the car back with the vendor, the more likely he'll never see his money again. 3 or months months down the road, he'll not stand a chance - 2 weeks in Yes.
The OP is 2 weeks into the purchase and there a clear pattern forming in respect of the cars quality (regardless of its vintage) to use in a small claims procedure.

unkel

niceirishfella wrote: »

No, I don't agree. The longer the OP leaves it and does'nt dump the car back with the vendor, the more likely he'll never see his money again. 3 or months months down the road, he'll not stand a chance - 2 weeks in Yes.
The OP is 2 weeks into the purchase and there a clear pattern forming in respect of the cars quality (regardless of its vintage) to use in a small claims procedure.

I'm no fan of the NCA, but in this case I reckon their advice is correct in that the garage is not obliged to refund the purchase price if they repair the car.

You've got to hand it to the garage. The car did not have any of these problems when it was sold. The garage were notified of two problems - they fixed both free of charge under warranty within days. Now they are notified of another problem and they offer to fix it free of charge under warranty. This is clearly no conspiracy from the garage to sell a lemon - it's plain bad luck. Let them fix it, OP.

niceirishfella

unkel wrote: »

The garage were notified of two problems - they fixed both free of charge under warranty within days. Now they are notified of another problem and they offer to fix it free of charge under warranty. This is clearly no conspiracy from the garage to sell a lemon - it's plain bad luck. Let them fix it, OP.

yeahhhh, plain bad luck:rolleyes:They were obliged to fix the car - they were doing their job - nothing less.

gid1

Hi, thanks for all the replies. think I am going to put it down to bad luck too and just hope for the best that when they change the alternator this will be the last major problem. Think i will get it checked by another mechanic too just for peace of mind. thanks

fifibibi

Do you know what mileage is on your car? I have a Ford Fiesta LX, my first car. I bought it cheap because it needed a few things. Funnily enough from reading your post they were the same things you had problems with. I had to replace the starter and alternator, and a few other small bits.Maybe those problems are a result of mileage? like timing belts on other cars needing to be replaced every 30,000 miles?

Most drivers hate to be caught behind a ford fiesta, but ill tell you what, i have had it for almost 12 months now and i have not had a problem with it since i replaced the old parts, and now its grand. you must remember old cars need to be looked after. I have a polish friend who recommended a ford fiesta to me, he reckons they are great and last forever!
i would not swap mine for any other car right now simply because it has never let me down.

look after it and i think you will be fine.

There is one other thing, my friend bought a new car from a dealership, she had to have it repaired 3 separate times, the garage looked after it for her, but the third time she told them if she had to bring it back again then she wanted them to take that one back and giver her a new car, same model just a working one. She got a replacement.
I do not know if this only applies to the same problem being fixed 3 times in a row or if it just applies to new cars, but it might be worth phoning another garage and asking.

I bought mine at a reduced price though(privately), but i was informed of the problems unlike you and i think that is unfair. they are a garage and may have known about these problems..but who can say for certain?

I hope things work out for you with this problem.