Faulty part supplied by main dealer - asking for a refund?

crótach

Does anyone have experience getting a refund off the main dealer?

I got a wheel replaced on friday by the main nissan dealer (windsor), the one I had on the car was slightly damaged.

I was back on the motorway today and the car was shaking so much I thought I was driving a jackhammer! The new wheel actually made it worse! Went straight to my local garage which was on the way back to have a look, and it turns out the brand new wheel is buckled!

Rang the dealer to complain, thinking they'll apologise and sort it out, but no! They want me to come back in tomorrow to balance the wheel, which I already know cannot be done because it's buckled. (confirmed by the local idependent garage) They don't want to order a new one for me, and they have no stock. So basically they want me to drive in for nothing, waste my time, and then once they see it for themselves order a new wheel and I'll be left with a car I can't use. No offer of a replacement vehicle either.

Basically I just want out, I'll source the replacement wheel myself, I've had enough of them, putting my life in danger with their incompetence.

Anyone know if they can be scared with consumer protection and small claims court into issuing a refund? I'm past looking for an apology, and I would have taken a replacement wheel if one was offered.

colm_mcm

did they fit the tyre on the new wheel? did whoever fitted the tyre not balance it?

Why do you want a refund, do you not just want a wheel that doesn't wobble?

have you tried the wheel on another corner of the car?

landydef

when you damaged the first wheel is it possible that you damaged the steering also?

Solitaire

Did the shaking start or intensify once over a certain speed? Check tyre pressures are all correct, after that it may be that the tracking's off - get it looked at, not a huge job. If both are verified to be good then I'm guessing you've now got an even bigger issue with the steering or suspension

reverandkenjami

If you bring something faulty back to a shop that has been used they'll check its faulty before refunding/exchanging! Same here!

crótach

colm_mcm wrote: »

did they fit the tyre on the new wheel? did whoever fitted the tyre not balance it?

Why do you want a refund, do you not just want a wheel that doesn't wobble?

have you tried the wheel on another corner of the car?

they fit the tyre as well. my local mechanic tried swapping it with the back wheel, then tried it without the tyre and in the end tried the rim alone on the balancing machine. it hops up and down a bit, clearly visible.

neither of us could believe it, brand new wheel.

i guess windsor had it in storage for ages, probably bashed it around.

a wheel that doesn't wobble is exactly what i want. unfortunately i doubt their ability to supply and fit one. and i don't like the way i've been treated, so i'd rather take my custom somewhere else.

-Chris-

Jesus, why do these things escalate so quickly?

If they supplied you with a damaged rim, I'm sure they'll replace it for you, but it's not fair to deny them the ability to examine and diagnose the cause of the wobble you're feeling.
From their point of view, maybe it is an unbalanced wheel, maybe it's a loose wheel nut, maybe they supplied you with a damaged rim (maybe they were supplied with a damaged rim). They want to assess the wheel before they commit to replacing it.

I'd expect this kind of reaction from any business - I bet if I called Curry's and said the DVD player they sold me wasn't working they wouldn't agree over the phone to replace it with a new one. They'd want to see that the unit was malfunctioning due to a manufacturer fault rather than due to my 4 year old putting cookies in the DVD slot.

Don't presume they'll shoot you down straight away, don't presume they played football with your new wheel out the back of the garage before selling it to you. Let them have a look at it and see what they say next.

crótach

Chris, I see the sense in what you're saying, I'll try and approach this with a cool head tomorrow.

Right now I'm deeply dissappointed in how the whole thing turned out, but tomorrow's a new day!

Del2005

-Chris- wrote: »

Jesus, why do these things escalate so quickly?

If they supplied you with a damaged rim, I'm sure they'll replace it for you, but it's not fair to deny them the ability to examine and diagnose the cause of the wobble you're feeling.
From their point of view, maybe it is an unbalanced wheel, maybe it's a loose wheel nut, maybe they supplied you with a damaged rim (maybe they were supplied with a damaged rim). They want to assess the wheel before they commit to replacing it.

I'd expect this kind of reaction from any business - I bet if I called Curry's and said the DVD player they sold me wasn't working they wouldn't agree over the phone to replace it with a new one. They'd want to see that the unit was malfunctioning due to a manufacturer fault rather than due to my 4 year old putting cookies in the DVD slot.

Don't presume they'll shoot you down straight away, don't presume they played football with your new wheel out the back of the garage before selling it to you. Let them have a look at it and see what they say next.

+1. If you went to the SCC with what you have now you'd loose, even if the wheel is damaged. Your 1st call for all issues is the vendor, if you get no satisfaction then you go legal. Not treaten legal before the vendor has had a chance to inspect the item.

Seth Brundle

crótach wrote: »

Rang the dealer to complain, thinking they'll apologise and sort it out, but no! They want me to come back in tomorrow to balance the wheel, which I already know cannot be done because it's buckled. (confirmed by the local idependent garage) They don't want to order a new one for me, and they have no stock. So basically they want me to drive in for nothing, waste my time, and then once they see it for themselves order a new wheel and I'll be left with a car I can't use. No offer of a replacement vehicle either.

Basically I just want out, I'll source the replacement wheel myself, I've had enough of them, putting my life in danger with their incompetence.

Anyone know if they can be scared with consumer protection and small claims court into issuing a refund? I'm past looking for an apology, and I would have taken a replacement wheel if one was offered.

Further to Chris's post, what do you expect them to do or say?
Also with regard to consumer protection and/or the small claims court, were you to tell them the above story, what would the first question they ask you be?

crótach

Well I'm heading over at lunchtime and I'm happy to let them inspect it.

What I really wanted them to say was "we're sorry about this, let us make it right", instead they wouldn't even entertain the thought that there MIGHT be something wrong with the wheel they sold and fitted.

Best I could do was to ask my mechanic to leave the new wheel in the boot and put my spare (the damaged wheel) on the back, and move the back wheel to the front. Car drives a lot better but not perfect.

Drummerboy08

I'd be a bit surprised if the wheel was damaged while in storage tbh. Wheels are designed to take the kit of a kerb or pothole - dropping one off a shelf shouldnt affect it too much.

More than likely, it came from the factory like this. Or, maybe not as likely, but quite possible, you damaged the wheel yourself. Did you hit any kerbs/potholes/obstructions on the road?

As above, go back to the dealer, and let them look at it. If it is faultly, they can replace it at no cost to them, as the wheel came from the garage faulty, unless it's obvious that it was driver error that caused the damage.