Car dealer tom-foolery

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 9:41am #1

Hi guys

Bit of a rant here but want to see your opinions. Last monthe we bought a used car (2 owners) from a dealer. Was test drove valeted etc and fixekd up before was given to us. Over the course of 2 weeks we began to notice things missing/not working with the motor.

glove box broke
engines lights turning on
window wipers stopping sporadically
boot not opening
passenger door key not working

To name but a few. So we took it back and I was fairly miffed. Told the dealer to fix all of it, which he did...or so I thought.

Last night the mrs was getting into the car and the ignition wouldn't fire. Car was just dead so we had to get AXA to tow it back to the garage.

Today I rang dealer and I was fairly fuming to be honest. Here is where I am wondering if he has a point. He said the "ignition is not his fault as he cannot predict if and when the ignition stops working and thats why I have a guarantee". I was taken aback by this and countered with the fact that i paid for a, car and I expect it to be road worthy on hand over?

What are your thoughts.

EPM · 01-03-2011 9:48am

Parts fail. He's standing over it. These things happen unfortunately.

Max Power1 · 01-03-2011 10:04am

I'd be much more worried if he wasnt going to fix it under warranty.

Dacelonid · 01-03-2011 10:07am

If he is fixing it, what is the problem?

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 10:09am

Dacelonid wrote: »

If he is fixing it, what is the problem?

Just the frustration that I have had so much trouble with it already.

-Corkie- · 01-03-2011 10:14am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Just the frustration that I have had so much trouble with it already.

How old is it?

Seth Brundle · 01-03-2011 10:14am

What model/year is the car out of cuiriosity?
Did you get it checked before you bought it?

BlackWizard · 01-03-2011 10:15am

Oh my god.. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with customers like you.

I'm surprised he fixed the initial items as most dealers only cover engine and gearbox.

It sounds like a decent garage actually. What garage is it?

Anan1 · 01-03-2011 10:21am

BlackWizard wrote: »

Oh my god.. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with customers like you.

I'm surprised he fixed the initial items as most dealers only cover engine and gearbox.

It sounds like a decent garage actually. What garage is it?

Are you kidding? The OP has only had the car a month, there shouldn't be that many things going wrong with it. Even with a warranty, returning a car to a garage for repair work can be anything from a minor inconvenience to a major PITA. I see nothing so far to support the accusation that either the OP (or the garage, for that matter) is behaving unreasonably.

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 10:21am

BlackWizard wrote: »

Oh my god.. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with customers like you.

I'm surprised he fixed the initial items as most dealers only cover engine and gearbox.

It sounds like a decent garage actually. What garage is it?

So I have no grounds for complaint withe laundry list of problems I had with it? Am I meant to bite my tongue every time i bring it back to that garage? Seriously cop on.

-Corkie- · 01-03-2011 10:26am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

So I have no grounds for complaint withe laundry list of problems I had with it? Am I meant to bite my tongue every time i bring it back to that garage? Seriously cop on.

What year/mileage is on the car?

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 10:27am

Hi

It's an 01 with 93000 on the clock (give or take now)

-Corkie- · 01-03-2011 10:28am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Hi

It's an 01 with 93000 on the clock (give or take now)

Nissan/vw/ford

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 10:44am

VW polo saloon model

-Corkie- · 01-03-2011 10:49am

Its a ten year old budget family saloon. It is not going to be a totally troublefree car. I cannot see anything wrong with the garage here.

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 10:54am

Thanks guys that has cleared that up. Ill be sure to keep schtum when I go back and accept the breakdowns and repairs. I will accept all this as the norm and the garage is in the right and I should not of expected more....

Bodhan · 01-03-2011 10:54am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

*glove box broke*
engines lights turning on
window wipers stopping sporadically
*boot not opening*
*passenger door key not working*

What are your thoughts.

Sounds to me like the checks weren't done properly, these are things that should have been checked the first time you seen the car. Even so the dealer has fixed all these problems. Also the dealer is right, it's impossible to predict if a part is going to fail like your starter motor. He's fixing it under warranty so other than an inconvenience there's no harm done.

ronaneire · 01-03-2011 10:55am

10 year old car, you can expect things to go wrong. The garage are doing their best to sort it.

wildefalcon · 01-03-2011 10:55am

The car is a decade old and has done 93,000 miles.

Things will go wrong.

If the dealer has fixed the problems then he has met his obligations.

I appreciate the frustration, however unless the dealer was to take the car apart and rebuild it with new parts there is no way he can eliminate the risk of component failure.

I think you are being a little bit unreasonable, probably, as you say, out of frustration.

To be honest I've heard of worse problems with new cars.

You could always take it to the courts, however I suspect the Judge would find in favour of the dealer, and would award costs to him, too.

For guidance the "working" life of consumer durables, including cars, is 2 years according to the EU, and 6 years according to Irish legislation.

On the otherhand, if the repairs don't last, or fail quickly, you do have a case.

01-03-2011 10:58am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

.........
Today I rang dealer and I was fairly fuming to be honest. Here is where I am wondering if he has a point. He said the "ignition is not his fault as he cannot predict if and when the ignition stops working and thats why I have a guarantee". I was taken aback by this and countered with the fact that i paid for a, car and I expect it to be road worthy on hand over?

What are your thoughts.

As said it's a 10 year old car, many garages would only cover the engine and gearbox. If I was you I'd be less p1ssed off and be thankful he is fixing it. You have essentially bought a very very used car that will need bits and bobs done every now and then.

Do you expect dealers to be able to magically know how long every component will last and replace all the ones that may fail over the next 3 to 6 months?

I reckon you have unreasonable expectations of both the car and the dealer. For example if any of the following happened do you expect the dealer to cover it?

- power steering pump fails?
- shock starts leaking?
- backbox gets noisy?
- CV joint fails?
- CV boot splits?
- Radio stops working?
- electric mirror stops working?
- door handle stops working?

01-03-2011 11:00am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Thanks guys that has cleared that up. Ill be sure to keep schtum when I go back and accept the breakdowns and repairs. I will accept all this as the norm and the garage is in the right and I should not of expected more....

chuckle chuckle, I feel sorry for the dealer to be honest

Anan1 · 01-03-2011 11:00am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Thanks guys that has cleared that up. Ill be sure to keep schtum when I go back and accept the breakdowns and repairs. I will accept all this as the norm and the garage is in the right and I should not of expected more....

While I understand your frustration, you'd do well to remember that you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

mickdw · 01-03-2011 11:01am

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

Thanks guys that has cleared that up. Ill be sure to keep schtum when I go back and accept the breakdowns and repairs. I will accept all this as the norm and the garage is in the right and I should not of expected more....

From a 01 Polo salooon that you failed to check over properly when buying, no, I dont think you could have expected more to be honest.
If you had spotted the faults before the sale (most of your list would have been present before you bought it), garage would have repaired them before pick up. You would then have had the failed ignition and garage would be now sorting it - First warranty repair and given that it is an old car, that would not be unusual.
Seeing as you missed alot of faults, its also possible that you have bought a heap too but going by your attitude on this thread alone, you seem to know it all so I doubt you brought a more knowledgeable person with you.

Max Power1 · 01-03-2011 11:09am

mickdw wrote: »

From a 01 Polo salooon that you failed to check over properly when buying, no, I dont think you could have expected more to be honest.
If you had spotted the faults before the sale (most of your list would have been present before you bought it), garage would have repaired them before pick up. You would then have had the failed ignition and garage would be now sorting it - First warranty repair and given that it is an old car, that would not be unusual.
Seeing as you missed alot of faults, its also possible that you have bought a heap too but going by your attitude on this thread alone, you seem to know it all so I doubt you brought a more knowledgeable person with you.

this tbh

most if not all the faults could and should have been spotted when you test drove the car and/or had it looked over by a mechanic.

DeadlyByDesign · 01-03-2011 11:14am

Fair enough apologies for sarcasm I guess there are a lot of valid points here. I'll know better next time.

Satanta · 01-03-2011 11:25am

-Corkie- wrote: »

Its a ten year old budget family saloon. It is not going to be a totally troublefree car. I cannot see anything wrong with the garage here.

+1 on that

At that age and mileage alot depends on how well the previous owners maintained the car. The Garage has no control over that. Sounds like he is doing his best to honor his guarantee. And to be honest, the items in your list all seem like small wear and tear items that can come with a car that age.

BlackWizard · 01-03-2011 4:26pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Are you kidding? The OP has only had the car a month, there shouldn't be that many things going wrong with it. Even with a warranty, returning a car to a garage for repair work can be anything from a minor inconvenience to a major PITA. I see nothing so far to support the accusation that either the OP (or the garage, for that matter) is behaving unreasonably.

No I'm not kidding. Jesus man I would of thought someone with your experience would know better. Always bring someone that knows about cars with you when buying a car so small little things like this dont come back and bite you in the ass.

DeadlyByDesign wrote: »

So I have no grounds for complaint withe laundry list of problems I had with it? Am I meant to bite my tongue every time i bring it back to that garage? Seriously cop on.

Yes. Those problems should have been seen before you bought the car which is why warranty only usually cover engine and gearbox. Read the rest of the responses and after you do that come back and appologise for telling me to cop on. Then go to your garage and tell them how much you apprecaite them going beyond the normal customer service you'd expect by fixing things which are not covered by your warranty.
Edit: Never mind. I see we have brought you over to the unfortunate reality of buying second hand

I still admire your ability to get the garage to fix those things. I don't think I'd even bother asking which says a lot.

bren11 · 01-03-2011 10:11pm

Check out Honest John,

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/polo-iii-2000/?section=bad

Bonusimo · 01-03-2011 10:53pm

BlackWizard wrote: »

Oh my god.. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with customers like you.

I'm surprised he fixed the initial items as most dealers only cover engine and gearbox.

It sounds like a decent garage actually. What garage is it?

Such a disgraceful comment, undeniable crook with no moral compass whatsoever. I'm in the process of buying a car and I really hope to God I dont deal with someone like you.

Loopsie · 01-03-2011 10:59pm

i am actually gobsmacked, all i can say is u r lucky you didnt come to me for it

the car is ten years old. We as dealers sell the vehicles and try to prepa them to as high a stamdard as possible, WE DO NOT BUILD THE CARS
The fact he covered thse items fo you on a ten year ol, big kudos to him

If i were you i would stop complaining and open you eyes to the level of service you are getting and maybe pick himup a bottle to say thanks for looking after you

Car dealer tom-foolery

Comments