Car Purchase gone to hell - quick question

Finch127

I bought a used car from a dealer which I not want to name yet.. on the 29th of august , just a few days ago. After the car was dropped off I noticed that the handbrake lever was faulty and the code card reader was broken. I called back and the car was taken back in for
repair. The car was dropped back to me 02/09/2013. As the car was driven back into the driveway, mere meters away , the engine management light came on and the "SERVICE" light. I tried to call him back straightaway and his 2 mobile phones were turned
off. I text him explaining the issue and from previous experience it had always been the catalytic converter and that I wanted it replaced. His son text me a few hours later, with the following message:

"Hi **** here **** son he said light on in car when
u drove it u must of jerked it fast and light came on i will come out tomorrow wit computer and take it off you can text me and let me know wa time cheers"

Now as you more then likely know, that does not actually resolve the issue, Its only telling the ECU
to not tell me somethings wrong. I spoke with his father and who sold me the car later that evening. He started using vulgar language when I asked him for a refund as the car has had too many issues and it hasn't even been driven by me. He said he
would send his son out to take a look the next day anyway and prove me wrong. His son arrived at 13:30 the next day, and plugged the diagnostic tool into the car in my driveway, straightaway 4 faults popped up, the main one being the catalytic converter.
When I pointed it to him he quickly brushed it off and said no that isn't a problem and proceeded to *just* clear the errors as if the faults were fixed. I took a picture with my phone of the errors on the screen and him with the laptop sitting in the car
as proof. He refused to admit that there is a problem with car even with the fault logs, is refusing a refund (the reply being "we dont give back money") or to replace the faulty part. After I told him I was going to go further about this he proceeded to use
vulgar language to which I have witnesses. I have a signed invoice with a 3 month warranty on the car, text messages from his son regarding it not being a problem and blaming me even though I have not driven the car, and the picture I mentioned with the faults.

My quick question is, I know I need to get a second opinion from a garage, but since the faults have been cleared , is there a history built into the ECU of a renault megane II of faults previously generated , including time/date etc ?

mickdw

The fauils will reappear because as you realise yourself, he did not fix anything.
Drive it till the light comes back, take it to a main dealer for that brand and get a diagnosis even if it cost you a few bob.
See if seller will act on this. If not, get solicitor and seek refund.

colm_mcm

When you say dealer, do you mean trader, main dealer or garage?
Sounds a bit dodgy tbh and I can only see him getting more difficult.
Do you have a warranty in writing?

Finch127

******* < Fellas name

{Trade cars only} Car Sales LTD is whats on the sheet.

And yep, 3 month warranty Engine + Gearbox , Signed by him

Noccy_Mondy

Name and shame them!! That's no way for a dealer to behave, as colm said, he seems a bit dodgy.

colm_mcm

Naming the garage may not be the wisest thing to do.
Better to try and resolve.

drunkmonkey

Warranty doesn't need to be in writing, he's got an automatic right once he's a consumer and the seller is a dealer / trader. Main dealer check over and then get your solicitor to subpeona, once your solicitor threatens him he should fold.

Doesn't matter the cat isn't on the warranty sheet, it means nothing.

Yawns

I'd be wary about anyone setting up a new account to soley name & shame a place. Wouldn't do it just yet nor encourage it.

If it is indeed a dealer, it's a terrible attitude to have and a shockingly poor experience. But I've not know a dealer who will send his son around with a code reader to a person's house before. I could be mistaken but it seems like a private trader to me.

Yawns

How much did you pay for it op?

Finch127

Yeah Im not going to mention any names, not that stupid lol

Unbelievable experience , its my first car having driving bikes for the last 9 years, off to a great start! I cant drive it at the moment as I do not have insurance. Going to contact the main dealer near tallaght and see if they would collect or call out and diagnose, write off its condition.

I was told it was an act of god that the light came on lol As your mans son was leaving my driveway I said straight out (after getting annoyed) look...are you going to fix this under the warranty or not? "No theres nothing wrong sure I cleared the fault" I said alright you'll be hearing from my solicitor about this , to which he replied "Yeah and you'll hear from mine ya cheeky prick" ... May have called him a fat c*nt in a temper lol

2595 for it, 05 megane

Yawns

They sound altogether lovely people to deal with. I bet they forget to send the log book for a while as well, causing you more hassle in the meantime.

Was it a dealer where you could walk into their forecourt or just a father & son who sell out of their house? Things like this can get tricky but if it's a dealer, a solicitors letter could work wonders. Cost you about €100 most likely but could save you a lot of hassle.

Finch127

Yawns wrote: »

They sound altogether lovely people to deal with. I bet they forget to send the log book for a while as well, causing you more hassle in the meantime.

Was it a dealer where you could walk into their forecourt or just a father & son who sell out of their house? Things like this can get tricky but if it's a dealer, a solicitors letter could work wonders. Cost you about €100 most likely but could save you a lot of hassle.

No I actually have the log book believe it or not

Family run business.

mullingar

@OP

You also have the law on your side, its called the sale of goods act.

Under the Act you have a "reasonable" timeframe for a warranty, A 8 year old Megane could be argued that its 1 month. Under the Act, you have the right to repair, exchange or refund. The choice is by the seller.

Having a written 3 month warranty is an added bonus, so you have 2 "warranties" on your side

I would first of all visit the dealer (with a friend or two) and tell him that you wish for repair, exchange or refund as per the Sale of Goods Act. What he says next will determine your next move of going legal (solicitor) or maybe the small claims court (max €2000 claim!) that you do not need a solicitor for.

Chimaera

It's a relatively normal diagnostic procedure to note the codes and clear them.

Many faults will remain on the ECU's memory until they are cleared by diagnostic equipment even if the fault has been physically repaired. It can also happen that an unusual circumstance will trick the ECU into setting a code when there's no real fault present.

By clearing the codes you can find out what's actually wrong, if anything.

An engine management warning light is not always the catalytic converter - in this case it's luck that that was the fault. That light will come on for certain critical systems of which the cat is only one.

Basically, I wouldn't be so quick to blame the dealer and drag their name through the mud on a public forum. Their language was rather inappropriate if what you say is true, but that's not a hanging offence.

Get your insurance sorted and see how it goes for a few days on the road. If the fault reappears get it assessed independently and go from there.

Yawns

Finch127 wrote: »

No I actually have the log book believe it or not

Family run business.

That was quick getting the logbook in less than a week. Has the car been driven since he cleared the codes? Have they re-appeared. If it was not fixed then they won't take long re-appearing.

As for above about the sales, goods & supply act, in relation to the three R's, it would seem they already had it in for repair and it hasn't been a permanent one. Since then their attitude has been bad, so has his own by accounts but they are the supposed professionals here. He would be within his rights to refuse a replacement and opt for a refund.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

Lads it's all well and good quoting the sale of goods act but

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056528062

That thread is nearly two years old now and the OP in that thread still hasn't had any joy.

If you go the legal route be prepared for a long drawn out process. It was suggested that a solicitor's letter might help. Judging by the dealers attitude a solicitors letter will just go in the bin and it won't bother him in the slightest.

The engine management light will be back on today or tomorrow. Get it diagnosed and if its only a few hundred euro get it fixed and move on unless you have the time and energy for courts.

Unfortunatly you played into his hands by reacting to him and having a row. If you asked him for the time of day now he will tell you to fcuk off.

Finch127

Yawns wrote: »

That was quick getting the logbook in less than a week. Has the car been driven since he cleared the codes? Have they re-appeared. If it was not fixed then they won't take long re-appearing.

As for above about the sales, goods & supply act, in relation to the three R's, it would seem they already had it in for repair and it hasn't been a permanent one. Since then their attitude has been bad, so has his own by accounts but they are the supposed professionals here. He would be within his rights to refuse a replacement and opt for a refund.

No sorry I meant I have the logbook from the previous owner, when he was collecting the car to repair the handbrake and keycard reader the first time I said I wanted the logbook, otherwise he would have had the money , car and logbook lol

No it hasnt been driven, I did not want the mileage to go up on it since he sold it as I wanted to prove that I did not drive it and theres multiple issues with it.

H3llR4iser

Finch127 wrote: »

No sorry I meant I have the logbook from the previous owner, when he was collecting the car to repair the handbrake and keycard reader the first time I said I wanted the logbook, otherwise he would have had the money , car and logbook lol

No it hasnt been driven, I did not want the mileage to go up on it since he sold it as I wanted to prove that I did not drive it and theres multiple issues with it.

Well as suggested, you should actually get insured and try the car around a bit, see if the codes come back or not. Of course, if you want another garage to run a diagnostic that's an option too, it should not be exceedingly expensive.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

Finch127 wrote: »

No sorry I meant I have the logbook from the previous owner, when he was collecting the car to repair the handbrake and keycard reader the first time I said I wanted the logbook, otherwise he would have had the money , car and logbook lol

No it hasnt been driven, I did not want the mileage to go up on it since he sold it as I wanted to prove that I did not drive it and theres multiple issues with it.

What other issues does it have?

Finch127

Wheres My ForkandKnife wrote: »

Lads it's all well and good quoting the sale of goods act but

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056528062

That thread is nearly two years old now and the OP in that thread still hasn't had any joy.

If you go the legal route be prepared for a long drawn out process. It was suggested that a solicitor's letter might help. Judging by the dealers attitude a solicitors letter will just go in the bin and it won't bother him in the slightest.

The engine management light will be back on today or tomorrow. Get it diagnosed and if its only a few hundred euro get it fixed and move on unless you have the time and energy for courts.

Unfortunately you played into his hands by reacting to him and having a row. If you asked him for the time of day now he will tell you to fcuk off.

I only had a row because he started getting very smart with me , smirking, telling me there wasn't a problem as the engine management was on in front of us.

Wheres My ForkandKnife

Finch127 wrote: »

I only had a row because he started getting very smart with me , smirking, telling me there wasn't a problem as the engine management was on in front of us.

I understand that but you do realise it suited him to have the row. It makes it easier for him to ignore you now.

If you go the legal route best of luck. If you look at the thread I quoted earlier it is not as easy as just having the legislation on your side.

You need to know how much it will cost to put right first.What other issues does the car have apart from the cat?