Problem dealer

Naos

Afternoon,

I purchased a car from a Dealer back in Mid Nov. Here's a timeline of events:

8th Nov: Viewed car and agreed a price. Paid 200e deposit. Agreed to pick up on 12th. Car was to have mudflaps fitted, full service & a valet.

12th Nov: Rang dealer to confirm car was ready, informed car was not ready as they needed to fix the door.

21st Nov: After numerous phone calls, the car was eventually ready to be collected for 15:30. Took a half day off work, was there for 14:00. Didn't get car until 19:30. Car handed over with no valet or car mud flaps as per agreement. Advised dealer I'd come back for the mud flaps + valet.

24th Nov: Engine light comes on, dealer informed.

29th Nov: Car valeted, Engine light cleared & advised car was just running rich on fuel. No mud flaps as per agreement. Dealer confirmed that they were on order.

3rd Dec: Engine light comes back on, Dealer informed. Advised me to bring the car back to them (This then resulted in a series of phone calls and non commitment to a date from dealer).

16th Dec: Dealer informs mud flaps are not on order, cannot get them. Advised me to shop around & if I got them, I would be compensated.

17th Dec: Bring car to dealer. Engine light cleared but no resolution to problem despite car being there 4+ hours. Advised they'd need more time.
Tell's me there won't be room to book it in until Jan 5th.

5th Jan: Call dealer, they told me they'll ring their mechanic and see when he's free.

9th Jan: No call back from dealer as usual, so I call them. We get into a shouting match as he explains he cannot get the mud flaps and I'm really pissing him off. He advised me to bring the car in next Wednesday to sort out the bushings & engine light.

Throughout this whole experience, I've had dates rearranged/non confirmed/no answers to calls/messages etc.

Anyone ever experience anything like this? Where do I stand regarding not receiving what was owed to me (got him to sign a receipt which included the mudflaps).

Am I best just leaving it (becoming a right pain now going back & forth) or have I grounds to some form of compensation and use that to cover some costs with a different garage?

Absolutely dumbfounded as to how incompetent they've been.

Thanks for reading.

colm_mcm

Get the car into them. Don't leave till they fix it.

No harm in getting a thirdy party diagnosis of the issue beforehand, engine light is an indicator of a fault rather than a fault in itself. Turning the light off doesn't fix the fault.

Is this a proper dealer or a portakabin job?

Naos

Portakabin job but outside a family home - unsure if I can mention the dealer on this thread or not. PMed

Rob Thomas

The mudflaps are a minor issue at this stage but I can understand how they add to your frustration. But if you can source them elsewhere just try to bill him for them, if not see if he will give back some money to compensate.

But as advised, you need to get the car into them and sorted out and it would be no harm to have a reliable independent check it out to make sure the problem is solved.

They sound like a sloppy operation TBH given the delay with the valet and he promising mudflaps that he was unable to source. You don't say if the car is relatively new or an older vehicle but regardless it should be in good order and you paid good money for it.

Is there a written warranty?

George Dalton

What kind of car is it?

Naos

Rob Thomas wrote: »

The mudflaps are a minor issue at this stage but I can understand how they add to your frustration. But if you can source them elsewhere just try to bill him for them, if not see if he will give back some money to compensate.

But as advised, you need to get the car into them and sorted out and it would be no harm to have a reliable independent check it out to make sure the problem is solved.

They sound like a sloppy operation TBH given the delay with the valet and he promising mudflaps that he was unable to source. You don't say if the car is relatively new or an older vehicle but regardless it should be in good order and you paid good money for it.

Is there a written warranty?

Agree they are a minor issue, but they're down on paper and I'm leaning on that. I got a Mapfre warranty from them and an oral warranty that they'd sort anything out in the short term (3 months).

George Dalton wrote: »

What kind of car is it?

CLK 200 Kompressor, 2004 w/ 90k miles. Paid €5700.

mgbgt1978

Not trying to add to your worries OP but the mileage looks a bit low for an 11 year old Merc. I am always wary of cars this age with "just" 90 odd thousand miles.
Is it a recent UK import....original UK reg would be on the VLC.
If so, I would do a HPI check on it and see what the mileage comes back as. Could be an excuse to get your money back altogether.

If it's an Irish car was there any service history with it ?

Naos

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Not trying to add to your worries OP but the mileage looks a bit low for an 11 year old Merc. I am always wary of cars this age with "just" 90 odd thousand miles.
Is it a recent UK import....original UK reg would be on the VLC.
If so, I would do a HPI check on it and see what the mileage comes back as. Could be an excuse to get your money back altogether.

If it's an Irish car was there any service history with it ?

That's alright

It was registered in Ireland with a service history up until 08 (41k miles). Have a Cartell report and NCT mileage tallies up. Condition of the interior is like new as well.

In the grand scheme of things I'm really happy with the car, it's more the terrible after service when I have to get something fixed, despite their promises.

I've put together a short list to hand them on Wednesday, hopefully this will be the end and then I'll stick with indy garages, less hassle.