<snip> Used Car Centre Avoid!

irhutchi

I'm 26 years old and have recently purchased a 2007 Volvo S40 Sport (140kms) from <snip> used car centre in Newbridge. It's located near the industrial estate by Newbridge Silverware.

It had 6months tax, nearly a year nct, partial service history. Done a history check and nothing outstanding. The purpose of this post is to give my experience and to inform others before considering buying a car from there.

I had agreed a price of €5700 with the owner <snip> for the car after an inspection and a test drive. I'm no expert or qualified mechanic but I would be able to carry out regular maintenance etc. So everything looked fine and nothing stood out.

Came back a few days later to collect the car and drove it to Waterford. Got to Waterford and a message appeared on the dash "engine system service urgent".

Called <snip> the next day and informed him of the message and he assured me it was fine when he had it and that a Volvo mechanic had previously inspected the car. A bit of a coincidence considering I had only left the shop two hours previously. I had organised to bring back the car to have it repaired but on the day I called before to ensure everything was fine but <snip> kept saying mechanic wasn't available then another time the parts weren't in, even though he hadn't even looked at the car at this stage.

I had it diagnosed by Volvo as a faulty additive signal. <snip> kept putting me off for nearly three weeks so I drove to garage. On the way the car went into limp mode on the motorway. As it was under 3 month warranty he was obliged to have it repaired.

He wouldn't give me a loan car which was bad enough but worse was yet to come. He called a week later saying the car needed a new additive sensor, additive, new turbo & egr valve to which he said was done.

I picked up the car and asked for a receipt for the work done to have it with the service manual but insisted he would post it out once he received an invoice for it. I said okay and went home. Less than three days later the same message appeared which led me to think that maybe all the work was not done properly or at all.

I called again and told him about the message. He wasn't best pleased saying he spent over €1500 on the repairs. He said bring it to him in a week which wasn't good enough because from them I was driving a faulty car. I asked to bring it sooner but he refused.

A week turned into two in which time I kept my driving to a minimal. He began ignoring my calls and texts. Brought the car back and with me there plugged in the diagnostic kit and reset the fault and it came back straight away. He tried disconnecting the battery etc to which failed along with a few more things. I asked him to have a mechanic look at in which I am entitled under warranty.

This time he gave me a Ford Fiesta which is better than the last 1st time. All this was such an inconvenience. Three days later I returned and he said the car was fixed, I asked what the problem was and he couldn't give me an answer because the mechanic had done the work and he hasn't spoke to him yet. That was either pure lies or hiding something.

I asked for a receipt for work done for this time and last. I gave him my email and asked if he would send a copy but didn't get anything back yet. I have tried calling the garage and they inform me he's on holidays and that he'll get back to me.

He now has my number blocked which is very unprofessional. I confirmed this by using anoth number and asked why he blocked my number and he came up with a lame excuse that kids could have done it by mistake whilst playing with it. But four weeks later still no receipts and number is blocked.

I have asked for refund to which he has completely refused and I kind of lost faith in him thus the car.
This over a 3 1/2 month period.
I have learned a lesson here and that's to do more research on a dealer before spending any kind of money.

Has anybody else had similar dealings with this particular dealer? Has anyone been in the same position before and advice on how to better deal with this situation would be appreciated.

biko

I have removed the dealer name. Not to protect dealer but to protect boards.ie in case this gets legal.

People can still PM OP for the name.

irhutchi

Okay, thank you. I only set the account up today because I felt this kind of information will be useful when considering buying a used car. Thanks for the heads up

Ionised

Did the dealer fix the car on the last try?

irhutchi

Ionised wrote: »

Did the dealer fix the car on the last try?

I have been driving the car for the past three weeks without any messages or issue. Looking in at the turbo, it does look to have been replaced but if I don't have proof in the form of a receipt I cannot be garunteed anything. As for the other items I can't say for certain.

Ionised

Fingers crossed it is problem free for the foreseeable.
If they did as much work as us said then in some ways they have treated you pretty ok. €1k + in repairs on a 5.5k car is rare from any dealer.

I do appreciate that it would be important to have some kind of proof though.

irhutchi

Ionised wrote: »

Fingers crossed it is problem free for the foreseeable.
If they did as much work as us said then in some ways they have treated you pretty ok. €1k + in repairs on a 5.5k car is rare from any dealer.

I do appreciate that it would be important to have some kind of proof though.

I understand a dealer has to make money but it can unfortunate that they could even miss the problems. But I find it hard to believe considering after two hours driving a message appeared. But trying to sell it and then have nothing to do with after sale is the impression I got with making it so hard to get anywhere with him. what I can't grasp is of the work was carried out then why not produce proof of work done. It can't be that hard. I would've been happy if the opposite had happened