2nd hand car\'s and the sales of goods act?
Turbo Mini Forums

So a bit of advice needed really.

2 weeks ago i brought a 2004 z4 3.0i 50000 miles and service history etc etc. I took it for a brief test drive and it felt a little woolliness in the steering, the dealer said and i quote "ah that's the convertible for you, because it has to be strengthened in the chassis and not in the roof" I thought ok,

anyway 2 weeks later and its still like driving a old land rover, have to correct the steering quite a bit.

So it went into there recommended garage and they found that the front suspension is warn quite a bit, apparently quite common on BMW's.

Now the garage have said that its wear and tear and not covered under the warrantee.

I am now miffed as i definitely do not want to spend £400 after two weeks of ownership.

DO i have a leg to stand on? It came with a years MOT, but that was from there MOT station they use on a regular basis....(make your own conclusions based on that)

appreciate any advice!

Edited by ministef1 on 10th Jun, 2011.

"Cars are a lifetime of pain"

I would be kicking up a stink! 2 weeks is not wear and tear!

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

would it fail the mot with the 'wear & tear'?

After 2 weeks I would say either fix it or have the car back. Its not wear and tear after 2 weeks. Car should have been checked by them and sold fit for purpose.

If it has an MOT and is road worthy then it is difficult to argue that there is a fault. You could put it through an MOT at your own cost I suppose and argue anything that fails.

What you need is somebody independant to say that it is unsafe, then you will be in a much better position to argeu. The standard garage response it to say it is not covered under warranty and hope you go away. Remember most garages buy off the warrany to a third party. For the first three months though they are responsible all should be covered.

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

I will be taking the car back if he won't fix it.

It was his recommended garage that told me that it had play in it and thats why it was woolie to drive.

As for unsafe, i suppose the MOT (also done by one of his garages) could have been a bit dodgy as they are probably keen to keep his trade, speculation of course.

If he doesn't come back with the correct answer then i shall give him the three options....

1) Fix it
2) Give me my old car back and my money
3) hear from my lawyer, with threats of VOSA and sale of goods act etc.....

cheers chaps, will keep you posted

"Cars are a lifetime of pain"

If you Google it there are plenty of sites which will tell you how to proceed to best advantage under the Sale of Goods Act, even to the extent of a suggested form of letter.

Unless the dealer had done this several times, he is very likely to cave in at the first sign of official action.

All I will add is be extremely nice and co operative at least to begin with. Give the place every opportunity to rectify the problem. Only as a last resort start to threaten legal action, as if it does go to court, and you haven't given the garage fair chance to sort it out, then it may well end up not in your favour.

i agree with Tom, nicely nicely, you have to give him the opportunity to repair it. Follow up your visit and conversation with a letter confirming what was said and the outcome.
The sales of good act states that in this case the car has to be fit for purpose.

if this does not work there are plenty of templates on the net to send.
Then contact trading standards, they will contact him, then if no joy small claims court.

All bms let me guess front brake reaction bush and maybe lower arms if the ball joints are shot... Very common

I run a supercharger and I don't care the TB is on the wrong side.
VEMS + 12 PSI + Liquid Intercooler = Small Bore FUN!

exactly that graham, I googled the problem and its a very common thing, just makes me not like the car a lot! but the arms and bushes are about £160 all in, I could fit them myself, but can't see why on a car thats 2 weeks old to me, i should? Its more of a ethical thing!

"Cars are a lifetime of pain"