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A bought a car that now needs repairs - and the dealer is refusing to pay. What do I do?
I recently purchased a Vauxhall Astra but within the first 24 hours the battery died and the rear left tyre needed replacing due to having a puncture beyond repair. The dealer paid for the tyre to be replaced but not the battery, he told me he will come and fit a new battery himself which he failed to do so. The next day the engine management light came on and I noticed the vehicle lacking power when accelerating, when I ran the diagnostics test I got error codes of misfire cylinder 1, coolant temperature sensor and camshaft sensor. The next day I took the car to get the tracking done as the vehicle was pulling to one side. I needed to replace the suspension springs which were snapped and two anti roll bar links.
After numerous attempts of trying to contact the dealer who was ignoring my phone calls and text messages I took advice from citizens advice to send him a letter stating what work needs to be done and the cost of the repairs, after 1 week I called him from an unknown number which he answered regrettably as he did not realise that it was me calling. When I told him of the problems he told me the car was fine when he sold it to me and it had recently passed an MOT in December so it was not his fault and he was not willing to give me a refund or pay for the repair.
As the dealer has refused to pay for any of the repairs. What would you advise to be my next step as I think the only way of getting my money back is through Small Claims Court.
After numerous attempts of trying to contact the dealer who was ignoring my phone calls and text messages I took advice from citizens advice to send him a letter stating what work needs to be done and the cost of the repairs, after 1 week I called him from an unknown number which he answered regrettably as he did not realise that it was me calling. When I told him of the problems he told me the car was fine when he sold it to me and it had recently passed an MOT in December so it was not his fault and he was not willing to give me a refund or pay for the repair.
As the dealer has refused to pay for any of the repairs. What would you advise to be my next step as I think the only way of getting my money back is through Small Claims Court.
Asked on 15 April 2017 by Liam Robson
Answered by
Honest John
A lot depends on how much you paid for the car. Under £1000 you can expect this sort of thing. Over £2000 and the dealer is liable. Start here: www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview/ If you get a ruling in your favour you then need to pay £70 to get a High Court Sheriff's Order. Then goods to the value of your claim can be seized from the dealer. He reads like the type of dealer who would simply ignore a County Court Judgement.
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