Bought a 2004 Mercedes Vito at BCA Blackbush auction on thursday. As soon as we were on the road it became obvious that the van has a lot of problems. The engine warning light is on as is the ABS warning light and two others that I don't know what they are. The driver's side window was open and could not be closed (it has been like this for a while I'm guessing because the drivers seat is wet). Because of this the van could not be locked without the alarm going off (at least I assume this is why) and now the immobiliser has tripped and I can't start it. All in all it hasn't gone well.
This vehicle was sold with an MoT and drove through the auction room under its own steam so I assumed that it was roadworthy. At the moment I doubt that it is even road legal. It was not described as having any faults.
I would LOVE a refund. I have been in touch with customer services at BCA and I am not getting a lot of sympathy. I have been passed around a lot and I keep being told that someone will get back to me and nobody does. I really need a van for my work and so I need a resolution to this crisis.
Does anybody have any experience of successfully getting a refund from an auctioneer?
Do I have a legal leg to stand on?
Does anybody know if Mercedes Vitos have a reset button?
Thanks
name of Auction removed - name and shame policy, and promptly re-instated after reading HJ's post below - that'll learn me
Edited by Pugugly on 31/01/2009 at 16:28
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Used to buy a few cars at auction in the early nineties.At that time you could return any vehicle, but it had to be within 2 hours IIRC.
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That's the way auctions are, Its OK if you're buying lots of vehicles and the odd bad egg is outweighed by 10 good ones, but if your purchase is a one-off it's very risky as you can easily get stuck with a bad egg.
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I cant see any hope of a refund. Probable best thing to do would be to get engine fault codes read at a independant mercedes garage and see what the damage is. It might not be that bad. Large amounts of faults can be caused by one component such as the battery failing. The wires under the rubber door boot can break, and are a known weak spot causing window and locking problems. If it is bad news i would try and sort the immobiliser out, wedge the window shut and auction it off.
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You have no right to any comeback - either legal or otherwise. It was a sold as seen vehicle at auction.
This is the downside to auctions I'm afraid which people do not point out often enough and why you need to know what you are doing. Did you not check the dashboard for warning lights when it drove through?
I don't want to sound cruel - I do have sympathy - but buyers must be careful at auction. All sorts of weird cars get off loaded and sometimes direct from lease companies as well. I keep telling people this but nobody listens - they just think they're getting a bargain. I bet the buyers fee was somthing horrendous too.
For example, I've got 4 traded in cars going to auction next week which I wouldn't drive more than 200 yards myself. They've all got faults. They will probably all be bought by private buyers who do not know better who won't be able to get them home. This is why I wouldn't sell or trade them on. And no, I am not saying which cars and where they will be sold.
Your Merc does not sound like the end of the world - the electrical issues can probably be sorted then you might have yourself a decent enough van.
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As pd said - this is the risk of going to an auction. There's a reason why the cars are cheaper...
Sorry to hear you have had a bad experience, if a van is so essential for your work you would probably be better off paying a bit more and buying from a reptuable dealer and getting a warrenty.
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As PD said - it might not be as bad as you think. Lots of warning lights like that could be an electrical fault, bad earth or under/overcharging alternator.
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Thanks for all the replies. Looks like it's my problem to sort out and I suppose this is only right really. You buy things at auction below the book price because you take the risk. If I wasn't prepared to take the risk I shouldn't have gone to the auction eh? I am not a trader but do turn over a lot of cars as it's a bit of a hobby for me. I've bought at the auction plenty of times before and this is the first real issue I've had. It's just a real blow that I need my van for work and this is hurting a bit. It wont put me off buying at auction again in the future although probably not for my van.
I have sold a car at the auction before too ( a perfectly serviceable one) when I needed the cash quickly. When I entered it I had to fill in a form declaring the condition of the engine, transmition etc. and this is why I thought that any major problems would be declared. If you are allowed to lie or there is no comeback for the faults then why bother with the form?
Ho hum. The good news is that I got the van for £3500 after all the fees and as it is cosmetically great and doesn't have a high milage I recon I can put some money towards the repairs before I really start to lose. I think if it was mechanically good the it would be worth at least £4200.
Someone from BCA is supposed to be contacting me tomorrow and I will let you know thier response. If it is as expected then it will be off to the garage for me. I will let you know the outcome of that one too. Thanks again for the replies. It may not have been what I'd hoped for but at least I know where I stand now.
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Hold on. Did the auction actually state it had no faults? E.g did it say that on paper or was it just that no faults were mentioned?
You are not allowed to lie when selling anything and this may be why you have a right to a refund depending if any lies were told this why it is crucial that the wording stated "no faults" or even "roadworthy". How much MOT does it have? Of course a vehicle could pass an MOT and still have millions of faults.
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They didn't state any faults. There were no warning light on the dashboard and the engine sounded really sweet as it started and drove through. It has 6 months MoT remaining. They niether stated that the van was sold without faults nor did they mention that it had a shed load of them. I am aware now that this counts for nothing as an auction is considered a "trade environment" and therefore the sale of goods act does not apply.
My real beef is that I am not a mug about these sort of things. I have been to this auction loads of times and I feel let down a bit because of the following:
1. Frequently a van will drive through and the auctioneer will say something along the lines of " it's only fair to tell you that there is a brake problem" or " the power steering needs attention" or whatever. These vans sell cheaply to somebody who is prepared to take on a problem. Very fare I think and implies to me that they hold the purchasers in some regard as well as the vendors.
2. They auction off the non-runners or vehicles with known faults at the end of the day.
Because of this I feel a bit miffed. I know that niether the terms and conditions of BCA (which are written for all to see) nor the trade descriptions act have any sympathy for my problem but as the practice of the auctioneers is that they are happy to tell punters when there is a fault on the vehicle then I assume that nothing too horrific should be waiting for me when they state nothing.
I am sure that the auctioneers did not know about the faults on this vehicle and if they had done then they would have said something. However as we know know that there are fault with this vehicle I would see the fairest solution would be for them to give me a refund and auction the vehicle with the problems stated by the auctioneer as per usual.
BCA and the vendors ( a very large fleet lease company) would stand to lose very little. If these faults turn out to be serious then I will be relying on my bank or a finance company to ensure the continuation of my business. I will be appealing to the auctioneer's sympathies as such but I hold little hope it seems. I will let you know thier response.
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Let's hope that its nothing serious. Have you tried a re-boot ?
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Re-boot, he's trying tec now.
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Haven't tried anything yet. The auctioneers are going to give me thier final answer on whether they are prepared to have it back or not tomorrow. If they don't then I will have to try to get the faults rectified.
I have posted all the symptoms on the technical forum. Only one reply so far telling me to take it to Mercedes. Can't imagine that will be cheap.
I will update both forums as the saga unfolds. Please keep the advice coming. Can't be armed with too much info eh?
Thanks
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not Mercedes how about a reputable auto electrician? Should know his stuff more imo.
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Conclusion to the tale.
BCA were not interested in talking to me after the auction. As they don't have any responsiblity to buyers it is not surprising that nobody really seemed to know how to talk to me, I got passed around a lot. I would have prefered to be given a quick "no" to my request to bring the van back rather than keep being told that somebody would call me back but other than that they have done nothing wrong.
My van has plenty of faults but fortunately nothing too serious. Mostly locks and sensors. I will get through them one at a time on weekends. By the time I've got them all sorted then I think I will still have got a reasonable deal but I'll have earned it!
I will still buy at auction in the future but probably not my work vehicle. I like to get a bargain but in the last week I've learnt the value of piece of mind. For my next van I will pay the dealer's premium and let him have the stress.
Thanks for all the response.
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>>Thanks for all the response.
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Thank you for giving us your latest update.
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'For my next van I will pay the dealer's premium and let him have the stress.' Not always the option though judging by some of the posts I have read on this site regarding problems with dealers.
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Thanks for an interesting thread which brings together several very important principles when dealing with vehicles. I think your philosophical approach to the problems and understanding of the basic principle that "profit is a reward for taking a risk" are an object lesson to others who may be considering a similar deal.
Conclusions to be drawn (others may care to add to my list):
Auctions - high risk, vehicles there for a reason.
M-B quality - rubbish.
Franchised dealers - hopeless and wallet-emptying.
Independent - excellent value and good service if you find the right one.
Stress reduction strategy - gives long term health benefits as long as you get it right.
659.
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Conclusions to be drawn (others may care to add to my list)
Vito - Run away, fast.
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