Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 08:52
Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going - Scoobie75

Apologies if a similar thing has been asked before.

5 weeks ago I bought an 06 reg Mondeo, just over 100k miles, just under £4k and in the past few days the clutch has started to make an awful noise. I haven't been able to get it to my usual garage to have a look yet but I'm pretty sure the mechanic will say the clutch and/or DMF will need replacing. Not that I'm a pessimist or anything...

Am I right in thinking that the dealer I bought the car from should get this fixed for me, under Sale of Goods Act? If so, am I also right in thinking I can get it fixed at a garage of my choice and the dealer has to pay any (reasonable) bill? The dealer is about 100 miles from home - can you believe that in weeks of looking I couldn't find a single diesel Mondeo closer than that?

I need to know how to approach this so I don't get fobbed off and end up with a big bill myself so any advice would be very welcome.

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 10:09
Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going - pd
I think you'd really, really struggle to get anywhere with a clutch on a 100k mile car you've had for 5 weeks under sale of goods act. You're relying on the dealer's goodwill here and it is worth asking nicely because they might help out rather than going in all guns blazing threatening to sue them.

Furthermore you are wrong that you can get it fixed at a garage of your choice and then get the dealer to pay - the dealer has the right to see the car first and decide whether to repair or refund themselves.

I think the law will take the view that at 100k a new clutch is a not unreasonable thing for the car to need. Obviously you could persue it through the courts but if you lose then you could end up with a bill for a clutch plus a load of legal bills so take proper advice beforehand.
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Wed 24 Aug 2011 11:03
Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going - Scoobie75

This is the article I'd read with regard to having it repaired at a garage of my choice:

http://www.cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/court-rejects-dealers-right-to-repair-fault-and-orders-him-to-pay-2750/52909

And on this site:

However the implication for the second hand dealer is that unless the dealer defines a "returns and repair" policy at time of sale in their Terms and Condtions then the consumer has no need to prove there is a fault with the vehicle following sale, nor indeed is their any requirement for the dealer to be offered the opportunity to repair any fault or refuse to pay if the customer takes the car to his own repairer, providing that the costs of the repair are deemed by the court to be reasonable.

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 12:10
Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going - Scoobie75

I've also just found this on this site which suggests to me I'd be right in expecting the dealer to sort this out. ??

If the fault occurs in the first six months then the onus is on the selling dealer to show it was *not* present at the time of sale.

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 16:22
Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCiGhia (06) - Advice wanted -had car 5 weeks and clutch is going - pd

Your first thing to do would be to approach the dealer in a nice way before shouting legislation at them. They might be more co-operative than you think.

Your problem is that it is a 100k sub £4k car with a clutch issue. The dealer could simply argue that 100k is acceptable mileage for the components concerned. Cars have to be "satisfacotry" but that takes into account age, mileage, price paid etc. so you won't get anywhere near as far on this car as you would a 10k 2 year old one you paid £12k for.

The idea that all faults are covered for 6 months on older, higher mileage used cars is pure fantasy.

You could, by all means, get it fixed and then sue the dealer but I don't think you'd be onto a winner and if you lose you could land yourself with a legal bill many times larger than the cost of the clutch (many dealers have insurance for expensive legal representation).

As ever, that is only an opnion, and if you wanted to take it further you'd need to get proper paid for legal advice.

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