Corsa D - Dealer or Trader?

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 21:53
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Hello hello..

I baught a - now faulty - car 10 days ago, from www.yell.com/biz/fmr-used-cars-uk-nottingham-88409.../ and have an invoice stamped 'sold as seen'.

I understand the consumer rights act 2015 can certainly overrule that stamp if he is a dealer... But how do I tell if he is so?

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 22:06
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - phil_z70

Tricky, it could depend on what was paid for the car, is it 9 year old ? you might have to try and put them through court to get your money back and if it's a small one man trader he might just fold the company and start trading the next day under a different name

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 22:18
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Yes... it's 2008 - I thought it goes through an onbudsman now?

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 22:25
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

If I have a case I have to go through 2 letters before escalating.

I just want to clarify is who I bought off a dealer or trader haha

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 22:25
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - phil_z70

Not sure, it will be covered here - www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

It's a long read, hope you get it sorted

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 22:27
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - alan1302

Yes... it's 2008 - I thought it goes through an onbudsman now?

You star with the dealer - what have the told you?

What's actually gone wrong with the car?

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Thu 22 Jun 2017 23:10
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - SLO76
What age is the car, price paid, mileage and what is wrong with it?

Highly likely he's a trader if you received a receipt marked "sold a seen" as a private seller wouldn't be likely to or be required to give you a receipt at all. You can't sign your rights away but when buying a cheap car a dose of realism is required. It will suffer faults and require ongoing repair and maintenance so don't expect a cheap car not to go wrong but it does depend on the level of failure we're talking about here.
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Thu 22 Jun 2017 23:40
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Cheers for the replies guys... I've now made myself aware on my potential rights - unsure where I stand really.

For the record, car is an 08 1.4 Corsa, 51k miles, 9 months MOT and for £2k - I understand the caveats of buying a car of this nature - however, subjectively I wouldn't consider this 'cheap'.

I have rang the dealer, his first question was "oh, how long ago did you buy this off me again, 3 weeks?" (It was actually 10 days) - I explained the faults and he said he would ask his mechanic. He then texted me some pictures of EGR Valve cleaner - "and if it wouldn't work, to buy a new EGR valve"... As if he -somehow- knew what the problem was already... The faults, which have only just come about are:

- When neutral/idle the car loses revs and stalls

- When driving at a constant speed with low throttle, it chuggs/loses power until higher revs

- The car can strugle when travelling at 20 in 3rd, or 30 in 4th - as if chugs/will stall

- Only once has the car actually ceased to accellerate when in 2nd, despite being flat out

A lot of forums I've read have alluded to an EGR valve amongst other possible solutions. Any ideas if I would be covered here guys?

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Fri 23 Jun 2017 00:00
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - SLO76
EGR valve is a common problem on these but is it running rough all the time as if it's running on three cylinders? Could be a coil if so and this is a cheap fix and not uncommon either.

Yes, I'd regard a £2k motor as full retail if I was selling it although it's pretty cheap for what it is. He is legally obliged to fix it or refund you. I spent the guts of £600 repairing a 2008 Astra I sold for £2295 recently when the VVT pulleys failed. To me he'll gain more from forking out to fix it by way of positive press than he'll save by refusing. I've several of said Astra owners family and neighbours who intend on doing business with myself after my efforts which more than covers that outlay. Unfortunately honest small time traders are in the minority however.

Very likely he's bought the car via auction, has known it's been running rough and has had the EGR cleaned which is rarely effective in the longterm. Only replacement will suffice.

Speak with your local trading standards and take any paperwork you have with you. He's probably known to them and they'll be only too happy to get their teeth into his ass. Good luck, people like this give the rest of us a bad name.
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Fri 23 Jun 2017 00:14
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Thanks for the great reply - confirmed a lot of my thoughts - I also think he's cleaned it as a temporary fix - I also am sure he's bought from an auction.

It's not the coil pack I've tried a new one and it didn't work - but it only runs weirdly half the time (and more and more as time goes) - does that rule out the EGR? I've been told it could be throttle related, or, as the oil filter has been changed, to check for oil residue around the ECU(?!?)

I've messaged him nicely that I am aware of my rights, I want to avoid hostility, and just am looking for him to help me out - however I will progress to consumer ombudsman, and small claims court, should I have to... I want the car tbh, and some honesty!

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Fri 23 Jun 2017 02:13
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - SLO76
You have to give him the opportunity to fix it first so give him the chance but you do also have to factor in that you've paid around £500 less than the going rate for a Corsa of this vintage so even if you do have to shell out for a new EGR you're really no worse off than you would've been buying from a legitimate dealer. You paid private sale money so it could be said you got what you paid for. No offence intended.
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Fri 23 Jun 2017 08:33
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

No offence taken, what would be finite way to determine what fundamentally is the issue?

Skeptical of another EGR clean

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Fri 23 Jun 2017 09:42
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - SLO76
It does sound like the EGR from your description but you'll need to take it to a garage to have it properly diagnosed. Is the EML on? If so you need to find someone who can read the fault codes. There are a number of other issues which could cause loss of power and rough running on these, most aren't that expensive to fix but a stretched timing chain (which would throw the timing out) isn't uncommon on these if it's not been serviced regularly with good quality oil and this will be comparatively costly. Does it rattle on start up from cold? Legally the seller should be arranging this but I fear you'll be facing a real fight.
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Fri 23 Jun 2017 23:22
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Hi again mate, in answer, no EML at all, however it has had regualr service history and oil changes. It doesn't rattle on start up. (For the record I've gone down the legal process of getting a refund/charging back the payment to my card - seeing as he has blocked my number!)

One last question if you will, could you run through and comment on these 'potential faults' I've collated, or add any others? Really appreciate your time!

- Blocked up exhaust

- Burnt out valves

- Clean up the throttle butterfly

- EGR valve (due to hesitation at motorway speeds and hesitation at light throttle)

- Connections to ECU (damp)

- Loose bolts around bell housing (causing electrical fault)

- Camshaft sensor (jerking at constant speed, loss of power when idle/neutral)

- Any other electrical fault?

Just to reiterate – 1. The car will jutter (like it’s injecting fuel and then not) at low throttle but constant speed, perhaps like its about to lose power, but then doesn’t… 2. When idle/neutral it will start to chug, and then sometimes lose power and cut. 3. One time I was in 2nd and it just cut own, until I put in neutral and gave some revs, and 4. It can sometimes struggle doing 20 in 3rd, or 30 in 4th, etc… it needs higher revs to get going.

Again – these problems aren’t all the time, but deffo more common than before.

Thanks again mate...

Edited by luke5 on 23/06/2017 at 23:22

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Sat 24 Jun 2017 00:42
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - SLO76
Is the EML coming on when you initially turn the ignition? I'd imagine a gummed up EGR or a faulty cam sensor would flag up a fault but It's entirely possibly fly guy has blanked off the EML.

A blocked exhaust, collapsed cat would restrict power but you'd normally hear the innards of the cat rattling about. Still possible though.

Without seeing and driving it it's a guessing game really. My money's on EGR being gummed up, it's very common on Vauxhalls and highly likely here from your description but I'm no mechanic, I just sell em, I rarely attempt fixing them. You might get further starting a new thread regarding the fault on the technical section, there's a couple of very knowledgeable chaps who frequent it and know way more than myself but it really needs a mechanic under the hood to properly diagnose it.

Best of luck and keep us informed.

Edited by SLO76 on 24/06/2017 at 00:43

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Sat 24 Jun 2017 02:59
Corsa D - Dealer or Trader? - luke5

Here's what it looks like on start up... The malfunction light is just delayed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPr_GUUXPgI&feature=yo...e

That was the second start up just now, first time it sat at 1000 rpm and started chugging imminently. Ran for 30 secs, then turned off again to do this video.

Tell ya anything?! (Will post on the technical part)

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