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I bought a cheap Ford Mondeo which broke down - does the dealer have any responsibility?

I bought a 1999 Ford Mondeo 1.8i two weeks ago for £895 from a dealer. I was told it would be serviced and, for them, safety was paramount and that I would not have a problem with this car. At first I thought the car was sluggish, but what do I know? The problem got steadily worse and I work away from home, so at the start of the second week I had decided to go back to the dealer when I got home at the weekend. However, on the way home (the cars fourth journey), the clutch burnt out on the motorway and left me stranded. I was quoted over £500 to fix the car. When I phoned the dealer about this he basically said tough, to read my invoice (which is in the car 200 miles away) and that they didn't know. Is there anything I can do or is it basically 'tough'?

Asked on 31 July 2010 by Smoke Tweed

Answered by Honest John
This was a banger and basically a car that listed at more than £15,000 new for less than £1000. So it's unreasonable to expect it to be perfect. You might still have some consumer rights against the dealer, but age and price paid would be taken into account by a court.
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