BMW 320 CI - What are my rights?

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Fri 24 Jul 2015 18:54
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - Rengai
What can I do about this situation following the purchase of a second hand car. I purchased the car from a second hand car sales garage 27 days ago. There was a fault light that appeared on the dash during the test drive but this promptly went out and thought it was the garage employee who had not put his belt on properly. Less than 24 hours later (after purchase) the engine warning light came on and stayed on plus the car dropped to reduce power. The garage was contacted when they opened on the Monday and informed of this but due to the owner being out of the country from a family bereavement he phoned back a couple of days later. He refused to take the vehicle back and said it was fine when he sold it, but was allowed the opportunity to fix it. As the garage is 50+ miles away it is not possible to drive it there for this to take place. He has constantly ignored my emails and requests for the name and contact details of the warranty company. He has not responded to my recorded delivery letter. Eventually got contact with one of his employees who gave us the name of the warranty company. As it has a 28 day engine & gearbox warranty only to be told by them that he has never took the warranty out on that vehicle. I have paid for a car that I cannot use and have taxed and insured it for it to just sit on my drive. I am extremely frustrated and feel I want to take legal action.
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Fri 24 Jul 2015 19:14
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - Rengai
Thanks llos. The garage won't respond to any contact that I try to make with them. Then there is the issue of how the vehicle is taken back to them as the manual states that it should be taken without delay to a BMW dealer. I haven't driven it since the fault appeared and it hasn't got any power to climb a slight incline. His garage is over 50 miles away.
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Fri 24 Jul 2015 20:42
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - RobJP

The law says that YOU are responsible for getting it back to them.

However, before we get into that lot, some more details would be useful. Such as the age of the car. The mileage. The price paid for it. EXACTLY which light is on (you can take a photo of it, post to one of the photo-sharing sites, and post the link up here, if need be).

The reason why I ask this lot ? Quite simply, your 'reasonable expectations' in law are largely defined by the price paid, the market value, how old the car is, etc.

As an example, if you've paid £5k for it, then you're pretty well covered for anything that breaks on it in the first 6 months. The law says that it is assumed that the fault was 'present or developing' at the time of sale.

If you've paid £500 for the car, then it's a different matter.

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Fri 24 Jul 2015 22:08
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - Rengai
Hi Rob
I paid £3,000.00 for the vehicle. It is a 51 registration and had 83,000 on the clock. The initial light that came on is the air bag sensor light the second light that has come on is the engine warning light.
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Sat 25 Jul 2015 09:59
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - skidpan
Hi Rob I paid £3,000.00 for the vehicle. It is a 51 registration and had 83,000 on the clock. The initial light that came on is the air bag sensor light the second light that has come on is the engine warning light.

Its a 14 year old car, its going to have faults.

If the garage are being "difficult" it give you a clue as to your chance of getting anything done.

As for legal action, even if you won chances are you would get nothing form this type of trader.

You may have to put this one down to experience.

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Sat 25 Jul 2015 10:05
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - pd

To echo above, I reckon you're going to struggle on a 14 year old car to get much comeback.

Find a decent (not BMW) dealer who can code read it and find out why the engine mangement light is on. It sounds as if the car is in limp mode. Mght be something simple like a MAF sensor or a boost leak (I'm guessing it is a diesel).

Airbag is often a sensor or wiring under the seats on BMWs. You could try unplugging and re-plugging the connector under both front seats and seeing if it goes out.

Edited by pd on 25/07/2015 at 10:06

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Sat 25 Jul 2015 10:07
BMW 320 CI - What are my rights? - RobJP

What exactly do you mean, the engine management (yellow) light (also called the emission control light) ?

If so, then I'd suggest taking it to a local (independent) garage first, using the good garage guide on here or the good garage scheme website if you don't know someone locally, and getting a diagnostic check done. Alternatively, if you know someone with a code reader, then they may be able to help you.

Sometimes it can be serious, but I've known cars throw up that fault if you put supermarket petrol in ! The fault could be anything from a dirty spark plug or sensor fault, all the way to something that's going to be terminal with the engine. However, you'll only find out by getting a diagnostic carried out : any garage should be able to do give you a price for a diagnostic over the phone, but do remember that cheapest isn't always best.

As I said, if you're going to get it back to where you bought it from, then YOU are responsible for footing the bill for that.

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