Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979

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Fri 11 Jun 2010 13:40
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - audi avant

Hi,

Really hope somebody can help.

I bought a 2004 Audi A4 1.8t with 75k on the clock from a well known dealer. I paid £8500 which included 6 months tax. However after a couple of days I noticed a whining noise and have since found out its a gearbox bearing problem. I reported the fault 2 weeks after I bought it and am currently in dispute with them as they attribute it down to the age and mileage of the car. I argue that they didn't make me aware of the problem nor did the price reflect it.

Should they pay for this to be fixed under the Sales of Goods Act 1979?

Look forward to hearing your advice.

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Fri 11 Jun 2010 16:19
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - bonzo dog

I would suggest that a noisey gearbox would be reasonable for a 6 years old / 75k car.

However if it breaks down within the first six months of ownership then you have a clear case of a repair or refund as the dealer has acknowledged that the problem did exist at time of sale.

If you have a third party warranty you could see if they percieve it as a failure.

Good luck

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Fri 11 Jun 2010 17:13
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - Dwight Van Driver

The Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 amended by Sale of Goods Act 2003 and reverses the burden of proof so that if goods go faulty within 6 months after purchase itr is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the Trader has the onus of proving the item was not defective due to a manufacturing defect.

Have a natter with your local Trading Stadards Office (free) and they will bnring you up to speed in relation to your position.

dvd.

Edited by Dwight Van Driver on 11/06/2010 at 17:15

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Sat 12 Jun 2010 06:38
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - LucyBC
if goods go faulty within 6 months after purchase itr is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the Trader has the onus of proving the item was not defective due to a manufacturing defect.

It's not quite as simple of that - particularly with reference to second hand goods which must take into account age, price etc.

Audi have made contributions for gearbox bearing failure in the past but not quite for a vehicle of this age or mileage.

Do you know precisely what the supposed fault is, have you obtained a cost for repairing it, was the vehicle bought from an Audi dealer and is there any third party warranty (trader supplied, or one you took out)?

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Sat 12 Jun 2010 18:22
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - audi avant

Thanks for the replies so far everyone.

I could understand if every Audi A4 had gearbox bearing problems at this mileage/age but that doesn't seem to be the case. I also paid the going price for this model of car at the time and so it wasn't like i bought a bargain! If i knew it had this fault I wouldn't have bought the car nor would it be worth what I paid for it. Friends and family have much older and higher mileage cars who have never had this problem and so I find it hard to accept especially as it was bought with this problem.

LucyBC- I'm afraid at this stage I don't know what the supposed fault is and I've had no cost estimate for its repair- Audi charge best part of £200 an hour and I don't think its fair that I should foot the cost. It wasn't bought from Audi but did come with 3 months warranty though the dealer says the warranty doesn't cover this problem.

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Sun 13 Jun 2010 20:21
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - Falkirk Bairn

It wasn't bought from Audi but did come with 3 months warranty though the dealer says the warranty doesn't cover this problem.

The 3 month warranty insurance may not cover the fault but buying a car and having a fault in 2 days use is covered by SoG act - the dealer is liable for repair costs or he can refund your money.

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Sun 13 Jun 2010 20:57
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - bonzo dog

Having a fault may or may not be coverd by SOG dependent on a number of factors. The nature of the fault & the age & mileage of the car being just 3 of them. The question is:- is a whining gearbox acceptable on a 6 year old / 75 k car. Only the courts can decide outrightly, but if the OP wants to take it further he would need to establish the cause, which as he knows is going to cost him money.

I'm all for consumer legistlation erring on the side of the consumer but one thing has moved in recent years which is that too many people seem to forget that IT'S THEIR CAR not the dealer's any more, & they are responsible for their car. (I'm not having a pop at the OP by the way, just making a general statement)

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Mon 14 Jun 2010 01:13
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - Max Headroom
if goods go faulty within 6 months after purchase itr is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the Trader has the onus of proving the item was not defective due to a manufacturing defect.

It's not quite as simple of that - particularly with reference to second hand goods which must take into account age, price etc.

LucyBC - where does it say in that Act that it is not as simple as that?

The Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, is derived from EU Directive 1999/44/EU which became Clauses 48A to 48F inclusive of the Sale of Goods act in April 2003. This reverses the burden of proof so that if goods go faulty within six months after purchase it is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the trader has the onus of proving that the item is not defective due to a manufacturing defect.

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Tue 15 Jun 2010 09:53
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - LucyBC

I was making the point that the dealer is not automatically responsible for every fault that develops in a second hand car within the first six months following sale.

The courts will take account the age of the vehicle, the price paid and the condition it was in when they make a ruling. If you buy a new Porsche and you have a noisy gearbox the chances are they should fix it but that responsibility diminishes with the age of the vehicle.

When the failure took place is also relevant. That it became noticeable two days after sale greatly strengthens the OPs legal position but so does the extent of the fault - which we do not know yet.. There appears to be a noise but not a failure. A failure would mean that consumer legislation would apply. A noise could mean it might not.

My questions here were largely aimed at a practical response to resolve the OPs problem.

From a practical point of view it is much easier to get a settlement if the car was bought from a main dealer for the marque as they are more likely to be able to lay off the costs, get assistance from the manufacturer and are probably more concerned about their reputation.

The OP did not originally say if there was a warranty in place. He now says there is a warranty. It would be very unusual for a warranty not to cover a faulty gearbox but I would need to see the document. The warranty will not pay out in any event unless we can establish mechanical breakdown.

We still do not know the precise nature of the fault or the costs of repair but my own view is that the OP should get an evaluation done of what is wrong and an estimate as to costs of repair and then come back to us.

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Tue 29 Jun 2010 21:19
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - audi avant

Hi all,

Just to let you know that with a bit of pressure from me and a well known car magazine I got a phone call today from the dealer saying they are going to repair the car for me FOC!

Result! :-)

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Tue 29 Jun 2010 23:52
Audi A4 B6 - Sale of Goods Act 1979 - Avant

Congratulations, and many thanks for coming back to tell us (not evrybody does).

Good to see some long-term thinking happening (protection of reputation) but a pity it had to be only after pressure had been exerted.

Lucy's summary of the position under the Sale of Goods Act is as good as any I've seen (and I've lectured on law many times over the years) - well worth a read for anyone who needs to know.

Edited by Avant on 29/06/2010 at 23:58

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