Renault Vel Satis 3.0V6DCi - What to do if car I bought has a major fault with

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Fri 2 Jul 2010 10:52
Renault Vel Satis 3.0V6DCi - What to do if car I bought has a major fault with - Gerryg

I bought a 2002 Renault Vel Satis 3.0ltr DCi in January and all seemed ok until I
drove a long distance in the car last month. After about 40 miles, the temperature
gauge shot up to maximum and I was told to STOP THE CAR. I took my foot off to stop
and the temperature gauge immediately started to fall and by the time I stopped had
almost reurned to normal. This happened again the next time I put the car under
stress, i.e. going uphill at speed.
I have taken the car to my local garage and they say tht is is probably either the
cylinder head gaskets or the cylinder heads themselves. The quote for the work is a
minimum of £1000ish rising to £3500+ if the heads have gone.
The car came with a 6 month warranty with an external company, but their limit is
£1000. I have asked them if I can go ahead with the work to check the head gaskets,
but they say that if it is not this then they will not pay for the labour.
I read on your FAQ that if the prblem occurs within 6 months of purchase then I can
take the car back and get it repaired or get a refund.
Would you advise this or should I go ahead and get the problem checked out first?

Thank You

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Fri 2 Jul 2010 11:31
Renault Vel Satis 3.0V6DCi - What to do if car I bought has a major fault with - bonzo dog

Hi Gerry,

sorry to hear about this & I have some observations:

  1. As the car belongs to you, it is your responsibility to pay for the diagnosis. The warranty appears to be saying that if the fault is confirmed as thought, then they will pay their wack of £1,000
  2. As regards to the 6 month rule in Sale of Goods, I would suggest that this one is a bit grey:- given it's an 8 year old car it would depend on the mileage at purchase & the mileage you have done. Don't forget that the 6 month rule says the fault is deemed to exist at purchase UNLESS the seller can demonstrate otherwise; if you've travelled say 20k in the 5 months then my view would be that it clearly was OK at time of purchase (but only the court can rule either way)
  3. The big problem you may have is that you appeared to have driven the car after the fault had occurred. You should not have done so & called a recovery organisation to bring the car to a garage. Doing otherwise MAY have harmed you chances of any redress, as if I were the supplying dealer or warranty company, I would say that the fault may have been minor but for YOUR actions

If it were me I would tell the seller what has happened & nicely ask the him to pay for the diagnosis & repairs. If he refuses then I would pay for the diagnosis, let the warranty co pick up their wack of £1,000 then suggest to the seller you split the remaining costs with him. You can obviously try trading standards & see what their advice is.

Good luck

Edited by bonzo dog on 02/07/2010 at 11:34

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