Dealership Mare

[HomZ]

Hi guys, I have signed up here as I need some advice on a used car I just bought from a Ford dealership in Bradford,

I'll start at the very beginning so apologies for the long read,

I recently purchased a 08 2.0 Litre Ford Focus Titanium from a dealer about 6 weeks ago now and as soon as I handed over my cash the problems began, I wont go into detail about the small problems with the car which the dealer and I had agreed would be sorted before I picked the car up and then on collection day realised stuff had been missed instead ill comment on the more important issues,

First up, I was told the car came with bluetooth as it was a top spec titanium model, after collecting the car and trying to pair my phone up I soon realised it didn't have bluetooth, I had spoken to just about everybody at this Ford dealership on the phone and had the run around, I ended up getting very annoyed and just driving over to the dealership to have it out with the salesman, He apologised as he thought it did have bluetooth and offered to fit me a module that would get the Bluetooth in the car working, Great! or so I thought, he said we would contact me the following day to get it sorted out, he never did, I tried for days after to get hold of him each time I was told he wasn't in, he had just gone out, he's with a customer etc and that he would phone me back, this went on for 4 days! I have 2 jobs do don't appreciate being given the run around chasing after people,

Ended up having to deal with a manager who offered (after nearly a week of moaning) to fit me a Parrot kit as "Retro Fitting" the Bluetooth to my car was impossible (I argued that I had bought this car as I was told it came with Bluetooth and now I will have buttons on my Sony Stereo which are useless) I argued that the car could be retro fitted as I was told by another dealership it could be, Anyway they said it couldn't and offered me a Parrot kit which I accepted, I arranged to have the kit fitted whilst I was at work, the guy never turned up as the dealer never booked him to so I had to wait another day after I had been phoning them all day to ask why he didn't turn up, no phone call to tell me he wasn't! ended up getting the kit fitted, its absolute crap and barely works anyway, the guy who fitted it told me the car could be retro fitted and that they were lying to me (this guy worked for ford btw)

Now onto the real problems!

The car has been back to the dealer twice already as I was reporting problems with the car since the first week of owning it, I have had "Power Steering Malfunction" come up as a message and the yellow "I" light up on the dash, the first time I went in they said a hose had become loose and that there was no fluid in the car (this was supposedly serviced before I collected the car) the car drove home when I collected it fine so there must have been fluid in the car at the time,

2nd time I took it in they told me it needed topping up and after I complained they said keep an eye on it should be ok now see how it goes etc, tonight the exact same fault has returned, same warning message and the car makes an awful noise when I try to park it or turn it round in the street to park it.

The brakes always sound like they are on too as there is a constant squeal coming from them, when I questioned this they said they had cleaned them up and they are now fine, 10 mins into my return journey home it started again, when I phoned them back I was told I must book it in again for it to be looked at.

I'm pretty sure the clutch is on its way out, the car is very difficult to get into first gear sometimes even when I am slowly rolling at about 1 / 2mph it just doesn't go in, If I put it into 2nd and give it some gas the car labours away as if I am going too slow for that gear but soon picks up as you would expect. Not what I expect from a car like this (my previous focus that I traded in to get this car never drove like this)

Going down a bumpy road the car sounds horrific, very rattily and squeaky, again when I showed the mechanic the squeaks by pushing down on the boot he said it was my brakes and not the suspension like I said it was, again told it was sorted and its not, I was told the car came with gap insurance and break down cover, again a document never turned up, I had to chase them up for it, still waiting on the break down cover god knows when ill get that.

Its gotten to the stage now where I don't actually like driving the car, I've lost the love for it, just far too many problems with it which I just cant overlook, I went to a dealer so I didn't end up with someone's second hand rubbish and I've got exactly that and have been messed about by the staff too, The dealership is 20 miles from my house which makes going in every time a real pain, before I paid they told me any problems with the car they would collect it from my house, this soon changed as I am out of there collection zone now which before I paid my cash I wasn't funny that eh ?

I'm going to take the car in tomorrow and hopefully keep a cool head but what legally can I do now ? can I request a refund as according to the trading standards I can as, A. The car is not fit for purpose (due to it failing) and B. The car cannot get me from location to location safely (how can it if the steering keeps failing)

The car has recently been MOT'd by them after I collected it and also had a safety report which was all ok, the MOT had no advisories and the report was all in Green.

What do you guys think ??

Sorry for the long read

I don't think I could ever buy from a dealer again :(

Thanks

Steve

[b1g_dav3]

I believe you can refuse the vehicle, and take it back, yes. Best to give trading standards a call to make sure, but pretty sure you can request a refund, as for one the bluetooth isn't acceptable, and two, there are a ton of problems they obviously cannot fix.

A Google search may help, too.

[Stoney871]

The vehicle was not as advertised and also not fit for purpose, you can request either they fix at their expense, replace the car with no penalty to you or refund the full cost plus any out of pocket expenses incurred (fuel, lost earnings and phone call costs).

Check your rights and stand your ground.

If you still have no joy from them go over their heads, take your complaint to their main office.

I'm sure you'll be able to find the contact details on the web

[mintalkin]

take it back under the sale of goods act quote

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.

Fit for purpose means both their everyday purpose, and also any specific purpose that you agreed with the seller

sounds like the car is not fit for purpose.

[jeebowhite]

as above you have every right to reject the car as not fit for purpose, breach of contract, breach of trust, unacceptable and un-trustable 'repairs'.

take it back and demand the managers presence , write down EVERYTHING and date / times of EVERY phone call and discussion.

quote it with enough pressure you could also see some form of compensation.

[HomZ]

Yo dudes, thanks for all the reply's I really appreciate them, The car is booked to go back in Tuesday, I will leave a letter on the passengers seat advising the mechanic of the current problems and requested this be brought to a managers attention, If the car comes back and there's 1 single problem with it ill be contacting them back first thing Wednesday morning and perusing a refund or to swap it for another car.

I'll let you know what happens.

[jeebowhite]

good luck for today, lets see how it goes!

[HomZ]

Hi all,

sorry I didn't update the thread I haven't had the time to get on, Ford picked my car up at 10am yesterday morning and said it would be back to me for when I finish work at 5pm, at 5:30pm they turned back up with it and just left the key on the front desk and ran out of the door, I wanted to ask what had been done with it but never got a chance they were out the door.

anyway,

I phoned and spoke to a mechanic who said the power steering had failed during road testing and that having had it on the machine the power steering pump was faulty, they also found a problem with the back end of the car so had to replace 2 parts there, they also found a problem with the gear linkage as I told them I was having issues getting the car into first, they have adjusted this and now I had an issue with the car this morning getting in to second,

Ive got the car back now and they have to collect it again to fit the pump as they have to order the part,

On my drive home Tuesday night it still sounded like the brakes were rubbing as the back end was squeeling even though I wasn't breaking,

I have contacted Ford numerous times today to tell them as I reported the fault within 30 days and having had the car back 3 times I want a refund, All I get is the run around though, someone will phone you back etc, complete ball ache :(

[jeebowhite]

put in writing absolutely everything, make it a novel!

Sign and date each page, and write a declaration that you are refusing the goods as not fit for purpose and sign it.

Take said printed novel down to the dealer, demand to speak to the highest authority there (business manager should be there). Give him the novel to read, and tell him you want the refund here and now, you are rejecting the vehicle and you will not be satisfied with having it repaired. Also quote that you have or will make contact with Trading Standards.

[HomZ]

Hi all,

Thought I would update the thread on what has been happening, I had to drive over to the ford dealership to drop my car off, they road tested it and confirmed that the power steering pump was faulty, they couldn't get the part for over a week so I told them I wasn't driving it as I was going away so I needed a courtesy car, they gave me a brand new 13 plate focus with 3 miles on the clock, when I have it back it had done over 600 ;)

Anyway, the pump has been replaced and the car was fine for 6 days, driving home from asda yesterday the same light came on "Power Steering Malfunction" absolute joke now so its obviously something else which is knackered! Guess I will have to contact them tomorrow and they will have the car back and ill end up with another courtesy,

I argued it out with one of the managers saying I wanted a refund but he said my complains now is with the servicing department and not the used car bit and that they wouldn't give me a refund, may have to end up contacting trading standards after all.

[Guest]

Did you have a test drie in the car before deciding to buy it?

Yes definately contact Trading Standards, see what they say!

[Philf1]

Assume this was a Ford main dealers? If so contact head office, quote the managers name and tell them how unhelpful he has been. Let's be honest Ford aren't going to sort this quickly so demand a courtesy car until all faults are cleared and you get a full written report on exactly what they have done. You could also ask that the work be carried out a dealers more local to where you live as you have lost trust with the one you bought from.

I would also be saying if you they won't give you a refund, that you want compensation for your losses, at least some form of good will gesture.

If you have legal cover on your insurance give them a call and see what advice they can give you. Good luck.

[jeebowhite]

The positive I suppose in this is its a warranty repair and not a charged repair, I would demand a full refund or the next repair free if they told me that was the fault. I also advise get everything in writing, diagnosis and probability need to be written down so that in the event this happens and you have paid for it, you can say they told you it WAS the problem, or it was 90% likely, in which case, they are culpable for the costs as they have misled you (intentionally or otherwise)