Used car oil pump failure. Should a dealer cover this?

[ace275]

Hi All

Posting this question on behalf of a friend. He purchased a Vauxhall Insignia in mid-November from a local car dealer. Independent, not one of the big chains, however holds a decent fleet of 50-60 cars. I'm not going to name them.

The car was down on power, and I replaced a split boost hose for him and it was running well. The car also has started to give intermittent issues cutting out and failing to start. He brought the car to his mechanic who sent it to an autospark who found a damaged loom and repaired and it was running well again. This time however it is now intermittently showing low oil pressure, and he has been quoted £700-1000 to repair, but he hasn't asked the car dealer he bought it from about this yet.

I've advised he speaks with the used car dealer, as this is a pretty serious failure. The service history shows no evidence of a belt change, which is overdue and will need done as part of this.

He has had the car 3.5months. What sort of warranty should a used car dealer be providing? If it was under 3 months I'd be fairly confident it should be covered, but after 3 I'd think it's a bit of a gray area

Any advice?

 

[Smurf.]

Do not drive it..looks like the oil seal failure yet again. Very common on insignia unfortunately

 

[NickR]

Car Warranties: What is statutory warranty on a used car - Car.co.uk FAQs

What is statutory warranty on a used car? Car.co.uk aims to look at some of the most common questions raised by consumers in the UK.

www.car.co.uk

 

[ace275]

Car Warranties: What is statutory warranty on a used car - Car.co.uk FAQs

What is statutory warranty on a used car? Car.co.uk aims to look at some of the most common questions raised by consumers in the UK.

www.car.co.uk

Thanks, I've shared this link to him. Looks like the info we were after

 

[Rigger]

Car Warranties: What is statutory warranty on a used car - Car.co.uk FAQs

What is statutory warranty on a used car? Car.co.uk aims to look at some of the most common questions raised by consumers in the UK.

www.car.co.uk

Yup - this 100%

Consumers Rights Act 2015 is a very powerful bit of legislation.

"If a fault emerges between 30 days and six months from the date of purchase, the law assumes that the fault was pre-existing and, unless the seller can prove otherwise, the vehicle is still protected by statutory warranty. Here, the seller has one chance to fix the problem. If they do not manage to do that, the buyer is entitled to a refund, which may be less than the original purchase price to account for the time during which the car has been functional."

The important bit is in bold.

6 months - and any dealer saying otherwise is trying it on.




I've had this with a previous Jag and paintwork issues. Got it sorted eventually, with no cost to myself.

 

[Ruairi83]

Hi All

Posting this question on behalf of a friend. He purchased a Vauxhall Insignia in mid-November from a local car dealer. Independent, not one of the big chains, however holds a decent fleet of 50-60 cars. I'm not going to name them.

The car was down on power, and I replaced a split boost hose for him and it was running well. The car also has started to give intermittent issues cutting out and failing to start. He brought the car to his mechanic who sent it to an autospark who found a damaged loom and repaired and it was running well again. This time however it is now intermittently showing low oil pressure, and he has been quoted £700-1000 to repair, but he hasn't asked the car dealer he bought it from about this yet.

I've advised he speaks with the used car dealer, as this is a pretty serious failure. The service history shows no evidence of a belt change, which is overdue and will need done as part of this.

He has had the car 3.5months. What sort of warranty should a used car dealer be providing? If it was under 3 months I'd be fairly confident it should be covered, but after 3 I'd think it's a bit of a gray area

Any advice?

Should the other issues not have been looked at by the dealer in first place rather than you and an autospark? Not having ago. Dealer might say why didn't you come to him about other issues first as they could've cause new one.

Hope your mate gets sorted.

 

[ace275]

Should the other issues not have been looked at by the dealer in first place rather than you and an autospark? Not having ago. Dealer might say why didn't you come to him about other issues first as they could've cause new one.

Hope your mate gets sorted.

Yeah completely agree with this, it would have been the best course, and would have added weight to the fact 3 issues have already arisen within a few months of owning it

 

[Jbridges522]

Yup - this 100%

Consumers Rights Act 2015 is a very powerful bit of legislation.

"If a fault emerges between 30 days and six months from the date of purchase, the law assumes that the fault was pre-existing and, unless the seller can prove otherwise, the vehicle is still protected by statutory warranty. Here, the seller has one chance to fix the problem. If they do not manage to do that, the buyer is entitled to a refund, which may be less than the original purchase price to account for the time during which the car has been functional."

The important bit is in bold.

6 months - and any dealer saying otherwise is trying it on.




I've had this with a previous Jag and paintwork issues. Got it sorted eventually, with no cost to myself.

Tbf the dealer can easily prove it wasn't pre-existing due to the fact the car was grand when he bought it, seems a grey area to me. Morally obliged but not necessarily legally, hopefully they sort it though.

 

[Rigger]

Tbf the dealer can easily prove it wasn't pre-existing due to the fact the car was grand when he bought it, seems a grey area to me. Morally obliged but not necessarily legally, hopefully they sort it though.

That like saying - ok the test drive went ok - don't expect any comeback once you drive it off the forecourt.

The guarantees are there to stop shady Arfur Daley style dealers for fixing a car so it runs a few miles during test drive - but in reality its a lemon, leaving the customer high and dry.

Not all dealers are like this nowadays - granted. Things break, and as a consumer, I'm glad that I have some comeback, not less.

If things do break, its not that fact that its broken - its how the seller treats the customer afterwards that gets a lot of repeat custom.

I love Jags - but I will never ever set foot in Peter Vardy in Aberdeen again. The worst customer service I have seen anywhere. Took 6 months to get the issue I had sorted, and that was through Jag Customer Relations Centre and Charles Hurst - who were to be honest, first class.

Should the other issues not have been looked at by the dealer in first place rather than you and an autospark? Not having ago. Dealer might say why didn't you come to him about other issues first as they could've cause new one.

Hope your mate gets sorted.

Depends - if distance is going to be too much of an issue - the customer can elect to use another nearby garage.

 

[Chris_702]

What's the miles stated on your invoice and the miles on the car at the minute?

 

[Jbridges522]

That like saying - ok the test drive went ok - don't expect any comeback once you drive it off the forecourt.

The guarantees are there to stop shady Arfur Daley style dealers for fixing a car so it runs a few miles during test drive - but in reality its a lemon, leaving the customer high and dry.

Not all dealers are like this nowadays - granted. Things break, and as a consumer, I'm glad that I have some comeback, not less.

If things do break, its not that fact that its broken - its how the seller treats the customer afterwards that gets a lot of repeat custom.

I love Jags - but I will never ever set foot in Peter Vardy in Aberdeen again. The worst customer service I have seen anywhere. Took 6 months to get the issue I had sorted, and that was through Jag Customer Relations Centre and Charles Hurst - who were to be honest, first class.

Depends - if distance is going to be too much of an issue - the customer can elect to use another nearby garage.

I agree, but from the dealers perspective he probably looks at it that the car was fine when it left, the buyer has reported no issues in 3 months and now it has developed problems that could be caused by any number of things between now and then.

But anyway might as well lean on the dealer to at least contribute.

 

[ace275]

Update, he's come back refusing straight away as the car was purchased 3.5 months ago, and is out of the 3 month period. We'll do a bit more reading up.

 

[NickR]

Maybe @NeilMcG would be worth chatting to for advice?

 

[ace275]

I've followed a few similar cases, and consulted with a friend who sells cars and everything backs up that it's up to 6 months, not 3 months.

In the meantime, it appears there is internal engine damage from the failed oil pump. Could have been running low pressure for some time

I'll be keeping the name of my friend, car type and car dealers details private for now, as it looks like this may be taken legally if required. We'll just need to give the car dealer one more opportunity to repair or refund, but record doing so this time, as it was only over the phone at the weekend.

Thanks for the advice so far

 

[roverspeed]

If it is the oil pick up seal hardening fault, the dealer could well have known it was there.

It doesn't present itself nearly as well with new oil, like after a service. As the oil starts to thin out it will bring up the oil light on cold starts, and eventually every start.

 

[ace275]

Update, my friend has contacted the car dealer again who is adamant it's just a 3 month warranty (Which appears to be nonsense) but offered to pay half the bill straight away

My friend is settling for this it seems, although he's really entitled to having the dealer cover it all, he doesn't want the hassle of taking it to small claims and potentially waiting for months. I've suggested if he is going to settle for this, the dealer pays his 50% up front to the garage prior to any work commencing, just incase he decides not to pay up.

The quote is a little over £1000 for engine repair

 

[Coog]

He might be able to take the 50% and chase the remaining balance later. Might be worth getting some proper advice on it though.

 

[Deckz]

Update, my friend has contacted the car dealer again who is adamant it's just a 3 month warranty (Which appears to be nonsense) but offered to pay half the bill straight away

My friend is settling for this it seems, although he's really entitled to having the dealer cover it all, he doesn't want the hassle of taking it to small claims and potentially waiting for months. I've suggested if he is going to settle for this, the dealer pays his 50% up front to the garage prior to any work commencing, just incase he decides not to pay up.

The quote is a little over £1000 for engine repair

How close is he to the other garage?

Maybe the work is £1400........

 

[KevM]

Its not as straight forward as 'you have 6 months and thats that'. There's is the interpretation of 'Satisfactory Quality'.
Satisfactory quality means that the vehicle should be of a standard a reasonable person would expect, taking into account things like its age, value, history, mileage, make and description.

 

[pablo]

50% doesn’t seem bad considering and at least it’s sorted now so decent peace of mind.

Getting the cash might be a mission though