The Car People Rant

Right then folks, bit of a rant. Recently bought a car from the car people wakefield, after they promised me the earth with the warranty etc on sale day theres been a few problems since. First off there was no air con and the handbrake didnt hold on a hill, even though 'the car people' themselves mot'd it a month before i bought it, so that lead me to beleive that they didnt really mot it properly because im sure it would have failed the handbrake / rolling road test, and also idve thought that theyd've checked all anciliaries and switches etc and made sure everything worked before putting it on the forecourt. They sorted it out though so all was well again and i didnt complain too much.

Next thing theres a missfire a couple days ago but more like it was running on 3 cylinders so i thought id have a look at the plugs etc myself so i didnt have to go 15 miles back to them, managed to get 3 plugs out but the plug in cylinder no.2 is seized solid in the head (just before i got the car aparently it was fully serviced and 'the car people' stamped the service book) I rung them up and told them the situation and they told me to take it to a garage because if i took it back to them they'd charge me £40 an hour labour etc even though id bought a years warranty with the car. I ended up taking it to a local moto save just to see if they could get the plug out but they rand me up and told me the plug is properly seized and they can have a go to remove it but if it snaps in the head etc they cant claim responsibility for it being due to neglect of the service in the past, they also said the plugs which they removed from the other 3 cylinders were well over a year old, i got them to change the air filter aswell and it was jet black and ful of allsorts of gunk. Next day i rang the car people up again and had a rant and told them that an independant garage said its been neglected etc and now they say 'oh ive had a word with my manager and you can bring it down now'. I really dont understand why they didnt just do that in the first place, i could understand if it was a poxy little garage i bought the car from but not a nationwide company like that. I get the fact that they want to make as much as possible but if that comprimises the quality of the stuff you sell / customer satisfaction then it seems a bit daft.

Quite annoyed that i payed for a years warranty and they still dont want to touch the car and also it was suposed to be fuly serviced and it obviously wasnt, just looked in the service book and it was last stamped in 2006 at 17500 miles, it's last service by the car people was at 41000 miles in 2011 but for some reason no one seemed to check that and just think 'hmm.. maybe it hasnt been serviced in 5 years, and even if it has we might aswell check'.

Well i think thats me just about done, sorry if its a bit long,
Danny

Reject under finance not fit for purpose? Get after them. If not go to Citizens advice and they will point you in the right view plus if you took it to the local garage get them to quote for the repair so you have independant reviewer.

Supose so long as it gets sorted it shouldnt be too bad, Just a bit annoying when they've suposedly done everything to it when they havnt, im at a bit of a disadvantage cos i bought it outright, if idve got it on finance idve just been able to dump it on them and let them sort it.

still get citizens advice involved because that is appauling service.

I wouldn't trust any car dealers. I either buy private or from an auction. How long have you owned the car as stated you can reject it as it is not fit for purpose. But you might have to give them the chance to sort it.

Had the car 2 month at most, probably done just over 1000 miles in it so far, just have to see what comes of it this time, for some reason i can see it being one of those cars that problems just arise every couple month, hopefully not but only time wil tell i supose.

[Biker Biggles]

Reject it,as its going to be trouble.It clearly hasnt been serviced properly in donkeys years and will be suitably unreliable.The terms of the warranty will state that the supplying dealer must have serviced it before delivery,and they clearly didnt,so that will be worthless.
I bet you paid good money for it?Get your money back and spend it on a decent car.One thing to bear in mind is that you should always check everything and test drive the car,even if its from a "reputable" dealer.That includes the paperwork.You should have noticed the history was sadly lacking and the handbrake didnt work properly.Treat it as if it was a private seller as many of these big outlets are just cowboys.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Reject it,as its going to be trouble.It clearly hasnt been serviced properly in donkeys years and will be suitably unreliable.The terms of the warranty will state that the supplying dealer must have serviced it before delivery,and they clearly didnt,so that will be worthless.
I bet you paid good money for it?Get your money back and spend it on a decent car.One thing to bear in mind is that you should always check everything and test drive the car,even if its from a "reputable" dealer.That includes the paperwork.You should have noticed the history was sadly lacking and the handbrake didnt work properly.Treat it as if it was a private seller as many of these big outlets are just cowboys.

Agree with all that, we had the same troubles with a car from carcraft, they fixed a few things, but it was just one thing after another, and we got rid after after a year

Is it by any chance a 1300cc Ford Ka/ Fiesta?

If the plugs weren't due for change then they wouldn't have taken them out, though they probably gave it nothing more than a level check anyway I expect! Some cars don't have a plug change down till 70,000 odd miles. To these people, the idea of service as a good check of a car and inspection of it's health is long gone. I bet the warranty they gave excludes brakes/exhaust/clutch/radio and a whole lot more too.

Anyone using a car supermarket should expect a poorly prepped car surely? Where do you think all the 'we buy any car.com' cars are going? Many little garages are much better, there are still loads out there that are honest and do a good job. I'm sure it'll be fine after a 'proper' service! Good luck.