[SSRoseEnglish]

Hi
Sorry being a nuisance but just wondering if anyone can offer me any advise? Bought my beautiful looking Puma 1.7 16v one month ago as it only had 1 months warranty on it and was using a lot of coolant ( topped up twice in two weeks) I decided to ask my local garage just to look over her for me. I was told he would have classed her as un-roadworthy, she had extensive rust, rear axle bush badly split, front brake hose perished engine leaking oil and ns rear tyre perished. I was told roughly £300 - £400 for rust repair and around £300 for other jobs that was without a thorough check. I was advised to take it back to the dealer.

200+ miles to return the car and the dealer said they would have an independent garage check it over apparently I should have took it straight to them as covered by warranty but I live miles away it wasn't an option at the time. The dealer more or less blamed me for the coolant said the cap wasn't on properly, said my garage were heavy handed and pushed the rust through and the brake hose and axel bush would pass an MOT. Also I had put 600 miles on the clock

I felt like crying after getting conflicting information I felt I just wanted my money back and to look elsewhere. RAC & AA would not do an after purchase check (car over 10yrs old '51 reg.) So I paid for a new MOT supposedly independent but done at the garage that happens to share the same forecourt as the dealer. They passed it but with 6 advisory items

• Slightly deteriorated ns brake hose
• Slightly deteriorated os brake hose
• os seatbelt anchorage corroded not excessive
• ns front suspension slight movement at wishbone or bush
• os front suspension slight movement at wishbone or bush
• Oil Leak

Driving the 200+ miles home water poured into the foot wells and there was a bad smell of fumes it gave me a headache so I pulled over and rang RAC roadside for advise turned out to be he believes the air con. Further down the road a noise from the car suspension or something started to increase it sounded like springs or something rubbing together squeaking through lack of oil or something?


MOT means its roadworthy right? But all the advisories and rust is going to cost me an arm and a leg, money I don't have right now. I feel the costs are just going to run away before I get any real pleasure from the car should I ask once again for my money back or am I just being a stupid women without a clue?

Any advise would be welcomed. Thank you in advance.



Is this normal?

This post has been edited by SSRoseEnglish: 26 July 2014 - 11:46 PM

[happy-kat]

Gosh sorry you are in this situation.
I would find out from CAB or trading standards asap what are your rights if you want to return car and get your money back.
Oil and coolant leaks can be fixed.
Bushes are wear and tear and this car may never have had them changed.
Brake pipes can be a fairly common item needing replacement.
Check oil level often do not let it get below minimun reading on dip stick.
Rust.... They are all rusty to a degree though that looks a tad rusty.
How many miles has it done?
What service history does it have?
You say you bought from a dealer do you mean like a Ford dealer or a garage who sells cars?
Now that you have all details use the mot online service where you can check all prior mot advisories or failures for this car. You might find it failed and can you find evidence the work was done.

[CookieMonster]

not much to add, but the oil leak, looks like rocker cover (common problem) I replaced rocker cover on mine, the when it still leaked a little, just stuck it on with hylosil stuff.

regarding rest of problems, have been addressed above, don't say what you paid for the car, but I would have guessed you had at least a small poke around Before buying, and spotted general condition, and from a dealer probably around 6-800 if it 'looked' good with full history


Also Sale of Goods Act is worth looking at, especially if you have receipt showing you paid well over the odds for car, as there is a clause stating 'yaking account of price paid'

rusty examples tend for be worth 2-300 quid, I picked up a Millenium in better nick that how you describe yours, with a dented door for 170 odd quid, was what I called Knackered, but better condition that some

This post has been edited by CookieMonster: 27 July 2014 - 01:27 PM

[SSRoseEnglish]

happy-kat, on 27 July 2014 - 08:48 AM, said:

Gosh sorry you are in this situation.
I would find out from CAB or trading standards asap what are your rights if you want to return car and get your money back.
Oil and coolant leaks can be fixed.
Bushes are wear and tear and this car may never have had them changed.
Brake pipes can be a fairly common item needing replacement.
Check oil level often do not let it get below minimun reading on dip stick.
Rust.... They are all rusty to a degree though that looks a tad rusty.
How many miles has it done?
What service history does it have?
You say you bought from a dealer do you mean like a Ford dealer or a garage who sells cars?
Now that you have all details use the mot online service where you can check all prior mot advisories or failures for this car. You might find it failed and can you find evidence the work was done.

The car was from a garage who sells cars 25yrs in the business paid £1,295 most of the service history, hpi checks and MOT's I did checks online and dealer quotes for good condition said at the time £1395 so thought I was getting a fair deal

[SSRoseEnglish]

CookieMonster, on 27 July 2014 - 01:23 PM, said:

not much to add, but the oil leak, looks like rocker cover (common problem) I replaced rocker cover on mine, the when it still leaked a little, just stuck it on with hylosil stuff.

regarding rest of problems, have been addressed above, don't say what you paid for the car, but I would have guessed you had at least a small poke around Before buying, and spotted general condition, and from a dealer probably around 6-800 if it 'looked' good with full history


Also Sale of Goods Act is worth looking at, especially if you have receipt showing you paid well over the odds for car, as there is a clause stating 'yaking account of price paid'

rusty examples tend for be worth 2-300 quid, I picked up a Millenium in better nick that how you describe yours, with a dented door for 170 odd quid, was what I called Knackered, but better condition that some

Hi thanks for the reply sounds like I paid well over the odds £1,295. I did lots of checks here on this website and other places so I had a vague idea what to look for knew about rust on the wheel arches especially due to carpeting inside arches so rusting inside out but the ad said "stunning condition, cleanest around timing belt changed at 53,323 in 2012 only 2 owners and 57,000 on the clock. Advert pictures looked amazing but when went to see & test drive the car did notice a tiny bit of rust or rather slight bubble they said they would sort.
There was as far as I could tell full service history and all MOTs I didn't look too closely just saw that the car had passed MOT and next due Feb 2015. After I had the car briefly checked by my garage I looked through the paperwork more closely the Service History Log was stapled to the latest MOT so it covered the advisory note and not looking closely I hadn't noticed osr &nsr inner sills slightly corroded and also there was an advisory for the oil leak.
I fear there will be a high cost to get the car back up to scratch and my mind is all over the place thinking it just best to probably try get a refund. I will probably drop by my garage and see what they actually did when they had the car for a week maybe take some more photos too and chat to CAB or Trading Standards. Thanks for getting back to me

[happy-kat]

https://www.gov.uk/c...history-vehicle
MOT history and comments.

Use this option to get more history
the document reference number from the V5C registration certificate (logbook) if you don’t have the MOT test number

[happy-kat]

Which foot well got wet driving home because if your had your AC on then it could be a blocked expel pipe which is a minor fix and usually makes passenger side wet.

[CookieMonster]

paying 'over the odds' could work in your favour if going for rejection, as you have paid for something in above average condition

only problem comes with driving a car whilst under dispute, as that will be seem to affect value

http://forums.t5d5.o...sts-assessment/

obviously lost the cost of code reading etc, but dealer did refund

can't find other example last year, had to send a letter before court action, and then file claim with small claims court, but did get almost full value of car, and incidental costs.

People seem to think that low mileage, shiny cars will be best cars, personally first thing I look at is tyres, (make, do they match), and how well does engine run at limiter.

if bodywork offends, its far cheaper to tidy than loads of worn components on a car thats been mechanically neglected.

This post has been edited by CookieMonster: 28 July 2014 - 09:55 AM

[SSRoseEnglish]

Thanks for the replies a quick update drove to work this morning about 5miles then when parking up noticed the oil leak got worse, a whole lot worse by time I came to be going home Needed to top up immediately it took approx 3 &1/2 Litres of oil. Not good especially after I only picked it up Saturday and halfway home RAC came out & said fluid levels were fine.

Had RAC out again today so much oil underneath, when the chap tried to lift the car using the RAC jack the car slipped off crashing to the ground, gawd I was terrified when he lifted the car again and proceeded to check out under the engine. Well his estimate was same as yours CookieMonster Rocker Cover. Still not impressed when the car was with them for a week and they supposedly did some work on the oil leak and rust and checked out the other parts which my garage said he would have failed on MOT and they passed but put them down as advisory shouldn't the dealer then put these things right too?

Regards Su

[SSRoseEnglish]

Today's images
Repair on rear sills is this how it should look?

Today's oil leak when I first parked up 7am

RAC would not recommend driving it back to the dealer they need to come get it or something? I really need to talk to CAB again I already have a reference number so who knows I could claim my money back it is I feel an Unsatisfactory repair and therefore not fit for its purpose of getting from A - B.

"DRIVES AS IT SHOULD WITH NO FAULTS" exact words shown in the ad I know this because I have a copy of the original.

Once again thanks for your replies Su

[happy-kat]

Keep your RAC paper work and if you have evidence told not to drive it back that might help.
Trading standards might also be worth a call as car not as advertised.
Did you look up past MOT history with the link I posted earlier.
Keep a record of what had happened when and date as soon it might all get confusing if you need to recall facts.
Cam belt you wrote changed in 2012 rocker gasket could have been leaking since then and might explain the mess underneath.

[SSRoseEnglish]

Thanks for your help Happy-Kat I have lots of information gathered and I spoke with CAB via Trading Standards so I have a reference number from them. I have been advised to put everything in a letter phone them to have it checked over and then send it via registered mail.

Today the guy told me I could not have a refund if I wanted to get rid of the car I had to sell it privately I mentioned Trading Standards and he said Trading Standards were always round at the garage they worked very closely with them otherwise they would not be able to sell as many cars as they could 'being established 23years' Funny how they don't have any Trading Standards logos or any other Motor codes etc on their website? Plus I always thought Trading Standards only got involved if there were problems?

Sorry blabbering on again. I do appreciate your help though. I did go via your website for all past MOT's the garage had actually printed that information off and gave it me with the car history. I do need to sit down when I have a spare moment and construct a decent letter without blabbering on as I often do (as you have seen lol)

Thanks everyone Su

[nottadam]

Hi Su
Been reading through this and I really feel for you. I can't offer any advice as I thankfully have not been in this situation myself.
Buying any second car over 10 years old is always a gamble, the only thing you can do is check as many things as you can to lower your chances of being sold a 'lemon'.
Unfortunately not everyone has the knowledge, or the means to check things before buying and it is these people who fall prey to the unscrupulous used car traders.
It appears to me that you unfortunately trusted this seller based on the description of the car which in my opinion was totally misleading.
I really hope the outcome of this is in your favour and that it does not make you hate what is essentially a great little car when well maintained.
Paul

[ally frp364]

I hate to hear this happening to a genuine person. I would have sorted the lot for you as a goodwill if you stayed nearer me.

Please don't just accept this situation and follow through with trading standards and get your money back. No car that loses all it coolant and 3 and a half litres of oil is going to have no repercussions as it was obviously doing that before you bought it.

If you are really stuck to get a quality genuine Puma I might be able to sort you out with a good one.

Hope all turns out well.

Cheers

Ally

[SSRoseEnglish]

Thank you all for your kind words and greatly appreciated advise. The good news is after sending a registered letter quoting Statutory Rights the dealer has offered to refund the car -£100 handling fee and they will arrange to come and collect it as it is now unsafe to drive.

Just waiting to hear back dates and times for collection. Thank you all once again

Su :-)

[happy-kat]

Great news for you.

[ally frp364]

Hope you have a better new car experience next time.

All the best.

Ally

[eldoodarino]

SSRoseEnglish, on 07 August 2014 - 05:05 PM, said:

Thank you all for your kind words and greatly appreciated advise. The good news is after sending a registered letter quoting Statutory Rights the dealer has offered to refund the car -£100 handling fee and they will arrange to come and collect it as it is now unsafe to drive.

Just waiting to hear back dates and times for collection. Thank you all once again

Su :-)

wow!..you did well there for sure...

unfortunately this happens all the time.... 10 year old cars are just not what they seem from the outside when you start to remove things and open up a few cans of worms..

They are usually not such massive jobs to do but at a garage the work becomes completely un-economical when you factor in 50-90 quid an hour labour....

the cost of parts themselves are expensive enough...

-----

ps... whilst i'm also on a rant

this is also just typical of peoples attitude of getting rid of a car too... you can bet your ass the previous owner knew of all these issues but sold the car in good faith anyway and said it was a great car...lol! as soon as a car starts needing a bit of work doing 99% of owners just want to pass it on to someone else...

[happy-kat]

Don't forget to check out the for sale section on here.
Take a torch next time you see a car so you can look underneath when you work through a check list.

[johnpidge]

Good job you got or are getting your money back - well done