I brought a used Volvo V50 and within a few days noticed resistance in the steering when starting to turn left. I let the second hand car dealer know and they took it to their repair garage partner who diagnosed it as a shock absorber problem and replaced it. I believe that they claimed for this on the three month warranty that they gave me with with the car.

It did not solve the problem. I told them this but they advised it was for me to take the car in and to deal with through the warranty. They said that when you buy cars of that age and mileage (04 plate, 147,000 miles) you have to accept that there will be things that wont be quite right. My local garage diagnosed the problem as a faulty power steering pump which would cost circa £550 to fix.

The warranty only covered £250 (£300 with VAT). By the time it went in to the garage some two months after purchase the steering needed very firm pressure to get over the initial turn left although once warmed up after 30 mins or so it was easier to steer. My share of the eventual bill was £257 with the garage claiming the remaining £300 from the warranty company. It seems to have solved the problem.

I accept that cars of this age and mileage are very unlikely to be faultless but the faulty steering must raise the question of whether the vehicle was road worthy. The selling garage had the car serviced and MOT'd before we purchased. Do I have any case to require the selling garage to reimburse me the £257 I have had to spend to get the fault put right?