Long Post - Apologies

I have a problem regarding a dodgy car dealer , even though it is a main
dealership which should have a bit more integrity in dealing with customers.

PROBLEM
=======

I bought a Toyota Avensis from a Toyota dealership (which for the present
time shall remain nameless) near Manchester. Granted, it is a nice looking
car.

However, since taking delivery of the vehicle on July 6th, it has been in
for repairs, at my (kindly and patient) local (unrelated) Toyota dealership
in Merseyside, under the warranty FIVE times. The car was only registered in
September last year!

The five problems, briefly have been:

- a new satellite navigation CD-rom to replace a faulty one,
- a repositioning of the satellite navigation system, since the gyroscope
was not detecting the vehicle's position accurately,
- a new clutch cover,
- a completely new clutch when the replacement cover did not rectify an
earlier problem,
- a new "fan auxilliary pulley".

Furthermore, the vehicle document, which was sent to me from Swansea states
that the vehicle was previously owned by "ERAC UK Ltd" of Hounslow. A web
search reveals this to be Enterprise Rent A Car. A quick phonecall to ERAC
yielded the information that they sell many such ex-rental vehicles through
this dealership.

When I asked about the car at the time I viewed and test-drove it, the
salesman (PM) when I enquired about the vehicle's history told me that the
car was "our own car, a demonstrator" (witnessed by a friend who was with me
at the time).

So, basically, there are two problems:

- the misrepresentation of the source of this vehicle
- the poor quality / lack of reliability of the vehicle

I think I should be entitled to some compensation for the inconvenience that
I have had due to the 5 garage visits and also for the fact that the car was
not as described - ie not a "demonstrator" vehicle.

I think that an ex-rental vehicle (which could have been treated, er, badly)
is of less value than a demonstrator (which would have been treated
respectfully, arguably).

I have offered the garage various alternatives - a monetary compensation
payment or to replace the vehicle with an identical spec car which is not an
ex-rental car.

All they have offered me is a free service next year. Alternatively I can
have my old car back and the deal cancelled. Neither of these options appeal
to me.

Frankly, the offer of a free service next year is unsatisfactory and
derisory and the offer of the return of my old car and cancel the deal is
just a joke. They have had my car for a month now. Who knows who has driven
it, and how they have driven it, in that time. If I had wanted to keep my
old Yaris, I wouldn't have "upgraded" would I?

The nice lady at Tameside Trading standards (NLTTS), who again I will not
name, says that the dealership told her that they have offered me an
extended warranty. That is yet another lie. I have been offered nothing of
the sort. The toyota has over 2 years remaining of the 3 year manufacturer's
warranty as it is.

Furthermore, one minute they apologise to NLTTS for what PM had said, and
the next minute they deny to her that he ever claimed the car was their own
car / a demonstrator vehicle. That is very inconsistent, and she agrees.
They apologised to me a fortnight ago (after 3 repair visits), when the free
service was offered, saying that PM had said that the vehicle was a
demonstrator, but that he did not mean to mislead me. Well, they cannot get
much more misleading than claim that an ex-rental car is a demonstrator.

They also claim that the faults with the Toyota were "known Toyota Avensis
faults". Should I not have been warned at time of sale? I also find it hard
to believe that all 5 problems were known faults.

Other comments. Salesman PM said that "the car will be given a service
before you take delivery". Incorrect. The service history document he
produced when I took delivery of the car was stamped "May 2001" so a service
was not required.

I have said that if the dealership do not come to some sort of satisfactory
agreement regarding some degree of monetary compensation for the
misrepresentation of the sale and the subsequent unreliability of the car.

Am I being reasonable, given the great inconvenience this car has given me?

Would I stand a reasonable chance of getting monetary compensation in the
small claims court? The car cost £11,000 and they gave me £6500 for my car.
I would only ask for £500 in compensation for the aggro I have had. The free
service is worth £100 - hardly representative of the grief I have had, is
it?

Advice please, thanks. Arguably, selling an ex-rental vehicle as a
"demonstrator" is tantamount to fraud, isn't it?

Apologies if this sounds a bit like a rant!

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