Bought my son his first car - had major issues with it and, long story short, got a partial refund. Went car shopping again. This time I looked for more reputable dealer and used the 'AA Approved' listing as my starting point. Found a car - saw it, tried it and put deposit on it - it needed brakes sorting and a new passenger door handle. These were fixed and the car was MOT'd. Paid £1500 for it. Took it home on a trailer the following weekend and checked it over after unloading it - no oil. Dipstick was dry. Checked the engine block - wet from cylnder head down one side. Cylinder head gasket failure - great. Rang dealer - they said the would fix it. I said OK BUT I want an engineers report on the repaired car - salesman agrees. Returned car on trailer again and three weeks later they say its ready. I instruct ACE Engineers to go inspect the car but the dealer refuses to have the vehicle inspected on site.

With no other options, I go to collect it. I take my time looking under the bonnet and for the life of me, I cannot see any sign that a spanner has touched the engine at all. No new parts, even the oil stain on the engine block remains. The fluids are all still old and dirty and there is barely enough oil in the sump to cover a quarter of the way up the dipstick. I mention this to the young guy who was left to deal with me (the guy who sold it is always conveniently away on holiday... three times in as many weeks...) he shrugs his shoulders and has no answers. I ask to see the repair invoice - he cannot show me one. Reluctently I drive the car back home some 30 miles - it seems ok but now pulls to the right a bit - I dont remember it doing this on the test drive. It does not show any sign of over heating though...

Anyway, I get ACE to come and inspect the car and they comback with a long list of problems. Now some of this I expect from a 12 year old car but they confirmed that the CHG has not been replaced and the leak had been repaired using a water born sealant additive (a temporary measure at best) with traces of the stuff left in both the oil and the water. They noted the car is putting out some white smoke. They also noted that there are other issues that should have prevented the vehicle from passing the MOT. All this from an AA Approved dealer. When I ring the dealer to ask for a refund I'm refused and told they would 'fight me in the highest court in the land'. So off to small claims I go... I will also report their actions to the AA and also the dodgy MOT to HM GOV.

Any advice on a better / quicker way to handle this would be most welcome.