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Sun 12 Aug 2018 12:28

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

Hey everyone.

A Month ago i bought a car: Vauxhall Astra Excite 1.4 16v 2015y. 10k miles on the clock at the day of purchase (very low milage).

I been told by the dealership that car is in very good condition. Apart from few minor scratches - yes it was.
In meanwhile while i was using the car on regular basis i washed it twice and i realised that offside of the car (doors, and wheel wings) start showing paint issues. I spoke with bodyshop garage and they told me that car was painted on that side for unkown reason and there is silicone contamination which makes a lot of fisheye's on the paint. Apart from that i had a crack of coat under driver's handle and some paint color on passenger door going "matt" than glossy instead? All problems showing only on that one side of the car.
I went back to the dealership and reported everything to branch manager who told me to leave the car with them as it's serious paint problem. Dealership told me that side of the car would be painted again and sent me email to confirm that.

After two weeks i came back to collect the car. Dealership did not paint anything just simply washed the car and polished / vaxed and told me : "this is all we can do as car i second hand not brand new and you need to be reasonable."

First of all i was not aware of the fact that side of the car was painted before i buy it.
Second thing is that they did not show me any paperwork saying that they even investigate the car why it was painted before and what they did to fix it (as they did nothing).

When i report the issue i had this car for a month and a week (5weeks)

I reject the car, did not collect it and i told branch manager that i will call HP finance company and tell them about everything but he was not shocked or anything just ignored me. They parked my car on the back and left me with nothing.

Do i have any stands on this?

Edited by Kidney on 12/08/2018 at 12:29

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Sun 12 Aug 2018 13:39

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Bromptonaut

As ever, speak to Citizens Advice Consumer helpline:

03454 04 05 06

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Sun 12 Aug 2018 15:34

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - 72 dudes

It's over 30 days so I wouldn't think you have any comeback under CRA, others will correct me if I'm wrong. Poor paintwork does not constitute a major fault so I doubt the 6 months rule applies.

However, it doesn't sound like you inspected the car very well (if at all) before you agreed to purchase it, or indeed on the day of collection.

The dealer has no obligation to check why it was re-painted previously.

What steps have you taken to contact the first owner to ask about its history?

Apologies if I sound a little unsympathetic but the old phrase 'caveat emptor' springs to mind

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Sun 12 Aug 2018 22:54

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

I inspected the car carefully. That paintwork issues popped up after a while .they were not on the body of the car at the day of purchase .Same as dealership who told me that paintwork seems to be a serious problem now but after two weeks they tried to give me car back saying that it was painted (but it wasn't) and he could not proof it in any way.

I read that fisheyes (craters-like marks) popping up within a time after poor paint job work on the car .

I will contact hp finance company Tomorrow and I will get them involved as I think that poor paint job was hidden at the day of purchase and not mentioned. Dealership now is trying to push me away with it with no responsibility taking.

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 10:40

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Bromptonaut

It's over 30 days so I wouldn't think you have any comeback under CRA, others will correct me if I'm wrong. Poor paintwork does not constitute a major fault so I doubt the 6 months rule applies.

Argree about faults and 30 day proviso. CRA provisions on 'description' and 'quality' may be of some use though. Suggest OP takes advice, I suggested Citizens Advice Consumer above and gave number. The Consumer Service is probably a better option than going to your local Bureaux where staff/volunteers are not specialists. Cit A, Which and no doubt other organisations too have template letters for these circs.

Might also be sort of case where a solictor's letter will galvanize the dealership.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 13/08/2018 at 10:41

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 02:20

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - SLO76

It’s a used car that has had poor accident or vandalism paint repairs. You need to bring someone along with you when buying if you haven’t the ability to spot such issues as sadly there’s no likelihood of recompense for this. It’s not a mechanical or electrical failure, it’s purely cosmetic and since you viewed it before buying then you will be seen to have bought it warts and all. The manufacturers paint/rust guarantee won’t apply as it has had a poor substandard repair done.

Funny this flagged up though as my brother in law nipped over the other day to show me a paint issue on his wife’s 2014 Astra GTC and one quick glance told me that the car has been fully (and very badly) painted. It’s rotting and flaking everywhere. He’s another that thought he didn’t need help looking at motors. My advice to him and to yourself... get shot of it as soon as you can or the flaky paint and rust that’ll follow will c****** the cars resale value.

Next time stick with approved used main dealer stock and even with this in mind you should still take a knowledgeable person along too even if you have to pay them. A small fee upfront is better than losing thousands on a duff motor.

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 09:17

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

I understand your point of view on this but:
this is approved Peugeot dealership. I was part exchanging my car i had previously with them and choose this astra as a new car. They took it from Vauxhall garage for me as it was there for sale and they were trying to help me to get what i want.

At the day of collection i checked the car and found few things they sorted for me. I even found deep scratch on that side of the car and they took care of it for me within few days after purchase.

That silicone contamination issues and marks on offside of the car comes up few weeks later. Im washing cars by myself and i did not spot anything within first two weeks while i washed it.

When i took that car back to the dealership they even told me its a serious paint problem they were not aware and they will sort this out for me by re-painting whole side of the car once again but professionaly.

When i came to collect the car after two weeks they did nothing and pretend that they re-painted, but c'mon i know my car and i could tell there was nothing done to it apart from washing it.

Paint did not show any defects till first 4 weeks otherwise i would spot it straight away. Even Dealership said its really bad and it was not like that but they are not doing anything about it as it will cost them to re-sprayed i can imagine and they are trying to avoid it.

Like i said before i will contact HP company as i was not even aware that car was re-sprayed at the first place. In my point of view if im buying a 2y10m old car with 10k miles on the clock from Peugeot garage i should be aware at least about any accidents that car has in the past. They should check this car as they got tools, equipment and experience im just a driver who trust them and believed that car was not involved in any accidents which may cause paint problems after as it was poorly re-sprayed somewhere.

I cannot imagine myself going to buy a nearly new car with a AA or RAC group of people and testing it for 3 days before i will buy it to make sure that car is not doggy in any way - that should not even happen. Some of the defects could come across after 2-3 months and there is nothing you can do about it.

If dealership telling me - was not involved in accident; but it was and someone has to re-sprayed, well thats a lie isnt?

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 11:34

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

Just a little update:

I phoned HP finance company and they've said that dealership is responsible for this as they agreed to fix it two weeks ago so they are taking responsibility for paint issues. This is not a paint defect caused by weather or age but by poor job made on the car that could showed up within month or few months later so it was hidden from me at the day of purchase.

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 14:39

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Cris_on_the_gas

Well they woud say that because if you brought the car on Finance then they are are liable under consumer protection laws.

If this was my car I would demand that either the dealer or the Finace company repaired the paintwork on the car to a good standard.

If / when they refuse I would get it repaired and start litigation through small claims court for the cost.

Reckon the Finance company would crumble first. Would be worth checking Companies House first to see who had the most assets or cash.

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Mon 13 Aug 2018 14:44

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

Sorry i just forgot to mention that finance company Is getting involved and they will contact dealer to get it sorted for me.

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Tue 14 Aug 2018 01:51

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - SLO76

That’s the normal fob off from the finance co. They don’t want to deal with any issues, they’re only interested in the loan being repaid. Passed the buck back to the dealer who I’m afraid has no duty to reimburse you unless it has mechanical or electrical faults which they cannot rectify. A poor paint repair (especially one which wasn’t obvious at the point of sale) is not reason the refund you I’m afraid. Properly inspected by someone with a bit of experience this paintwork would’ve shown up. I hope the finance co do put pressure on the dealer but I very much doubt they will, it’ll just be passed over.

As for telling you whether the car was involved in an accident well unless it was a total loss and shows up on an HPI report then the only other way to spot it would be if the repairs were obvious but you say they weren’t so how were they to know?

I’m sorry you’ve had a bad experience here but ultimately you’ve bought a bad car, though it may actually be reliable enough it will quickly become tatty with such a poor paint repair. This is a risk when buying used and you need to seek assistance before buying again.

One avenue to try is to ask the dealer if they’ll swap it or give you a preferential part-ex deal to keep you sweet. Be polite, pleasant but firm in telling them that you are unhappy with the standard of the paint. But remember they’re not obliged to help you, it’s a chance for them to keep you happy and to stop any damage to the firms reputation.

Watch however that they don’t try to limit what you can pick as a swap. Some dealers when making this offer will present you with a small choice of overage or overpriced stock they want rid off. This was the case with brother in law who bought a BMW 1 series that I told him not to buy, this suffered a series of irritating electrical faults so the dealer offered a swap from a limited selection one of which was the crash damaged Astra he has now that has more rust on it than an 80’s Ford after being parked in the Atlantic for ten years.

Edited by SLO76 on 14/08/2018 at 01:52

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Tue 14 Aug 2018 02:10

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

Well thank you for your support on this.

We will see how it goes I will update this topic since I will get anything new regarding this .

Now I'm waiting for the finance company and we will see what they will do .

Finance company showed a lot of interest in my case as they took warranty documents from me as I bought external warranty for two years. There should be also warranty for a paint still as my previous car had that covered for 5 years and astra is only 3 years old .

If that dealership could regret sorting this out they would do that at the first place. They still pretended that they tried to fix it so now on they will have to (in my opinion) as they saying that car was painted by them when I left it two weeks ago so If the condition of the car is same or worse that is because of their poor job two weeks ago and now they are taking responsibility for it . Am I wrong ?

Edited by Kidney on 14/08/2018 at 02:15

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Tue 14 Aug 2018 09:01

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - SLO76

“Finance company showed a lot of interest in my case as they took warranty documents from me as I bought external warranty for two years. There should be also warranty for a paint still as my previous car had that covered for 5 years and astra is only 3 years old .”

A warranty is for electrical and mechanical failures not paintwork and the paintwork guarantee won’t apply if it has had any paint repairs which weren’t carried out to insurance approved standard which it is clear isn’t the case here. Good luck though and keep us informed.

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Wed 15 Aug 2018 11:20

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

Like you said guys .Finance phoned me back again and refused to help as paint is a cosmetic thing . I'm shocked !! Dealership plays around wasting my time and pretend that they are helping, finance gave up on me saying "we can't help this is cosmetic thing" well right ! If I would give them car back after halfway of payments they wouldn't considered as a cosmetic but they would charge me for that !

b***** hell... There is really nothing I can do now ?

Unbelievable..

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Wed 15 Aug 2018 17:27

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - SLO76

I sympathise with you here. It’s a painful life lesson but one which will help others since you’ve posted it on here. Only options now if you really want out of the car are to take a personal loan out and pay it off then sell it or flog it to another dealer or we buy any car type outfit plus pay the outstanding amount.

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Wed 15 Aug 2018 22:10

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

I think because of the mileage and age of the car I would keep it as the price was very nice for it . However I spoke with independent bodyshop and they've said that fisheyes remains on a clear coat that could be buffet or polished gently to remove them to make it clear and spotless. I think I will give them a try and if there would be no mark of previous poor paint job then I will keep that car . I do not mind if it was painted because of hit or scratch as long as paint would be in great condition. I'm just considered about clear coat layer now if there is anything that could be polished off.

Hopefully I'm doing right thing .

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Thu 16 Aug 2018 01:54

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

I still cannot understand one thing. Branch manager told me that they can see issues with a paint that was not there at the day of purchase (I got witness that branch manager said that) they took my car to get this sorted and hold it for two weeks . Meanwhile I received email saying that car was painted and issue is sorted (got that email).. now is it not required to fix the car to a satisfactory standard which in that case is not archived ?

Therefore if I left my car there for two weeks and I got condition report which show that car is free from any damages and I found new scratches made by dealership they would not be responsible for them as it's " cosmetic defect "?

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Thu 16 Aug 2018 02:27

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - SLO76

You’d face a legal battle to get anything from them and remember it would be you v a legal team that are very well versed in fighting these things. Give up, pay a few quid to fix it yourself to a reasonable standard or flog it and move on. Life is too short to dwell on past mistakes. All the best.

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Thu 16 Aug 2018 22:10

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

SLO76 Thank you for your support. I do not have to do anything. Finance company phoned dealership and told them that I complaint about quality of their service and car in general. Dealership decided to paint that doggy side of the car professionally at vauxhall dealer free from any charge. Seems they got scared. Sometimes is worth to shout loudly but like you said I could win nothing. Thanks once again.

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Thu 16 Aug 2018 23:52

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Simon

I've never seen silicone marks appear in paintwork after 'the event'. Are you sure that they weren't there when you bought the car?

This isn't by any a Peugeot/Vauxhall dealership based in the Midlands is it?

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Fri 17 Aug 2018 02:14

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

They were not there we looked at the car few times and spotted scratches on that door so dealership took care of them for us before I collected. They appeared later after two car washes. However that dealership is doggy as this is my second car bought in there I chose vauxhall as that dealership damaged my previous Peugeot I had from there. They took that vauxhall for me from another (vauxhall) xxxx dealership. I would not buy from them again but I had to part exchange my damaged Peugeot and they took it as fully working car due the fact that they break it so I had best price for part exchange and no responsibility that car being f***ed. Apparently I went there to do my service . Dealership did not put sump plug at the bottom of the engine properly and oil leaked out at the way back home . After I realised this it was too late . Dealership put sump plug correctly and topped up missing oil but since then my car started drinking 1L of oil each 1000miles. After a year of car usage I had to replace whole exhaust system and catalytic converter due fact that was blocked by oil. Dealership were saying that it is normal and even contacting main Peugeot gave me no options but to consider court as a resolution. Dealership offered me to part exchange that car as fully working, giving me best price on the market for px so I took it and chose car from another xxxx related garage (vauxhall) as I was sure they would not f***ed this one up too. It is long story and this is my last car from there for sure. I'm lucky because they sorted this issue for less hassle than I had to deal with before. However I received my car today and I also asked for an invoice from job they've made and it says that they "fix and respray" rear bumber too. I did not have any issues with a rear bumber at all... I think they scratched or hit it on the way to body shop and had to fix it. - you can see how professional they are. Car looks awesome and there is no any marks anymore . Hopefully I will not have to deal with that bunch of monkeys again . Lying to your face.

My friend bought brand new 2008 from them and he's having same experience as mine. Anytime he goes there for service (as he's got service plan with them) finding scratches and marks on his car as they are not taking properly care of it. When his electric mirrors stopped working and he went there (2months after purchase - brand new car) they told him to paid as they blamed him for breaking them . He paid as he though it was his fault (old person) but invoice says that they had to change some wires in the system due early life failure .... Wonder who took his money to the pocket .

They good when it comes to sell the car but after sales / service department sucks . If you go there, there is always a welcome note with a names on the desk . That note is related to a customers who are coming to drop off the car for any repairs. It's always full and contains about 20-25 names on it .That shows something. Everytime when I was going to that place I heard people moaning about them and complaining. I cannot understand how this place still exist .

No offence but I think that English people are too trustful and they sometimes do not know anything about the cars. Dealership doing s*** job and blaming car for being unreliable which at the end gaves them opportunity to fix it, earn money, and make people happy . Well they think they're in good hands.

I think they knew I won't leave it and I will consider to do something about it thats why they sorted . I got phone calls recorded and emails still showing that they were saying something but nothing was done or it was even made worse.

(Name of dealer deleted)

Edited by Avant on 18/08/2018 at 00:32

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Fri 17 Aug 2018 05:22

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Kidney

As a example my girlfriend bought a car in Bristol Motors and we are pleased with that place. They even recording a movie due service job and sending it to our email so we can see what and how they're doing their job. However I had a situation once where I dropped off my pug 208 (previous car) for a service . They did replace light bulb without asking and told me to pay £9 for it, but they also found that I had a punch on my rear tyre and left it like that for me to get it sorted as I did not give them permission to do it . However I had a service plan with them that time and any tyre punches suppose to be fixed free from any charge (!).

Another silly thing was when I went there before holiday to do a health check for my car and they gave me invoice saying that all is good and in perfect working order. When I come back from holiday I heard strange noise under the car so I went there back and after 30min of checking it they told me that my exhaust arm broke due rust and needs replacing. The price they gave me was £600 but I only asked them for invoice and went somewhere else. Local garage took invoice from me to see what parts are required for the job and two items were not required for this job at all. I paid for brand new exhaust 300£ and save about 60£ on that two not required pieces.

Third adventure I had with a catalytic converter. I went for a MOT to that dealership and they passed me straight away (co2 as well) since I left garage due my bad luck with this place engine light came up .I went back there and theyve said straight away that it's related to a catalytic converter as it's failing to operate properly . I challenged them asking how is come that I passed co2 emissions test due my mot but they never gave me any answer and told me that from now on I need to replace that cat. The price for it was 1200£ (original part) but I got really p***ed off as I knew that part broke because of oil consumption after their previous job and phoned up main Peugeot garage . Next day dealership offered me a gesture of goodwill due fact that part failed to early and I paid only 40% of the total price . Since then I started my fight with a dealership and I finished on really good px deal .

Like you can see this place is a circus on the wheels.

Hopefully new car won't give me anymore trouble . Well I got 2 years warranty which states in terms and conditions that is limited to 24k miles as they counting 12k miles for each year of the warranty. I'm reading t&c but I can imagine there is a group of people who will be shocked if they go over that limit and something goes wrong with the car.

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Sat 18 Aug 2018 00:21

Vauxhall Astra - Bought a car - dealership lied about the condition - Avant

Kidney, please read the 'naming and shaming' guidance at the top of the page. If you name a person or business and call them liars, you lay both yourself and ourselves open to possible legal action by the other party, who probably doesn't see the issue in the same light as you do.

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