I had a new car delivered November. The car had scratches. It was bought from a dealer a few hundred miles away. I suggested that I take it to a local dealer of a different manufacturer franchise because the local dealer did not have its own bodyshop.
Unfortunately the dealer carrying out the repair could not remove all the scratches and in fact made the paintwork 10 times worse by all I can describe as 'over' polishing the car. (It is black and shows every little mark to start with.)
Personally I think I have a contract with the supplying dealer. we have reached the end of any constructive correspondence and they are refuting responsibility suggesting I pursue the dealer they paid to carry out the work.
I'm just filling in my small claims county court claims forms and thought I'd double check that I am chasing the right people before spending my £150 for the basic fees.
All help greatly appreciated. I hope I have kept this non-specific enough to keep the mods happy.
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I would certainly take the view that the contract is between yourself and supplying dealer - the work seems to have been subcontracted using their preferred subcontractor.
it may be worth trying a 7 day letter to the dealer before spending your £150. If you don't get the desired response, then you can go ahead with small claims action. Nothing lost and possibly £150 saved if they give whatever compensation it is you are seeking.
Could well be worth having a word with your local CAB or trading standards, just to ensure you haven't missed anything along the way :-)
Best of luck.
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Thanks for your reply.
I've told them my next step is court. Sent lots and lots of letters to them. They said that they have no obligation other than that under the warranty and suggested I persue the dealer who caused the second lot of damage (no mention of the first however.)
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I would certainly take the view that the contract is between yourself and supplying dealer - the work seems to have been subcontracted using their preferred subcontractor.
No - 'I suggested that I take it to a local dealer of a different manufacturer franchise'
I would suggest that as you chose the repairer then you should get the work done again and then sue the repairer. What you ought to have done was to let the supplying dealer sort it out.
What sort of car is it? Black cars (we've got 2) always seem to look terrible (show every mark, blemish etc).
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Bill - i agree with your point of view, as the OP chose where to get it repair rather than the supplying dealer he should address the repairer rather than the original dealer.
I've had similar situtations to this in the past and i get the customer to take the vehicle into their local toyota dealer and we sort out payment behind the seens.
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I suggested that I take it to a local dealer of a different manufacturer franchise because the local dealer did not have its own bodyshop.
If you selected the place to get the work done and they made a mess of it then I suspect your claim would be against them. Is there no way to make a joint claim?.
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As far as I am aware you can receive advice under the duty solicitors' scheme free of charge providing the session is no longer than half-an-hour.
It would appear to be a simple task to lay out the facts in this case and obtain suitable advice.
Then looking up websites such as:
tinyurl.com/bmv2g
or
www.judiciary.state.nj.us/civil/civ-02.htm
will offer guidance on the correct approach.
I've made a couple of small claims court system in recent years - in both cases the case was accessed very carefully and accurately and I won both.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I had quite a bit of difficulty contacting citizens advice.
However was put in touch with 'Consumer Direct' who were most helpful.
They said that I was acting reasonably to help the situation by suggesting a more local dealer and that the local dealer was acting as an agent for the dealer I purchased the car from.
Basically said go ahead with suing the supplying dealer.
I'll update as things progress.
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You will be suing for breach of contract.
Unless you personally entered into a contract direct with the repairer I agree you should go for the supplying dealer.
Waggy
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I'm going to post the forms tomorrow.
Hopefully they will see that I will persue this claim as far as I can and settle out of court. However this manufacturer seems a bit more stubborn than most - so we shall see.......
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