By the scumbag of a dealer that sold me my present car.
Body work started to show signs of bubble rust so I booked it in to the local body work shop.
Yep, you guessed it right....
....the rust is due to body panels and the rear passenger door that have been replaced after a hard impact and not sealed or prepared correctly prior to being painted.
The paint is not even an 'exact' match and there is filler and repair work to the bumper and nearside wing/light cluster unit.
Supposed to be RAC inspected so I rang them. They have 'logged' my complaint and informed me that there is inspection is just that. Any work that needs doing is marked as an advisory and is not compulsory - what a waste of money....
So what happens next?
Bougt it Nov 07 {typo corrected} from a specialist LPG dealer in {deleted - naming the location is as good as naming/shaming as it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to work out who you're referring to} - do I have any consumer rights left?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/06/2008 at 20:13
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>> Bougt it Nov 08 >>
Blimey!
You certainly got your complaint in early didn't you?
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Did you have it HPi checked before you bought it?
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The paint is not even an 'exact' match ............
Didn't you spot that before you bought the car?
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There is some good advice on this site:
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
You could still HPI it I suppose - if that showed it had been written-off then that would help in any claim against the dealer. Hopefully, a helpful BR'er will tell you where you can HPI it cheaply.
I think you would need to speak to Trading Standards about your problem.
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If you didnt check the car properly before you bought, you entered a lottery. This time you didnt win. Play again soon! Honestly, its as if used car dealers are to be trusted or something. Only the very best bodyshop can get an exact match and hide all evidence and if the job is as bad as it sounds, seems unlikely that it was hard to spot.
You may well have some comeback but if I was you, id be far more angry with myself for being so blinkered.
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You know for sure it was the dealer who sold you the car who did this work or a previous, butter wouldn't melt, owner who had it repaired on the cheap then chopped it in for something else ?
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" The paint is not even an 'exact' match"
Has it faded since you bought it, or did you miss your appointment at Specsavers?
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Actually no.
In jest t'was given 'tis returned on the volley - Specsavers are cheap - just like your comment. In the back of the net!
The paint colour was 'measured' using some sort of electronic colour coding device that was ran over the body of the vehicle. This shows any form of paint work done to the vehicle after it was purchased.
You cannot see the diffence in the colour otherwise.
For the useful advice I am very appreciative...
...as for the rest of the sarcastic comments (year 08 v 07 a mere typo) {8< SNIP which is now corrected, so there is no need for any sarcastic remarks in return}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/06/2008 at 20:14
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HPI will only show if it has been a write off. It could have sustained the damage when relatively new so would not have been written off even with a lot of damage.
It is unlikely the dealer did the work - very few would bother to go to this effort but an experienced trader should be able to spot shoddy repairs (mind you, so should the RAC!).
The RAC Inspection will only mention accident repair if they consider it has been done to below standard. Exact paint match is almost impossible and many cars get paint but by the sound of it they should have picked up the other things you mention.
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Good luck Tron,
Lots get caught out like that and and as with other situations in life, where one has suffered personal misfortune, the overwhelming majority of people are understanding and uncritical.
All the best
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Quite. Anyone who has never bought a slightly dodgy used car is very young or very lucky or very shrewd. I freely admit to having paid money (not much admittedly) for some real dogs. Yours doesn't sound all that bad provided the running gear is good. Perhaps you know a good body man who will let you (if willing) do the preparation? If you're too busy or annoyed for that, just run a slightly foxed motor like so many others :o}
The damn things don't often last for ever after all.
Oh, and drbe wasn't being sarcastic at your expense, he was just making a joke about yr typo. Not the same thing, be cool.
Edited by Lud on 30/06/2008 at 20:36
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What car is it? I had a Mondeo from new that started rusting because there was problems with seals etc. Some cars of the time could have problems with all doors, bonnet and hatch!
I assume your car was RAC inspected on behalf of the garage so you probably never saw any report? Am I right? Buyer beware - we should have vehicles inspected ourselves and then we have a contract with the inspector and if they get it wrong there is comeback.
Best of luck sorting this. Sounds like you were unlucky. But if there was no rust on the car when you got it, and the dealer never said it wasn't accident damaged you may have difficulty getting anywhere with them.
If it was fixed by a bodyshop there may be a warranty with the bodyshop - if you could find out who did it,
As for paint - if it looks the same colour from all angles and it's metallic then they did a good job. Isn't it near impossible to mix up metallic paint to be exactly the same. Even paint you buy for the house has batch numbers that you're meant to be sure match.
Edited by rtj70 on 30/06/2008 at 20:51
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Your scenario matches that of my neighbour who bought a 2nd hand Alfa 147 from an Alfa main dealer. 6 months later he was washing it and noticed a slighly "wave" effect on the bottom of both nearside doors and some small rust blisters. Turned out with closer inspection and a magnet they had both taken a whack at some point and been filled/sprayed, except that the filler and surrounding paintwork was shrinking and pulling away from the metal.
He took the car back to the dealer and complained but dealer said the car had passed their used car checks at time of sale and that repair must have been carried out prior to trade in. Dealer was sympathetic but firmly rebuked any allegation of liability. Their only concession to the situation was to offer an "improved" trade in valuation on another (undamaged) 147 that my neighbour duly accepted. He was naturally annoyed that he had been sold an approved used car with this defect but eventually put it down to a bitter experience.
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What car is it?
From memory (and a forum search confirms) it's a 2003 1.6 Vauxhall Astra-G.
Originally they had a 12 yr anti-corrosion warranty (due to the galvanised body) but I think this was later reduced to 6yrs at some point with the Astra-G.
This of course won't apply though if the body repair hasn't been to Vauxhall's specification.
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The exact same thing happened to me!
I bought my MGTF in October 07 and in January I noticed there was some rust on the sill near the front wheel. Thought it was just stone chipping as it was only surface so I had it repaired. In February I bought some ramps so I could clean underneath better and then noticed the sills underneath were bubbling with rust - more I dug the worse it was and noticed rust on the inside lip of the front drivers wing as well.
I took it to a few bodyshops who did what you had done with uv laser light and confirmed the paintwork on the drivers side had been resprayed. Quotes to get the rust treated and resprayed were iro £250-£300.
Armed with photographic evidence and a written report that part of the sill and front wing had been repaired to an insatisfactory condition were sent to the dealer. No responses, failure to return calls etc. Consumer direct drafted a letter which I sent recorded delivery and I got a copy of the hpi report that confirmed it hadnt been written off - I already knew this as I had done my own when I bought it.
I gave them the opportunity to repair the car to a standard in line with age and mileage and to give me a car that I paid for. I got nowhere, drafted another letter and threatened to take it to a legal level and instruct a solicitor.
Eventually consumer direct referred the case to trading standards who used my case on a periodic inspection (I assume I wasnt the only one logging complaints against them).
Now, I could take them to a small claims court to get them to repair it, but I decided to pay the £300 and get it professionally repaired by someone I know would do a good job - goodness knows what level of repair they would have done if it had ever got that far anyway.
If you have owned the car for more than 6 months, you wont have a leg to stand on by law, however if not then if you have a caring dealer they might be willing to repair it. If not then its letters, phone calls and eventually legal action to get the car in the condition that you expected it to be when you bought it - i.e. in line with age/mileage of similar cars.
Luckily my repair was £300. If it was £3000 I would have taken it further.
A letter with a bodyshop report and photos sent to a dealer would be a good place to start and contact consumer direct. Good luck and hope you were more successful than me!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 01/07/2008 at 19:53
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Did you ask if it had been repaired?
If you did and they said it hadn't then you have them
If you didn't...... Sorry, but you should have.
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Sympathies, my 'mug punter' moment was a red Sierra.
The paint down half of one side was badly oxidised, but would be OK for a day or two if polished.
Which of course the dealer made sure it was, whenever I saw it.
Car itself was reliable enough, but for the two years I had it, it hacked me off that I - self proclaimed motoring expert - had been had.
Edited by ifithelps on 30/06/2008 at 21:32
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Heh, heh ... always a mistake to proclaim oneself an anything expert when one is only human...
Was it Roman generals during official triumphs with captive kings in chains and so on who were followed closely by a fellow whose function was to keep saying: 'Remember, Caesar, that you are but a man...'
We all need one of those sometimes... snigger...
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Lud,
No sympathy from you then - thank goodness. :)
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Bad luck Tron, it was your turn this time, it'll be one of us the next.
It takes a very good and experienced eye to spot repair work, especially after a polish with some of the modern filling and finishing compounds.
I picked up some brand new vehicles going to a retail supplier the other week, as i checked round them, i found a deep scratch on the rear bumper, deep and could feel ridge with finger nail, also down to primer, nasty.
I assumed that vehicle wouldn't be going without painting, but the yardies whisked it off to the smart repair man, and 5 minutes later it was back, and i could not find where he had polished out the scratch even though i knew exactly where it was.
Don't feel bad about the car, if we had a thread about motors we've been turned over with, it would probably run to 6 volumes.
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No sympathy from you then - thank goodness. :)
Just the same measured amount I felt for Tron actually, although yr Sierra bodge sounds quite a cunning one, and wasn't even a defective paint job, just discoloured paint. We should all be so lucky...
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