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Dealers cannot sell cars as "sold as seen/tested". A problem's a problem no matter what it says on the receipt.
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My position is that given the high probability of gearbox failures in these cars and the very high cost of rectification, I cannot complete the transaction. This means that worst case, I will get landed with the full 7.5% penalty which is still a fraction of the gearbox cost. I guess what I am asking is , is there any legal route to recovering the deposit? If not, I may have to take it on the chin and put it down to a very expensive lesson!!
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I have to say I am surprised to see you paid the deposit after hearing the noise. As Lygonos says the dealer has a right to sort it (and they might) so maybe hold on instead of losing the deposit.
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You have technically entered a contract to buy the car - if you pull out now the dealer will likely keep the deposit to cover his 'costs' for the breach of contract.
I believe the Americans call the situation you are in "buyer's remorse."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer's_remorse
I guess you are past the point of simply stepping back, but perhaps the dealer has another vehicle you would find more suitable that you could keep your deposit towards?
I think you either need to walk away, try to get the deposit back, but take it on the chin if you can't. Or buy the car but be prepared to push for a replacement gearbox if it fails in the first year or so of ownership (which it very well might not!).
The SOGA is all about showing a fault was likely present at the time of purchase.
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Demand an extended warranty which fully covers the gearbox perhaps?
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Buy an extended warranty which includes the gearbox perhaps?
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"The dealer said he would investigate and fix the fault"
No he won't - you've already discovered that it costs c.£5000 to fix, presumably that's because it either needs a strip and rebuild or a new box.
No dealer is going to spend that much - there's not enough profit in the sale to justify it.
Probably they will change the gearbox oil/fluid (if you're lucky) and then bung some "additive" in there to quieten it down - - and hope for the best.
You know (now) that this model has a potential gearbox issue.
The example you drove displayed a gearbox noise.
If it walks like a duck etc
Don't "hope" it will be ok just to save losing the £500.
If you buy the car every time you select reverse you will listening for the noise and wondering if and when it will need attention - even if it subsequently turns out not to have a serious problem the worry will still have ruined your enjoyment of the car.
Try and get the £500 back, or even £250 so they have something for their "trouble".
Then look for a car without any faults - get an independent inspection if your knowledge of car mechanicals isn't good (like most of us!).
Plenty of cars around without faults.
J
Edited by jacks on 12/10/2009 at 12:48
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Lets see what the dealer says/does! Then post back and let us know!
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I assume you know you are buying a £35k car, and also assuming for your £11k you have got a 70k miles plus, 5+ years old example, you know it wil come with £35k type car repair bills?
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