had my new car for about 6 months and

[mummyzoe2012]

its been back to the garage once already about the hand break failing when they had it in they are ment to of fixed it and said that my pads were not touching the wheels and they appoliges for this. its going back in on tuseday as the hand break has failed again and when i put it on the car rolls backwards or you can drive off with no probs when its ment to be on. the car is not a cheap one and it cost us 26k. AIBU to demand a new car if the handbreak fails on it again before xmas. also the seals on the back doors are hanging off and they have offered me a courtisey car but its no where near the same spec of car i bought and they do not know how long they are going to have my car for.

This is not a question of how reasonable you are being, it all depends if the defects are covered by the warranty or not. I don't think you would get very far demanding a new car in a timeframe you have created based on your own expectations rather than any contractual agreement.

As for the courtesy car, pfft, we got given a Ka last time which is quite considerably NOT the same spec of car, not even the same marque, and from a main dealer. You'd think they'd offer customers an up-specced courtesy car as a marketing device.

The amount you paid for the car is irrelevant really, any car can have a fault.

Contact consumer direct. They will be able to give you good advice.

You will have to check you warranty but Iwould think a handbrake failing on you is a major bad thing which after fixing twice and then failing should prove the car is faulty and a replacement needed.

The door seals are just another thing, mine came off in my hand the other day, but theya re there fior a reason so should be fixed properly.

When my car went in for a broken door the repair centre had it for 4 weeks as it was such a new model, 1 month old, they had no new parts for it. We were offered a tiny peugeot 105 and we had 3 kids at that point. I don't know what they would do now as we have had another so we wouldn't fit

I disagree. A handbreak failing twice does not prove the CAR is faulty. It just suggests that there is a further fault which has not been diagnosed.

For the sake of managing the OPs expectations, IME it is highly unlikely you will get a entire replacement car under the circumstances you describe.

Was the car brand new when you purchased it?

Contact the manufacturer and ask if the cars have an inherent fault from leaving the factory.

You are entitled to repairs free of charge and a car that is safe, yours is not, however you will not get a new replacement vehicle.

I'd contact Watch Dog if I were you. 26k for a car that is dangerous is disgraceful.

Check that the fault is not a recall problem. Get the dealership to give a full report on the problem and what they've done to address it, in writing when you collect.

If you feel you still have grounds for complaint consult Trading Standards - it's impossible here to guess what the issue is or why it's happening.

WRT the courtesy car, you experienced standard practice. There is no obligation upon the dealership to offer you a courtesy car of equal value or marque unless that's what your contract says and generally they don't. The last dealership I worked for, as a service manager, offered the same make of vehicle (usually mine or the parts manager's! :( ), prior to that I worked for a BMW dealership which, as the Dealer Principal also owned a Mitsubishi franchise, provided Mitsi Colts as courtesy cars... a step down from your average BMW, but a car nonetheless!

Vallhala, I'm assuming that the practice of providing courtesy cars of lower value or marque is borne out of the reasoning that any potential sales which may arise from offering a higher spec vehicle are not considered to outweigh the increased cost?

I think the dealerships are missing a trick here. I once had a Mini undergoing warranty work and there were no courtesy cars available, as a gesture of goodwill (as the defect had been caused by a service engineer who broke my seat) they gave me a 3 series. I'd never have considered one before but it influenced a subsequent purchase.

My sister had an Alfa, and was given a fiesta as a courtesy car. She's a marque snob and would never have considered a Ford, but having fallen in love with the courtesy car, her next car was indeed a Ford...

All our courtesy cars are the pretty basic models, we do loan out the service managers if all the other cars are out with customers.

im just realy narked as its my 1st brand new car and ive only done 4000 miles in it and its faulty again. im going to ask what they are going to give me as its not good expesially since i told them last time it was in i was pregnant and they promised it was fixed and its not.

What make and model is it?

its a hyundai ix35 with all the extras

I seem to dimly recall studying a case in contract law when I was at university about someone who demanded a replacement car.

He did not win and thus the precedent was set. The car was still considered fit for purpose as the garage continued to attempt to fix the problem.

If the name of the case comes back to me, I will post it so you can have a leaf through the legalities.

Aren't you entitled to a replacement if the item fails within the first 6 months or is that just for electronic items? I think the reasoning is there's an assumption the item was faulty leaving the factory if it's less than 6 months old.

Consumer Direct are very helpful so it's a good place to check for advice.