Problem with PCP car

[Conundrum2]

Hi, maybe not the right topic but wasn’t sure where else to post. We purchased a car on PCP (first time we’d ever done it, we needed 2 reliable cars for work). We’re 4 months into the lease and the car had to be towed back to the dealer as the clutch failed. The dealer is basically saying we are liable for all repairs because we didn’t take out an extended warranty. I will add, it’s not a new car- it’s 3 years old and has done 20,000 miles. I basically argued with them that I wouldn’t expect to have to pay for repairs on a car of that age and mileage, but was told it’s part and parcel of buying a second hand car.
I’ve tried to Google where I stand in terms of my rights (dealer says I don’t have any which may be true, but I’m still not sure). Does anyone have any similair experiences? I guess my AIBU is should the dealer cover the cost of the repair? I know that secondhand cars can go wrong, but I didn’t expect to need a repair on a car that isn’t that old and hasn’t done a lot of mileage.

I guess if it's out of warranty it's out of warranty but might be worth double checking all paperwork as you only bought it recently... presumably they carried out a vehicle health check at the time? Main dealers normally do so query why issues weren't picked up then? Maybe also see what the finance company say?

Oh I hadn’t thought of asking the finance company, I’ll do that thank you. I know as it is out of warranty I guess I probably am liable for repairs, just seems a bit unusual to need a big repair on a car that isn’t that old, I would have expected it had we bought a cheaper runaround so was expecting the dealer to be a little more accommodating.

You've got rights under the consumer rights act: fault reported in first six months so onus on trader to establish no fault. The finance company is the trader for the purposes of the Act so complain to them - say not of satisfactory quality. They get one shot to repair or replace.

Thank you @laurenlodge can you tell me where I would find a copy of that? Sorry I have been googling but am finding conflicting info. And am I right in thinking my beef if with the finance company as opposed to the dealer then?

Clutch is usually an exclusion from warranty, due to wear and tear. If it were an issue when you received it you might have a claim to the dealer.

I work for a car finance company, I'd suggest ringing up your finance provider and seeing if they will log a complaint to investigate if the vehicle was mis-sold to you / equipment not fully functional at the point of sale and see if the dealer is liable for the costs. They will probably look into the details of usage of the vehicle since you bought it etc but you do have the right to question this and seek further help if the dealer is unwilling to help at this point.

Really? It's a second hand car that's out of warranty. Isn't that normally "as seen", buyer beware?

Thanks all, it seems like first point of call would be the finance company then and not the dealer which might explain why they weren’t very helpful. Will ring the finance company tomorrow

Try https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights-aAnMC5b0ZzJb

I'd keep talking to dealer and finance company - the dealer likely won't want a rep for being troublesome so might be more inclined to help. The fact they're trying to convince you you don't have any rights is so shady. But yeah, technically the finance co is who you complain to as you would have bought the car via them.

If you're buying from a company you get the protection - if you buy from a private individual you're right that it's usually sold as seen.

@laurenlodge thank you, really appreciate it. It’s the first time we’ve had such a ‘new’ car so am abit unsure about the whole thing!

Make? A lot of the German makes will cover stuff like this as gesture of good will if you contact them. How many miles have you done? If it's been riden or clutch dropped a lot it's possible to go at even 10k

No worries - I'm a solicitor who deals with this stuff all the time and it's really not well publicised that people have rights even on secondhand cars!

It’s a focus - not German. We’ve done just under a thousand miles. The dealer did offer to buy it back at trade price but I’m guessing that will mean we are ££££ out. @laurenlodge yes the dealer was quite condescending about it all and made me feel that I was being very unreasonable to even suggest it was abnormal / unexpected. I’ll speak to the finance company tomorrow and the dealer mentioning the consumer rights act (without being a dick!)

Yeah in fairness, you can kill a clutch plate in metres so it's not automatically going to be assumed that it was like that when sold.

I'm not trying to impugn your driving, OP. Just saying they're easier to trash than people would think.

@OldBeller no problem at all and no offence taken! It could well be our driving, however we have the exact same model (but 10 years older) and have never had an issue with it (which was why we went for this particular model and brand. It’s a ford)

It's usually people who have only the rudimentary understanding of how a clutch works that do it. I used to see it frequently with overconfident American drivers. I can't see anyone who has a full manual licence issued in the UK doing it.

You'd probably benefit from having a forensic report done on it. But it may well be throwing good money after bad, alas.

@OldBeller well I’ve been driving for 15 years but that’s not to say I have a good understanding of how clutches work and haven’t knackered it out :) this thread has been really helpful, thanks all. Will try and see if I get any further tomorrow!

It’s much more difficult being a wear and tear item and very obviously working at the time of purchase. Could be that it’s had a hard life, I once bought a car with 27k miles on it, one lady owner and the clutch disintegrated the next day.

Look at manufacturer recommendations for when a clutch is due. 20k seems very low mileage for a clutch

I don’t think any manufacturer would give a clutch change interval, there are far too many variables. You can kill one in an afternoon without too much difficulty or do 200k motorway miles.

I think 30 metres was the shortest I've seen. Although I've always wondered exactly what they were doing to it.

The clutch plate was black. Imagine the smell and the sound the car must have been making. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.

I had the same problem. With Evans Halshaw, also on a Ford vehicle.

I sought advice from Citizens Advice. This is what they said to me. I argued with EH and eventually got them to pay half of the cost. My mechanic did say it's a wear and tear item so wouldn't be covered on a warranty so they were "right" to refuse, but he said as a good will gesture, you'd expect it fixed.