To ask dealership for a new car?

[monkeyfacegrace]

Long story, but bought a brand new car Sept '09.

Since then, it has been back in the garage 5 times due to faults (4 trivial but annoying one major engine)

Today Ive had enough. Starter motor burnt out, leaving me and two dc's (3 &1) stranded up a country road for 90 mins until the recovery guy got to us.

So its back in the garage, Ive had to piss work off (again!) by leaving early to get my rental car.

During my tearful phonecall to my after sales service man (who, btw, is so helpful and nice to me), I mentioned I wanted to give up on this car and have another new one. He actually said he fully understood, and he would be the same. He told me to write a letter to the manager stating my concern.

So, Im asking AIBU to ask for a new one, or should I be content that it is fixed quickly every time?
Ive just totally lost my confidence in it, and am waiting for the next fault, and thats not how it's meant to be after paying 30k 9 months ago

And, could I appeal to your better natures, and ask for a draft letter as Im shite at that sort of thing (though very very assertive face to face)

If I was you i'd reject the car under the sale of goods act. First you need to right a letter to them though and keep copies.

here

Thanks for that borders, really usefull. My onyl concern is that Ive had the car for 9 months, so I doubt that I could reject it? Any experiece of this?

no experience of it sorry.

What Borderslass said.

We had this with a new car we bought. Unbeknown to us, there is a known problem with this car and leaks around doors/ windows. Our rear footwells had inches of water pooling in them with 4 months of buying it.

When I took the car into the service center, it was accompanied by a letter to the service center and cc'd to customer relations of the UK HQ of the manufacturer.

The letter basically set out that ' a car sold with these experiencing these issues is not fit for purpose and therefore my rights under the Consumer Credit Act are that xxxx(manufacturer) repair the car forthwith'. I then set out that if the problem persisted after the car was returned, I would seek a full refund. We were able to speak with a consumer lawyer informally who said we were within our rights to give them one chance only to fix the car and then demand a refund.

Fortunately, they seem to have fixed the problem. So have not pursued it.

Make sure anything you put in writing to them has something along the following lines inserted in the end. 'For the record, I reserve all my rights under the Consumer Credit Act.'

Good luck.

No, I haven't done anything yet, as this final straw only happened this afternoon.

What makes it harder is that their service has been abs outstanding. The faults have been fixed quicky and efficitenly, Ive not been left out of pocket, and they have always called when they have said they will etc. Its purley bad luck that it keeps breaking, not lack of sevice.

Thats why I feel a little bad even thinking of asking. I may write a personal letter (as we are all on fist name terms!), appealing to the managers better nature, and include the fact that Im a young mum with two under 3's etc, paid a lot of money, dont want to leave Dodge etc etc. Im pretty sure I will get compensated, but I dont want to leave bad feeling iyswim?

YANBU.

My car arrived with a fault but with a very sick husband, 2 kids under 5 and a 10 day old I didn't think of refusing it. Every time it has new tyres I have to pay to have the computer reset. Fucks me off every time.

OP - FWIW, my advice is dont write a personal letter. Write a letter stating the facts. No more no less. Having spent £30k, I am stunned that you feel guilty about simply asserting your rights. No new car should have these faults.

No I paid cash, no loan on it.
Mistletoe, would you like to offer me a letter
Im rubbish!!!

Not a problem, let me see if I can dig out the word doc and cut and paste onto here. Can only find it in PDF format right now.

And dont feel remotely guilty about this. You are only being firm and following your rights. It is still possible to remain on more than civil terms with the people in the garage.

In your position, I would do this in a heartbeat. I used to work for a car company and a fleet of new cars arrived one day. One of them had an electric fault, the car basically skipped when you accelerated, especially when it was cold. I kid you not, the manufacturer stripped this car apart, put it back together and it still didnt fix it. Once some cars have these problems, they are never fixed. We nicknamed the car skippy and eventually gave it back the dealership who no doubt palmed it off ontosome poor unsuspecting soul.

I rejected a car after numerous problems and 7 months of driving it. Apart from a deduction for road tax I got a full refund.

I lost confidence in the vehicle and in the garage who seemed unable to fix it and after a few stiff letters/rants at the manager they agreed

Right, dont laugh,but how does this sound....

Dear Sir,

It is with regret that I am having to write this letter regarding the Dodge Journey, reg VO**Y, that I purchased from new on 7th September 2009.

Since I collected the car, I have found many faults with it. Some trivial (for example, the child rear view mirror was broken), and some major faults (such as most recently, the starter motor breaking, leaving me stranded in a country lane with my two very young children).

The car has been into the garage numerous times, costing me money through time that I have had to take unpaid from my employment, and of course emotionally. I no longer have any confidence in my car, and fear driving any distance from my home in case it fails to start. This is not how a purchase of any new car is supposed to be, especially one that was bought to be a family vehicle. It is simply not fit for purpose. A member of staff has told me that a few Dodge Journeys have been returned with some problems, but my car seems to have every single on on the list.

I would like to reject the car please, and have it replaced with a new one, which hopefully will put my trust back into the Dodge brand. The current vehicle that I am driving, just isn't of satisfactory quality under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

I must, however, compliment you on your hard working, polite members of staff. I have never, at any time, been treated with anything less that perfected courtesy, and hope that they (especially Craig), will get recognised for their hard work.

I look forward to your speedy response.

Yours sincerely

Here is the letter
Further to my bringing the car into you this morning for repair and my conversation with you, I thought it appropriate to also confirm in writing to you the recent problems we have experienced with the Aygo. Approximately 3 weeks ago, I noticed that both rear foot wells (carpets and mats) were soaked through as a result of a leak somewhere in the car. I could not say how long the leak had been occurring as the carpets are dark grey and it was only when I touched them whilst cleaning that I noticed they were soaked through. I can confirm though that over most of the winter months the windows of the car were constantly misted over and I now realize that this was because of water leaking into the rear foot wells. As I never sat in the back of the car over that period it was never apparent to me that the leaks into the rear foot wells was happening. Over the last few weeks, the problem has persisted (attached is a photo of the rear foot wells one morning after a night of rain). As a result, the car now smells and the windows mist up constantly.
As you can appreciate, the car is only 6 months old but this problem has in effect been occurring since the car was purchased. It goes without saying that a car sold experiencing these issues is not fit for purpose and therefore my rights under the Consumer Credit Act are that Toyota repair the car forthwith. I therefore expect the car to be returned to me with the problem fully resolved. If the leaking problem persists after the car is returned to me I must at this point reserve my right to seek a full refund on the purchase price of the car. It is apparent that Toyota is well aware of the leaks that are occurring in the Aygo and yet no public recall has been made acknowledging that this problem exists.
As a result, when the car is returned to me, I would like confirmation of the following in writing:

• That the leak has been fixed, and that we will experience no further leaks in the car;

- That both the rear carpets and mats are replaced with brand new mats/ carpet. I have tried washing/ airing the rear mats and they still smell of mildew; and

• That no damage has been done to car as a result of the leak and water sitting in the foot wells (i.e. damage to electricals/ corrosion to bodywork etc)

I thank you for your time this morning and look forward to hearing from you. Regards,

Think your letter is spot on Monkey. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks so much Mistletoe. My letter seems to follow yours!
Fingers crossed for me (though tbh I dont want a refund, I want a new car/mine ultra bomb proof fixed as I lurrrvveee my car )

Thanks Herbie for your input also!
I thought I was rubbish at letters

Lots of luck with that

whats the face for old?

I like monkey's letter - but I would go even further and depersonalise it where possible.

Eg, instead of saying 'I found a number of faults with it...' I would put 'There have been a significant number of faults...' or 'It has experienced a significant number of faults...' so that they can't think that it is you being fussy.

I'd also attach an appendix briefly outlining each fault, date occurred and garage fix so you don't have to have a long list in the letter itself to help to keep it concisem then you can concentrate on the most serious.
'These faults are all recorded in the appendix attached to this letter. The most serious of these was ...'

I'd also try to avoid the use of the word trivial or minor - again, it's a fault so don't provide them with any ammunition to diminsh your claim. And a whole lot of faults (even trivial ones!) adds up to a big red warning flag of lots more problems ahead with the car so from that point of view they are not trivial.

This is not to say that you can't call the worst faults the worst, major, serious, dangerous etc as appropriate!

WHen referring to a member of staff I would qualify it as their staff. 'I understand from a member of your staff that...'

But did think Monkey's letter was great - I wouldn't have been able to write this good a letter from scratch, it's always easier to make a few edits on somebody else's hard work

www.johnantell.co.uk/SOGA1979.htm have a look at section 14 2 b on the sale of goods act.If a car has continual faults rom new especially within the first 12 months you have every right to get your money back as the goods are not fit for purpose. As long as they have been given 2 chances to put each fault right you are witin your legal rights.IT IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.

i would also end the letter by saying that legal action will be taken if no reply is received within 2 weeks. Make it sound as if you have had legal advice. How many years warranty does the car have. they should at least repair the leak which is normally the seal round the pollen filter and they should replace the carpets as they will smell. I had this with my Passat and my back foot wells were swishing with water and it set my alarms off as the main controller is under the passenger seat and water got into the wires.

Can I suggest that you cc your letter of complaint to Chrysler UK's head office, making it clear on your letter that you've done so? I was a service manager for a dealership and know how they can try to refute all suggestions of responsibility and think that it might be worth the dealer being made aware the people who have a hold over their franchise are aware of the matter.

Also, find out the name of the dealer principal and address the letter directly to him. It may kick the service and after sales managers/directors up the ass a bit to know that the boss is involved.

HTH.