We bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer in July 2025. Started to have issues earlier this year with it using excessive amounts of oil and today we've been told it has issues with the piston rings, this is a very expensive repair.
it seems the issue is well know, Stellantis have a compensation scheme set up (photo below). However we don't meet the date criteria (not sure how they can get away with that anyway if it's a known issue across a wide date of engines) and whilst fully serviced the car hasn't always been serviced at a Citreon/Stellantis approved dealer. Most of which were out of our control as they were done before we bought the car.
I've spoken to Stellantis who have raised a case for us and am waiting to hear back to see if they will compensate if we fix it (it's booked in at an approved garage) however I believe this is a goodwill scheme so they could well say no. As they have widely acknowledged the fault is inherent along with setting up the scheme, I'm thinking it wouldn't prove too difficult to claim any money back via the small claims court if necessary? I believe as long as the car has been serviced by a proper garage their want of approved garage services only won't matter under English law? Or would I be utterly insane to take on such a big organisation?
Im also unsure if I should pursue stellantis or the dealer we bought it from since we were clearly sold an unsuitable vehicle that has an inherent and acknowledged manufacturing fault.
chatgpt (I know I know) suggests doing both but this seems daft. Any advice gratefully received.
also would my car insurance legal cover help with this?