Car purchase

[Somebodyimportant1]

Good morning, I hope some can help with some advice, please.
I bought an old 16year old Volvo xc90 from a very small dealer. It had a very recent receipt for brake pads done & I requested that MOT be done and it was.
The very 1st my partner drove the car, dashboard light saying no oil pressure stop safely. We immediately drove the car back home and parked it and I contacted the dealer a few days later on the 30th of October and he said he will get back time and I have called him twice since then but hasn't said anything concrete only saying he will get back to me etc. What do I do? I mean, I knew the risk I was taking but I wasn't expecting this. What do I do? I paid £2400 for the car. WHAT DO I DO?

The very 1st my partner drove the car, dashboard light saying no oil pressure stop safely. We immediately drove the car back home

When it says stop it doesn’t mean drive it home. If indeed it has lost oil pressure and it's not a sensor fault then you may have completely destroyed the engine.

Obvious thing would have been to check how much oil was in there when you pulled over. Then you might have been able to take an educated guess if the problem is failed sensor or something more serious.

Potentially if it was the first time you drove it the sensor might have been broken for a while. Not really a problem as long as you check the oil level the old fashioned way

Obvious thing would have been to check how much oil was in there when you pulled over. Then you might have been able to take an educated guess if the problem is failed sensor or something more serious.

Oil pressure isn’t really anything to do with oil level though. If there’s no oil in it then yes you’d have no oil pressure but other than that the oil level tells you nothing.

Potentially if it was the first time you drove it the sensor might have been broken for a while. Not really a problem as long as you check the oil level the old fashioned way

I don’t think you realise the importance of the oil pressure warning system. Regularly checking the oil level is no substitute for a failed oil pressure sensor at all. There are many reasons why oil pressure might drop and the engine needs to shut down straight away if there’s even a chance of saving it.

I don’t think you realise the importance of the oil pressure warning system. Regularly checking the oil level is no substitute for a failed oil pressure sensor at all. There are many reasons why oil pressure might drop and the engine needs to shut down straight away if there’s even a chance of saving it

If the oil sensor is defective its a perfectly suitable alternative. As far as I am aware cars were able to get from point A to point B before oil pressure sensors were installed on mass, indeed many classic cars still do! As long as the driver checks there is oil in the engine, and gets it changed as per the maintenance schedule. knowing the pressure isnt all that importan*

Oil pressure isn’t really anything to do with oil level though. If there’s no oil in it then yes you’d have no oil pressure but other than that the oil level tells you nothing

See above.

If the oil sensor is defective its a perfectly suitable alternative. As far as I am aware cars were able to get from point A to point B before oil pressure sensors were installed on mass, indeed many classic cars still do! As long as the driver checks there is oil in the engine, and gets it changed as per the maintenance schedule. knowing the pressure isnt all that important

You really couldn’t be more wrong. Many classic cars have oil pressure gauges but these have died out over the years as knowing the exact oil pressure isn’t particularly important these days as it indicates overall wear which in older cars was important as rebuilds were quite regular. Gauges tend to have been replaced by warning lights, normally a red oil can which means “no oil pressure, stop immediately”. Oil level and oil pressure and not the same thing and the presence of the former in no way guarantees the latter. Your incorrect advice could mean someone lunching their engine and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Hello all, so, the car dealer I bought the car from took it for repairs and brought it back saying that the mechanic said the car needs to be driven more for the oil to circulate properly (I thought to myself, that does not sound right) I said ok, but that I will take the car to Volvo for proper diagnosis & he said ok.
I took the car to Volvo and it was confirmed that there are actually metal bits in the oil which might have gone into the engine 🤦🏽‍♀️.
I have sent the video report from Volvo to the car dealer who said they will get back to me. I am not holding my breath on that.
My issue is, how do I return the car to the dealer and get my money back because the car looks like too much headache than I'm willing or ready to handle.

I know the dealer would probably not want to give me my money back and I am wondering what my rights are in this situation regarding this car? etc 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️.
Any suggestions, please.

Metal in the oil, sorry to tell you this buts that's very serious. When you bought the car what was offered in terms of warranty?

I bought from a very small Trader eight weeks ago, he had eight cars for sale on a small lot and has been there twenty years for reference of size. I would have to check the paperwork but from what I can remember the car came with between 1-3 months warranty on work/parts upto the price of £300

You could also call Citizen's Advice for guidance. I would imagine the engine will have to be taken apart. I've seen similar issues at my place of work. Keep us posted

Metal in the oil IS from part of the engine, most likely either bearings or whatever’s failed to cause loss of oil pressure. Why is anyone driving this anywhere with a message stating “No oil pressure”. The mechanic was talking crap but by this point you had already destroyed the engine by driving the bloody thing.

Advice and suggestions pls
So, Volvo says the car needs a new engine and I want to return the car to the seller/dealer for a refund. I have sent the video report of the car to the dealer and I have called and sent messages but no reply from them.

What do I do now? How do I get my money back?

OP have literally just been through this myself. 5 months later I have my money back.

You need to send a letter, recorded delivery, stating that your rights have been breached due to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 stating a car should be as described (and unless the ad mentioned this fault, it was not) and that you will give them 14 days from receiving the letter before you pursue legal action. I ended up submitting a small claim from the dealer but it did get me a reply and a refund! Let me know if you want anymore details of this. Good luck!

@CliffordMouse thank you very much. Can I send you the letter I have written (privately) for you to see if it is ok?

@Somebodyimportant1 Of course you can. I'm not a legal expert but would be glad to share how I worded my letter too.

@CliffordMouse thank you very much. I will do as soon as I figure out how to send private messages lol

@Somebodyimportant1 I'm not sure how to using the app but on the desktop version there should be a message poster button next to my name on any of my messages!

PP is right

Under the consumer rights act (google it and you’ll get loads of advice regarding used cars) you can return the car in the first 30 days for a full refund. No argument. I’d suggest this is the best thing to do here so get in touch with the dealer and state this is what you are doing.

Citizens advice could also assist if they get difficult

As an aside, the act also says that within the first 6 months any fault that emerges is deemed to have been there at purchase so they would repair it. The onus is on the dealer to prove it wasn’t there, not you to prove it was.

There’s some really good protections for used car buyers now (not private, but from dealers)

@BillMasen thank you.
@CliffordMouse thank you I have tried to log into my Mumsnet account on my laptop but forgot my password and I haven't got the reset email yet 🤦🏽‍♀️

The issue you may have here is that you continued to drive the car when it told you to stop. If the garage are aware of this they could say that you caused the subsequent damage. If you’d shut it down as soon as the car told you to, it was potentially salvageable and now due to your negligence someone’s on the hook for a much larger repair bill. I’m normally the first to say go after the dealer but in this case I don’t think that’s completely fair.

@Elai1978 thanks but there isn't any negligent on my part thanks. What have you to say about the dealers mechanic who took the car back to have a look and said it should be driven more for oil to circulate?

@Elai1978

The issue you may have here is that you continued to drive the car when it told you to stop. If the garage are aware of this they could say that you caused the subsequent damage. If you’d shut it down as soon as the car told you to, it was potentially salvageable and now due to your negligence someone’s on the hook for a much larger repair bill. I’m normally the first to say go after the dealer but in this case I don’t think that’s completely fair.

Consumer rights act says dealer would have to prove the problem wasn’t there at sale. Unless they took a video showing oil with no metal bits then they’ll not be able to prove that, hence refund

And actually in the first 30 days OP can reject. Dealer might fight that but without the proof, courts would give you a refund.

So yes, carrying on driving wasn’t wise, but I think is unlikely to impact the obligation on the dealer to refund.

In all of this, please at what point do I cancel the car insurance and road tax?

thanks but there isn't any negligent on my part thanks.

We immediately drove the car back home

By your own admission you were negligent. What you should’ve done is stop the engine immediately and have the car recovered either home or to the garage then there would be no argument. The car clearly had oil pressure when you collected the car and looks like something has failed catastrophically for the message to be suddenly displayed (oil pump possibly but that’s purely a guess). The garage might be cool, but usually they will fight you tooth and nail and if you’ve already told them you continued to drive it they may use that against you. If you haven’t told them, don’t! If they told you to drive it to them to investigate hopefully that was by text etc?

@Elai1978

thanks but there isn't any negligent on my part thanks.

We immediately drove the car back home

By your own admission you were negligent. What you should’ve done is stop the engine immediately and have the car recovered either home or to the garage then there would be no argument. The car clearly had oil pressure when you collected the car and looks like something has failed catastrophically for the message to be suddenly displayed (oil pump possibly but that’s purely a guess). The garage might be cool, but usually they will fight you tooth and nail and if you’ve already told them you continued to drive it they may use that against you. If you haven’t told them, don’t! If they told you to drive it to them to investigate hopefully that was by text etc?

Have you read anything about the consumer rights act?

Have you read anything about the consumer rights act?

I don’t think the CRA gives you any rights to do further damage to a product due to your negligence?

BTW OP I missed your last point about the “mechanic” - no actual mechanic would suggest what he did, he was talking absolute nonsense, damage was already done by that point though.

Honest John is your best source of information
www.honestjohn.co.uk/problems-with-a-new-or-used-car-your-consumer-rights/

@anniegun thanks very useful site