AboutBruce Fyfe Expertise Scottish Criminal Law - any area. NOT IMMIGRATION ISSUES. I am a serving, operational Police Officer with 25 years` service. As well as my own knowledge and training, I can draw on many other resources in the Scottish criminal justice system and welcome the challenge.
NB Scottish, not English; criminal, not civil or immigration;
Expert: Bruce Fyfe Date: 4/28/2001 Subject: Motor Cars and consumer rights
Question Please can you help me. I am from london, I bought a Motor Car in Jan 2001. The car is great with only a few bad points. I have just had my water pump, pulleys tentioner and cambelt replaced because 1, it was due and 2, the water pump was falling to bits. This is a job that I would have had done anyway. The mechanic pointed out that there was a small amount of oil in the water. I bought the car from a dealer in mid Jan 2001 with a warrenty, The warrenty is usless. Claims up to £500 The warrenty covers cylinder heads bu not including cracks. I have had the car (a Vauxhall Cavalier 4x4 turbo) for three months. It has done 81000 miles and is a 1993 L reg. I paid £5000 for it. I checked the water a month ago and all looked ok. I went for a drive last night and the engine was running a little hot. When I checked the water there was a little bit of sludge floating on top of the water. If it turns out to be the head gone porous (this is a common fault on this type of engine. It is caused by the design og the oil ways and the water ways in the cylinder head being too close to each other. After a period of time some of the heads become pourous whereby the oil breaks through into the water cooling and clogs up the cooling pipes. If this has happend to this engine then what are my rights and what is the best way to go about dealing with the dealer. The dealer is 70 miles from my location. I reckon this job will cost about £600 to put right. Sorry about the length of this post
Thanks
Dave
Answer Dave
Soory, but I deal with criminal law (although there are regs about car dealers selling unroadworthy vehicles, proving that a vehicle was unroadworthy at the time of sale is another matter).
You need to speak urgently to your local trading standards office and I suspect that the result will be a requirment for an examination of your car by an independent motor engineer.
Suggested sourecs of help would be (if you're a member):
AA/RAC (although they'll inspect vehicles for non-members),
Which? (3-month free trial of Which? Online will let you access the benefits of the organisation - incl. legal advice - and you can always cancel after the 2nd month if you don't want to keep on with the service) and any legal protection advice/scheme to which you might be entitled (through your car insurance cover?).
Good luck, but don't hold your breath. There's a certain amount of caveat emptor - beware the buyer - in these matters. To be honest, I also think you paid over the score for the car in the first place. Check out the price guides on the likes of www.beeb.com/topgear
