Rejecting a car

[RyanStevo]

Ive had my clio 200 for 2 months now. We bought the car only a few days after it had came in and now i'm starting to doubt what the dealer (benfield renault) had actually checked on the car. Clutch pedal is squeeking with every gear change so they changed the clutch master cylinder yet it's still doing it and they're assuring me this is normal. There's a high pitched whining coming from the front wheel when driving which the master technician coincidentally cant hear but everyone else who's been in the car can. I reported both of these faults within a week of owning the car and it's been in 4 times for both problems yet it's still doing it. Then i got a letter about brake fluid needing changed, and that's £30. I know it's only £30 but this will be the 5th time in 8 weeks (2 weeks on holiday) that i've been back to the garage. It's like my ****ing weekend plans. I love the car to bits but i'm getting seriously annoyed now.

I'm planning on giving them the keys and telling them to get the car sorted or i'm going to reject it. However they could play on the clutch and brakes being wear and tear? Any advice before I go down there with a sub machine gun?

 

[colwill197]

I had a similar issue when I first bought my clio. the brakes were almost non existant after 500 miles so were never there really. I phoned citizen advice bureau who advised me that although wear and tear they checked the car and okay'd everything. They also performed an MOT the day I picked it up and this happened two weeks later.

So I followed the advise of citizens advice bureau and got the email address of the head of the dealership emailed him and sent him a letter stating that: its within 30 days. (you made them aware within 7). It is up to them to prove that the car was perfect when you purchased and ticking a box is not proof.

They will not be able to prove this so they should fix this all FOC. If not report them to the local trading standards and they will go for them and give them hell.

You must give them 7 days to respond and I would send the letter recorded. Stating that if they do not you will report them to TS

With me I got new brake pads all round and new discs on the back as well as £100 good will gesture.

 

[RyanStevo]

Thanks Colwill. I've looked into getting Trading Standards involved if its not sorted soon. Just rang up and they've told me they're going to book it in for a weekend. And finally give me a courtesy car, 5th time lucky. Had to take time off work 3 times, and luckily the other time I was on holiday so it was the missus who had to drive it up the road at 7am! I've put 200 miles on the car just going to the garage and back. It's beyond a joke now. The car legally belongs to santander with it being on finance so it may have to be resolved between them and renault. I really hope they just get her sorted out and I can drive my baby without swearing at the front wheel every 30 seconds!

 

[colwill197]

I would write them a letter and email to the director of the garage stating that if every issue is not sorted that you will report them and go after a full refund or small claims court. They are in a lose lose situation whatever route. However one route makes you a lot happier

 

[Rogue]

It would probably be advisable to get a second opinion on the faults from another garage. Preferably a Renault specialist to back the faults up before you write the letter and process through TS. Otherwise it's just your word against theirs.

 

[Rogue]

I do believe you are within your rights to hand the car back but it may be minus any costs they see for losses. IE. If you pay 10 grand for a car and do 5k on it in 2 weeks and it's now only worth 9.5k, you could lose than £500.

 

[James1470]

Did You buy the RB 200 that was up on the ramps outside on at benfield road, 59 plate i think it was? That was at the garage about 4 months ago when I took my car back for warranty work, but after taking it there, and them being useless, and then taking it to benfield on the felling bypass, to find them useless, I decided it was in the best interest of my car to just get the work done myself from people I trust.

in fairness, mine made a tinny noise from the front wheels when I bought it. It was only 6 months old, but had sat around at work for a few months before I drove it away, and the brakes just needed some good use.

doubt the pedal squeek is normal, if I was you, I'd get a letter sent out to trading standards as soon as possible, and also send one to benfield, because the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to get anything from them.

 

[IanRS200]

You are perfectly within your rights to reject a car, but not sure on the 2 months situation.

I bought an arctic corsa VXR in January and had it for 3 weeks, took it to a well known VXR specialist who basically told me the car wasn't worth its weight in scrap, was bent and many other problems with it. I basically did what you said, took it back to the dealer, handed him the keys and said "I want nothing to do with it" ... He took it back after I showed him the list of problems written down by the specialist. All finance was void and I got him to write a letter signed by himself saying he had took all ownership of car & finance.

Make sure you get the last bit if you take it back as you won't have a leg to stand on otherwise

 

[Mentalpen]

There is a revised clutch available under warranty

 

[Jordan197]

I purchased my 197 about 2 weeks ago and have noticed a knock when at the front when turning the wheel at very slow speeds, been researching and could possibly be steering rack...

Anyway, got a 3 months warranty from the dealership I bought it from (parts and labour) so wondering whether this would cover it as the car clearly had a knock before i bought it.

Gonna get it assessed by a renault garage and then take it up with the dealership. Just wondering whether I should be doing anything else??

 

[930Tech]

It must be the way forward, I had problems with my car in the first few weeks of ownership and the dealer tried to sort, when I was getting nowhere, the threat of giving it them back had them sort it out once and for all, problem solved.

I had no finance company to fall back on either, paid cash. your finance company should be very helpful to you, they'll want it sorting out too.

 

[Yiannis197]

There is a revised clutch available under warranty

Mentalpen, does the old one have to break down for them to replace it? Mine squeaks but apart from that no issues at all...

 

[Mentalpen]

Mentalpen, does the old one have to break down for them to replace it? Mine squeaks but apart from that no issues at all...

No but i'm guessing the car has to within warranty for a free replacement or give CS a ring and ask for a contribution. I know they can say they have the right to continual improvement but you never know.

 

[Yiannis197]

Cheers mate, mine is still on extended warranty but that's not the same I guess

 

[Gorms]

You are well within your rights to reject the car. Just to give you an idea I'm currently rejecting my 200 that i purchased new back in 2011. RUK have sent a letter to me on Friday that should turn up tomorrow with a settlement which hopefully will involve them giving me money and taking the car away. I ended up getting a solicitor involved and the best way to deal with issues of rejection are in writing. Don't bother wasting your time with phone calls to RUK as they will fob you off everytime.

If you are deadly serious with the rejection then you should request all of your money back regardless of mileage and any extra charges you might have taken on, such as phone calls, (20p a min) trips to dealerships (45p a mile) Make a note of all the dates/times the car visits the dealership and make a rough log of what was mentioned when you do call them. It will make a big difference if things progress and you take court action.

If you need any more info just pm me and I will be happy to help out.