Fight For Your Rights

[Grumpy]

Hi all

 

This may be a bit long winded but I will try to keep it brief.

 

October last year I saw & test drove a Galaxy at a local used car dealers. When I test drove the car a warning was displayed on the dashboard "CHECK BRAKE PADS", the salesman said that the brakes were OK and that the problem would be fixed. I signed a sales form and paid a deposit.

 

2 weeks later the car hadnt been fixed and I cancelled the sale and had my deposit refunded.

 

5 days later I got a call to say the car was now fixed and did I still want it, after a dicussion with s.w.m.b.o. I agreed to buy the car after assurances that the problem was indeed fixed. I drove it away the same day.

 

2 days afterwards, once again the "CHECK BRAKE PADS" warning displayed again, I returned the car and was lent one to use. Whilst the car was at the garage, I was phoned to ask if I had opened the bonnet as the warning would not display whilst the car was in the workshop with the bonnet open. I was then told that the bonnet switch was being replaced and all was well.

 

Around 6 months later I queried on this site why my indicators only flashed when the car was unlocked and not when locked, I was told that this could be due to bonnet or boot not shut properly. I checked this by opening the bonnet, depressing the switch and operating the remote control, sure enough the lights now flashed when the car locked. But guess what also happened with the switch properly adjusted and the car started, yep, proudly emblazened accross the dash was the warning "CHECK BRAKE PADS"

 

I wrote to the garage (recorded delivery) asking to be contacted to discuss how this was going to be resolved, I gave a 7 day deadlind for response. After 8 days I contacted Trading Standards and asked for advice, they informed me of my rights, basically as I only bought the car after the problem was supposed to have been fixed, this repair then became part of the contract.

 

I wrote to the garage again explaining this breach of contract and just after I posted this I recieved a response from the first letter which basically stated that sorry I was having a problem but it was not their problem.

 

Anyway, after the 3rd letter I was contacted to arrange a time for me to bring the car in, no loan car was available and no timescale could be given. After the 4th letter, a loan car became available and a deadline of 1 week was agreed.

 

I now have my car back complete with a Ford supplied exchange instrument panel fitted and (so far) no false brake warning message.

 

Its a pain but you can fight for your rights and you can win!

[seatkid]

Hi all

 

This may be a bit long winded......

Correct..... :lol:

 

 

But a good result :lol:

[gregers]

exelent result well done.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Congratulations from me too...but why are garages so obstructive when they surely know that the customer is right?

[Grumpy]

If I was being paranoid I could think that the garage had simply hidden the fault by adjusting the bonnet switch so that it never closed and 6 months later were a bit put out to hear from me.

 

I dont know what the cost is to replace the instrument panel, but I can assume its not cheap, the garage probably hoped I would be fobbed off by their first response. Likewise the credit card company (jointly liable under section 75 of consumer credit act as I part paid for the car with my card) also responded initially with a "sorry cant help" but this changed after my second contact with them.

 

The fact remains though that if I hadnt posed the query about the indicators not flashing on locking the car on this forum I would probably still be driving around without realising the fault was still present. Thanks everybody!

[NikpV]

I dont know what the cost is to replace the instrument panel, but I can assume its not cheap,

 

I would assume that it would be about