On the way home from the showroom i noticed the TDi pulled to the left.

Having got christmas/new year out of the way i took the car back.

First off i was told i must have Kerbed it.

They finally offered to have the cars geometary checked at the local tyre shop.The computer print out showed that the O/S rear was well out.{Like a mug i left the print out there but ill phone tommorow and get the readings.}The problem is the tyre shop say the car should be pulling to the right? They also said the strut is non adjustable so they wouldnt/couldnt do anything,

The dealer is taking the car for a couple of days to try and sort it but im p*ssed off that ive got problems already.They re talking about changing the whole strut.

But for

Steve

Is your car new? If so, and the strut change doesn't cure the pulling problem, reject it. But first make sure the alignment is checked and set up on state of the art 4 wheel optical alignment equipment, not the sort of equipment I have seen in most garages and tyre dealers.

Years ago I had the first VW 411 in Malta where the max speed limit was 40mph in the open and 25mph in towns. Cars there tended to be set to run rich so that they could be driven in top gear as much as possible. Just before driving the car back to the UK I had it tuned and the wheel alignment checked, and was told all was OK. The 1500 miles drive back to the UK was a nightmare, with the car puling to the left all the time, and by the time I reached the UK the front tyres weere seriously worn. I booked it into the local VW garage in Gloucester who couldn't sort out the wheel alignment and, after much writing to VW Head Office, I took the car to the biggest VW dealership in London who were then the only VW dealer to have the specialist equipment to sort out alignment problems. To cut a long story short, they couldn't, and the best guess was that my car had been dropped when off-loaded from the ship which delivered it to Malta, sustaining deformation of the floorpan. Next, it needed decoking at 20,000 miles becase it had been running rich for so long. Then a tooth broke off a cog in the gearbox, doing major internal damage. Unfortunately, being a duty free car, I had to keep it for another 2 years from my date of return to the UK until I could sell it. What a lemon that car was!

As a happy Felicia and 4x4 owner, I hope that you get your car sorted out successfully and get to enjoy it as much as Briskoda members do theirs.

PS I have had quite a few cars with wheel alignment problems, mainly as a result of the alignment being checked and misadjusted by tyre dealerships. Misalignment often isn't very noticeable at low speeds, and in built-up areas, but can become blindingly obvious when out on the open road. If challenged as to why you have left it so long to report, say that you thought road camber was the cause but, having taken it out onto open roads - parts of the A1 N of London have a very flat surface - it became obvious that there was a serious problem with your car.

Steve,

Whilst there did you manage to get a good look under the car, to check for signs of accident repair etc.. It sure does not sound right, it is not adjustable and I can only assume something has happened in the past and bent some of the components. Perhaps there are other problems under there that are causing the car to behave the way it is and not as the tyre place expected (pulling to right)

Ive been on the phone most of the day trying to get them to take the car back and give me another one? But they wont. Well not yet.

Monday it goes in to be checked.First off they want to loosen the bolts that hold the strut in place,move it about ? and tighten it up ,then check the alignment again.

If that doesnt work they will replace the strut with one off a demonstrator and if that sorts it replace it all again with new stuff.

Ive also got a problem with the discs not scrubbing in properly.{i think the car had stood for a long time before we bought it}Weve driven 500 miles but still havent been able to get the rust off the discs.

Marlborough Skoda have agreed to replace:

1 The suspention O/S rear.

2 Four tyres.

3 Four discs and pads.

But if the suspention is twisted/bent then im going to demand another car.

Anyone know how i stand legally?

Steve

P.S Tomorrow im going to get underneath and check for signs of damage.

A little tip here when buying second hand look along the lip of the sills for marks which indicate that the car has been clamped onto a jig for aligning during accident damage repairs. They look like a vice has been applied about 4 to 6 inches in length and you should be able to pick out the knurled area of the jaws along that length. There will be one at each corner usually near the jacking points.

Steve, on the consumer side of things, I recall somewhere that you have a certain amount of time to reject the goods as "unfit for the purpose intended" not sure about how long that is though.

Rejecting cars is all down to doing it quickly I took legal advise on rejecting a new car once and its very limited and the essence is working very quickly. The advise I was given is that if the car is under finance inform them of the problem as legally its the Finance companies car and not yours and they have tbe happy with the repairs/situation. Fortunately my car ws financed by Skoda Finance and I was able to go down this route.

If the car was bought from a Skoda dealer it should have been covered by the 30 day exchange promise. Although It sounds like this might have been exceeded. In case you are not aware heres the details lifted from Skoda UK's site. Best of luck in getting it sorted.

Skoda Retailer Approved Used Vehicle Programme Overview

To ensure that you receive the highest standards of quality and consistency all used Skoda's available through this website are supplied with all the benifit of The Retailer Approved Used Vehicle Programme.

A Retailer Approved Multi-point Check List ensures that each vehicle meets the highest standards of The Retailer Approved Used Vehicle Programme. The checklist accounts for the age and mileage of the vehicle, and any item not found to meet the expected standards is corrected or repaired.

The core principles of the programme are:

Comprehensive Warranty Package

Extensive Vehicle Inspection

Vehicle Status Checks

Roadside Assistance

30 Day Vehicle Exchange Promise

John

John,

Ive had the car for 18 days,i brought the problem to their attention 12 days ago.Having asked them to exchange the vehicle they just won't commit themselves and there has been no mention of the 30 day exchange promise.

The finance is with SKODA so i'll be on the phone to them on monday.

Thanks for the help,

Steve