Advice needed - trim missing around back seat

[EddGee]

Hi folks

 

bit if a strange one but need advice. 

 

Had the car two weeks now. 

 

Absolutely love it and look forward to driving it. 

 

Yesterday afternoon whilst getting my daughter out of the car I noticed part of the rear seat latch assembly frame missing. (See pics attached)

 

Pics show the one on passenger side which is what it should look like and the missing one on the drivers side. 

 

Also missing was one of the little pins that stick out of the tailgate that the parcel shelf attached to. 

 

Called the dealer and left two messages now. Still not returned call so I’ll be heading over there on Friday to speak. 

 

Question really is, can that little plastic frame be ordered? Have I still got the right for them to sort it? Due to the fact I’ve had the car two weeks they could just turn around and say, ‘well it wasn’t like that when you picked it up’.

 

My fault for not going around the car with a fine tooth comb upon pick up.

 

Guess I was too excited to get driving.  

 

Cheers 

 

 

 

[skidpan]

I would be looking round the car for any other missing bits plus giving the rear end a good dose of looking to check for any evidence of accident damage. Those bits could have been missed during a repair.

[MorrisOx]

This is basic customer care.

 

1] The car’s clearly not been inspected properly;

2] It’s been released with trim missing;

3] They have failed to respond to not one, but TWO messages.

 

On that basis, they should be on their knees apologising and sorting a problem of their making without delay. 

 

This is a two-week old car and that’s not good enough. They are under every obligation under the sun to sort it.

[EddGee]

Looks like it’s part number 11. 

 

Not sure how easy it is to attach. Maybe it just clicks in place or has to be glued.

 

At least it looks like it’s available from manufacturer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GaSelle]

Sparepart number is 3V0885893 (left side, right side is xxxxx894) (colour code 9B9 "satinschwarz"). The price is €3,27.

Can´t find the missing holder for the pin, but I´m sure it can be bought.

[GaSelle]

If the "pin" is the same as in the Octavia, the partnumber is 1M6867574A and the price is 0,19€.

[BriskodaJeff]

Definitely a dealer job and of course you can still pursue them. Any "it wasn't like that when we sold it" nonsense - just write directly to the dealer principal, then escalate to Skoda UK if that doesn't work.

 

I really don't think it will come to that though, unless your dealer has a "death by lost customers" death wish. To give you an idea - when I bought my ex-demo L&K I didn't notice the torch from the boot was missing. Sent them an email and they sent a replacement the following day. With minor trim pieces like that I'd expect them to just take one off one of the management cars and fix yours on the spot. 

[RickTT]

The bit for the seat looks like it was there at some point as the leather is creased showing where the part would of been..

 

Was this a New factory order ?

[EddGee]

2 hours ago, RickTT said:

The bit for the seat looks like it was there at some point as the leather is creased showing where the part would of been..

 

Was this a New factory order ?

No a seven month old ex-Management car. 

[MorrisOx]

Its provenance shouldn't make any difference - should never have been handed over in that condition.

[RickTT]

19 minutes ago, EddGee said:

No a seven month old ex-Management car. 

 

 

Back to the dealer - Poor PDI check if any...

[EddGee]

Should the front and rear tyres match up? Just noticed that they are different makes. Is that normal for a car that’s only done 5500 miles? 

 

 

[skidpan]

10 hours ago, EddGee said:

No a seven month old ex-Management car. 

 

In dealer speak that is a seven month old hire car. 

 

Probably had seven months of abuse by all and sundry.

[EddGee]

11 minutes ago, skidpan said:

 

In dealer speak that is a seven month old hire car. 

 

Probably had seven months of abuse by all and sundry.

I’ve no doubt it has. 

 

Chip shop runs and weekends with the best performing salesman. 

 

That doesn’t bother too much as they are built to take it. 

 

More concerned that it could be a Cat D or similar. 

Edited 20 February, 2018 by EddGee

[MorrisOx]

8 minutes ago, EddGee said:

Should the front and rear tyres match up? Just noticed that they are different makes. Is that normal for a car that’s only done 5500 miles? 

 

 

 

 Beginning to think you need to start asking a few questions about this. As in, a blunt ‘There are pieces of trim missing, the tyres don’t match - what else haven’t you told me about this car?’

[skidpan]

You have had the car for under 30 days. You can reject it NOW without giving the seller the opportunity to fix it with no financial loss. I suggest you do this as this car appears to have a hidden history.

[EddGee]

Ive got the morning off work. I’m heading over there to speak face to face. 

 

Better than email and phone calls. 

 

Its a subsidary of a Skoda main dealer so they should be better than some back street dealer. 

Edited 20 February, 2018 by EddGee

[skidpan]

If you reject it the process needs to be done by recorded delivery to prove receipt of documents. Face to face, phone calls even e-mails have no legal chain of proof.

[EddGee]

Does a motor dealer have to legally declare a car has been subject to any sort of insurance write off. Cat C or D etc...

 

Recorded or not recorded. 

Edited 20 February, 2018 by EddGee

[skidpan]

7 minutes ago, EddGee said:

Its a subsidary of a Skoda main dealer so they should be better than some back street dealer. 

 

Roughly translated that means "well we have a 7 month old Superb which has clearly led a hard life. We'll clean it up and sell it on the grave yard site to avoid tarnishing our reputation".

 

Any 7 month old car with a genuine history would be on the main Skoda site at top money.

[skidpan]

1 minute ago, EddGee said:

Does a motor dealer have to legally declare a car has been subject to any sort of insurance write off. Cat C or D etc...

 

Recorded or not recorded. 

 

If its Cat C or Cat D it would be recorded. its only not recorded if the car is not been the subject of an insurance claim.

 

And yes you should be informed.

 

As an example a colleague bout an "ex management" A4 a few years ago with 10,000 miles on it from an Audi main dealer. Soon proved to be a dog and investigations clearly showed it was crashed and badly repaired. That had been a hire car and fixed with no insurance money. Colleague got his money back, garage lost Audi franchise soon after, coincidence?

[BriskodaJeff]

9 minutes ago, MorrisOx said:

 

 Beginning to think you need to start asking a few questions about this. As in, a blunt ‘There are pieces of trim missing, the tyres don’t match - what else haven’t you told me about this car?’

 

2 minutes ago, EddGee said:

Ive got the morning off work. I’m heading over there to speak face to face. 

This sounds sensible. The missing trim could be as simple as robbing a management car to fix a customer car - pretty common practice and nothing to worry about. But non-matching tyres is strange because for whatever reason it has had 2 tyres changed at 5.5k miles which is definitely not common. I looked at literally dozens of cars (online) before choosing one - not one had mis-matched tyres. I checked this thoroughly, because to me at least it points to a car that has been ragged. Of course mine could be in exactly the same boat but had matching tyres put back on it! And as you note they are designed to take it anyway. But a conversation with the dealer is in order. I would advise you take some notes and follow up any actions or outcomes on email and get  the dealer to confirm this is what was agreed.

 

Was it a really good deal (too good to be true type of good)?

[EddGee]

2 minutes ago, BriskodaJeff said:

 

This sounds sensible. The missing trim could be as simple as robbing a management car to fix a customer car - pretty common practice and nothing to worry about. But non-matching tyres is strange because for whatever reason it has had 2 tyres changed at 5.5k miles which is definitely not common. I looked at literally dozens of cars (online) before choosing one - not one had mis-matched tyres. I checked this thoroughly, because to me at least it points to a car that has been ragged. Of course mine could be in exactly the same boat but had matching tyres put back on it! And as you note they are designed to take it anyway. But a conversation with the dealer is in order. I would advise you take some notes and follow up any actions or outcomes on email and get  the dealer to confirm this is what was agreed.

 

Was it a really good deal (too good to be true type of good)?

Yes it was a great deal. 

 

Got about £2k below list and a great book price for mine. 

 

All sorts of alarm bells ringing now. I really could do without this as well!

 

Jesus. 

[PSM]

I think people are being a little paranoid and thinking up the absolute worst case.

As stated above the trim could have easily been used for a customer vehicle and forgotten to be replaced. Only one tyre has been changed since the other is the OEM tyre and that could easily have been due to a non repairable puncture which is more likely than it being so ragged in 5k that the tyre wore out etc.

To go from some missing trim to cat d or c write off is a massive leap.

The PDI should have been better but even the best of us have bad days and miss things. Did you pick it up at a weekend which may have been busy and hence the guy doing the checks was rushed off his feet so missed so stuff or maybe they were feeling ill and just missed stuff we are all human at the end of the day. The real test will be how they deal with you today but make sure you go in calm and clear in how you want them to rectify the issues.

[BriskodaJeff]

The main thing is not to panic. You have lots on your side. If you do decide to reject it (as you are perfectly entitled to do) there is a pretty clear process to follow. A quick google led to this https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights and this https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/letter/letter-rejecting-a-second-hand-car-bought-from-a-dealer  I'm sure there is lots more around that will help you.

 

If you don't want to reject, use the problems you have identified to your advantage. For example you have evidence from the tyres that it might have been ragged. That's got to be worth a free service to change fluids and filters, and a follow up (at their expense) to make sure all is well further down the line. So that's two free services coming your way. Are there any extras you would like that they could throw in to apologise for the inconvenience and ineptitude they have shown so far? If so, tell them - they can only say no. Work out what you want, and make sure you get it. For me one of those things would be a clear statement in writing that to their knowledge it hasn't been damaged and repaired. If they lie about that, you have another set of remedies to rely on. You will also have a much clearer idea about whether you believe their story or not once you have spoken to them face to face.