Need your advice here.

Bought a Felicia on 10th Sept, w reg 21000mls, from a Skoda dealer. On the forecourt i pop the lid and find there is no coolant, I tell him that needs fixing, he said they do a 110 point check and all things like that will be fixed. Next day I come back for a test drive, coolant is topped up, I road test it, front wheels need balancing so he said that would get done.

I bought it and he sold me the car with a Lumley auto warranty (gold) I asked what it covered and he said all major parts and labour excluding the usual consumables, tyres, breaks etc.

It went in yesterday with a suspected coolant leak and I wanted the headlight levelers fixed, they diagnosed a split in the radiator, coolant leak and the headlight unit had died.

They want

I think you have every right to expect the dealer to fix the rad and the leak, seeing as it had no coolant when you viewed the car. What parts are checked on their 110 point check, and why did they not dig a bit deeper as to why there was no coolant in the first place? The headlight unit could've failed after you got the car but I'm sure you could source it yourself and fit it much more cheaply than them.

They headlight leveller was dead when I bought it, I just didnt know what it was until digging around on here. Its set fine and I wont use it so as it is so I will only be using this as an argument point when I see them again. (£200!!!)

Saying that I have no mechanical knowledge whatsever but I have a technical brain and given a manual I reckon i could do pretty much anything. Is this an easy job?

I also took it in as it was Kangarooing when cruising with foot off the accelerator in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, they couldnt find anything but reading through here it sounds like the throttle body. Im tempted to get a Haines manual and do it myself.

Need your advice here.

Bought a Felicia on 10th Sept, w reg 21000mls, from a Skoda dealer. On the forecourt i pop the lid and find there is no coolant, I tell him that needs fixing, he said they do a 110 point check and all things like that will be fixed. Next day I come back for a test drive, coolant is topped up, I road test it, front wheels need balancing so he said that would get done.

I bought it and he sold me the car with a Lumley auto warranty (gold) I asked what it covered and he said all major parts and labour excluding the usual consumables, tyres, breaks etc.

It went in yesterday with a suspected coolant leak and I wanted the headlight levelers fixed, they diagnosed a split in the radiator, coolant leak and the headlight unit had died.

They want £170 for the radiator, £30 contribution for the coolant leak, £200 for the headlight unit (which costs £30!!!!). None of it covered.

I kicked off about the warranty not covering the radiator and that I was mis sold the warranty and that the fact that I pointed out the coolant was non-existent and that the 110 point check should have picked up the fault. I am also sure that if the car was run on the forecourt without coolant while trying to sell it that that could have cracked the radiator.

I have spoke to the Insurance company and they dont cover any of those things and thats black and white in their policy. I am now obtaining the 110 point checklist (which I am sure will be doctored) so what are my rights?

Trading standards state that its their onus to prove it was ok but like I said I reckon they will doctor the check sheet, my only hope is to hoof off about being mis-sold the warranty and expect some goodwill.

Lastly if it goes sour what are the thoughts of naming and shaming dealers on here?

Have they have admitted you were mis sold the warranty, if yes they were silly to do that, they told you it covered X Y Z and a verbal contract is still a contract, just harder to proove, did you have any witnesses to any of the conversations ??

Give them a hard time. If you are sure of your facts & speaking honestly & they choose not to play ball then yes name & shame them & tell them you are doing it, Also tell Skoda customer services but only do this as a last resort, you need to try & maintain a relationship with the stealer if at all possible

also talk to the citizens advice Beuraue (I know the spellings wrong, mental blank)

Im about to get into a messy situation on another matter & the CAB have been invaluable. The smalls claim court against the stealer could well be a place to go if they wont play ball as well.

Whatever try & resolve it amicably, going legal is always a last resort & can be a pile of hassle & sometimes expensive

the headlight levelers going wrong is really common on a felicia, the fluid leaks out of the back of the unit!

i doubt very much that running the engine without coolant would have cracked the radiator, that was probably a stone flew up and bashed it, it's more likely that the engine would overheat and sieze up running without coolant for any length of time.....

£170 for a radiator is obscene in my opinion, a local motor factors could get you one for about £35-£50 depending on make. and brand new headlight units can be bought for around £90 iirc....

sounds like they didn't even bother to do the 110 otherwise they would have found these points and fixed them first....... was this from a franchised dealer?? if it was i would take them to the cleaners!

Yes, franchised dealer. I am feeling better about this by the minute.

Thanks for all your comments. I will reply back here after the weekend after a meeting with the sales and or services manager.

Check with the warranty provider - because the dealer may have had to send a copy of the 110 point check to validate the car and the warranty. Worth asking.

Also go get a second opinion from another independant garage on the car. It may assist in your case for getting the repairs done free of charge should the dispute continue - or pay for the AA to do a check etc (however, that may be expensive). It sounds to me like you have been harsh done by.

Checked with them, they werent sent anything like that to initiate the policy.

Take them to the cleaners, infact I would even reject the car as not fit fir purpose as you are permitted to do under the consumer laws.

It isn't as easy as with a new car, but you still have rights on a second hand vehicle.

Those warranties are never any good except for major component failure and then they still argue, I'm afraid. It's just an easy extra few quid for the dealer when they sell a car. They should really be giving their own warranty if they actually have any commitment to customer satisfaction, unfortunately all they want to do is cover themselves for the major costs.

you have comeback under the sale of goods act regardless of the warranty, the product you were sold is not fit for purpose, and you shouldnt expect all these problems (within reason) on a 2nd hand car, especially with only 21000 miles on. Talk to trading standards.

Just spoke to trading standards, within 6 months on buying anything any fault on it is deemed to have been there when sold unless they can prove otherwise, this is law!!!

So I will be speaking to the dealer with a new found confidence tomorrow, (that is until they doctor this check list)

consumerdirect.gov is a site you might wish to visit also, lots of good stuff on there.

I just rang the dealer, they werent interested in anything much I had to say until i mentioned trading standards and the sales of goods act, the second I mentioned that I was told I was best to speak to the Service manager. 5 mins later I was called back and offered to have a new radiator and coolant leak fixed for a contribution of £30.

Now call me a wimp but I took it, £30 for something that could have happened yesterday (technically) and to take it further would have meant complaining in writing, getting trading standards involved etc and I need a new radiator asap.

Not sure if you agree but thanks for all your help and encouragement.

Edit - I didnt want to go into the headlight situation, after reading up on it, the thing will only leak again, right now its alligned and wont fail an mot.

Not a bad result, I think I would have paid the £30 too

Glad to hear it worked out for you

Well done, you still have a working relationship with the dealer so no need to name & shame them

Glad you're sorted, it's amazing how things turn around when you mention the right keywords..

I would take it somewhere else for servicing - find a nice independent garage ...

Well done, you still have a working relationship with the dealer so no need to name & shame them

My local stealer tried to screw me over on a MOT and I went nuts at them. And when i go nuts i go nuts.

In the end i got what i wanted and things were good. Now they are more amicable, as they now see they can not take me for a ride. As in the long run it will cost them.

So I would not be supprised that the stealer in question will treat you much better now, as they are now worried that you will get Trading Standards involved if they try anything wrong......

I am pleased you are up and running

Q

Thanks again for all your encouragment, it made Friday night's refreshments all that much sweeter.

Consumer Direct were excellent, nice to see Gordon Brown doing something decent with my tax.

I'd have done teh £30 deal as that is cheaper than my time to chase after them

I'd say a good outcome, and that I'm sure you can find a good indy garage to service it for you.