C30 Trouble!

[VeeEye]

Hi everyone Im new to this and I am looking for some advice on what I should do with my car. I passed my driving test just before Christmas and decided to get a Volvo C30 R-Design 2.0d as my first car. The dealer had it advertised for £3200 on autotrader, I went to see the car and test drive it and I fell in love with it straight away. The next day I decided that was the car I wanted so I called the dealer and told him I would offer him £3000 for it, he said I can do it for £3000 but I can’t give you the standard 3 months warranty that was supposed to come with it for the extra £200 because he’d be losing out. I asked what the warranty covered and he said it’s not really worth getting it and that Volvo engines were bulletproof and I shouldn’t have any problems so I chose to just pay the £3000.
He asked if I wanted to drive the car away straight away so I said yes and he filled out the forms to put the car in my name and told me to sign them. After I signed them he wrote no warranty sold as seen on the receipt. I insured and taxed it and drove it home. The next day I took the car to show my mum and her fella what I had got, He told me to pop the bonnet so he could have a look at the engine. As we were looking around he noticed there was a rag stuffed down the side of the engine, I also found one stuffed in next to the coolant. He pulled them out saying what are they doing there and we threw them away thinking nothing of it maybe they were just left there by accident, anyway... two weeks later I was showing my work colleague my engine and once again he found another piece of folded up rag stuffed down another part of the engine and said that it is not right and shouldn’tve been there. We threw that one away but cause the car felt fine I thought nothing of it again. Another 2 weeks passed and I was pulling into my friends driveway to drop him home when I geared down on the street the car made a loud jolt and the inside started vibrating aggressively. When I looked up what it could be I was sure it was the engine mounts so the next day I thought I’ll take it to the garage I got it from as I’ve only had the car a month and it was only a ten minute drive. Another one of my workmates asked if he could have a look before I took it to the garage to see if he knew what it was and he lay on the floor and looked under the car. He found another 2 rags stuffed up under the engine and pulled them out and we kept hold of them because I started to think something wasn’t right. I left work early and set off to the garage. On the way there the mounts snapped causing my engine to fall and rip the bolts out of my transmission and disconnect themselves from the driveshaft. What should I do, and would the rags be there to stop rattling/leaks? Because I don’t have warranty I don’t know what to do I have been advised to try and use the consumer act because the car would’ve been sold to me when it wasn’t fit for purpose. Any help or advice would be great thanks!

[Tamworthbay]

Speak to citizens advice, you may have to go through the small claims court but it’s easy enough. And call or email the place you bought it from and explain what has happened and give them the chance to correct (chances are they won’t but it helps your case if you have given them the chance). Email is probably better as you have some record of it.

[ITSv40]

As above ^^^^^^ You need to get some proper legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in consumer law and/or Citizen's Advice.

Sorry you have had a bad experience at the start of your motoring journey and indeed Volvo ownership. That is not usual for a Volvo, normally they are pretty bomb proof. Hope you get it sorted.

[S60RDesign]

This should be a lesson to you - don't trust car dealers, particularly small second hand ones. You should be prepared to walk away if you don't get the deal you want, I think you offered too high actually and the dealer obviously thought he could manipulate you. I bet his 'warranty' would've been worthless but as far as I understand you'd still have had six months consumer protection under the Consumer Rights Act if you hadn't agreed to 'buy as seen'. I suggest using the Ask HJ section of Honest John's website (UK car reviews/advice website) and they will be able to tell you what your rights are. You could also try the Citizens Advice Bureau.

I would say as soon as you saw those rags you shouldn't have driven the car until getting it professionally checked (this really should have been done before agreeing to buy it). Also the 2.0d is a Ford/PSA engine so when he told you 'Volvo engines are bulletproof' it was a sales ploy. I do hope you get this sorted but always be sceptical of car dealers. Even franchise dealers sell faulty cars hoping you won't notice but it's far safer buying from those.

[S60RDesign]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

As above ^^^^^^ You need to get some proper legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in consumer law and/or Citizen's Advice.

The problem with a solicitor is litigation costs a fortune and there'd be no guarantee of recovering costs. CAB would be the logical route first of all

[Tamworthbay]

The sold as seen aspect is irrelevant, it has no basis in law and the protection applies with it as mush as without. If they had specified the faults and stated it was sold with them for repairs it would be a different matter. The car is clearly not fit for purpose and as such the buyer will be protected under consumer law. It may just take a while to sort out unfortunately.

[FunkyMelon]

As above really.

I hope you get your money back.

If it's any consolation (not meaning to add salt to the wound) this could end up being an every cloud has a silver lining moment for you - You've sadly got a PSA engine which you've only got to spend 5 minutes in the S40/V50/C30 section of this forum to see how terrible it can be for owners.

Hopefully you get refunded and can get a D3/D4/D5 which are generally 'bullet proof'.

Also, you potentially saved yourself £200 anyway, from the sounds of that garage it wouldn't have been worth the paper it was written on.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by S60RDesign

The problem with a solicitor is litigation costs a fortune and there'd be no guarantee of recovering costs. CAB would be the logical route first of all

I agree litigation is expensive. A solicitor will advise on the options open without demanding instructions to see the case through to conclusion. An initial consultation is not necessarily expensive.

Folks wait weeks to get an appointment with our local CAB as the service has been cut back dramatically.

[Whippy]

Talk to CAB first, do some research on consumer protection, go see dealer and as said earlier give him the opportunity to make good, he'll most likely refund you and pull the same trick on someone else. Some of these people are bastards, I once went with my Dad to look as a s/h car, boot was wet so i looked underneath, new underseal. Poked it and my fingers went through and I ended up pulling wads of newspaper out. His explanation was "not me, must have bin like that when I bought it" Looked sheepish when I pointed out last weeks date on the paper!

Never, ever trust any of these people.

[phil1968]

You can get a full refund up to 30 days after the sale but after that it gets a bit more difficult. They do however have to repair it up to 6 months after the sale. If you don't have any joy with them you can issue a CCJ against them (about 60 quid from memory) & if still no joy then you can send the sherrifs in to seize goods (about 60 quid again) https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights