Lousy Luck or Lousy Dealer????

[merlot]

Hello

 

First post and wondered if you have any advice you can pass on .

 

I bought a 2nd hand Brava which in the first 6 weeks gave me a catalogue of issues, ending with head gasket problems. Now fixed. It was off the road over two weeks. I lost days in work as I am a temp and unable to get in without a car.

 

When my car gave up after the sixth week the first mechanic took apart the coil plugs and one of them was held together with electricians tape. He said this could have caught fire at anytime and if he had sold a second hand car this is the first thing that he would have checked and replaced. He believes this contributed to the head gasket problems.

 

One of my questions is coil plugs being held together with tape, could this have been deemed as dangerous and should this been checked over by the 2nd hand car dealer and replaced?

 

I was not given a warranty from the dealer, he said that as soon as I drive away it is my problem not his .

 

Also, my MOT certificate says it has 67k miles on the clock, the receipt and the car it is plus 80K miles - what do I do about this???

 

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

Merlot

[miniconverter]

The problem with the coil is very unlikely to have caused a fire or for that mater caused a particularly dangerous problem. It is also very unlikely to have contributed to a head gasket failure. Two weeks to repair a head gasket is a little slow even taking into account getting it skimmed etc

 

However as a motor trader he must take some responsibility for the goods he has sold you but this will depend on age mileage purchase price and that sort of thing. He cannot sell you a car and take away your legal right for the goods to be of merchantable quality and fit for the purpose intended (unless you bought it as scrap) although I know many traders that try this. Speak to trading standards

 

As for the mileage on the mot that could be a genuine mistake but having worked in the motor trade for over 30 years I have seen many strokes pulled with mileage and various documents, to many to list here.

[merlot]

The problem with the coil is very unlikely to have caused a fire or for that mater caused a particularly dangerous problem. It is also very unlikely to have contributed to a head gasket failure. Two weeks to repair a head gasket is a little slow even taking into account getting it skimmed etc

 

However as a motor trader he must take some responsibility for the goods he has sold you but this will depend on age mileage purchase price and that sort of thing. He cannot sell you a car and take away your legal right for the goods to be of merchantable quality and fit for the purpose intended (unless you bought it as scrap) although I know many traders that try this. Speak to trading standards

 

As for the mileage on the mot that could be a genuine mistake but having worked in the motor trade for over 30 years I have seen many strokes pulled with mileage and various documents, to many to list here.

 

Thank you for taking the time to offer your experiences, much appreciated