Wanted car for Son

notanon

I just looked back and this time last year I posted that I was looking for a car for the daughter. Possibly looking for a budget car for Son now. Budget is around the £750 mark.

His car has an econetic diesel engine whuch suddenly cuts out. Local garage reckoned could be fuel sensor so around £80 or full rail system (?) And looking at £400 mark but they aren't set up to do that work.

He took it to a recommended garage. They 'fixed' it for £78 but it failed again 100 yards down the road. They have now said £400 for a diagnostic test then the cost of any discovered issue.

He has a fair amount left on finance which is a straight loan not one of the variations on balloon payments. He has 2yrs out of 5yrs left on finance.

I think he should pay, get it fixed. He is thinking of returning the car for a settlement figure (he will get peanuts no doubt), cut his monthly cost and get a cheap car. His choice of course.

Fellow fretboarder offered a great deal last year but daughter had found a car by the time I got the offer - it would probably have worked out alot better for her but that is another long story.

So, any deals around? We are near Swansea. He is looking for reliable cheap runner doesn't have to be plush.

Cheers folks.

Funkfingers

notanon said:

Local garage ... a recommended garage. 

Were either of these garages pukka Ford dealerships?

notanon said:

He has 2yrs out of 5yrs left on finance. I think he should pay, get it fixed. He is thinking of returning the car for a settlement figure 

The finance company holds all of the aces. It cannot hurt to enquire what the settlement figure will be - if only to make an informed comparison against the likely repair costs. 

notanon said:

He took it to a recommended garage. They 'fixed' it for £78 but it failed again 100 yards down the road. 

Clearly, the recommended garage failed to fix your son's car. That £78 ought to be deducted from the proposed £400 charge for a comprehensive diagnostic test.

guitarcookie1

If you can get it to Maesteg, then I can recommend a garage. They’ve fixed all sorts for me over the last twenty-odd years. 

uncledick

Is the car actually directly financed by the company?  If so, he can just stop paying and it becomes their car to do with what they will.  If you're going to attempt fixing it, I'd recommend taking to a diesel specialist who actually has the equipment to test rail pressures/pumps etc.  Someone like Diesel Doctor / BCL in Swansea would be worth talking to.

notanon

@uncledick excellent tips thank you. He did figure out that he can return the car if he has paid over a certain percentage, which he has.

He is thinking that he had to get the car fixed to get that back to them. Legally the car has to be returned in ''reasonable condition" apparently. That is a little awkward to define.

Cheers for the diesel doctors - the car is actually in Swansea at the moment. It was financed from Evans Halshaw.

He said after that is fixed he has to pay approximately another £50 for bumper respray as he had a very minor bump in the supermarket car park. This he thinks will meet the reasonable condition requirement.

Thanks again. Appreciated.

notanon

@uncledick the way he has been treated in the past (which cost him thousands) I would say have the car towed back to the finance company if possible.

uncledick

The lad will have to fix any damage inflicted on the car but a mechanical issue will be for the finance company and Evans Halshaw to sort between them.  EH have a pretty poor reputation in the used car trade (just Google it).  I think you will find the finance company will back you up on this.

skunkwerx

Ah man I saw evans halshaw and immediately thought of a lemon they sold my dear old mum a few years back. 

Absolute cunts them lot.

pintspiller

You: "Wanted car for Son"
Me: I've got two daughters and they are trouble enough without having a boy to look after!

notanon

uncledick said:

The lad will have to fix any damage inflicted on the car but a mechanical issue will be for the finance company and Evans Halshaw to sort between them.  EH have a pretty poor reputation in the used car trade (just Google it).  I think you will find the finance company will back you up on this.

Help appreciated. Yep and lots of bad dealers out there :-(

Unfortunately my son had made the decision and bought the car.

Thanks again @uncledick ;

notanon

skunkwerx said:

Ah man I saw evans halshaw and immediately thought of a lemon they sold my dear old mum a few years back. 

Absolute cunts them lot.

Tragic isn't it - as Mr Burns said "The irony is, if I were to have them killed I'd be the one sent to prison!"

octatonic

Sounds like a fair trade. 
Does he do dishes?

notanon

For the record - EH sold my son the car, then there was a wheel issue just a week or two later. Travelled back and then realised there was no locking nut. They had ticked the box on the check so accused my Son of losing it. Long long story but he would not lie (border line Asperger) and they wanted to charge £200 to sort cut the locking nut off and then replace blah blah (may not be the exact figure). I played holy hell with the manager, they had an agent that obviously lied. They did it at cost in the end but I was F****ing fuming.

Unfortunately Britain has a large number of really good people but when it comes to business there are some right Shysters.

TIP: Twitter is a good place to scream as well - recommended as companies have to protect their social media brand. Solved a few issues with people like DPD, EH, . . . . .

notanon

pintspiller said:

You: "Wanted car for Son"
Me: I've got two daughters and they are trouble enough without having a boy to look after!

@pintspiller ;
 Not for no reason every Parent respects other Parents ;-) I know somebody who had triplets, I swear if that happened to me now I would break down, cry and rock in the corner of the room.

Before contraception 10 kids would not be unusual. No wonder people worked for 14 hours a day down the mines or get a job on a trawler. Anything but go home to 10 kids! Anything!