When the Car You've Just Bought Breaks Down

On June 16th I went to the bank and took out a car loan for $13.800, (in cash as the seller requested). I arrived at his house, which is where he had 2 cars for sale. I found this car on Market Place. I ask about safety, leaking ect. because the passenger door had a poorly repaired area and the door wasn’t 100% aligned. He took me through the car wash to show me that the window wouldn’t leak and then without my consent he took me to PROF Motors 3241 Lafayette RD STE B. INDPLS, IN 46222. When we arrived he put me in a small room with windows and a bathroom across the hall. He brought another man in the room who only spoke a couple of sentences the entire time. He started counting the money while the other man started the paperwork. When he got to the money he showed me that he put $7,500.00 on the bill of sale paperwork, which is the amount I would pay taxes on at his dealership. Plus $100 in paperwork processing fees. “The rest I would be paying at the BMV,” he said. He didn’t explain any of the paperwork. He simply told me where to sign. He handed me one key and pointed to the lobby. I stood there for a little bit and they said that, “I could leave.” I drove home and parked the car in the garage. A week later I drove the car to a body shop to get an estimate on the car door repairs. He looked the car over and told me things that horrified me. The door was not aliened, the under frame is bent, ALL of the safety air bags had been“CUT OUT” of the car. He said the car had been in a bad accident. I was in shock. He told me to Google the VIN # on Carfax. The results were shocking to me. In the pictures the entire passenger side of the car was clearly destroyed. The final determination on that sight claimed that this vehicle is a “TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE.” I again had the feeling of fear and anxiety. That was the only time that I have taken the car out of the garage. I can’t drive an unsafe car. No one should. I started doing research to see what just happened, what should I do, who do I call? I was able to find a few definitions of the law for this act of meaningless actions in the purchasing of this vehicle. Please help. I am retired raising 3 grandchildren and my monthly earnings are $1,100 per month. It will take me 5 years to pay off the loan that I took. I don’t have repair money at all. Thank you for any advise you have for me.

On June 16th I went to the bank and took out a car loan for $13.800, (in cash as the seller requested). I arrived at his house, which is where he had 2 cars for sale. I found this car on Market Place. I ask about safety, leaking ect. because the passenger door had a poorly repaired area and the door wasn’t 100% aligned. He took me through the car wash to show me that the window wouldn’t leak and then without my consent he took me to PROF Motors 3241 Lafayette RD STE B. INDPLS, IN 46222. When we arrived he put me in a small room with windows and a bathroom across the hall. He brought another man in the room who only spoke a couple of sentences the entire time. He started counting the money while the other man started the paperwork. When he got to the money he showed me that he put $7,500.00 on the bill of sale paperwork, which is the amount I would pay taxes on at his dealership. Plus $100 in paperwork processing fees. “The rest I would be paying at the BMV,” he said. He didn’t explain any of the paperwork. He simply told me where to sign. He handed me one key and pointed to the lobby. I stood there for a little bit and they said that, “I could leave.” I drove home and parked the car in the garage. A week later I drove the car to a body shop to get an estimate on the car door repairs. He looked the car over and told me things that horrified me. The door was not aliened, the under frame is bent, ALL of the safety air bags had been“CUT OUT” of the car. He said the car had been in a bad accident. I was in shock. He told me to Google the VIN # on Carfax. The results were shocking to me. In the pictures the entire passenger side of the car was clearly destroyed. The final determination on that sight claimed that this vehicle is a “TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE.” I again had the feeling of fear and anxiety. That was the only time that I have taken the car out of the garage. I can’t drive an unsafe car. No one should. I started doing research to see what just happened, what should I do, who do I call? I was able to find a few definitions of the law for this act of meaningless actions in the purchasing of this vehicle. Please help. I am retired raising 3 grandchildren and my monthly earnings are $1,100 per month. It will take me 5 years to pay off the loan that I took. I don’t have repair money at all. Thank you for any advise you have for me.

I bought a 2017 Audi A4l for 13.5k from Peter Vardy with their extended warranty They took out a brand new MOT on the day I bought the car in November 2022. A couple of days after I got the car, I noticed droplets of some sort of a residue on my driveway. A tire pressure also came up despite the tires being inflated properly. Took it back to PeterVardy and they said that the mechanic forgot to reset the tire pressure sensor, he gave me the car back and the warning light was gone. They said that there any oil leaks or anything. Now it's April and there is a massive leak from under the car (Underside tray of car is also stained) and now they're saying that they can't repair it under warranty as this is not a mechanical problem and it will cost me out of my own pockets for whatever the reason is. What are my rights?

I bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer got it home and it now won’t start dealer says I have to arrange transport back to them ?

My wife bought a brand new MG HS model we picked it up from the showroom on Friday the 18/3/22 we drove home which is not even 1/2 an hours journey gets home switch it of and it wouldn’t go again we had to get the AA to come and look at it on Saturday morning they couldn’t find what was wrong so we had it recovered back to dealer now they say it was a bad earth that caused the problem can I give them the car back for full refund or what rights do I have.

Bought a ford focus Zetec on 4year finance agreement, paid the final payment on the 9th Sept 2021 with the balance of £3600 to be paid on the 9th Oct 2021 but 3wks before the balance was due the car just died and after getting it checked out the mechanic said the cam belt was broken which would cost £850 to repair or just replace the engine but get this, the car is only 6years old and has only done 47000 miles, normally a new cam belt is due after 10years and 15000 miles, what are my rights?

Hello, I bought a used car Audi A1 four months ago from a dealership. I have taken it on finance. The dealer has assured me that the car was in a perfect technical condition. I don’t know much about car mechanics so I didn’t think when he refilled the coolant to the proper level. I took a car and drove back to my town. Around a week or so later when I was going for a longer trip than usual the dashboard message showed up that I need to stop the engine, so I stoped on the nearest gas station to check the problem and then I found out that I possibly have a leak ofthe coolant fluid. I bought it and refilled it and on the next day I called the dealer as I assumed the car was on the one month warranty. He said that I can take the car to his mechanic to fix it (which is around 2h from my place) or take the car to the mechanic in my town. I left the car in the garage near to my place and the car was there for a week and a half until they found that one of the radiators is broken. I have contacted the dealership and he said that I have to claim my money back from the Handler Protect (the insurance company he suggested to sign the breakdown cover for extra £600 per 1.5 year). I though it was weird as to me he supposed to cover the car breakdown not the insurance company. I did what he said but the insurance company has rejected the claim as it was too soon from the day of transaction. I have also contacted my finance advisor about the whole situation, he contacted my dealer and he eventually agreed to cover the part cost but he said that I will have to pay the labour hours. I wasn’t happy but I thought I didn’t have a choice. I paid £150 for the labour hours and he paid £50 for the new radiator. I called the finance company again and they decided to credit me the £150 I paid. I got the car back and was driving only to work very close from my home for another two weeks and the situation happened again. My coolant fluid was below minimum so I called my mechanic and left the car to check the problem. I have also contacted the dealer and he said to do the same thing. I left the car for another week in the garage and they couldn’t find the leak. I took a car and left it by my home, it was already before Christmas so I have used it a few times and thought I will take it back to the garage after new year. After new year Iwas still on my holiday so I only started using it again around the second week of January. Couple days ago I had an incident with the car... when I stopped it after 10min driving I noticed weird noise from the mask so I opened it. There was a smoke because of the leak and high temperature of the engine. I called my mechanic and took the car to his garage, as it was after the situation they found the problem quite quickly. There was at least one more leak from the head gasket. The head gasket replacement plus labour hours will cost me at least £700-1000 which is a lot of money. It’s the same problem from the beginning. I think that the de

Hello, I bought a used car Audi A1 four months ago from a dealership. I have taken it on finance. The dealer has assured me that the car was in a perfect technical condition. I don’t know much about car mechanics so I didn’t think when he refilled the coolant to the proper level. I took a car and drove back to my town. Around a week or so later when I was going for a longer trip than usual the dashboard message showed up that I need to stop the engine, so I stoped on the nearest gas station to check the problem and then I found out that I possibly have a leak ofthe coolant fluid. I bought it and refilled it and on the next day I called the dealer as I assumed the car was on the one month warranty. He said that I can take the car to his mechanic to fix it (which is around 2h from my place) or take the car to the mechanic in my town. I left the car in the garage near to my place and the car was there for a week and a half until they found that one of the radiators is broken. I have contacted the dealership and he said that I have to claim my money back from the Handler Protect (the insurance company he suggested to sign the breakdown cover for extra £600 per 1.5 year). I though it was weird as to me he supposed to cover the car breakdown not the insurance company. I did what he said but the insurance company has rejected the claim as it was too soon from the day of transaction. I have also contacted my finance advisor about the whole situation, he contacted my dealer and he eventually agreed to cover the part cost but he said that I will have to pay the labour hours. I wasn’t happy but I thought I didn’t have a choice. I paid £150 for the labour hours and he paid £50 for the new radiator. I called the finance company again and they decided to credit me the £150 I paid. I got the car back and was driving only to work very close from my home for another two weeks and the situation happened again. My coolant fluid was below minimum so I called my mechanic and left the car to check the problem. I have also contacted the dealer and he said to do the same thing. I left the car for another week in the garage and they couldn’t find the leak. I took a car and left it by my home, it was already before Christmas so I have used it a few times and thought I will take it back to the garage after new year. After new year Iwas still on my holiday so I only started using it again around the second week of January. Couple days ago I had an incident with the car... when I stopped it after 10min driving I noticed weird noise from the mask so I opened it. There was a smoke because of the leak and high temperature of the engine. I called my mechanic and took the car to his garage, as it was after the situation they found the problem quite quickly. There was at least one more leak from the head gasket. The head gasket replacement plus labour hours will cost me at least £700-1000 which is a lot of money. It’s the same problem from the beginning. I think that the de

Hi, i Purchased a car from ebay only 2 days ago on the same day when i purchased car while driving on the way back car started shaking and making very loud engine and gearbox noise i contacted the guy who i bought the car from didn't get any response it was evening when i got back home and next day was sunday i sent the guy message on the phone on the ebay had no reply for him. On Monday which is basically today i called him again no answer took car to garage they said engine and gearbox both have faults that's why its noisy. The guy didn't declared any faults in the Ebay listing also he said this car has not been used as a taxi , but the car has definitely been used in taxi as i found taxi Receipt book and some paperwork in the car boot when i was cleaning the car next day also found Transport of London sticker marker at the rear window. Car which described as non fault drives like new had engine and gearbox fault and he sold it to me as a private car never been used in taxi is 100% confirmed driven as a Taxi. I paid him via online bank Transfer as he wanted cash or bank transfer i am sure now as he hid faults and use of taxi he must have Clocked the car too he said he is the owner of car not trader but on the logbook the trader slip was missing. Car is a 66 Reg car with the millage of 99k on it . I have sent him so many messages via ebay and texts that i will be taking it to Trading Standards and court unless he takea his car back and transfer me my money back. Money i transferred him via online is £8205 which i used my overdraft facility to buy this car to use this car for my work. Now i am not able to drive this car and don't have any money to Repair my car can't get back to work without the car ao my earnings completely stopped what would you advise me please so i can get back to work quickly and what are my rights. Thanks everyone for your kind Comments

I bought the car 37 days ago ( today is 09.08.2019) after that time while i was on the motorway traveling abroad the car had stopped saying gearbox need service. The next day after visited couple garages I've been told that car should be scrapped. The point is since i bought the car I'vedone 376 miles. Now car is dead. Mechanics said that the issue would happened before but if you delete the faults car could run that time but problem was still existing. I'm sure and mechanics as well that I was sold damaged car and haven't been told about that... do i have any rights? What can I do? Help please

Brought a van from our local mechanic for £2000. He said he put it through mot and had resolved the advisories.. we brought it home and noticed and oil leak. We notified him he said he noticed it but was nothing to worry about 8days later van blew up! Needs a new engine. He said he would fix it that was moths ago! What rights do I have?

I bought a car from a garage peugeot 308 convertible.£3,000 cash and £2,000 finance with Hitachi.This purchase was last November 2018.The warranty was 6 months.Over the last month the car has not been running properly,I took it to a local garage 4 times, and they put coolant in the car, the engine light went off, then came back on again a week later,I went back, I said it was not running properly, I had put coolant in and oil and I was told it needed diagonostic.I was told a cylinder was not firing.I booked it in for a day. When I picked it up, I was told it was only a spark plug. 4 days later, the engine sets on fire.RAC tow it to a RAC recommended garage and I am told, the car has never been serviced in 5 years. There has been catrosophic engine failure through lack of neglect. The mileage has been doctored 30,000.A coolant pipe from a Ford had been bolted on, which of course is not a standard repair and the list goes on.....It will cost £3,270 to put right - new reconditoned engine. I have contacted Hitachi the finance company, who have been good so far, it is under investigation.Can you tell me what my rights are and what I can expect?Will the finance company pay for the repair?

I bought a car from a garage peugeot 308 convertible.£3,000 cash and £2,000 finance with Hitachi.This purchase was last November 2018.The warranty was 6 months.Over the last month the car has not been running properly,I took it to a local garage 4 times, and they put coolant in the car, the engine light went off, then came back on again a week later,I went back, I said it was not running properly, I had put coolant in and oil and I was told it needed diagonostic.I was told a cylinder was not firing.I booked it in for a day. When I picked it up, I was told it was only a spark plug. 4 days later, the engine sets on fire.RAC tow it to a RAC recommended garage and I am told, the car has never been serviced in 5 years. There has been catrosophic engine failure through lack of neglect. The mileage has been doctored 30,000.A coolant pipe from a Ford had been bolted on, which of course is not a standard repair and the list goes on.....It will cost £3,270 to put right - new reconditoned engine. I have contacted Hitachi the finance company, who have been good so far, it is under investigation.Can you tell me what my rights are and what I can expect?Will the finance company pay for the repair?

I bought a car, peugeot 308 from a garage last November 2018. I paid £3,000 cash and £2,000 finance with Hitachi.I have had problems with the car recently, engine light coming on, oil light.I took it to a local garage 4 times to report these problems ie putting in coolant and oil.Who did a diagnostic in the end and said that one of the cylinders was not firing properly and changed a spark plug.they had the car in the garage all day and told me that that the problem was a spark plug. 4 days later the engine sets on fire.It will cost £3,270.00 to put right.It has had catrosophic engine failure.I had to RAC tow me and take me to an RAC recommended garage.The car has NEVER been serviced.It is 5 years old,The clock has been doctored 30,000 miles.The oil has become contaminated to the point it is combustible, the oil filter never changed.A coolant pipe has been repaired with a Ford part and bolted together.the list goes on......I have been let down by the garage that sold me the car and then again by the garage locally.I have been informed that the garage that changed the spark plug would have known that the condition of the engine was not good and it required servicing looking at.I just cannot understand the negligence of all of this.I have contacted Hitachi and they are helping me with an investigation into the car.What are my rights?what can I expect the finance company to help me with?Will they pay for the repair to the car?Any advice would be appreciated. I am completely shocked.

Just bought a car sold as seen. Signed unroadworthy condition but it can with an mot. I asked if the car drove garage said yes. Didnt even get 20miles car is dead. Garage refused refund or collection. Said see you in court. What do i do?

Hi I bought a vehicle to export abroad had no warranty and vehicle broke on way from dealer to port. Was towed to port but cannot start and get its self into the vessel. Do I have a right to claim my money back or repair from the dealer? What are my rights?

I sold a old car privately who told me she was a car dealer ‘ the caris 2002 reg with current mot new tyres and clean condition ‘inside ‘out side had a few small scrapes and the bonnet paint was a bit flaky which was explained in the advert ‘ the carhad been in my family for 5 years it had been well garage maintained ‘I sold the carto a lady for 250 cash ‘ she tried the car out and was happy with it she drove car home and tex me cars fine and they gothome safely ‘ ‘ 2 days later she tex me and said the engine blew up she wanted a full refund and wanted me to collect the car !!

Hi. Today my brother purchasedhis 1st car from a dealership. Cost him £3000 paid with a debit card. My dad collected/drove car home. It broke down on moterway after 5miles. White smoke blowing out/lack of power. I have found lots of bad reviews about issues with this garage/service/cars. I don't think it'll be likely they refund him? My brother has contacted his bank to cancel the payment. He will try to return the car tomorrow as garage was closing as this all happened. Can anyone please tell me what they thinkthe best thing to do is? Do we have any rights to attempt to cancel payment? Thank you

Hi, bought a Mini Cooper privately 6days ago and today the gear box has gone, can you tell me if I just have to get it fixed my self or I’m I in any Wright’s to get money back with it only been 6dayd? I’ve rang the man to tell him and he said no sold as seen, his son his a mechanic just has me thinking did they know already?

My son bought a car privately and paid £5000 by bank transfer, he drove it 10 miles and then it broke down. He is having to have it recovered 400 miles home as the buyer refused to take car back and became abusive. AA don’t know what is wrong with car but suggests the engine could be unfixable.

Hi I purchased a 2011 ds3 back in Dec 2017, 59,830 miles on it have had jiggly issues parking sensor not working, exhaust mounts all 4 needing welded, discs and pads badly worn and pitted in April the engine light Cameron has been in and out of garage with warranty covering cost and now has a turbo actuator arm problem the finance company are telling me if it was inherent at time of purchase I’m not entitled to repair through them and I will have to foot the bill. Is this correct and what has happened to my consumer right side if this is the case as it is still faulty within 6 months

Hi I bought a vw golf tdi 2.0 diesel for 2000 with 106.000 on the clock I got it from a car dealership, i had it for about a day and the turbo had gone and loads of smoke coming out the exhaust i pulled over staight away and got greenflag to get me home all i want is it to be repaired as ive already had to put a new starter motor on it since ive bought it which isn't long..should the dealership be liable to pay for the repairs?

Hi looking for some advice, I purchased a van £2,000 cash and a four year finance deal on the23rd March 2018, it broke down on the motorway 28 days later with engine failure, the van didn’t show any signs of this happening, I was doing 60 to 65mph the van is fitted with a 70 mph limiter, when it lost power and cut out I had smoke in the cab I pulled over when it was safe and thought it was on fire. The dealer has been very helpful so far, I had to pay for the van to get back to them at £460.00, I’ve lost days at work I’ve had to hire a vehicle. They have made a diagnosis and said the engine has no compression and it’s due to severe over heating, and it would of gave me signs of getting hot. As I told them no oil light, engine management light came on and temp gauge was normal. This is part of the reply I have had. “It would have been easier for us to have a successful warranty claim had the engine not ended up destroyed as the report from the garage reads engine driven to destruction. This now leaves the burden on the person operating the vehicle at the time” Where do I go from here?? Any help would be appreciated Regards Russ

Hi, I just purchased a Land Rover for 6k, about 2 months ago, very suddenly the clutch dropped and is undrivable, I had it towed to the garage and dealership I bought it from as it came with a warranty, but now they are saying th warranty doesn’t cover wear and tear?! Repairs going to cost near £1000, where do I stand on this?

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If the dealer is refusing to refund you, you should report it to Trading Standards and consider taking legal action (the small claims court might be appropriate) against the dealer. Note that while you do have a right to reject a faulty vehicle within the first 30 days, you are, as a buyer expected to have carried out certain checks etc.

Hello, I bought a Vauxhall Astra from a dealership a few days ago for £6000. It's a 62 plate and has 26k miles on it. Upon driving it home I noticed that it was smoking from the engine and exhausts so decided to pull in and have a look. As the dealership was now shut I continued to drive it home and sort it the next day. I rang the dealership and explained the problem and told them I would like to take the car back for a refund and had a mechanic come out to findvthatthere were lots of problems. He said that it looks like it was in an accident as there is lots of repair and replacements. This was not advertised at all - otherwise I would never have bought it He is now refusing to refund me what can I do?

Hello i bought a car from a dealer on the 14 o march and on the 6th of april the clutch went, i phoned the dealers and they said they will fix it up but i had to arrange for delivery of vehicle, they are located some 30 miles from me! As i am still on the 30 day period i said to them that it was their responsibility but they kept saying they would just fix it and thats it! As ive got finance on it i rang them and explained the situation and told them i was not prepared to pay near 200£ to deliver a car wich obviously was sold to me "not of satisfactory quality" and i also had just paid 300£ upfront sum 2 weeks ago for the car! All they said to me is that the dealer only has to agree to fix the car but its my responsability arrange delivery even thou im still on the 30 day period. I have now had to pay for the delivery and rented another car for a couple of days so i can get to work out of my own pocket!! Can i claim any of this money back or is anything thats been said to me correct? This was over the weekend so i couldnt ring anywhere to get any info. Any help would be very much appreciated please.

I bought a 2nd hand Skoda Octavia Scout 8 year old with 105k on it. Had it for 2 months was making a terrible noise so took it to my garage (he's a friend of the father in law) who has informed me that the 'bottom end' of the engine has gone and it needs a new engine. It looks like its been bodged to sell.Can i get my garage to do it and charge the dealer or do i have to give them the chance to do it first. I obviously don't trust them to do it properly.

We bought a second hand car from a dealership around 8 weeks ago.A few days ago it broke down, the ERG jammed open.The RAC man got it started but as he followed us home it happened again.As the dealership is around 20 miles from our home (and with the risk of it breaking down on the way) my husband took it to our local garage and we've paid for the repair out of our own pocket.Are we able to send a copy of the invoice to the dealership and ask that they refund us?

i have owned my l200 warrior for 3 weeks now , and today the engine has blown , i live 22 miles from work and work 12hr shifts , so,, 3 weeks in and only 700 miles at the wheel and now i have a 4 grand ornament !!car was taken under a finance deal from a separate company to the dealership . called the finance company today and they seemed to jump on it straight away , i really do notwant to deal with this dealership now , i just want this truck gone and my money to date back , how long can this drag out ??what are my rights on this ,