Cole D

Scammers

​To all that it may concern,       After trying for over 5 months to sort out the faulty Saab you sold me, I have decided I would like the full refund to which I believe am entitled based on your infringement upon my consumer rights. Without a satisfactory resolution (full refund and return of the faulty car), you can rest assured that I will involve the Motor Ombudsman and will be opening a Section 75 case with my card provider to retrieve the money. I will only accept a full refund on this car & believe it would be unlawful for me to have to pay any fees to obtain a refund as you have violated my rights as a consumer by selling me a faulty car. I, by law (Consumer Rights Act 2015), was entitled to "goods of a satisfactory quality" in terms of "fitness for purpose" and "durability". We had a sales contract for a fully MOT'd and working Saab 93, sold with a 12 month warranty on the turbo that you said you installed. The car stopped working as expected on the same day I bought it - as you are fully aware by now, the turbo that you claimed to have replaced kept shutting off while the car was driving. This caused the car to not be able to get up hills within the speed limit etc - as it is a heavy car built with a turbo specifically, so without the turbo the car is too heavy and doesn't have enough power to climb the gradients in our local area (Peak District). This has caused us great stress and inconvenience for the entire time I have possessed the car (causing congestion on tight & dangerous country roads constantly), as the check engine light has come on irregularly, the engine is clearly faulty, and we have had other parts of the car actually fall off while driving on a motorway. Any claims of the vehicle's fitness for purpose at the time of sale/ MOT pass etc will be refuted, and I will seriously call into question the thoroughness of your mechanics' checks, and the validity of that MOT certificate. Phone records etc will prove that this vehicle experienced issues the very same day you sold it, and since the garage passing it is part of your business, it arguably has an interest in passing cars (that may not otherwise pass) in order to sell them and lose less money. I am sure the Motor Ombudsman would be very interested to hear about our experience buying a car that stopped working the same day. I, like many others who have reviewed you on Google it seems, have been sold a car with a chronic issue and no fuel, and just repeatedly been shunted between Ryan and Jake with nothing being fixed ever since. As phone records and Google Maps Timeline will prove, the car wasn't working as expected on the day you sold it - and I have since had it back in the garage (yours and another, at your suggestion) 4 times for a total of at least 8 weeks, to try and make this car work without faults. Below is a timeline of this, which you should be able to verify as true for the record. 15th May 2022 - We came to initially view the car and took it for a test drive. I noticed the cars mileage was over 1000 miles more than advertised. We remarked how there wasn't much fuel left (<5miles) and Ryan told us that Century would fill it up before we picked it up. I put down a deposit at this stage (£500), and arranged to come back on the Wednesday to pick it up. 18th May 2022 - I came back and paid the rest for the car (£2399), and completed ownership. Noticed there was barely any fuel in it despite what Ryan had told us, but I just filled it up and then I drove it back towards home in Barnsley - BUT the turbo stopped working on that journey. I didn't know why, so I called Century and informed you immediately about the issue. I arranged to bring it back in the very next day. 19th May 2022 - Brought car back in to be fixed the day after buying it, Ryan sold me a Gold RAC policy for £120 on the basis that it should cover the work that the car might need. I waited about in Hillsborough whilst your garage ran diagnostics. When they rang me to collect it, they said I was fine to drive it with the engine light on, as the issue was that the turbo has a small air leak in it. They said they would need to order the part in to repair the car, but for now/ a week or two, it should run ok. 30th May 2022 - The mechanic at Century rang me to let me know the part had arrived, and to book my car in for fixing - booked it in for the 7th June . 6th June 2022 - Phone calls on the records from this day were because I had rung Century trying to rearrange, so that I could get a lift back home after dropping it. I then changed my mind and decided to drop it in on the original day (7th) and just get the one lift to pick it up the day after - essentially, I was already sick of asking people for lifts (especially since I do own and am paying to insure, tax and run a car which even to this day I cannot use). 7th June 2022 - I dropped my car off 8th June 2022 - Another couple of phone calls from me to Century, in the morning, trying to find out if my car was fixed. They told me it was ready for collection. When I got there, I asked the mechanic what they'd done to it and he seemed visibly unsure what I was talking about, and he didn't mention anything to do with the repair work that they should have just carried out. He did however mention that if I have any more issues, I should consider using another RAC covered garage. 24th June 2022 - Four outgoing phone calls to Century Motors, as the car was still faulty and had just frustrated me the entire time it struggled through a work trip - once again the engine light had come on and the turbo wasn't kicking in. They said I could bring it in again on the 28th. 28th June 2022 - Brought car in again in the morning, left it at Century Motors, telling them I didn't want it back until it was fixed. 1st July 2022 - I rang Century, asking if my car was ready for collection yet. 5th July 2022 - Collected my car from Century again, hopefully fixed... I asked what work they had done, and they said that I had an air leak in the turbo. I mentioned that that was the same problem as last time and said something to the effect of "if you've replaced the same part twice then you must not have found the right issue, surely" and the mechanic replied, by saying "it was a different issue last time" but he wouldn't tell me what work they were meant to have done last time. I also spoke to Jake who told me he had drove my car home and back the next day to test drive it. He said hopefully I shouldn't have any more issues but if I do it might be worth me using another RAC covered garage. 9th July 2022 - Four days after last picking it up from the garage, I ring Century at 12:54 to report that the problem is still not fixed. It has been over a month since purchase, with the same fault in the vehicle and multiple phone calls & trips to a garage that still haven't made the car even decently reliable/ drivable. 11th July 2022 - I ring Century, multiple times this day - I recall this as the day I first explicitly asked Ryan for a refund, because I remember he said something along the lines of "it's whatever's best for you, mate" before suggesting taking the car to another garage, covered by the RAC policy, to see if they could diagnose and fix the issue (trying to pass the responsibility elsewhere). We were on holiday from the 24th July until the 30th July, during the first day of which the armour plate underneath the car actually started dragging on the motorway, eventually falling off when we were forced to pull onto the hard shoulder and check it/ sort it - causing a huge amount of stress for everyone involved. So, not only was the turbo still faulty and struggling with hills, but it's not even been three months since purchase and now we had a piece of the car that had fallen off on a motorway, too. 8th September 2022 - As suggested, I found and took the car to Phoenix Motors in Mexborough. I told them everything that had happened so far (turbo, engine light, armour plate underneath etc) and asked them to take a fresh look and fix it. I told them very seriously, that I didn't want it back until it was fixed. They diagnosed the issue as an Exhaust emissions sensor that needed recalibrating/ replacing and quoted £120 for the repair - turned out electrical work was not even covered by the RAC policy Ryan sold me. As the problem has existed since purchase, I requested Ryan to get Century to pay for it. This took a ridiculous amount of calling and admin work from my side, mind - as a frame of reference, I rang on the 20th of October alone (with the car STILL in the garage) at least 6 times. I was passed between Jake and Ryan constantly, Jake never knowing where this particular complaint situation was up to, and Ryan constantly off work due to illness or a car accident or whatever. Finally, after we mentioned going to the Motor Ombudsman for the breach in our rights (Right to Repair or Replacement, Consumer Rights Act 2015) and the completely awful experience we have had with Century, Ryan said he could arrange with an RAC rep to cover the £120 fee for the emissions/ exhaust sensor. I mean, we still had to contact Phoenix on their behalf as Ryan tried ringing them a few times one afternoon before promptly giving up - so we arranged the quote to be sent to him. FINALLY, at least, (we thought) we had gotten some gesture of resolution from the dealership who sold the faulty car in the first place, even if Jake was insistent that this was the only piece of work they would fund (despite again, not being aware of the full situation and not even being the one talking to the RAC rep). WELL, the car was collected from Phoenix Motors on Tuesday (25th October 2022), and despite their efforts, the exact same problem STILL exists in the turbo you claimed to have replaced. It cannot drive up hills without creating long tails of traffic behind - the car is too heavy without a functioning turbo to drive in the area in which we live. I rang and I told you, and you said I should put it in writing: therefore, as it is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold, I am officially demanding my money back. You can have the car back, but as it is still faulty, it is still at the garage in Mexborough and, I would argue, much safer for you as a garage to collect, than for me to drive. Please return the £2899 that I paid (/wasted) on this car within 30 days, to the original payment card. I have a right to reject within the first six months, and this is me formally exercising that right - I reject this vehicle on the grounds that it was faulty on the day you sold it. Since I have had the vehicle in a garage longer than I have even been able to use it, I will refute any deductions to the price I paid. Let me know if you need any information for the refund. I will let Phoenix Motors know once you have refunded me and you can then arrange to transport the vehicle back to your property. Sincerely, (Alex) Cole Dalton