Julie

Wolf in sheeps clothing ! Beware

Rob is a great guy , friendly and helpful. However I bought the car under distance selling rights. At first the car was great . I bought a new rubber mat for it £50 , seat belt clips and filled it with fuel. However within 7 days and covering less than 50 miles on start up the car belched out plumes of black smoke and smelt of burning. I was horrified as the car had been supplied with a garage conducted AA inspection. I rang Rob about returning the car and I said I could drive it back as I knew it was my responsibility to return it under the regulations however I was concerned that more damage might be done to the engine. I also had £50 worth of petrol in the car. Rob said that under the circumstances he would pick it up . He said he would give me a full refund once they had checked that I had not removed any parts from the car . As if ! When it came to my refund they deducted the cost of mileage from my house to the garage two ways even though they actually collected it from Lidl , which is much closer. A transporter would not be able to negotiate our narrow lane. I have tried reasoning with the garage owner. Rob was clear I would get a full refund and I accept deductions for one way but I was happy to drive it back on the understanding that if it caused any damage I would not be responsible so Rob said no it’s ok they will collect instead. I drove it to Lidl with all the windows open due to the fumes coming off the engine .mThe pick up driver smelt the fumes and said it’s because they have to put so many things on the engines to get it through the emissions test that it knackers the engine . When the car got back to the garage they confirmed that no parts had been removed so expected a full refund minus the mileage costs one way. They said that their mechanic had found no problems with the engine so I had to pay both ways which wasn’t agreed at all. I could have driven it back with my full tank of fuel. From that point my emails were ignored. I have asked to use an alternative dispute resolution but they are not members of any!. It has cost me £246 plus the bits I ordered for the car for one weeks use of a car which lasted for 54.2 miles before having a blow out! I was told I would receive a further AA report on the car proving it was ok. . Needless to say that never showed up and in any case was irrelevant to the arrangements made for pickup. If the car hadn’t been smoking black I would still own it . So Beware ! 14 day return sounds like a nice safety blanket when buying a used car but it depends on the integrity of the garage . I’m just glad it developed a major problem with 7 days or I’d have a major headache and repair bill . Purchasers of cars from this garage are offered a draw to win a box of wine for their reviews . So the good reviews on here are probably suspect. I bet I don’t win the wine …..