A. R

Pre-purchase service???

I bought a Volvo V60 from John. After 100 miles, the battery still was not re-charged. John paid for a new battery. There were some rattles too, so I took the car to my garage to check the car over: auxiliary fan belt cracked, rear brakes needed replacing, top suspension mounting broken (this had led to a failed MOT before because of “dangerous defect”). John’s advert had said “service” before purchase. After many emails John sent me the requested details of the “service” he had done: oil filter, alloy wheels. The car was 10 years old, 67k. John’s service (no name of garage) would not fulfil manufacturer’s service requirements. The last service document before the sale of the car to John mentioned that timing belt and brakes would need doing/checking. Not cheap. Neither of them featured in John’s service. John pointed to the fresh MOT with regards to brakes. I checked the website and reviews of this MOT garage – just around the corner from Kilkenny’s. John has an advert on their website. I also checked their registration details in Companies House. It did not inspire confidence. I checked Kilkenny’s details on the Companies House website: a peculiar history of starting and dissolving car dealerships. After quite a few emails and my insisting on knowing the details of the garage he would use for fitting a new timing belt, John paid a “good will contribution” (his words). The work was eventually done at my local garage. I am not sure that I appreciate a cavalier attitude to safety – the AA jumps in after something has happened, the warranty cover may/may not cover a fault after it has become apparent and caused damage (doesn’t cover brakes!), his preferred MOT garage missed the brakes... and the broken top suspension mounting which happened to play up a week after purchase (and John happened to have the spare part on hand – he does not run a garage).