Bought a car today... Having Problems Already

[ianglanister]

Well i bought a mk3 astra today on a R reg 1997 1400 ls engine, 17s side skirts,tints and big bore exhaust. anyway while at the garage i checked all usual stuff including the oil filler cap and all was fine now i drove it home approx 7 miles and got home to check again and it was all creamy and used alot of water to get home i spoke to the garage and they are not interested as they said its nothing to do with them now. however on the advert it said just serviced now a mate mechanic looked over to confirm the head has gone and said there is no chance its had a service. Will i have a leg to stand on with trading standards( there involved ringing back tomorrow) as they lied in the advert etc any help appreciated!!
ian p.s Pics tomorrow in the light...

[Sloth]

short answer yes

long answer yes but did you get a recipt, and does it say sold as seen?

[ianglanister]

this is the thing as it was a garage they said they can not just write a normal reciept out it has to be on a headed letter etc and they had no toner in the photocopier so i was suposed to pick one up tomorrow but on the forms etc i signed it didnt say anything like 'sold as seen' and trading standards have said due to the being a trading garage they can not sell a car sold as seen they have to give minimum 1 month warrenty.

[Nobby]

trading standards have said due to the being a trading garage they can not sell a car sold as seen they have to give minimum 1 month warrenty.

well theres your answer matey!

[muzzy]

Go back to the garage and tell them you want the head gasket replaced and a full service carried out because it was claimed in the advert that it had just had a service which it hasnt and a head gasket failure wasnt mentioned.

IMO a garage should not be selling a vehicle with that sort of fault.

Whether or not they will take you on is another thing but you have trading standards to back you up on this. Make sure you get some sort of receipt of sale from the garage as well.

[chimp007_uk]

Sold as seen means absolutely nout.

It has to be fit for purpose, whether it's secondhand or new. Speak to trading standards.

As its a garage, they are more responsible than a private seller. I had a similar issue with my golf, the dual mass went on it a week after buying it. The garage was a ****er and i had to take him through small claims court. There was loads of things going wrong and still not sorted.

At the time i couldn't afford the £250 court fees so dropped the case and just resorted to harrassing him for a few months.

Don't let them get away, but it's not easy with older vehicles.

[ianglanister]

Thanks For The Advice Chrimp007_uk well my parents (payed half towards the car) are persuing it and they now have 10 days to respond to our e-mails and letter sending(told to by T.S) and if not trading standards will take it futher but im in the same boat now i have a car which i cant take my daughter out in which aint good!! anyways will get some pics up later. I will even show you all the engine which it says on the advert DOES NOT LEAK OIL which when you see the pics you will see it clearly does which i knew was the rocker cover gasker as ive had the problem before but knew they were only couple quid

[Will F]

On all purchases (private or otherwise - moreso from a garage) you have a 2 week, no quibble warrenty that covers the basics.

They should cover the costs or at least fix it for free matey.

With garages you have much more of a chance tbh.

[ianglanister]

ye well i just hope they do. for the full service and head done been quoted approx 3-400 pounds is that about right? id rather they just pay for it to be fixed as i know they wouldnt do a proper job of it if i let them do it and i do like the car to be honest and if they did do the work i wouldnt be happy with it. will get pics up very shortly
cheers again

[ianglanister]

Right the pictures of the car are below-
On the garage website they have these following statements:
Free parts and labour warranty
We meticulously prepare all the vehicles ourselves before they are put up for retail sale.
On the advert it also says-
Just Fitted 4 x New Tyres- the front clearly are not brand new
Service, & Valet-No chance its had a service and i told them not to valet as i can do it better myself
Very Well Maintained- Not a chance
Doesn't Knock Smoke Or Leak Oil- doesnt knock but does leak oil just look at the pictures. if they maintain their vehicles before put on retail sale there wouldnt be one headlight bulb out and one brake light bulb would there.
Anyways here's the pics
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0035.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0036.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0037.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0038.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0039.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0033.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i218/demondriver12345/PICT0034.jpg

Cheers for all advice again!!

[Will F]

Unless you have in writing that your purchase doesnt conform to their 'rules' (sold as seen - no warrenty implied etc) then they havent got a leg to stand on - Trading standards would have a field day!