Help, Problems with Garage and New Landrover

Please leave out the 'Set it on fire stuff' for this one.

So back in November We got the Freelander. It was running front wheel drive but the garage promised they would fix the 4wd for us the following week. We returned the freelander and they found a cog missing in the rear diff. They put this cog back in and it had 4wd again, However, This caused a lot of vibration at 40 and 60mph. I took it back, they said it was becuase i had knocked the exhaust off going off road (Not true) and it was sitting on the rear diff. But still, The vibration continued. I went back again and was told all was fine.

Eventually, On December the 19th i think, The vibrations get worse and suddenly the whole car starts to shake, I drop it off at the garage on the Saturday (same day) and leave it there. They call me monday and tell me its a wheel bearing, I wait a week, They get a new bairing and call me and say the VCU has gone (something i had told them all along) and that it would cost £90 to replace, they agreed to pay half of the £180 even though i said it was still in the 2 month warenty they offered. But i paid the £90 just to keep them happy.

I wait over 6 weeks for them to find a replacement VCU, Drop off the car monday, They call me yesterday and tell me the replacement is broken but they have another to try. They just called me today and told me it was not just the VCU that was broken. Apparently the transfer box is nackered and i have to pay another £500 to have this fixed. On a car i have owned for 3 months and that has only been 4wheel drive for 3-4 weeks of this, it has gone 'off road' once, and by offroad i mean i drove over flat wet grass to park in a national trust grass car park.

So where do i stand, I now have a Heavy, inneffecent hatchback with no resale value. What should i do? :doh: Does the sales of goods act work in my favour here?

(Serious suggestions please. Excuse the spelling, i am in a bit of a rush at work)

Hi, check out the sticky at the top of this group titled "Sticky: buying a crock of ****!!! - or if you already have!!"

Good luck!

Thanks, I'm stick in an office in central london at the moment, My Dear sweet Mother is going down there armed with a copy the legislation from the crock of **** thread now. She may be in her 60s, But she was the first white woman to start a business in Iran so she is more then versed in the legal side of matters and can handle here own. I am currently waiting for a phone call.

My only beef is that i bought the car becuase it was a 4x4 for £2000. They promised to have the car's 4x4 working fine before i collected it, which they never did. If it does not have 4x4 then it is nothing but an expencive and heavy hatchback. If i wanted that i would of acctually bought a VW golf again and not be spending a fortune on Petrol. In its current state the Lander is of no use to me. Hence why i do not want ownership of it and why i believe it should not have been sold to me.

They are refruising to take it back on grounds that they fixed the original problem by reconnecting the rear diff and that the VCU had gone since, I think that the rear diff had been disconnected becuase of the broken VCU before the car was purchased by the garage (and then sold to us) and that reconnected it caused it to vibrate the way it did until it eventually broke 3 weeks later.

I am dumping it on there forecourt tonight where it shall stay.

just remind them that landrovers are notorious for electrical gremlins, especially ones like fire!!!

as it will be sat on thier forcourt (preferably between something expensive) and its not insured any longer as it is currently off the road due to thier not making good the repairs then it would be a shame for his buisness to go down the pan!!!

then thump him just to get the point home!

Fielder said:

They are refruising to take it back on grounds that they fixed the original problem by reconnecting the rear diff and that the VCU had gone since, I think that the rear diff had been disconnected becuase of the broken VCU before the car was purchased by the garage (and then sold to us) and that reconnected it caused it to vibrate the way it did until it eventually broke 3 weeks later.

I am dumping it on there forecourt tonight where it shall stay.

Click to expand...

Seems to be quite common for Freelanders to be sold in this condition. Almost always to hide a seized VCU. A seized VCU will quite likely have already damaged the diffs and/or the transfer box so all the faults probably existed already - I think they would have to prove otherwise.

Good luck.

If I remember that legislation "fit for purpose" is as seen by the purchaser, and that any faults within a period of time (6 months) is deemed to have been there prior to purchase unless the seller can prove otherwise.