My well dodgy disco....

I originally wrote on this forum months ago regarding my disco....

I bought it in May and within an hour the central locking had gone on the drivers side, then the gears became difficult to engage, the fog lights didn't work, nor did the side lights nor did the front headlight washers.

I had to brake sharply one day and there was this shuddering and then the ABS, TC and hill decent lights came on and haven't gone off since.

The battery now won't hold charge and there is a whirring noise come from the diesel tank...when will it ever end!!!

Well, after numerous emails and phone calls (and my husband went down there and hand delivered a sales of goods act letter, but no one was in) we finally got through to someone at Langford Garage in Maldon and this is the letter i recieved back.

Dear Caroline,

I have read your letter and can offer the following

Look at the gears and rectify the problem

Rectify the ABS fault

Rectify the Traction Control Fault

Rectify the HDC Fault

Our warranty we provide is 3 months engine and gearbox with a claim limit
of £750, im happy to honour the above even though the warranty has expired
and the above items are not covered

We can investigate the other issues but would not be able to pay for the
repairs however we can offer a trade price if you wanted them done by our
land rover specialist

I suspect the whirring noise would be the fuel pump or blocked fuel filter,
washers will be the pipes in the bumper blocked, battery will need
relacing, fog lamps will be switch, fuse, or bulbs and the central locking
is a common fault on discovery and the parts are aprrox £40

If you agree with this then please contact us and we can book your vehicle
in

Kind Regards

Langford Garage






My issue is, I don't know what to say in reply. Do i accept his offer or am I entitled to a lot more?
I also live along way from the garage so getting down there would be a problem.

Any advice would be much appreciated...thanks guys

BBC - The One Show - Consumer Blog: Don't be fobbed off: Sale of Goods Act - letter download

That link might prove handy. IIRC in the actual show they used a Ford Focus as an example of how this might be used.

Please bear in mind that I am no lawyer

hiya,
Yeah this is the place I downloaded my sales of goods act letter from, it appears that after getting that they finally answered our calls!
Now I'm not sure what to do, take the offer or fight for more? Am I entitled to more?
I don't want these cowboys to get away with fobbing me off....
Callie
x

the Q yu have to ask yourself is.... was it "fit for purpose" if the answer is "no" then contact Trading Standards and ask their advice.

Yup, it's gone beyond what a Landrover forum can tell you and is in the realms of consumer advice and possible litigation.

I'd contact CAB (Consumer Advice Bureau and Trading Standards for good advice.

The Mad Hat Man said:

the Q yu have to ask yourself is.... was it "fit for purpose" if the answer is "no" then contact Trading Standards and ask their advice.

Click to expand...

shirly the question should be "why the feck has it taken you this long"

if so many faults were obvious so soon

Sean said:

shirly the question should be "why the feck has it taken you this long"

if so many faults were obvious so soon

Click to expand...

They have only just now after sending a sales of goods act letter in August answered our calls. My husband has been down to the garage which is over 200 miles away and the manager "wasn't in".

We've tried every way possible to get in touch with the right people at that garage but have been hitting our heads against a brick wall.

I'll call trading standards today and get some more advice....
Thanks guys

i suspect this is going to be a fight

hopefully you will have a pile of documentation showing that you have been in contact with the garage as soon as the issues occurred, which i assume were within the warranty period ? - sending letters by recorded (and therefore signed for) delivery is proof of their receipt

i also hope you've not actually been using the vehicle, if you have be prepared to start fending off the "it's just fair usage" argument

we've only had the one side of this tail - and from their letter i don't think the garage is being unreasonable

if i was you i would take what they are offering. I have just been to court for a similar case and the judge dismissed the claim in favour of the business, it seems a very very difficult and long process to go through, you will end up paying more money in court costs and other things than what it would probably cost to repair the vehicle and dont forget the defendant can choose to have the court hearing closer to them so you will have to travel there also. To be honest they are being VERY fair, perhaps a lot more than a lot of garages would be. Take what they are offering is my advice.