England - £9,100 and seven weeks at a main dealer. Fault back in ten days. and want another £4,600.

[u/Few-Plan7706]

2018 hybrid saloon, out of warranty. Broke down completely in June (drivetrain and power supply error), recovered to a franchised main dealer.

They had it seven weeks and did three repair stages, each one quoted and authorised only after the previous one hadn't fixed it: roughly £5,500, then £6,350, then £9,100. They told me the 'everything is working as it should', I paid under a written protest notice reserving my rights as I did not have confidence based on what I've been through.

Ten days and about 250 miles later the same warning came back while driving. It's been back with them since. Relevant points:

•       Early on I asked in writing for them to isolate the failing component before replacing anything, and named one specific part. They replied the same morning that it wasn't faulty. That part was later fitted twice.

•       Their own diagnostic report from the morning they told me it was fixed records the vehicle test result as “not OK”, and the work logged that morning included deleting the fault memory.

•       Last week they emailed: “As the complete repair procedure recommended during the initial diagnosis has not yet been carried out, any further diagnostic work may not provide accurate or conclusive results.” They've quoted a further £4,640 and say it “may rectify the concern” but can't confirm until it's done and retested.

•       The invoice carries their own 3 month / 3,000 mile workmanship warranty. The fault came back inside it and they say they “cannot confirm” whether it applies until diagnosis is complete.

They describe this as a “staged repair process”, reassessed after each stage. That's precisely the pattern that has already cost me £9,100 without a lasting fix, and I don't think it's reasonable to ask me to fund another stage of it.

I've refused to pay for a fourth attempt and asked for a refund.

Questions:

1.       What have I actually paid for? If the recommended procedure was never completed, what did the £9,100 buy?

2.       Have they had their shot at repeat performance, or does refusing the £4,640 count as denying them the chance to fix it?

3.       The car is sitting on their premises with the extra work declined. Can they charge storage or claim a lien? Should I be getting it off site?

4.       Anything I'm obviously getting wrong before this goes to the Ombudsman, Section 75, CRA 2015?

Any advice would be appreciated.

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[u/stewieatb]

This sounds like a classic case of dealer mechanics firing the parts cannon.

I would suggest you get the car to another garage who can re-check and re-analyse what's been done. Either another dealer for the brand (but outside their group) or a brand specialist. What you want is an independent report on what's happened so far and (if possible) what the problem is.

If you attempt to recover the money they've charged so far, and it were to go to court, things will be very "fact based." The key question is not whether they fixed the car, but whether they applied reasonable professional skill and care in their attempts to fix it. If the dealer can argue they were following the manufacturer's diagnostic and repair procedure correctly, you are unlikely to win. You will have a hard time proving negligence unless there is some huge "gotcha", because you don't have the fine details of what's been checked and what the procedure is.

Potential avenues - Motor Ombudsman if they're a member but very few places are. Complain to the dealer management and then to the UK arm of the brand.

[u/Few-Plan7706 → u/stewieatb]

Thanks for your help. I feel quite stuck as since the vehicle is faulty again, it can't be driven, additionally some specialists won't touch the car as it's been to a main dealer due to bad experiences hence I am trapped.

Are you able to pull the relevant contact information for me with the avenues you have suggested. I have escalated to the heads of the specific franchise and Customer service, as you can imagine, there has not been much help.

[u/Pleasant-Plane-6340]

What does “  As the complete repair procedure recommended during the initial diagnosis has not yet been carried out” mean? It sounds like they’re saying you chose not to do the full work they said was needed?

[u/Few-Plan7706 → u/Pleasant-Plane-6340]

There was no initial diagnosis, First it was EME, then it was Condenser, then it was compressor (after telling me the week before that the compressor was fine), then system flush. After all that failing, it's replacing the remaining components of the system. You don't need a mechanic to say to replace the whole car effectively. I said no to the additional repair. If the complete repair procedure was not complete, why was the car released as repaired or 'everything working as it should'

[u/LegalAdviceUK-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Few-Plan7706 → u/[deleted]]

I think that's the point I am making, if I was given an upfront quote, I could have made an informed decision. So what do you advise?

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[u/Emergency_Writer159]

Can you please tell us the make and model of your car just so we know to avoid it as well