09 car wont start... can i get an exchange/refund?

hi guys, a friend of mine bought a 09 passat today as part of a trade in, he gave them his 05 golf and added the rest in cash. he took it for a test drive and everything was in order. He laft the dealers in his panky new car. He then went to a garage filled it with petrol and drove to work, after an hour or so in work he went out to the car and it wouldnt start. He knows a bit about cars and could generally tell what might be wrong, but he was at a loss. He rand the dealer who sent out a mecanic, who couldnt get it started either when he arrived, the car ended up been towed away at about 10 tonight.
My question is that is he entitled to a diferent car, as he feels if this one needs repairs to it then it will plummet in value dispite the fact he has owned it for less than 5 hours and has driven about 5km in it? As a consumer can he not demand a different car as they sold him a product that is not in the condition he was under the impression it was when he paid for it?
if anyone could get back to me by the morning it would be great...
thanks a million

Silly question -- any danger he put in the wrong fuel?

thats the first thing i said to him myself... angrily he replied no

I think he'll have to give the dealer a chance to fix it under warranty first. A warranty fix won't necessarily impact the value.

Given the situation I'd certainly be insisting that the dealer provide a comparable courtesy car at their expense until the matter is sorted.

Eventually you can reject a car as not of merchantable quality but there is a way to go to that stage yet.

SSE

dub_nerd said:

Silly question -- any danger he put in the wrong fuel?

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Any chance he got dirty petrol. Happened by brother as Christmas in an 08 Car. He drove it about 2km home and then it won't start when he went back out to the car. Had to be towed to the garage for repair.

Times must be hard then you don't get a full tank, when you buy a new car :~)

He's entitled to a fully working car and the dealer should have some chance to repair it.

If it can't be fixed, or if a major overhaul is required such that the value of the car is diminished, there may be a case for refund or replacement

However, if this wasn't offerred voluntarily, you would have to go the legal route. The small claims court wouldn't deal with items of this high value.

Shows how bad the cars are nowdays.

I myself suffered a similar problem, with Opel. Mine failed after 3500, and both Opel and the garage left me stranded all christmas. And had no replacment car for 3 days. Opel did not care.

Ask for a replacment car. Look up the warranty. Ask for a full report on what happened. Your contract is with the garage. Dont be shy about naming the garage who sold you the rubbish.

okay guys,
i was just on to my mate, they have given him a 06 golf to drive whilst they have the car. He is not happy about it at all, rightfully so imho. When he gets the car back even if it is in full working order should he have rights to some sort of compensation? he has paid for a 09 passat and he's driving around in a 3 year old golf... i'd be looking for some sort of renumeration for the inconvenience, i don't know maybe the tax partially paid for or something like that?

He can ask for compensation but I don't think he's entitled to it.

Anytime you leave a car in for repair/service you get something else to drive which you might not necessarily choose but it's only for a couple of days. Unfortunately for your friend, this repair was needed sooner rather than later but the same principle applies.

If it was for a much longer period howver (e.g. 2 weeks/a month) that would be diifferent and might justify asking for a refund.

BTW, any chance he could get his old car back while he's waiting? This would simplify matters if it turns out he wants a refund and the deal cancelled.

The dealer will fix it.

positivenote said:

When he gets the car back even if it is in full working order should he have rights to some sort of compensation? he has paid for a 09 passat and he's driving around in a 3 year old golf... i'd be looking for some sort of renumeration for the inconvenience

Click to expand...

Remuneration for what? They didn't leave him getting taxis and buses to get around. He has a car while the other one is getting fixed. I must admit, however, I would also be less than pleased with a first day failure in a new car.

What is the update on the car?
Is it fixed?
What was wrong?