Just bought a 1.4 petrol...advice needed!

Mihai

Member
Hello! After mulling over and eventually deciding against a 1.6 FSI with some potential big problems (https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/newbie-with-1-6-fsi-sport-soon.40711/ - thanks to the wonderful help from members who replied to that thread!!), I decided finally to go with a 1.4 petrol, for the sake of simplicity and looking for an A2 that could be my reliable everyday car more or less.

I went to Southampton and found this very tidy looking Sport example, with a decent spec including climate control, rear parking sensor, DIS, audi concert. Convinced by an AA endorsed dealership, full service history (invoice for recent cam belt change and otherwise just stamps in the service book), last MOT with no advisories, and with a growing impatience to have an A2, I agreed to pay a quite high price for a 1.4, which also included a 3 star AA warranty.


After arriving back to London I took the car to a VAG independent to have a look under it, and what we found was quite depressing: among other things, o/s/f break hose insecure & rubbing on shock, o/s/f coil spring fitted incorrectly & top mount corroded badly, n/s/f shock absorber leaking, not to mention corroded exhaust system and - most ridiculous of all - wrong tyre fitted on one of the wheels. It seems that I would have to spend a lot of money only to get through the MOT which is due next month, and much more to actually keep it in a good shape. (the list continues with rear springs corroded, hand break not holding correctly and so on).

My question is, apart from getting a bad deal, is there any legal recourse I have to ask the dealer to pay for the repairs, or give me a full refund? I know it's a 17 year old car and a lot of things will need changing, but my understanding is that it's simply not roadworthy at the moment. To be honest, if I can get him to do the repairs I would quite like to keep it, driving back from Southampton was a pleasure, the 1.4 is nippier than I expected, I like the interior, the sports seats, and the exterior is extremely clean. However, I would have never paid that much for it had I known the issues.

Any advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated!


 
The dealer who sold you that car does servicing and MoTs. Take the car straight back to Southampton with all the original paperwork and a copy of your recent report, tell the dealer that the car was very clearly sold in an unroadworthy condition, and that you expect him to sort it out or refund you.

Because you paid by bank transfer your legal options are very restricted unless your local trading standards officer or the AA are prepared to get involved.

Given that the car passed its last 2 MoTs with no advisories, either those MoTs were dodgy, or the last owner took all the good bits off before he sold the car on.

If you find you are stuck with the car, all the problems are fixable. You could take the opportunity to switch to standard suspension if the springs and shocks need replacing
 
Hi nice looking car, it had an MOT till July 2020 with no advisories, did it go down hill fast in the last month or are you saying the MOT wasn’t legit, was the MOT done by the trader you bought the car from?
 
Hi nice looking car, it had an MOT till July 2020 with no advisories, did it go down hill fast in the last month or are you saying the MOT wasn’t legit, was the MOT done by the trader you bought the car from?
Thank you! Yes, that's true, it's until July 2020 (I was looking at the wrong MOT certificate and thought the next one will be due next month). I only bought the car a week ago, and I assume the last MOT was done by the dealer, in July. So I find it very hard to understand how it went from no advisories, to what the recent inspection revealed. The wrong tyre alone should've been a failure.
 
Thank you! Yes, that's true, it's until July 2020 (I was looking at the wrong MOT certificate and thought the next one will be due next month). I only bought the car a week ago, and I assume the last MOT was done by the dealer, in July. So I find it very hard to understand how it went from no advisories, to what the recent inspection revealed. The wrong tyre alone should've been a failure.

The last two MoTs were done on 16 October 2018 and 12 July this year.. You appear to have both those MoT certificates. What shows as the location on those? If you don't have either of the certificates, you can look up the locations on the government website.
 
The last two MoTs were done on 16 October 2018 and 12 July this year.. You appear to have both those MoT certificates. What shows as the location on those? If you don't have either of the certificates, you can look up the locations on the government website.
Yes, I have both and they were both done buy Saleks Motors Ltd in Southampton.
 
At this distance, you're going to have little joy determining whether the last 2 MoTs done by Saleks were dodgy or whether the car was subsequently stripped of recently fitted parts.

If you use the car whilst any claim against the seller is unresolved, you are forfeiting that claim as a consequence. Take the car back to Southampton with all the original paperwork and tell the dealer you expect him to either make the car roadworthy or refund you as soon as possible -that is the only way forward with this that I can see.
 
https://www.theaa.com/cars/news/ind...ctions-and-the-consumer-rights-act-12002.html

'Recent changes to the Consumer Rights Act introduced in October 2015 now make it even more important for car dealerships to ensure that their second-hand cars have been through a comprehensive testing process and are up to scratch before being sold.

When you buy a used car from an AA Cars approved dealer you can be confident in the knowledge that it won’t let you down. Our rigorous Vehicle Inspections process means that buyers can trust that their new vehicle has the seal of approval from the nation’s most established roadside assistance company.

With a 128 point comprehensive testing programme which includes all of the essentials such as tyres, steering, suspension and brakes, plus a whole host of other checks, buying a car with an AA inspection through AA Cars is a decision you won’t regret.

How do the changes affect consumers?

The changes to the Consumer Rights Act make it much easier for customers to legally return faulty products for a refund within 30 days. This means that customers who buy used cars and experience problems within the first month are eligible by law to return the car to the dealer in exchange for a full refund. These changes give buyers much more power and mean that it’s even more essential that your vehicles are in a fully safe working condition when sold on, to avoid any costly refunds further down the line.

How do the changes affect dealers?

The new changes affect used car dealers because it makes it now even more important that used cars are 100% in perfect condition when sold. Dealers who work with a reputable company like AA Cars will be able to assure their customers that they won’t experience any problems with their new vehicle and won’t have to resolve any issues with faulty vehicles.

The changes mean that as a dealer you will be legally obliged to give a full refund, although you do have the option to offer a repair, but it is up to the customer to decide whether to accept. Working in unison with a company like AA Cars means that your dealership will benefit from all vehicles being given the trusted AA seal of approval, giving both you and the customer confidence in the vehicles’ condition. To find out more about our testing process, check out our Vehicle Inspections page.
 
https://www.theaa.com/cars/news/ind...ctions-and-the-consumer-rights-act-12002.html

'Recent changes to the Consumer Rights Act introduced in October 2015 now make it even more important for car dealerships to ensure that their second-hand cars have been through a comprehensive testing process and are up to scratch before being sold.

When you buy a used car from an AA Cars approved dealer you can be confident in the knowledge that it won’t let you down. Our rigorous Vehicle Inspections process means that buyers can trust that their new vehicle has the seal of approval from the nation’s most established roadside assistance company.

With a 128 point comprehensive testing programme which includes all of the essentials such as tyres, steering, suspension and brakes, plus a whole host of other checks, buying a car with an AA inspection through AA Cars is a decision you won’t regret.

How do the changes affect consumers?

The changes to the Consumer Rights Act make it much easier for customers to legally return faulty products for a refund within 30 days. This means that customers who buy used cars and experience problems within the first month are eligible by law to return the car to the dealer in exchange for a full refund. These changes give buyers much more power and mean that it’s even more essential that your vehicles are in a fully safe working condition when sold on, to avoid any costly refunds further down the line.

How do the changes affect dealers?

The new changes affect used car dealers because it makes it now even more important that used cars are 100% in perfect condition when sold. Dealers who work with a reputable company like AA Cars will be able to assure their customers that they won’t experience any problems with their new vehicle and won’t have to resolve any issues with faulty vehicles.

The changes mean that as a dealer you will be legally obliged to give a full refund, although you do have the option to offer a repair, but it is up to the customer to decide whether to accept. Working in unison with a company like AA Cars means that your dealership will benefit from all vehicles being given the trusted AA seal of approval, giving both you and the customer confidence in the vehicles’ condition. To find out more about our testing process, check out our Vehicle Inspections page.

Thanks for that. I had encouraged the OP both last Friday and again in this thread to involve the AA, and this definitely backs that approach up.
 
Thank you for the advice!! I am going back to Southampton as soon as I can free myself in the next few days and either getting him to sort out the car (would be my preferred solution) or a full refund. Knowing the Consumer Rights Act and having the possibility to contact and complain to the AA should give me enough leverage to get a positive outcome from this so far unpleasant transaction.

Meanwhile, I have a few more questions as I get to know my A2.

MPG: Once I arrived back in London I reset my average consumption, and drove it around for a few days, until taking it to the garage and getting all that bad news. Admittedly, this is London and the traffic conditions are mostly awful, with a lot of stopping and starting, and I live on a hill, but even driving on fairly free A roads, the average mpg didn't go over 30. Is this normal, or should the engine be performing better? Is it to do with the bad state of the exhaust?

Vanity mirrors: There seem to be fittings for vanity mirror lights, however they don't work. Does that mean they were not actually an option, or do they just need repairs/replacing?

Rear parking sensor: I was told when I took the car for the inspection that the rear parking sensors are "not safe". To me they seem to beep correctly, and furthermore I don't really rely on parking sensors, especially with the A2 it's so easy to "feel" where the car ends. But out of curiosity, is it complicated and costly to get them checked and replace the faulty ones? Also, the display has been dangling as the old glue didn't hold, I wonder if you had any suggestions what adhesive to use to glue it securely to the roof liner (sorry this last question is very basic...but I am thinking it should be something strong enough, but not so strong that it would damage the roof lining, should I ever have to remove it).
 
I get a minimum of 34 miles per gallon round central London with my 1.4 petrol. It’s just had a refurbished cylinder head fitted by @depronman, before that I was getting high 20’s
On long runs I can hit the high 50’s now.
 
The vanity mirror lights should work as you slide the covers off the mirrors, but I've found they only work at a certain range of angles of the sunvisor. If they're fitted they should work, but it's possible that the original sunvisors have been replaced by ones that came from a car without the optional lighting to go with them. If you undo the screw and remove the sunvisor from the hinge end there should be an electrical connector.

The OEM rear parking sensors didn't have any form of display, so I suspect you have an aftermarket setup. A picture of your rear bumper would confirm that.
 
As far as I can see you have 3 options, 1, talk to trading standards forward them you indy report, see if they'll help resolve the issue especially as car deemed dangerous by indy report, 2, Go back to the dealer ask for a refund if that's what you want, if they get shirty threaten small claims court, its easy and you probably could claim all cost from the dealer, 3 Contact the AA and ask them for their opinion and insist they inspect the car to back up your indy report. after all they've inspected the garage for good standards.
 
Hello! After mulling over and eventually deciding against a 1.6 FSI with some potential big problems (https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/newbie-with-1-6-fsi-sport-soon.40711/ - thanks to the wonderful help from members who replied to that thread!!), I decided finally to go with a 1.4 petrol, for the sake of simplicity and looking for an A2 that could be my reliable everyday car more or less.

I went to Southampton and found this very tidy looking Sport example, with a decent spec including climate control, rear parking sensor, DIS, audi concert. Convinced by an AA endorsed dealership, full service history (invoice for recent cam belt change and otherwise just stamps in the service book), last MOT with no advisories, and with a growing impatience to have an A2, I agreed to pay a quite high price for a 1.4, which also included a 3 star AA warranty.


After arriving back to London I took the car to a VAG independent to have a look under it, and what we found was quite depressing: among other things, o/s/f break hose insecure & rubbing on shock, o/s/f coil spring fitted incorrectly & top mount corroded badly, n/s/f shock absorber leaking, not to mention corroded exhaust system and - most ridiculous of all - wrong tyre fitted on one of the wheels. It seems that I would have to spend a lot of money only to get through the MOT which is due next month, and much more to actually keep it in a good shape. (the list continues with rear springs corroded, hand break not holding correctly and so on).

My question is, apart from getting a bad deal, is there any legal recourse I have to ask the dealer to pay for the repairs, or give me a full refund? I know it's a 17 year old car and a lot of things will need changing, but my understanding is that it's simply not roadworthy at the moment. To be honest, if I can get him to do the repairs I would quite like to keep it, driving back from Southampton was a pleasure, the 1.4 is nippier than I expected, I like the interior, the sports seats, and the exterior is extremely clean. However, I would have never paid that much for it had I known the issues.

Any advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated!
U

What do call high price out of interest ...? And milage I see is 96k plus on mot history it did have a good few advisories in 2017 ..
 
Last edited:
What do call high price out of interest ...? And milage I see is 96k plus on mot history it did have a good few advisories in 2017 ..

I'm not entirely certain, but I think it was listed on Autotrader at £2800.

All the advisories from 2017 appear to still be present although the car has had two entirely clean MoTs since, so either they were dodgy or the last owner stripped the car of parts before he sold it.

Fortunately, part of that high price covers the AA accreditation and warranty, so I sent the OP two links.

The first is a clear statement of the law as it stands:

The second is a link for support from the AA:

I phoned the number at the bottom of the page to confirm that they would indeed follow up on complaints.

AA accredited dealers are expected to comply fully with the terms of the 2015 Consumer Rights Act, and will back the OP up if he decides he wants a refund within 30 days of the original sale.

Southampton Cars Ltd. sold the car:

From their website I see they also do servicing and MoTs. If the OP trusts them, he should insist that they fix all the identified faults and back their work up with a new MoT showing no advisories. Otherwise he should ask for a refund and take it up with the AA if the dealer seems reluctant.
 
What do call high price out of interest ...? And milage I see is 96k plus on mot history it did have a good few advisories in 2017 ..
It was 2.5k and I assumed that since it had two MOTs with no advisories after that everything would've been taken care of.

Off thread topic but I want to offer as nobody has, sympathy for the rough ride you are having, twice now, into A2 ownership. Hope it all works out in the end.
Thank you, that is very kind! It has been an unnerving experience, however that hasn't put me off in the slightest from wanting to own an A2! It is the first time I buy a car, so I am a good target for dodgy dealers, however that is changing as I am learning more and more (most of it from this forum). When I was living in Romania years ago I used to drive my dad's old Freelander, and then after moving to the UK I drove various rental cars and zipcars, however the uniqueness and character of the A2 have really gripped me and it doesn't compare with anything else!
 
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