Hi all, first time posting, I'd like to get some advice please.
We bought a second hand car from a dealership 3 days ago, at the dealership just before leaving the place, the car developed a rattle, when asked the manager about it, he called his mechanic who stated that it could be a loose heat shield or an exhaust leak, no big issue according to him and ask us to bring it back for repair a few days later, we left the dealership.
The next day we went shopping and the car started to act weirdly, the battery light, the handbrake light and the Abs light turned on and off several times, the automatic gearbox was not going smoothly as it was the day before, and even getting stuck in one gear, the driver's window go stuck going up having to manually pull it up, and the Aircon stopped working. After all this issues we went driving back to the dealership just to be told that the repairs would not be done there and gave us a number of his mechanic for us to ring and book a repair.
Today we went to turn the car on and it was dead, dead battery. We contact the dealership again, went personally there to be told again to book the mechanic. We got to speak with the mechanic who said he'll arrange a tow truck to pick the car up, which didn't happened and when we call back he said he didn't know when the tow truck would come.
The dealership gave us a three year free warranty, and stated that all cars are "mechanically worshopped" but after all this issues just two days after purchased, what can we do, ask for a refund? If the car is going to be this troublesome, can we trust this three year warranty? Is the alternator, I'm guessing is one of the issues, something they should have checked, as a car with a faulty charging system is not roadworthy? Sorry for the long text, I hope we can get some guidance. Thanks in advance
This is not part of a road worthy check. A faulty alternator would not make a car unroadworthy.
Some of your symptoms may be because of the failing battery. If the car has sat on the lot of some time and not started often, it can kill the battery.
It's a shit situation to be in, but let the mechanic have a look at it. Don’t bullshit to them and make stuff up just so it looks worse than it is, just give them the exact details. Give them a chance to at least have a go at fixing the car. Your rights under ACL is that they have the right to offer you a repair, replacement or a refund. You, as the consumer, do not get to pick this in most cases (usually until legal intervention and multiple repair attempts.)
My advice is, at least get the mechanic to look at it. Keep a log of every time it fails and what it happening. Log it. Write it down. If the issues persist after a few tries, then start going down the "I want a refund" route.
Another note is that the 3 year warranty isnt worth the paper it is printed on. Do NOT rely on it in the future. It will only cover certain parts and certain values or work "up to" a certain amount. BUT! All is not lost, as there is a statutory warranty that dealers/motor traders have to give you, and it is usually something like 3 months or 5000km (unless the car is over a certain age/km.)
And don’t forget… "Document Everything". Phone calls, times, what was said and by whom. Any faults and what happens. Any work carried out and what was done and what was said to you.