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[BazaJT]

Step daughters Meriva finished up at a local Halfords Autocentre[only garage locally who have an account with the warranty company-even though Vx dealer said they had but didn't]they've been in touch with her today to say the engine is totalled and for them to fit a recon engine would come to £2,000+ of which the warranty company would pay £500.She's now going to get in touch with the sales place she got it from,so whether that proves fruitful or not remains to be seen.Halfords also reported to her that the engine had been apart at least once before now.She's not a happy bunny

[dave the builder]

sorry to hear that , expected as much though
To be honest Mr Baza , the car sounds like a lemon 
the lemon has been passed about ,but no one wants to work on it (too complicated for the parts fitters and tyre monkeys at Vauxhall or Halfrauds )
I would use ,and quote the information you have been given by the "experts"  at Halfrauds
who said " that the engine had been apart at least once before now" and "the engine is totaled"
go back to the car supermarket or seller and demand a full refund plus reasonable costs ,with the threat of legal action ,if it is not settled promptly

[Sir Tigger KC]

What a basteward. 

Seems that going for a full refund from the Car Supermarket is the way to go, but also look at restitution from the finance company as depending on what type of finance agreement she has, there may be protection of some kind under the Consumer Credit Act. 

Ultimately the finance company bought the car, so she may be able to throw the car back and get the finance agreement cancelled and refunded her deposit and payments so far. 

She would probably benefit from professional legal advice. 

[dave the builder]

Good point Sir Tig about the finance being partly responsible 
or, if the deposit or payment was via credit card (over £100 minimum) you could get the CC company to resolve it "Under section 75, in certain circumstances, the provider of credit is equally liable with the provider of goods or services in cases where there has been misrepresentation or a breach of contract"

[BazaJT]

I truly feel sorry for her as she's tried to improve things for herself by buying a newer[albeit a 12 plate]and supposedly more reliable vehicle only for this lot to happen.I've told her that if she gets no joy from car supermarket she got it from to try the finance company and also to see Citizens Advice who might be able to point her in the right direction to-hopefully-get this resolved to her satisfaction.

[Sir Tigger KC]

At the end of the day buying any used car is a gamble, whether it's 12 months old or 12 years old. 

[STEMO]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173

[BazaJT]

Very true Sir Tig,I'll pass that link on to her Stemo

[BazaJT]

She finally received an e-mail from the seller[she described it as a"snotty"reply all done in capital letters,basically saying it was nothing to do with them and disclaiming any responsibility.So she got in touch with finance company[forwarding a copy of the e-mail from the seller]and they've said they'll get in touch with the seller to get something sorted as it's within 6mths of purchase.So now awaiting next instalment.

[Enceladus]

It also highlights the real value of the so-called warranties that folks are persuaded to buy. £500 to get the engine replaced in any car is just unrealistic, would it even cover the labour? So there are shed loads of compulsory excess, wear and tear deductions and the like that have been deducted.

[aaronjb]

It also highlights the real value of the so-called warranties that folks are persuaded to buy. £500 to get the engine replaced in any car is just unrealistic, would it even cover the labour? So there are shed loads of compulsory excess, wear and tear deductions and the like that have been deducted.

Was sitting in front of a second hand dealer the other day, discussing the 2007 Mini (1.6, automatic) they had for sale..

"All our cars come with 3 months warranty" *hands me the brochure, starts waxing lyrical about how great the cover is and how we can pay for 12 months or 36 months additional warranty*
I looked at the warranty info and underneath the heading it says "For cars under 10 years old"

Errmm..

[Doctor Gollum]

Doesn't make it illegal to sell it... Morally however 

Also another reason not to finance stuff as that £500 becomes nearer £800 with interest... Better instead to have a working fund to cover 3-6 months expenses and cover things as they crop up.

[dave the builder]

So what's the story with the Meriva Mr Baza 
I see from another thread,they have still not sorted the engine 

[BazaJT]

Finance company finally sent an assessor out to look at the car who said there was silicone all round the water pump and some kind of white residue in the sump.Decision was taken to send the head off to be skimmed/pressure tested and this was duly done and the claim case was closed before the head had even been returned.Head sorted and given clean bill of health and Halfords rebuilt everything and found engine still loosing all its coolant in seconds!.She got in touch with Citizens advice with copies of e-mails etc and they told her she could reject the car,so she got in touch with finance company and told them that's what she wanted to do.They then told her they'd re-opened the case,but she should have taken the car to somewhere in Derby and not to the local Halfords[this after the warranty company had told her to take it to Halfords] and that as they'd re-opened the case they now had until the end of June to get it fixed :oThey put it out to tender for someone to transport it from here to Derby and she had to give the vendor a chance to rectify it,although they'd virtually washed their hands of it in the first place.Since then the car is still at the local Halfords as only one transport quote has been received.She's been and removed all her personal stuff from the car,spoken to someone at the finance company and told them she doesn't want it back[this person agreed that she was perfectly within her rights to reject it]and has cancelled the monthly payments for it.So that's where we are with it at present,car broke down December and it's now middle of May and still it drags on Meanwhile she still has my V70,it's a good job I've been in a position to lend her a vehicle as there's no way she can get to work without a vehicle[public transport doesn't go near where she works at the times she needs to be there.

[dave the builder]

The finance company should have refunded in full and pursued the vendor and warranty company,though it sounds like they have not bothered doing much at all to get the repairs sorted  .
meanwhile,your Step daughter has been paying for 6 months for a car she has never used,out of pocket the deposit  and I assume insurance costs
And your volvo will be worn out 
It sounds like no party is doing anything to resolve it
Maybe now the finance company is not getting paid, they will pull their finger out

It sounds like a total nightmare 
does the legal protection of the insurance policy cover such problems