3 buckled wheels - advise

[dannychapman10]

Hey guys,

Had my FL Leon only 2 weeks now, was doing some vinyl today on the front bumper and noticed the passenger front wheel had a buckle in it, took it off and found a nail in the tyre so I took it to Pro Tyre in Devon, they came back to me and said that 3 wheels were buckled and there was damage to the belly panel underneath, so at somepoint, this car has had an accident. I've rang the dealer who says that he wouldn't let a car be sold in that condition and is trying to blame me, I took pictures of the wheel before I had the new tyre put on. I don't know where I stand, I'm not forking out for a set of new wheels, why should I? Any advice, I've contacted Trading Standards and they have helped a little but the wheels aren't the only thing, the car was also sold to me with the airbag light on, I was told it needed "just turning off", further inspection from another garage is that the drivers airbag doesn't work AT ALL? I still want the car, but I refuse to pay for the wheels, advise please guys?

Danny

 

[Fl@pper]

not bought recently was it ? sure I read a thread with some spookily similar faults

as for air bag / accident ? replaced and not control unit ?

i would be doing some serious digging into it's history if I was you - Hpi checked or anything before you shelled out ?

Seat Dealer ? surely not

 

[SteveTDCi]

have you hpi'd the car, if the airbag light is on and 3 wheels are damaged i would probably look at rejecting the car, I would assume with the air bag light being on a fault code would show and that it should give a date ? can you see any other signs of accident repair?

 

[dazjb69]

Hand it back mate, you get something like a month if you're not happy with the car to give it back.

 

[dannychapman10]

The airbag light has been an issue before in 2009 due to paperwork I've found, no other signs of damage, just looks like it's run up a kerb, I'm really happy with the car otherwise, there is no other exterior damage.

Danny.

 

[dannychapman10]

Just HPI'd and the only change was the private reg which I knew about, so it's not subject to any insurance claims, so I will pursue this. I've had it 2 weeks so if nothing is resolved I'll hand it back

Danny

 

[dazjb69]

State fit for purpose and satisfaction of goods and that should get them moving, hope it goes well for you if not then name and shame!

 

[SteveTDCi]

you need to becareful around the fit for purpose, if you are getting use from it then it is fit for purpose, however if it has faults then its substandard goods. Put it all in writting, be plesent and address it to the dealer principle, post it by recorded delivery and give them a time frame that you will give them to repair the faulty parts. I do think you are going to struggle with the wheels but if you can see signs of the being refurbished then you may have a case, i would check the finish on the inside of the wheel for signs of over spray. Get a letter from the tyre fitter and take plenty of pictures and mention the small claims court.

 

[dannychapman10]

you need to becareful around the fit for purpose, if you are getting use from it then it is fit for purpose, however if it has faults then its substandard goods. Put it all in writting, be plesent and address it to the dealer principle, post it by recorded delivery and give them a time frame that you will give them to repair the faulty parts. I do think you are going to struggle with the wheels but if you can see signs of the being refurbished then you may have a case, i would check the finish on the inside of the wheel for signs of over spray. Get a letter from the tyre fitter and take plenty of pictures and mention the small claims court.

The outer of the wheels have been refurbed before I bought the car but there are marks on the inside, would this help me? I'll have a better look tomorrow but so far to say, am pi@@ed off tbh!

Danny

 

[SteveTDCi]

it might do, you could then argue that the wheels have been refurbished at some point, likely to be prior to sale and that the damage could have been caused before you took ownership. I'm not 100% sure but i think that consumer law states that they have to prove that there wasn't a fault prior to purchase rather than you have too, in which case it should have been picked up in the 2million multi point check that they allegedly carry out. Is the car a Seat approved used car ?

 

[dannychapman10]

it might do, you could then argue that the wheels have been refurbished at some point, likely to be prior to sale and that the damage could have been caused before you took ownership. I'm not 100% sure but i think that consumer law states that they have to prove that there wasn't a fault prior to purchase rather than you have too, in which case it should have been picked up in the 2million multi point check that they allegedly carry out. Is the car a Seat approved used car ?

Thanks mate, very helpful, yeah it was an approved used, from a proper Seat dealership.
Their whole general attitude towards me since ringing about the wheels has been appalling tbh, but if they have to prove that they were fine before they left, they will struggle as I believe a PDI only covers a visual check

Danny.

 

[m0rk]

Just HPI'd and the only change was the private reg which I knew about, so it's not subject to any insurance claims, so I will pursue this. I've had it 2 weeks so if nothing is resolved I'll hand it back

Danny

HPI tells you if it's a total loss

Not minor accident damage

 

[S2TTB]

There are a lot of cars that come up with accident damage that isnt recorded aswell.

An associate of mine used to pick these up at various auctions, fix up and pass them on without advising of the damage that had been fixed as it was not traceable.

 

[dannychapman10]

Spoken to Seat HQ and they have asked my local garage to assess the damaged wheels to see if it would be a warranty claim, if not, the garage the car was bought from will be contacted and hopefully foot the bill of a new set of wheels

Danny.

 

[dannychapman10]

The Seat garage will not accept responsibility for the wheels, and the airbag light won't go out without further assessment so all in all, I will be taking it further with the said garage involved.

Danny

 

[SteveTDCi]

sorry to hear that, I really would look at rejecting the car if possible, cars don't usually have issues with the airbag light staying on, coupled with 3 buckeled wheels and damage to the underside could mean other issues will surfice later on its very difficult to buckle one wheel let alone 3 of them. I'm sure you will find another car.

 

[dannychapman10]

sorry to hear that, I really would look at rejecting the car if possible, cars don't usually have issues with the airbag light staying on, coupled with 3 buckeled wheels and damage to the underside could mean other issues will surfice later on its very difficult to buckle one wheel let alone 3 of them. I'm sure you will find another car.

Thanks for the advice Steve, the car has extended warranty on it, Sale of Goods Act 1979 states that an item that is found faulty in the first 6 months of ownership must have been sold with a fault already on it, and the only way they can prove that the wheels were fine is with an independent check (RAC, AA etc) as Seat headed paper will not suffice in a small claims court due to their ability to write anything on it. I don't believe the two are linked, the airbag was an issue shortly after the car was purchased from new due to paperwork I found but we shall see, either way, the garage will be having the car back or paying for me expenses.

Danny.

 

[SteveTDCi]

well if the airbag fault already existed then someone at seat should know about it meaning all of their so called checks couldn't have been done, good luck with it all.

 

[dannychapman10]

well if the airbag fault already existed then someone at seat should know about it meaning all of their so called checks couldn't have been done, good luck with it all.

Exactly, their excuses are starting to fall apart tbh, we shall see what happens.

Danny.

 

[dannychapman10]

Well, speaking to Trading Standards yesterday, I have spent this evening writing a letter of the issues and what I have to ask for, if nothing comes of Chris from Seat HQ speaking to them on Monday, then I shall be starting the Small claims court procedure, but thanks to everyone on here. Great help!

Danny.