Dear all,
I purchased a 2014 Outlander last August and have an ongoing battle with the garage/dealership i bought it from over a faulty air conditioning unit. The dealership agreed to take it back and repair it, as my local mechanic had tried to regas it but suffered a nosebleed due to an obvious leak in the system somewhere.
The dealership had the car for 3 weeks in October 2021 and assured me it had been repaired. When I asked them which garage it had been to for the repair, they gave me a garage name. I called this garage and they said they had never seen the car before. The dealership had simply regassed the car, even though they know there was a leak and that the refrigerant was leaking into the cabin, causing illness.
I sent an official complaint and waited the 8 weeks that the motor ombudsman asks you to. No reply from the dealership.
The dealership are also not accredited with the motor ombudsman so they can't follow it up and have redirected me to Citizens Advice Bureau. I opened a case with them today.
I have also had an air con specialist to the house and he has recorded the highest possible recording of gas leak using his heated diode leak detector.
I am keen to simply have the dealership pay for all necessary repairs - they promised the car would have a multi-point check before releasing it to me which should have detected this in the first place, but another lie from them.
However, i'm keen to find out if anyone has any advice or experience in claiming compensation for this gross negligence? We have driven our three kids in this car thinking it has been repaired and all of us have felt ill, and we now know why. Should I pursue a claim for negligence, given that the dealership knew there was a dangerous problem and failed to repair it properly?
Any advice greatly appreciated.