I bought a 2014 Outlander from a second hand dealership near Chelmsford last year and am having an ongoing battle (Trading Standards involved too) due to the following:
1. 2 weeks after I collected the car in August, I noticed the air con system wasn't working properly. Told the dealership who said it may need a regas. They said they would pay for the regas up to £60. I took it to my local garage (I live about 50 miles from the dealership) and when they tried to regas it, there was a leak and the refrigerant gas visibly leaking into the cabin. The mechanic suffered a nosebleed due to the exposure.
2. I told the dealership and they agreed to take it back for repairing. They had the car for 3 weeks and then I collected it again. They assured me it had been repaired although there was no paperwork when I asked for it. After a day or two, there was still a problem, and when I asked which garage it had been repaired at, they gave me the name of a local garage to them in Brentwood, Essex. I called this garage and they said they had never seen my car. I called the dealership again to complain and they said it wasn't their problem.
3. I then submitted a formal complaint to the dealership, giving them the 8 week period to respond, as per the Motor Ombudsman guidelines.
4. As the dealership is not accredited with the Motor Ombudsman, they can't follow up my complaint, and I've been directed to Citizens Advice and Trading Standards.
5. The dealership now have 2 further weeks to respond to my next email/letter before I up the ante with Trading Standards and the Consumer Rights Act.
My question to you all is this - do you think I should be claiming compensation as the dealership knew that the dangerous gases were leaking into the car, and didn't repair it when given the chance to. My wife and children have all felt nauseous and queasy because of this, and we constantly have the ventilation system turned off now when we use the car.
In my opinion, this is gross negligence and they've knowingly endangered people due to this.
Open to any advice beyond the Trading Standards route...
Thanks for reading.