(G) That didn't take long.....................

Cars must be part of the sales descriptions act, i.e. a item bought must be up to its intended use. Therefore, I believe you should be, although I haven't got time to look up the specifics because I have school soon!

Best of luck.

----------
Uno 1.0ie Start. Standard.

Out of interest, do we have any legal experts here? Does anyone know what my rights are? The car is 3 months old on the 2nd June and it has 4015 miles on the clock. The faults were reported during the 2nd week of ownership.

Thanks, Paul

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

Ask your local trading standards, I would want a new car. Also ask one of the national newspapers. Try The Sunday Post, Raw Deal PO BOX 6816. DUNDEE.DD1 1WB or e mail rawdeal@sundaypost.com they get good results. Don't try the local papers, they get to much money from Vardy in Adverts. Good luck. Tansy

Trading standards get my vote also, decent and free advice, they will tell you probably as above, "sale of goods act", look it up on the internet aswell.

----------
Uno 1.0ie Start. Standard.

Ok, spoke to Trading Standards. They say I should speak to the garage and tell them I'm not happy with the car and that I've given them a reasonable chance to fix it. If the garage refuse to replace the car (Trading Standards advise they will refuse) then I need to involve the finance company and manufacturer.

Off to the garage later, results to follow............

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

I think you have given them a reasonable chance to fix it. It is going to be a year old by the time they get it right so ask them if you can have either a new car or the present one at a second hand year old price. I have said on another post get onto the finance company as well. Dont take NO for an answer but always be calm and polite. Any free help line from your insurance company? Tansy

Just been told a story:

A guy bought a new Citroen from a dealer in Newcastle, he had lots of faults with it and the garage were unhelpful. He went out and bought a new car and a trailer big enough to carry the Citroen. Every day he would pull up outside the garage with the Citroen on the back of the trailer emblazened with all the facts of the problems he'd had, leave it there, go off to work then pick it up on the way home. Citroen gave him a full refund after he did this for the best part of a year. :)

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

bit extreme especially if you're paying for two cars... but i appreciate the style of the action...

In America you may have had a full refund under the 'lemon' rule but we don't have that in Europe, though it's being considered.

But this is what happens when you buy a new Fiat, so...

I stick to Puntos that are at least 8 years old :)

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr. Clear repeaters. Remote locking fitted.

Spacecowboy you need to send a letter detailing all of the faults to Fiat UK and the dealer but put in it a deadline for all repairs to be completed to your satisfaction and say after that date all you want is a full refund or replacement new car if still not satisfied. Send it registered post and then find out how you take them to court if they don't pay up!

March '04, 5 dr 1.4 Stilo Active & Sept '00, 5 dr 1.2 HLX Punto.

Also state that you have forwarded the letter to your lawyer who has confirmed the date etc. could help (obviously you don't need to at this point). Best of luck, you have a good case.

----------
Uno 1.0ie Start. Standard.

Went to the garage last night and they wouldn't talk about it, said I had to put it in writing.
However, they called this morning and asked if they could have the car for a week from the 14th June. I will take this date as my deadline for the repairs to be completed. I'm still going to put a complaint in by email to the GM stating my problems and see what response I get. I'll post the email here when I get round to writing it.

Thanks for the helpful advice guys, we'll see what happens.....

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

its a shame because there really good cars when there running properly. You shouldnt get this s**t when buying a new car you can always expect faults no matter what car you buy its how fast and heplful they are in fixing it that matters. Really p***es me off when massive companys try to f**k you over.

Sent the letter, didn't want to come across too angry..........what to you think?

Dear Mr McCormick

RE: 04 Punto Sporting (Reg - P7 HUT)

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction with my car.
This is my third new car from your garage and have been totally dissatisfied with my 3rd vehicle.

I collected the car on March 2nd from Jon Attwood, who has always been more than helpful. At the handover Jon pointed out a couple of marks on the car, 2 paint chips on the body, a scratch on the sill and some chips out of a side skirt. I was happy enough to wait for the car to be booked in for these minor defects to be rectified.
During the second week I noticed a knocking sound from underneath the car when engaging the clutch. I called the garage on the 10th of March and was invited to bring the car in on the 16th March for a test drive with a mechanic. The mechanic advised that the noise was caused by the exhaust and that it would need a full replacement, a major component on a car only 14 days old. The service department (Lorraine) advised they would order the necessary parts and would contact me when they arrived. I advised Lorraine that there were other faults to be looked at too, the bonnet catch wouldn't work, there were rattles from the passenger seat and dashboard, there was a hole in the roof lining and the rubber seal had come away from the drivers door. These were in addition to the faults already reported at handover.

I was contacted by Simon (parts department) during the week beginning 17th May and he informed me that the parts had arrived and I was booked in for the 26th May. I advised him that there were other faults to look at and he informed me that they would be done on the day. I asked him clearly and concisely if he would like to see the car beforehand in case he needed to order anything but he replied it would just be done on the day. I repeated my question a total of three times but was given the same answer each time. I found this very strange as I have, on numerous occasions, had my car booked in for something to be fixed only be told it will need ordering and to come back in a few weeks.

I arrived to drop the car off on the 26th May and spoke to Lorraine, only to be told that roof lining's are not held in stock and that the person who 'does the paint' doesn't work on Wednesday's.

On arriving to pick up the car, the bonnet, door seal and rattles were fixed but the paint and roof lining faults still remained and as I expected, would have to be booked in again.
As for the exhaust, I was not only told that it had been replaced but that the new one also had a hole in it and had been patched up, however, upon leaving the garage the knocking noise was still present.
Almost three months waiting for an exhaust to fix the problem, the garage fit an exhaust with a hole and it wasn't even the cause of the fault.

To add to my troubles, I decided to wash the car the same evening and found a long scratch on one of the alloy wheels which I know wasn't there before going to your garage. I obviously cannot prove where and how this was done but I am certain it was done while in the garage's possession.

I am frustrated and disappointed with poor quality of the vehicle received in the first instance and the after sales care and fault diagnosis second. The excitement of purchasing a new car has been completely ruined. The idea of buying a new car is to have trouble free motoring backed up with the peace of mind that should anything go wrong there is a professional garage waiting to take care of any problems. The car is three and a half months old with 4500 miles on the clock and I feel like I have not enjoyed the experience of new car ownership.

The Car is now with the garage from Monday 14th, I could have the car back on Friday 18th but have asked and received a courtesy car until Monday 21st as I have matters to attend to over the weekend since I have no confidence that the car will be fixed when I return to collect it.

Come Monday 21st I will have given reasonable time to the garage to fix the problems.
If the car is satisfactory I would expect compensation in light of the troubles with the car.
If the car is not satisfactory I will have no option but to return the car in exchange for a refund, which, after contacting trading standards, I am, by law, entitled to.

Yours sincerely
Paul Hutchinson

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

Very well worded letter :) Hope it goes well and they fix everything on the car or give you a new one :).