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Engine mount snapped in my Fiat 500 2011 Lounge

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Engine mount snapped in my Fiat 500 2011 Lounge

Time for some more light relief!;) Hope nobody is offended ;)
 

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frupi said:
Ellie, realise you are being bogged down with a ton of info, but forgive me for chucking something else in:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...practice_directions/pd_pre-action_conduct.pdf
Click to expand...

Gosh frupi, reading all that would bog anyone down :eek:.

But it does serve to illustrate that legal action is not something to be embarked on lightly; even if you have a cast iron case. If the other party chooses to defend (and they may do this for the most trivial of reasons in the hope they can wear you down), it will likely take at least six months before your case is heard. There are significant up-front costs (and you may not get all of these back even if you win), and you will be living the whole of that time with the uncertainty and stress of the procedure - despite recent attempts to simplify things, the Civil Court process is about as user-friendly as a cornered rat.

I know because I've done it, when a retailer refused a refund on a failed laptop. Even after filing a County Court claim and giving the retailer an independent expert's written report saying that the laptop was, quote, "inherently defective from the time of original sale and doomed to fail", the retailer continued to refuse a refund and filed defence papers with the Court, which meant I had to fork out for Court allocation fees in addition to all the other costs I'd already incurred.

They made an offer of settlement a few days before the hearing :bang:.

I got most of my money back, but even after winning, a part of me still felt I'd lost something.

And I had - it cast a shadow over my life for more than six months.
 
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Since May the amount the other side can claim back has also almost doubled, which is a pain and means you have more to loose. I have been to court a few times for work and because we were in the right, we always either got paid before the hearing or at the hearing were awarded the amount. Small claims court (below £10k) is actually not that bad, normally it's only you, the judge and the other party in a office.

I am not sure what happens if you have finance as technically you don't own it, so I think anything you do would have to be in conjunction with the dealer. Did you get finance from the dealer as they act as the agent for the finance company.

The other thing the dealer should have done if you got finance from them or discussed warranty is a compliance form, i.e were you offered gap, extended warranty, did you understand what they offered/limitations etc etc as they are regulated now. Might be another thing you can highlight if it was not done, just adds ammunition to your case.
 
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Good point about the compliance form. The last two cars we've bought from dealers, they both ensured this was discussed. Indeed, we had to sign paperwork acknowledging issues had been discussed and that we understood what had been explained to us and a copy of that paperwork was included in all of the purchase documentation.
 
You seriously can't tell me this won't get settled out of court?

End of the day top and bottom is, someone made fake service history

And fiat have rejected the claim/good will because the car has been written off By THEM, not classified recorded then sold on or sent to auction as a normal car?
Maybe you should ask Fiat to provide proof it was written off for them to rejected the claim then ask why it wasn't declared?
Clutching at straws :(
My wife would of tore the doors off fiat UK and the guy that sold her the car and got our money back by now.
Like previous poster said, time to make your self a pest, get direct numbers and make their lives hell.
 
Solicitors letters and threats of Court action will do nothing to sway a shady car dealer. Such devices are laughed at in today's trading climate.

Neither would this problem be solved by using a Small Claims Court, even if that was appropriate. Any shifty trader would circumvent such a court's ruling, leaving the claimant demoralised and out of pocket with little further redress.

Maximum publicity Is a far more effective weapon. It is immediate, direct, and can generate both collateral sympathy and a life of its own if handled wisely.

Sweetsixteen.
 
Sweetsixteen said:
Solicitors letters and threats of Court action will do nothing to sway a shady car dealer. Such devices are laughed at in today's trading climate.

Neither would this problem be solved by using a Small Claims Court, even if that was appropriate. Any shifty trader would circumvent such a court's ruling, leaving the claimant demoralised and out of pocket with little further redress.
Click to expand...

If Ellie had paid cash for the car, I'd agree wholeheartedly with all of the above, especially as the price she paid for it is more than the last reported total net worth of the car dealer she bought it from.

But she bought it on finance, and paid the deposit on a credit card. So if she were able to obtain a judgment against the selling dealer, the finance house and credit card company would be jointly liable, and they would almost certainly abide by any Court decision.

Sweetsixteen said:
Maximum publicity is a far more effective weapon. It is immediate, direct, and can generate both collateral sympathy and a life of its own if handled wisely.
Click to expand...

I'd agree - this has all the makings of a slot on Watchdog.

I still think the best chance of an acceptable compromise solution is through Fiat, who probably have the most to lose here from adverse publicity.

They may have no legal liability, but if they sold a substantially damaged car as unrecorded salvage, I doubt they'd want a seasoned reporter critically questioning them for an explanation.
 
This ^
:- chance of getting anything off car sales center is 0%, he'll just put everything in wife's and change the name plus declare bankrupt.

:- chance of getting something sorted from fiat very high!
If you push hard you get.
How on earth fiat could stand up to any grilling on the selling a known written off car as normal would take some serious balls.
 
GrandeGuy said:
:- chance of getting something sorted from fiat very high!
If you push hard you get.
How on earth fiat could stand up to any grilling on the selling a known written off car as normal would take some serious balls.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt put money on it. I've been in a possition myself with them and one of their main dealers in the last 12 months, and they're both bloody useless.

This WILL take persistence unfortunately (n)
 
jrkitching said:
That shouldn't be an obstacle; independent vehicle examiners routinely assess vehicles on site.

This is one such company. I've no personal knowledge of them; it just happens to be one that came up when I did a google search. There's a case they've referenced on their website that looks similar to yours.

It wouldn't cost you anything to phone them, explain your situation, and see what they say. Just be sure to tell them that you need a report which will be suitable for Court use, should that prove necessary.
Click to expand...
I've contacted this company, thank you
 
jrkitching said:
If Ellie had paid cash for the car, I'd agree wholeheartedly with all of the above, especially as the price she paid for it is more than the last reported total net worth of the car dealer she bought it from.

But she bought it on finance, and paid the deposit on a credit card. So if she were able to obtain a judgment against the selling dealer, the finance house and credit card company would be jointly liable, and they would almost certainly abide by any Court decision.



I'd agree - this has all the makings of a slot on Watchdog.

I still think the best chance of an acceptable compromise solution is through Fiat, who probably have the most to lose here from adverse publicity.

They may have no legal liability, but if they sold a substantially damaged car as unrecorded salvage, I doubt they'd want a seasoned reporter critically questioning them for an explanation.
Click to expand...
Contacted watchdog and rogue traders yesterday, also wrote to WhatCar. We'll see how we get on!!!
 
Hello,

I have spoken with Fleet car who said they are waiting to hear back from HPI regarding the write off of the car.

They have said once they have had their response there are two options

option 1- the car is confirmed as written off, they claim on their insurance to give me money back (no mention of how much, I presume the full amount?)

option 2- the car is not classed as a write off (does anyone know if this is likely?) - they offer me a repair on the car or offer to buy it back. If they buy it back I have requested that by least my finance is paid off AND a reasonable deposit towards a new car, they suggested that they take £150 off the value of the car for every month I've had it, bearing in mind I've not had use of the car for the last 5 weeks too! I don't think that is reasonable, I have done 2500 miles in the car in 5 months, I hope we're making progress here, but now it all lies with HPI.
 
EllieBoxall said:
Hello,

I have spoken with Fleet car who said they are waiting to hear back from HPI regarding the write off of the car.

They have said once they have had their response there are two options

option 1- the car is confirmed as written off, they claim on their insurance to give me money back (no mention of how much, I presume the full amount?)

option 2- the car is not classed as a write off (does anyone know if this is likely?) - they offer me a repair on the car or offer to buy it back. If they buy it back I have requested that by least my finance is paid off AND a reasonable deposit towards a new car, they suggested that they take £150 off the value of the car for every month I've had it, bearing in mind I've not had use of the car for the last 5 weeks too! I don't think that is reasonable, I have done 2500 miles in the car in 5 months, I hope we're making progress here, but now it all lies with HPI.
Click to expand...


Make sure you see sight of a written confirmation re the HPI status if they say it's not written off
 
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