Hello everyone,
this my my first post and will no doubt be long winded, please do hear me out and give me any kind of advice.
at the end of august I purchased a 2001 fiat punto for close to £2000 from a local showroom. This local showroom sold all vehicles with 3 months of 50/50 Warranty after purchase. 3 weeks of driving, the gearbox fails and Im stuck with a dead car. I rang the showroom/dealer and he informed me that any problems with the car would fall under the 5050 warranty and that I would be paying half for the labour and parts!. I had no choice but to get the car sent to the dealership's garage for an assessment. I managed to grab the garages number and gave them a call informing them that the car was arriving this morning and asked them to let me know of any advances.
So, a little later the dealer informs me that it is indeed the gearbox (no kidding) and that I would have to pay half on the parts & labour bla bla bla. So I told him to inform me when he has more info and an idea on the total cost.
Well, for one, the car must have had the fault from purchase as I even rang the garage after being tolled and just asked if it was a wear and tear issue or if it was something that I had done. Well, he told me it was simply a gearbox failure and it was nothing that I could have done.
I want to know where my statutory rights leave me. I am sure I am within my right to return the car as it was obviously not fit for purpose but the warranty is trying to cover that up.
What I am thinking of doing, is getting him to repair the car, then taking the issue to a small claims court to get my half of the money back. I would be stubborn and stnad my ground and demand a refund or for him to pay for the part. The problem is that I desperately need the car.
What are my rights and what do you think I should do from this point?
Thanks everyone