Hi Guys

As above looking for a little advice about a dangerous issue I have found with a second hand car I bought 6 months ago. Also apologies for the long post!

The car was bought from a reputable independent dealer, decent premises, good level of stock etc, I had the car HPI checked before I bought it and had a good test drive before I bought it. Not massively expensive (10kish) but big expense to me!

However just before xmas and 6months into ownership the MOT was due and I knew it would be needing at least 2 new tyres so I had the misses take it down for 4 new tyres the day before the MOT, which was when the fun started!

Once the garage had taken the four wheels off (the original manufacturers alloys) and removed the tyres they found that all 4 wheels were very badly worn down on the inside rim (about 2cm of missing metal lip on the inside of the lip). To add to the joy it looks as if various sealants had been used in mounting the tyres, including what the garage is pretty sure is kitchen silicon sealant.

The wheels were so badly damaged that not only could new tyres not be fitted (as the inner lip was so worn down that the tyres wouldn’t seat and hold air) but having taken the wheels to a professional wheel refurbishment company the misses was told that the wheels were good for nothing but scrap.

Which all means I have had to buy four new alloy wheels to replace the damaged and dangerous ones fitted to the vehicle at the time of purchase, which was the wrong side of 500 quid!

Now I have got the old 4 wheels and they are completely screwed so no concerns about the garage trying a fast one! But my question is after all this time what if any comeback might I have with the seller?

I have written to them over Xmas with pictures of the ruined wheels asking what they might like to do about it, I am pretty p**sed off to be honest as we have been driving around in something that is unsafe and not something I could check prior to purchase without taking the wheels and tyres off.

So just wondering if the singeltrack hive mind has any advice or is it just a case of MTFU?

Cheers

No idea. But a next step would be to look at there sales literature and see if its something that they should have checked. For example do they say all cars subject to our 50 point check. If it sounds like these checks would cover the fault then thats a basis for complaint

On thed own side they might say that they would have sorted out the problem for themselves, but don’t want to refund any money

?

Speak to trading standards to find out where you stand my understanding is that the vehicle must be roadworthy.
Then speak to the dealers and let them know you’ve spoken to reading standards and see where that takes you.

If they are good guys you might get some comeback if you go about it the right way i.e. politely explain you’re p*ssed off.

However being second hand car dealers the chances of them being good guys is slim to none.

I like that train! Although there is more metal left on those wheels.

I’ll check the copy of the original sale advert and see what it says about checks etc, would have called them but closed over Xmas and my misses was stuck at the garage with no drivable car etc so needed to be done quickly.

I am not holding out too much hope, but if you dont ask you dont get 🙂

I though car sales had to oblige to a statutory guarantee/warranty? Ie if a fault is discovered within a certain timeframe then the car dealership has to prove the fault developed after they had sold it. Im not sure on the timeframe however im sure google will hive the answer. Or even Siri…

edward2000 – I am pretty sure it’s six months and this is about a two weeks over that, sod law I guess!

I believe anything sold from a business comes with a 3month warranty. After that it would be a third party affair…

Any idea what caused the rims to be worn down like that? has it been in a shunt, is it safe to drive if you do replace the wheels, just some of the questions I would be asking?

I once drove a mini where two of the wheel bolts had been sheared off one of the wheels in the past and the previous owner had just glued the busted bolt heads back on!

Has it been stolen, driven over a stinger strip and run on the rims for 10 miles?

Yes, I watch too many “World’s Scariest…” type shows 😉

I’m no lawyer, but as I understand it you’re protected against “faults that were present at the time of purchase”. (This is often unhelpfully simplified by people to “three months warranty”.)

If something went ping in the bowels of the engine after six months then you’d probably be screwed – but (bear in mind I’m not a mechanic) in *my opinion* metal alloys do not gradually dissolve into bathroom sealant, and so the fault was bloody obviously present at the time of purchase.

All IMO, of course, and I’m not sure where you stand having fixed it yourself.

woody2000 – that exact thought had crossed my mind! Its clear on the HPI check, which is as about as much as I could do to check its history.

Ideally I would have spoken to the garage I bought it from but needed to get it fixed asap. Annoyingly the car is spot on apart from this, passed MOT with no problems, had my usual garage look it over and service it and all is good, just this worrying fault.

I believe they are accountable under the consumer rights law to supply goods fit for purpose.

They are responsible for ensuring a roadworthy (fit for purpose) vehicle.

It’s quite conceivable the dealer may have not known about the tyres due to the hidden nature of the fault. However, i think they are accountable for a ‘period of time’ which isn’t specifically advised and is arguable in court if necessary depending on the specific issue and how good your lawyer is.

The dealer has rights – the right to replace, repair of refund. In this instance it wouldnt be out of place to insist the dealer replace the alloys with a similar used equivalent set / give you the cash value to buy your own.

I assume you have pics/evidence of the state of the wheels to help your case. If the dealer fobs you off, you defo have enough to take them to court – if its financially (and time consuming-ly) worth it to you.

*speaking from legal advice i received when a wheel fell off my approved used 10k car 10miles down the road from purchase

Any idea what caused the rims to be worn down like that? has it been in a shunt, is it safe to drive if you do replace the wheels, just some of the questions I would be asking?

This !

My first worry would be what has caused the wheels to be damaged ?

Are they all damaged the same ? Are they fouling the suspension or something else ?
Are they the wrong width for the model of car (some models within a range allow for wider rims, others may not)

Do you have any pictures if the damage to the wheels ? That may help answer those questions.

What is the make and model, and what is the size of the alloy wheel (will be stamped on the inside face if the alloy somewhere, something like 18x8j or similar)

I’ll try and post up some pictures of the wheels to show the damage, after this was found had my usual garage do a full check and the car is fine, i.e. doesnt appear to have been in a shunt, suspension etc is all aligned and correct etc.

Car is a volvo XC90 and the wheels were the correct size OEM ones for the car.

I imagine you might have some difficulty convincing the garage that the wheels were like that when you bought it.
I’ve seen some really badly maintained and bodged up cars and vans over the years but I’ve never seen alloy wheels worn down like you describe and tyres sealed with silicone!

Irrelevent of the various legislation, how does the selling garage know that you are not just trying it on?

So, when you speak with then consider that if they really didn’t know (and tbh no doubt they checked the tyres the same way as you did – “feel top of tread” for depth…), then you need to come across as genuine.

I once had an tyre that wouldn’t hold air, and the rim had split on the inside – but it was only obvious using air/water.

And what were you doing buying a used car with only 6 months MOT on? 😯

Any of the money paid on credit card at all?

b r makes a good point, its perfectly feasible that the supplying garage didn’t know anything about the problem, so if you go in there shouting the odds, its unlikely to get you anywhere.

If you go in with a….. “I’m sure you had no idea, as it would be hard to spot with the wheels on the car” type of attitude, you may find them a lot more receptive.

nealglover – Points taken, my letter is extemely polite etc, I am honestly expecting them to come back with “how do we know you didn’t cause it?” and “after 6 months sorry jog on” but was just after some advice.

Anyone know how to upload an image to here, ludite here can only post up a link to photobucket?

If you get no joy, try the old sit outside with faulty wheels, on a busy Saturday, telling everyone who goes near garage of what to expect, and what you were told when you approached them. Bet they start listening. Might take a couple off weeks but might get them to see your side.

My brother in law parked across a garage entrance once until they took my sister’s complaint seriously, about 20 minutes later and a traffic jam caused by a car transporter and they couldn’t do enough to help!

Like it!