R129mine
Active Member
Warning, non Mercedes issue so not sure if it is allowed in this forum or whether it should be moved to Off Topic forum
Hi
Last year I bought a 10 year old car for about £12k for my wife in the West of the Country. After viewing the car I asked the trader to sort out a few issues and one of which was moisture in the headlight.
One week later when I picked the car up the headlamp was partially melted. They admitted that they damaged the headlamp trying to get rid of the moisture by putting a cover over it and put full beam on for 10 minutes. They promised to sort out a replacement but I stupidly did not have them put it in writing (It does say on the purchase agreement they would need to sort out the headlight moisture) BTW all they had to do and which is what I did on the passenger side was put one of those silica gel bags in the headlamp and problem sorted.
This is when the hassle started, I phoned and phoned and texted with them to try and found out when they would source a replacement headlamp unit (the whole unit is sealed and needs replacing, a new one is £900 ex VAT). I must have called them a 50 times in the next 8 months (In June this year I found a 2nd hand headlamp unit for £500 on eBay in Germany, and fitted it so the car would pass its MOT.
I texted the trader on the Sunday I fitted the headlamp unit and they responded immediately with forward us the invoice and we will deal with it which gave me a bit of hope they would do the honourable thing and reimburse me. But i was very wrong.
I am over £500 out of pocket and now have the following choice
1) take them to small claims court, I have pretty good evidence but looking on the Citizen's Advice website it seems that even if you win, it can take up a lot of time, effort and they may still not pay.
Step one: Write a letter before action
2) chalk it up as one of life's experiences and forget about it (perhaps leave a very negative review on their website and autotrader link.
To say I am vexed is an understatement.
Anyone else had an experience like this? Any advice?
Cheers
Hi
Last year I bought a 10 year old car for about £12k for my wife in the West of the Country. After viewing the car I asked the trader to sort out a few issues and one of which was moisture in the headlight.
One week later when I picked the car up the headlamp was partially melted. They admitted that they damaged the headlamp trying to get rid of the moisture by putting a cover over it and put full beam on for 10 minutes. They promised to sort out a replacement but I stupidly did not have them put it in writing (It does say on the purchase agreement they would need to sort out the headlight moisture) BTW all they had to do and which is what I did on the passenger side was put one of those silica gel bags in the headlamp and problem sorted.
This is when the hassle started, I phoned and phoned and texted with them to try and found out when they would source a replacement headlamp unit (the whole unit is sealed and needs replacing, a new one is £900 ex VAT). I must have called them a 50 times in the next 8 months (In June this year I found a 2nd hand headlamp unit for £500 on eBay in Germany, and fitted it so the car would pass its MOT.
I texted the trader on the Sunday I fitted the headlamp unit and they responded immediately with forward us the invoice and we will deal with it which gave me a bit of hope they would do the honourable thing and reimburse me. But i was very wrong.
I am over £500 out of pocket and now have the following choice
1) take them to small claims court, I have pretty good evidence but looking on the Citizen's Advice website it seems that even if you win, it can take up a lot of time, effort and they may still not pay.
Step one: Write a letter before action
2) chalk it up as one of life's experiences and forget about it (perhaps leave a very negative review on their website and autotrader link.
To say I am vexed is an understatement.
Anyone else had an experience like this? Any advice?
Cheers