Mini with gearbox problems from car supermarket

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We bought a Mini One with only 22,000 miles on the clock from a well advertised car supermarket near the Derby/Leicestershire border for £8,300 last February.

On the drive home the gearbox was making a grinding noise so we phoned them and they took it back to look at a couple of weeks later.  We were then told they had fitted a new clutch and reconditioned gearbox but would not give us any written warranty saying we could rely on their reputation but it was warranted for 12 months.  It still made a noise but we were assured that everything was now OK.  However, 3,000 miles later the gearbox has totally failed and our Mini is no longer drivable.

the gearbox was "overhauled" not replaced...

On requesting to see the worksheet it transpires that the gearbox was "overhauled" not replaced at all.  The company are now saying that we will have to get it towed up to them and they will remove the gearbox to send to the company who first repaired it.  If it is part of the same fault they will fix it but if it is a different gearbox fault we will have to pay £400 for them to take the faulty gearbox out and put it back in again when it returns from the gearbox repairers!  If we want another gearbox fitted that will obviously be on top of the £400.

As the original problem wasn't specified on the worksheet do we believe they will admit to it being all part and parcel of a faulty gearbox?

Yeah right!  We have spoken to Consumer Direct who are brilliant and they are passing it on to Trading Standards.  They say that the company had the chance to repair it but as they haven't we are entitled to a like for like car or our money back.

Will update when we hear from them.

By: Available Griper

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laughing at idiot

A reconditioned gearbox is one that has been overhauled, Not a new one. They stated this at the beginning. Sounds like you are punishing someone for your own lack of knowledge and research.

11/04/11 laughing at idiot

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arrawn

we went to a car supermarket,and even found a lovely lookig car,The salesman told us that had only just arrived and had NOT yet been valeted,but as we were interested he brought over the keys so we could look around inside.Imagine our shock to find the seats were wet,and one part of the carpet had mould on it.

07/02/11 arrawn

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Mallory

Car supermarkets should be razed to the ground and their managers arrested for fraud. I purchased a Vectra from one in Stockport and on the way home they called up my partner to say he'd forgotten to sign one of the forms. He rushed back to do this, in a hurry as he had left me at a garage, and it wasn't until we got the copies through that we realised they'd actually added £2000 to the overall purchase price on the form they claimed he'd 'forgotten to sign'. In addition, they gave us a cheque to cover 6 months tax for the car which later bounced, causing further problems for us. I would tell anyone planning to deal with these crooks to run like hell!

04/09/09 Mallory

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Grumpy xx

My Brompton bike has never had a faulty gearbox, nor has the trolley I wheel it around in :)

03/09/09 Grumpy xx

5

Avicenna

A friend of mine bought a nearly new Audi A6 last year, from one of these car supermarkets that are advertised on the telly, it was quite a bargain until it was discovered that it was previously stolen and recovered. It was his insurance company that alerted him to this when they wrote to him to advise him that the value of the vehicle was no where near as to what he had insured it for!! He went back to the car supermarket and showed them the letter from his insurance company. They said they were sorry , but it was not there fault as they had purchased the vehicle from another dealer.... ( they are liars).. In fact I've heard of another similar story, that was in the evening mail in Birmingham. Anyway these people are con artists, thieves, crooks....... and once you have signed on the dotted line for one of their finance packages, boy are you in for a surprise.!!

03/09/09 Avicenna

7

miserablemoaninggit

Yes, please keep us informed. Seems ridiculous that you've had such problems and they have failed to resolve it when you only bought the car in February. Best of luck!

03/09/09 miserablemoaninggit

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Marty

You paid a lot of money for a car that should be void of gearbox damage. As a business they are bound by many laws, very different if you purchased privately - sold as seen.

I stay clear of these car meat markets. The ads of TV and how they are all lined up, gleaming in the light. Very different when you get there to find a lot of the cars haven't even been washed and cleaned out.

03/09/09 Marty

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