Nothing BUT Problems

[DS3Valentine]

I bought my second DS3 at the start of March, 10 days later there was a burning smell from the dashboard and the middle console went off (the screen) The AA was called and he had to disconnect the amp or something as he thought the console was pulling too much power to the unit...Citroen Sunderland said there could not find a fault.

Three weeks later I was driving on the A19 at 65mph and my speedometer shot up to 130mph and all the lights lit up on my dashboard. I managed to capture an image of this (not great I know whilst driving) I took the car into the dealership in
Gateshead where I purchased the vehicle from, they kept it for 10 days and I was provided no courtesy car, (I had a meeting with the aftersales director and I made it clear I wanted to reject the vehicle under the consumer act 2015) After the 10 days they said they could not find a fault, however they did add 200 miles to my clock.

I collected the car on Saturday 18th April and was driving towards home on the A19 and the screen went black, all the lights appeared on the dashboard again and the vehicle started losing power. I had to force the vehicle onto a grassy verge as
there is no hard shoulder on this motorway, my partner was following me home. I contacted the dealer on Monday and took the vehicle in, still nothing showed up on the ECU, since it broke down and they installed the DAB radio the console keeps resetting itself - the aftersales director tried telling me it was the radio losing signal and it was trying to locate it again....yeah this is a complete lie.

I have contacted Citroen twice but they are unwilling to help me as the sale of goods lies with the dealership, the director is a cocky prick who refuses to acknowledge I have a fault. I have videos and images of the faults and spoke to a solicitor
who advised I have provided proof their is a fault beyond reasonable doubt, I told this to the dealership who still refused to help.

I'm now stuck and unsure what to do...I have to go and collect the vehicle this evening. I feel wholly let down and disappointed with the service and attitude I received from both Citroen and the dealership. I have lost confidence in the car and my health has suffered as a result with constantly stressing.

Any advice....sorry for rambling on.

[joeking27]

Stick your rejection in posted by recorded delivery stating when you rejected the car so its clear it was within 30 days.

If you have rejected the car, don't collect it as its not yours and the dealer owes you a full refund. The dealer may disagree but if he has the car and you have sent him a letter saying you have rejected the car under Consumer Rights 2015 then you can start asking for you money back.

Is the car on finanace or did you pay a deposit on credit card?

[StevenRB45]

Gotta love gateshead garage and their you can have a courtesy car when hell freezes over policy...

Edit I'll take the name out if it's going through legal procedings but that garage is an absolute joke in my experience.

[Bigfeet]

Go and speak with your local Citizen's Advice centre, they will help you go through the legal procedure for rejecting the car.

[DS3Valentine]

Go and speak with your local Citizen's Advice centre, they will help you go through the legal procedure for rejecting the car.

I have already spoke to CAB and I have rejected the vehicle twice via email and he has responded to both advising he will not accept the rejection as they cannot fault the vehicle.
Gateshead are an absolute joke and the person I've been dealing with needs a lesson in customer service and should lessen his attitude.

The car is on PCP, paid £1500 deposit from the money they give me for my DS3 trade in....

[WTF]

Would taking it to another garage to source any faults help?

Is there any data in the on board fault logs in system diagnostics?

[DS3Valentine]

Would taking it to another garage to source any faults help?

Is there any data in the on board fault logs in system diagnostics?

No nothing is showing up on the diagnostics

[joeking27]

If I was you, I would stop using emails and use letters sent by recorded delivery. Your objective here is to get your money back. Thanks to 1974 Consumer Credit Act, the dealer and finance company are equally liable.

The advice from your solicitor is sound but you need to things properly otherwise the dealer will keep messing you around. You need to tell the dealer you have rejected the car under 2015 Consumer Rights Act, within 30 days of delivery. Detail the faults that have occured and ask for your money back. You need to back this up with a letter to the dealer and the finance company.
Don't pick up the car, as its not yours.

The dealer will probably disagree with you, but not being able to replicate the fault is his problem not yours. He won't want to refund you but you can contact the finance company and ask for your money back.

[Frankj]

I have just managed to reject a Megane RS 275, after 3 months of ownership, My problem was Bodywork problems, loose bits etc.
Do as others recommend rejection letters by Registerd Post etc, they will try to stall, It took Renault 3 weeks to get an inspector to look at the Car then a further 3 weeks to produce a report, this concluded the car need to spend 2 weeks in a bodyshop 50 miles away at this point I confirmed the rejection.
Your best weapon is the Media, such as the Forum, name names record all of your dates and conversations, my dealer agreed to buy the car back to stop me slagging them off anymore, but the are able legally to deduct for usage.
Just dig in it may be a long battle.

[WTF]

What engine/model is it?

If Renault sourced fault and a solution, why did you still reject it?


Some say that re social media. But I'm not convinced it is the best way to find a solution. Both sides seem to end up annoyed until one backs down. It puts a lot of pressure on the company to make sure they are seen to be doing the right thing by the general public - which is where your solution will come from. But some things don't need to be seen by everyone just to try and highlight flaws and faults.

Buying the car back to stop you slagging them off isn't a solution as such, but just a way of getting you to go away. And from a social media PR side of things, it can be actually be a real kick in the gut to have someone say bad things to just get what they want.

I'm not denying that your DS3 has faults and that you should reject it if you aren't happy. Just offering my own opinion about the way see social media as there only backup for any arguments. After all, what did people do before they could tweet that the topping fell off their pizza whilst being delivered?

[DS3Valentine]

What engine/model is it?

If Renault sourced fault and a solution, why did you still reject it?


Some say that re social media. But I'm not convinced it is the best way to find a solution. Both sides seem to end up annoyed until one backs down. It puts a lot of pressure on the company to make sure they are seen to be doing the right thing by the general public - which is where your solution will come from. But some things don't need to be seen by everyone just to try and highlight flaws and faults.

Buying the car back to stop you slagging them off isn't a solution as such, but just a way of getting you to go away. And from a social media PR side of things, it can be actually be a real kick in the gut to have someone say bad things to just get what they want.

I'm not denying that your DS3 has faults and that you should reject it if you aren't happy. Just offering my own opinion about the way see social media as there only backup for any arguments. After all, what did people do before they could tweet that the topping fell off their pizza whilst being delivered?

Thank you im going to do as you have stated, as the fault occurred 10 days after purchase the 30 days are automatically delayed by law.
I will follow it step by step. As they cannot replicate the fault they wont accept rejection

[Bigfeet]

I have already spoke to CAB and I have rejected the vehicle twice via email and he has responded to both advising he will not accept the rejection as they cannot fault the vehicle.
Gateshead are an absolute joke and the person I've been dealing with needs a lesson in customer service and should lessen his attitude.

The car is on PCP, paid £1500 deposit from the money they give me for my DS3 trade in....

If this is within the 30 day window then it's my understanding that the dealership does not have the right to repair. Besides regardless of if the repair is not possible or attempted fix fails you still have the right to reject.

[Bryn]

I am not a lawyer but the advice above, not to collect the car as it's not yours any more, sounds good. I'd also be considering writing formally to the garage, Citroen UK, and the finance company to give notice of legal proceedings. (Ask a lawyer or CAB first though!!)

Hope it works out for you - sounds a complete nightmare.

[Old Bloke]

It is a shame to hear that you are having problems, especially as you obviously liked one DS3 enough to buy another one.
I assume it is new.
Dealers hate taking cars back and replacing them. They have to stand the cost with no assistance from the manufacturer in most cases and the manufacturer always finds a reason not to help the dealer. So the dealer will do everything to avoid taking it back. The old "you can't demonstrate the fault" is a well played line. Whilst you are battling they will have the car and be trying to fix it in the hope that they can repair it and say that it is sorted.If they do find a fault and fix it then all is well and you may well receive a free service or two. Been here many,many, times and in most cases it all gets resolved. The dealer(if they are the supplying dealer) has failed you. You should have been put in another car, looked after properly whilst the dealer liased with the manufacturer's technical department if required.Now you are stressed beyond belief.
If you can, in addition to writing, speak calmly with the dealer principal and the after sales manager. Telephone again the customer services department at CUK and tell them that you are doing everything you can to work with the dealer, but they are not complying. Also you are a repeat customer of the marque. Ask if they will speak with the dealer and come back to you. Also as suggested by others inform the finance company.

[cyclone]

It is a shame to hear that you are having problems, especially as you obviously liked one DS3 enough to buy another one.
I assume it is new.
Dealers hate taking cars back and replacing them. They have to stand the cost with no assistance from the manufacturer in most cases and the manufacturer always finds a reason not to help the dealer. So the dealer will do everything to avoid taking it back. The old "you can't demonstrate the fault" is a well played line. Whilst you are battling they will have the car and be trying to fix it in the hope that they can repair it and say that it is sorted.If they do find a fault and fix it then all is well and you may well receive a free service or two. Been here many,many, times and in most cases it all gets resolved. The dealer(if they are the supplying dealer) has failed you. You should have been put in another car, looked after properly whilst the dealer liased with the manufacturer's technical department if required.Now you are stressed beyond belief.
If you can, in addition to writing, speak calmly with the dealer principal and the after sales manager. Telephone again the customer services department at CUK and tell them that you are doing everything you can to work with the dealer, but they are not complying. Also you are a repeat customer of the marque. Ask if they will speak with the dealer and come back to you. Also as suggested by others inform the finance company.

Well written. Thumbs up