Right, if anyone read previous threads of mine you will know my purchase from a dealer near Glasgow turned out to need a lot of work. This included " yes I've had it working" Eberspacher central heating and water heater seized solid with corrosion. Driver and passenger GRP door steps, steel supporting structure rusted to tissue and replaced with random pieces of timber silicon sealed into place! I had new outrigger steel supports made, which fasten to the sills. One sill needed replacing. My welder noted some "very amateur" welding in the vicinity and corrected it. Power steering rack leaking from corrosion to the pipework + odd little jobs that you might expect. This is a 2001 Autocruise Vista, by the way. The dealer did after much anger send us £500 as a goodwill gesture. I didn't cover what I spent but I was glad to get anything.
Well, fast forward 12 months and mot time. Failed on corrosion around front suspension. Off to my welder who said yes he'd sort it but I'd have to wait the best part of a month as he was extending his workshop. Last week I took it in and he put it on the ramp and he started poking about. There were more signs that very poor quality plates had been "welded?" in place around the front jacking points. I called in to have a look and whilst there, he chipped away with his welding hammer. Tap, tap and crumble crumble. the jacking point turned into a rust pile on the ramp. Both he and I were gobsmacked as the van had a 12mth ticket when I bought it and I had been driving it for some of the past year, in between putting it right. We were both even more gobsmacked when the other side fell to bits as well. This is the whole of the jacking points, both sides. About a square foot of chassis each side! Plus some other stuff in the wheel arches.
Whilst I was away, my welder went on line and checked the mot from last year - a pass with no advisories. I got out my history folder and found the mot and there it was - all good. I then went on line to look at the mot history. It had failed with serious corrosion to the front suspension mounting area at a garage in Glasgow. This same garage then past it with no advisories 2 days later. I checked the history again and found a receipt for welding carried out before the second mot. £300 and one hour's labour. When I went back to the welder we found two very small 1mm plates tacked on to the front edge of the jacking point which along with the rest of the area had then been covered with underseal. £300! for two tiny plates that looked like bean can metal - and 1 hours labour for "serious corrosion? In effect the patches had been welded to rust and the serious corrosion had been covered up.
My welder has never seen such a cover up and posted pictures on his facebook page. I have contacted the dealer who sold me the van and he says he knew nothing about the corrosion and sold the van with 12 months mot which had been carried out before he bought it and therefore it was not his responsibility and I should have words with the garage. (it may have been the previous owner who had been told by the garage that it was in a serious state, who then sold it on to the dealer with a dodgy mot - I don't know.)
Question. Is it the dealer I should go to for to seek compensation? (up to £2000 welding) Is it his responsibility for selling an unsafe vehicle? Do I contact the garage who did the dodgy mot? Do I contact DVSA? Just what do I do?
My welder is a really good chap who will repair it after cutting all metal back to solid steel, but it is a huge job.
After putting the van's faults right, we have loved this van and it is just what we want, but now we are deep in the mire, with a dealer who says he is not at fault and a very big bill to remedy the rust.
I will post some pictures.
Well, fast forward 12 months and mot time. Failed on corrosion around front suspension. Off to my welder who said yes he'd sort it but I'd have to wait the best part of a month as he was extending his workshop. Last week I took it in and he put it on the ramp and he started poking about. There were more signs that very poor quality plates had been "welded?" in place around the front jacking points. I called in to have a look and whilst there, he chipped away with his welding hammer. Tap, tap and crumble crumble. the jacking point turned into a rust pile on the ramp. Both he and I were gobsmacked as the van had a 12mth ticket when I bought it and I had been driving it for some of the past year, in between putting it right. We were both even more gobsmacked when the other side fell to bits as well. This is the whole of the jacking points, both sides. About a square foot of chassis each side! Plus some other stuff in the wheel arches.
Whilst I was away, my welder went on line and checked the mot from last year - a pass with no advisories. I got out my history folder and found the mot and there it was - all good. I then went on line to look at the mot history. It had failed with serious corrosion to the front suspension mounting area at a garage in Glasgow. This same garage then past it with no advisories 2 days later. I checked the history again and found a receipt for welding carried out before the second mot. £300 and one hour's labour. When I went back to the welder we found two very small 1mm plates tacked on to the front edge of the jacking point which along with the rest of the area had then been covered with underseal. £300! for two tiny plates that looked like bean can metal - and 1 hours labour for "serious corrosion? In effect the patches had been welded to rust and the serious corrosion had been covered up.
My welder has never seen such a cover up and posted pictures on his facebook page. I have contacted the dealer who sold me the van and he says he knew nothing about the corrosion and sold the van with 12 months mot which had been carried out before he bought it and therefore it was not his responsibility and I should have words with the garage. (it may have been the previous owner who had been told by the garage that it was in a serious state, who then sold it on to the dealer with a dodgy mot - I don't know.)
Question. Is it the dealer I should go to for to seek compensation? (up to £2000 welding) Is it his responsibility for selling an unsafe vehicle? Do I contact the garage who did the dodgy mot? Do I contact DVSA? Just what do I do?
My welder is a really good chap who will repair it after cutting all metal back to solid steel, but it is a huge job.
After putting the van's faults right, we have loved this van and it is just what we want, but now we are deep in the mire, with a dealer who says he is not at fault and a very big bill to remedy the rust.
I will post some pictures.
