Second-hand car bought from a garage - needs a clutch replacement. Remedies?

A second-hand Masda 6 bought from a garage for a five figure sum.
Four months later, confirmed that a replacement clutch is needed.
Not covered by the warranty.
What to do?
(Asking for a friend :-))

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

A second-hand Masda 6 bought from a garage for a five figure sum.
Four months later, confirmed that a replacement clutch is needed.
Not covered by the warranty.
What to do?
(Asking for a friend :-))

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how much is the clutch to fit ? ? ? £1000. ? ?? ( I honestly dont know ), your friend might just have to swallow the cost, they will say a clutch is a consumable, maybe try and get the garage to pay 1/2 as a goodwill gesture ? ?

I should talk to local consumer bureau in respect of a claim under s75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org....-bought-credit

This should be 'fit for purpose' and applies even if an item is out of warranty period (or none at all), especially when paying a five figure sum..
Did you pay ANY of the cost using your credit card? If so then again under s75 your card company is jointly liable for a claim along with the garage.your

My wife's previous car need a gearbox one DAY after the end of warranty, got garage to replace it; but as the clutch had to come out for the gb replacement, I paid half toward the new clutch.

Would you consider making a claim against the garage if say the front brake pads required replacement after 4 months of use. Of course not. A clutch is made of similar material and is a consumable item. Legal action is an absolute non starter.

My friend said there was a problem with the gear selector from day one.

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Originally Posted by Vindec

Would you consider making a claim against the garage if say the front brake pads required replacement after 4 months of use. Of course not. A clutch is made of similar material and is a consumable item. Legal action is an absolute non starter.

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Shouldn't a garage be responsible for making sure you got more than a few months out of a second hand car, or is it pass it on and the liability of any issues?

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Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee

Shouldn't a garage be responsible for making sure you got more than a few months out of a second hand car, or is it pass it on and the liability of any issues?

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Isn't it just up to them to make sure they sell a car that's safe and fit for purpose? I don't actually know just putting the point out there I suppose..

As long as the car passes the MOT it's OK to sell I'd think.

I hope OPs mate gets a favourable outcome BTW but if it was sold in a fit state with no warranty I don't see how the garage can be responsible.

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Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee

Shouldn't a garage be responsible for making sure you got more than a few months out of a second hand car, or is it pass it on and the liability of any issues?

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a clutch is a consumable though, like the tyres and bulbs, though of course its a lot more expensive

First thing to do really is speak to the garage it was purchased from.

Thanks for your comments, guys.
I understand my friend got a bank loan and transferred the money to the garage.
Approaches to the garage have not been productive.
As said earlier, a warranty was given which didn't include the clutch.
I'm a little surprised more has not been said about what must be frequent issue - unless the answer is to take it on the chin and pay for the repair. Essentially this would mean that the car cost about £13.5K rather than £12K. My friend lives in Wales but bought the car in Salisbury.

Any garage recommendations to fit a new clutch - reliable and reasonable, please?

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Any garage recommendations to fit a new clutch - reliable and reasonable, please?

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There’s one in Salisbury, they’re familiar with the vehicle also :hide:

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Originally Posted by splott parker

There’s one in Salisbury, they’re familiar with the vehicle also :hide:

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Well spotted. :getscoat:

It's difficult to make any real comment without knowing how old the car is, and how many miles it has done. If it's done a fair few, then perhaps your mate should have expected something like this to need doing, That said, if I had paid over ten grand for a car, I wouldn't expect the clutch to fail, and I'd certainly expect at least some compromise from the selling garage. My advice is to get it done by Mazda, (or an independent Mazda specialist), and get them to check the rest of the car over, while they're at it.

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Originally Posted by tforturton

It's difficult to make any real comment without knowing how old the car is, and how many miles it has done. If it's done a fair few, then perhaps your mate should have expected something like this to need doing, That said, if I had paid over ten grand for a car, I wouldn't expect the clutch to fail, and I'd certainly expect at least some compromise from the selling garage. My advice is to get it done by Mazda, (or an independent Mazda specialist), and get them to check the rest of the car over, while they're at it.

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Thanks for those observations!
The car had a low mileage 40K and is about five years old.
Mazda charge repairs at £140 an hour, btw

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Thanks for those observations!
The car had a low mileage 40K and is about five years old.
Mazda charge repairs at £140 an hour, btw

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If you haven't sorted it , send me the reg and I will give you an alternate quote.

I don't think you will have much luck chasing the selling garage .It may have been the previous owner was hard on the clutch (40,000 miles is very low for a clutch to wear out )although hard to select gear is normally the hydraulic side which isn't affected by driving style.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Mazda charge repairs at £140 an hour, btw

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Bettr than BMW which comes in at a mouth watering £257 per hour.

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Originally Posted by Vindec

Bettr than BMW which comes in at a mouth watering £257 per hour.

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Every make will have an independent specialist somewhere. Look around...

Some may be interested to know the outcome of this situation.
My friend negotiated with the selling garage at Salisbury. They arranged for him to drive to a halfway rendez-vous where they provided a car and took the Mazda to a garage for a complete replacement of the clutch and an anciliary part. A week later, they swapped cars at the same spot. The work was completely financed by the garage and my friend has his car back in full working order.

caveat emptor

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

My friend said there was a problem with the gear selector from day one.

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Then your friend should have sorted that out with garage when still under warranty.

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Some may be interested to know the outcome of this situation.
My friend negotiated with the selling garage at Salisbury. They arranged for him to drive to a halfway rendez-vous where they provided a car and took the Mazda to a garage for a complete replacement of the clutch and an anciliary part. A week later, they swapped cars at the same spot. The work was completely financed by the garage and my friend has his car back in full working order.

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Your friend (:hehe:), took a chance, going on a motorway with a dodgy clutch !

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Originally Posted by Cyclops

Some may be interested to know the outcome of this situation.
My friend negotiated with the selling garage at Salisbury. They arranged for him to drive to a halfway rendez-vous where they provided a car and took the Mazda to a garage for a complete replacement of the clutch and an anciliary part. A week later, they swapped cars at the same spot. The work was completely financed by the garage and my friend has his car back in full working order.

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Then he was a very lucky chap indeed! I was once caught in a similar situation but with a semi-automatic car. I now know differently but in my naivety I assumed an automatic did not have a clutch as such but a semi-automatic does and as others have said, clutches are considered to be consumables. The car was bought in Reading and we had to take it all the way back there to be fixed. A very expensive outing all round.

Moral(s) of the story: 1. Don't buy a semi-automatic car. 2. Always buy locally if you can.