[Car finally rejected] Recalcitrant Dealer

[BugEyed]

As @the briggie , the gloves are off.

Contact MG UK and copy them in on all of the correspondence to date - let them know that you'll be involving them if it goes to court.

Also contact your local Trading Standards to ask if there is history with this firm.

 

[Ayoull]

Stoneacre Nottingham. The sales team is fine, but the service team I'm just clueless.

Yeah after a not so good experience of stoneacre many moons ago refuse to buy from them now

 

[Bonny 865]

Stoneacre Nottingham. The sales team is fine, but the service team I'm just clueless.

Wow ime with derby and there fixing mine that doesn't sound right to me

 

[HQW]

Wow ime with derby and there fixing mine that doesn't sound right to me

Are you with Stoneacre Derby?

 

[Kamil]

I have pre order with stoneacre Doncaster and when I e mails them this forum thread and asked about oil leak they confirmed they will check this for me with no issues.

 

[Ian Key]

My dealer is saying the oil leak and undertray problems do not exist, that they have received nothing, no tech bulletins from MG UK at all.

"The oil appears to be engine oil and we don't know where it came from."

"The bulging undertray is a characteristic of the vehicle."

What do I do now?

As a suggestion, as Stoneacre Nottingham don't want to acknowledge the problem, why not post it on Stonacre's Facebook page. You might find head office have a word with them but be careful not to name anyone.

 

[Nigelleics]

Go legal on them. Get a solicitors letter stating that you are within your legal right to reject the vehicle. Also state in the letter that you will be seeking financial damages for time and expenses caused by the faults (include 15 mins admin time per phone call, letter, email charged at professional rates of £50 ph). Present this as a bill if they remain stubborn, then you have to give them 28 days to cough up before you submit your claim to the small claims court, usually in Northampton via moneyclaim.gov.uk. I expect decent levels of service and have used this route 11 times now on everyone from Severn Trent to Wonga (who allowed some scum to get a loan with my details) with 100% success.

 

[siteguru]

What's your legal reasoning for £50 per hour? (You can't just invent a number - there has to be a foundation for it. £19 per hour can be charged on the basis that this is the court-mandated hourly rate for County court claims, unless a higher rate can be justified - e.g. by payslips).

 

[Wakefield5]

Make an appointment with a solicitor and see if they recommend sending a Letter Before Action as a final attempt to avoid actually ending up in court. You do need their rejection in writing as proof and ideally some evidence showing that they aren't even attempting to fix the issues.

 

[Bonny 865]

Are you with Stoneacre Derby?

Yes and they have been great with me

 

[Nigelleics]

What's your legal reasoning for £50 per hour? (You can't just invent a number - there has to be a foundation for it. £19 per hour can be charged on the basis that this is the court-mandated hourly rate for County court claims, unless a higher rate can be justified - e.g. by payslips).

Remember way back when Martin Lewis was trying to get bank fees deemed illegal? It was determined that they were fair and that £12 was the minimum that could be charged for a letter, in that each piece of admin warrantied 15 minutes of time. I've based all claims on £12.50 per 15 minutes or part thereof and never been challenged. If you have a more higher level job then you could argue that your wasted time is worth more, but I just go with what was deemed to be minimal by legal precedent.

 

[siteguru]

If you ever were challenged you'd have to justify that £12.50 per 15 mins. (And I doubt the case you refer to set any kind of precedent, so you may get short shrift from a judge if you used that as your basis). But if the other party won't challenge then more power to your elbow.

 

[Nigelleics]

If you ever were challenged you'd have to justify that £12.50 per 15 mins. (And I doubt the case you refer to set any kind of precedent, so you may get short shrift from a judge if you used that as your basis). But if the other party won't challenge then more power to your elbow.

Challenging is usually so exorbitantly expensive that they'll just settle. Before the bulk county court at Northampton got set up, it was a regular ploy to file at places like Truro, which very few companies would pay a solicitor to tramp down to.

 

[HQW]

The dealer took this photo on 7 Dec. Judging by the colour they think it's engine oil, and obviously it didn't come from MG4, therefore there is no oil leak.

"The MG technician who worked on the vehicle this morning removed the under tray and found no visible leaks! We did notice the residue that was on the under tray was engine oil, this vehicle should not have engine oil as its electric. And if it was any other residue this would be a different colour."

 

[Oberoy]

View attachment 13493

The dealer took this photo on 7 Dec. Judging by the colour they think it's engine oil, and obviously it didn't come from MG4, therefore there is no oil leak.

"The MG technician who worked on the vehicle this morning removed the under tray and found no visible leaks! We did notice the residue that was on the under tray was engine oil, this vehicle should not have engine oil as its electric. And if it was any other residue this would be a different colour."

Hmm, very poor,
Maybe it is from the road sucked up from the road by the bulge

 

[siteguru]

What bulge? It's normal sir.

#BattleOfTheBulge

 

[Sloucher]

View attachment 13493

The dealer took this photo on 7 Dec. Judging by the colour they think it's engine oil, and obviously it didn't come from MG4, therefore there is no oil leak.

"The MG technician who worked on the vehicle this morning removed the under tray and found no visible leaks! We did notice the residue that was on the under tray was engine oil, this vehicle should not have engine oil as its electric. And if it was any other residue this would be a different colour."

I have never heard so much BS in my life! Where did they think the oil comes from, roadkill?
There is no way a "MG technician" (oxymoron if I ever heard one) can diagnose what type of oil that is without analysing it properly. Certainly not by simply brushing you aside with such a sweeping statement as they have. How do they think electric motors get lubricated - ***!! <--censored apparently
EDIT: Ask them to prove to you that it is not Shell E-Fluids E6 iX (SL2808) if they can

 

[Ian Key]

View attachment 13493

The dealer took this photo on 7 Dec. Judging by the colour they think it's engine oil, and obviously it didn't come from MG4, therefore there is no oil leak.

"The MG technician who worked on the vehicle this morning removed the under tray and found no visible leaks! We did notice the residue that was on the under tray was engine oil, this vehicle should not have engine oil as its electric. And if it was any other residue this would be a different colour."

I'd go to Stonacre Derby for a second opinion

 

[Greenie]

View attachment 13493

The dealer took this photo on 7 Dec. Judging by the colour they think it's engine oil, and obviously it didn't come from MG4, therefore there is no oil leak.

"The MG technician who worked on the vehicle this morning removed the under tray and found no visible leaks! We did notice the residue that was on the under tray was engine oil, this vehicle should not have engine oil as its electric. And if it was any other residue this would be a different colour."

I wonder if they could put some dye in it? Drive around and see what happens.

 

[HQW]

I'd go to Stonacre Derby for a second opinion

Yeah I have been trying to get an appointment from other dealers that are close to me, unfortunately I can't get anything in 2022.