BHM

Sorry, but trying to drum up a class action lawsuit over your misrepresented lot. Good luck on that score. Tbh you don’t need to seek much over this advice. You simply either instigate a small claim or you don’t & you don’t need a solicitor for that. Tbh it’s probably easier to suck it up & move on. In either case ensure you have followed & exhausted the AH’s complaints procedure & make sure you do it by email/writing.

Mind you, perhaps I should add my stock is far from being in the first flush of youth or indeed performance orientated. I think a couple are so old they don’t even have engine management lamps

Sounds about right & funnily enough there’s only been a couple of ‘dry’ forecourts near me. As for the “wreaking havoc” I think that’s a rather melodramatic description for numpties shitting themselves & joining the back of a queue simply because they’ve seen it (the queue). The other Sunday morning there was a modest queue to get into a local station - I drove 1/4 of a mile to the next station & I was the only punter there.

Interesting because I’ve never had a single issue from using supermarket fuel & cant think of anyone who has. By the sounds of it it sounds very much like the problem is with the storage of fuel by your local supermarkets, or by their supplier.

There is. The small claims court due to fraudulent misrepresentation. However I’m unsure how BCA would then view your account status.

Why? Is it poor parts coverage?

Isn’t that standard auction house practice? How on earth any of these AH assurance schemes win awards is beyond my comprehension. Obviously not awarded by anyone who’s ever had any experience of dealing with obstinate AH staff or the foot-dragging of the schemes administrators.

A third hand tale but a wagon driver claims the fuel ‘shortage’ issue is f.a. to do with driver shortages. He then whipped out his phone, looked at a job website for BP & said to my pal “Look, fuck all vacancies for drivers”. As I say, a third hand tale so don’t shoot the messenger .

Why on Earth are you taxing cars for customers?

Surely that’s a truer reflection. At the lower end of the market most of the cars that book trade at £3-5K are now making £4-6K. A much bigger rise percentage-wise & the CAP/Glasses aren’t keeping up at the moment - just like poor Joe Public who’ve now twigged there aren’t any cheap cars available & their pound now goes less further than it used too.

The only surefire way of knowing if a vehicle in in trade is to phone the DVLA & they’ll confirm whether or not they can be taxed with a V62 at a PO. However in the case of two of your cars, as they are currently taxed they obviously aren’t in trade therefore cannot be taxed on a V62 at a PO.

Try explaining to most they are getting ZERO MPG when they are sat in a queue & then look at their puzzled/blank expression.

Every cloud has a silver lining. At least the auction houses’ refusal to open up to us gives us the chance to save on fuel costs.......admittedly at the expense of getting rammed up the arse with their appraisals

Not all, but the majority of the punters buying at the lower end are those whose car is knackered. The inflated prices that have affected all levels can be more easily afforded higher up the food chain but are almost unaffordable by the lower end buyers. That is until their current car goes bang & then they have little choice if they don’t fancy taking the bus! However there is a limit, and plenty of these buyers simply can’t stretch themselves. I’ve had £4K cars making easy sales at £5K but adding £500, or more, to the price of a banger is a much harder sell. Personally I find the bottom-end bangers-p/x cheapies etc. hard work at the moment.

Nice to read such a cheery posting Funny though, slight change of tack but I can’t get hold of a one-man brickie for a small weekend job, was told by a builder that no-one wants little cash jobs anymore BUT also he’s pig sick of visiting houses to give quotes to find the house has a ‘For Sale’ sign nailed to the garden fence or they have no intention of getting the work done. On top of that, as you say building material prices increase daily so he’ll give estimates, not quotes, and the punters think he’s taking the piss out of them. Now he knows how we feel! I’m currently getting a few fitted wardrobes - the (small, local & friendly) company has installed the carcasses but now can’t afford the doors so want more money upfront to see them through “a tight spot” cos someone has (allegedly) bounced them for money on a big job - needless to say I’m reluctant to hand over more shilling to a company on the brink. Anyway at these prices at my end of the market I’m due for a month off so you ain’t alone.

Today was an eye opener price-wise. I’ve seen everything from a 12yr old petrol Vectra on wheeltrims, a disastrous MOT (rotten subframes etc.), make exactly £1000 on the hammer to a six month old Defender, CAP Clean £41600, which made £62200. I assume from those figures that new Defenders are a throw-the-book-away car, but scrap Vectras?

Online I see what I’d consider to be scrap (or at least I’d offer £150-200 scrap money as a p/x) making £500 on the hammer. What the fuck they do with it once the AH fees are added & the MOT tester has cast his eye over it I’ll never know. Half-decent £3-5K cars (trade money) all seem to be about £1000 (give or take) into book at the moment. I’ve never prayed for shitty old trade-ins as much as I have recently

Of course if the purchaser has signed an invoice confirming they are a member of the motor trade, buying for trade purposes etc. etc., with the usual caveats, then so be it. Obviously I would never encourage an ordinary customer to enter into such a contract but if they chose to misrepresent themselves & fraudulently enter into such a contract that, as an adult of sound mind, is their choice.

I think that time is now (at least in the sub £5K market). Punters are buying because they HAVE to (their car’s fucked, written-off or the MOT tester has condemned it). It seems to me that EVERYONE knows secondhand prices are up & at the lower levels a man with £2-3K in his pocket soon realises that he’s now in the position of looking at cars that would have been £1-2K pre-Covid. Every week I get punters on the phone thinking they’ve got the whip hand, I pity them if they get the same response elsewhere as they get here. Ultimately it’s a market & the market determines prices.

I’m jumping through hoops to reject a Manheim car that came with its EML hidden & no one had picked up on it. Needless to say the car’s a disaster. Manheim have so far dragged it out a fortnight, their branch have sacked me off hiding behind Surecheck, it went to Surecheck who didn’t want to know (correctly in my opinion as it’s a clear case of misrepresentation). Worth noting is Surecheck ‘suggested’ I dig around for free(!) to find the EML or “just quickly plug in & get us a diagnoses” of which my request of an authorisation no. was refused. I’ve taken it up with their final port of call, Head Office Complaints/Customer Relations, who have so far have tried to hide behind their T&Cs, then passed it back to Surecheck (I’ve told H.O. I’m rejecting due to misrepresentation, not a warranty issue), Surecheck have employed an outside contractor to visit to ascertain the issues, the inspector turned up a day late, spent 15 minutes then told me yes it’s got more issues than you can shake a stick at. Apparently his report (whatever the report says doesn’t interest me) will get fed back into the Manheim Sausage Machine & when it gets spat out at the other end I’ll hear back BUT IF I’M NOT HAPPY I CAN GO BACK TO THE BRANCH! I couldn’t make this up - if they think I’ll be going back to square one they’re mistaken. A decade ago I used to buy plenty but nowadays I buy only a handful a year from them & that’s why I suspect the branch thought they’d sack me off in the first place. But the way the Manheim branches use (abuse?) the Surecheck scheme to get away from their responsibilities & how any/every Surecheck claim needs confirmation (AND then reconfirmation prior to payment) from the paymasters at Manheim is a disgrace. Whilst I’m whinging I also think it’s absolutely disgraceful how Surecheck/Manheim scheme have the overall option to throw out the claim, refund the car but keep the Surecheck money thereby blatantly refusing to stand by their own product implemented by their own employees. It absolutely stinks & how on earth it’s won any awards is beyond me - any awards awarded must of been awarded by people who’ve never experienced this duplicitous scheme.

That’s right Dave, it’s not all shite - only 95% of it. Anything more than a pleather gear lever gaitor & it’s usually spew. I was at the MOT station recently & I witnessed the ‘quality’ of a customer’s eBay purchase of some side steps for their Q7. 10s of thousands of pounds of car & they were fitting the most horrible, flimsy, ill fitting shite that was held on with cheap bolts and tabs that looked like factory floor off-cuts. I suspect they don’t sell many Q7s in China because the manufacturer of the sidesteps clearly hadn’t ever had the opportunity to measure-up a Q7 so the steps actually fit the car . I think the garage was going to warn the customer to never stand on the steps

Honest, no, and it still isn’t. Absolutely none of the usual rattling, banging etc., not a peep at all - absolutely silent underfoot. However when you drive it under acceleration the whole car vibrates like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve had two diagnoses & both reckon “DMF related” plus another trader had similar a year ago on the same type of car (Passat), although he said when stripped it was his clutch pressure plate that was at fault. As they say, every day’s a school day.

Do let me know if you have any success cos I could do with a few shillings cos I’ve just had my first genuine comeback in ages - a customer with a suspected DMF that’s shat itself within 200 miles of buying the car. Fucking cars!

In this situation a polite but firm “Jog on” would be my response.