Hi, new here really need some advice on a used car we sold to a customer.
Sorry but it will take a while so please take in all information and give us some advice as this is the first time in 10 years of trading to come across a situation like this.
We got a mercedes ml270 as a trade in was advertised as no warranty and told the customer before he left deposit there was a fault with the glow plug light staying on for a while but starts and drives as it should, on his 6 hour return journey home the car broke down due to accelerator pedal sensor, had aa come out to his location and got it going for him and managed to get the car back home. Few days later get a call saying glow plugs are snapped in the head and he wants a full refund. We advised him we could only be held responsible for the accelerator pedal issue as he was fully aware there was a problem with glow plugs and we had not inspected it as that is our policy on part exchange stock and clearly advertised. Long story short as this continued for a while and he filed a small claim against us, few weeks before court we bit the bullet and decided to go collect the car and pay the full refund of the car, asked the customer few days before our arrival if the car starts and he told us the garage it is at have started it with a booster pack.
On our arrival we are told the garage has lost the key and there isn't another and the garage owner said we couldn't drive the car either because it was stuck in 1st gear being a automatic but there has never been any mention of gearbox issues in the past from customer or the garages report. Garage advised they would return car at their cost and have a new key made from dealers.
Here is the interesting part customer says he will contact the courts next day and have case put on hold until this matter is resolved, little to our knowledge the following day we recieved a letter from the courts stating customer had not paid the hearing fees and his cas was struck out and a couple of weeks later another letter stating his application to reinstate the case was not granted and the case is struck out and will need to start all over again. We never told the customer we had received this information as we would settle it as agreed, couple of weeks later advised by customer garage had got in to the car and reassured us a new key would arrive next week as garage had 100% ordered it from main dealers, a month later customer comtacts us saying they will deliver the car next week and we advised him that we want a inspection carried out on the car as we are worried about the gearbox issue your garage told us about just to make sure no parts have been removed and if all is well money will be transferred asap. Upon hearing this customer got very aggressive and saying we are not allowed to start the car it will be unloaded once monies have been paid. We have refused this and now he is saying he will be putting in a new case. Now do we have the right to have the car inspected surely you would think we are allowed to start the bloody thing, how do we even know if there is a key for the car. ANY HELP ON THIS MATTER. THANKS
