I’ve given up trying to get compensation for a dud car I was sold last June.
I just wanted to post a warning to those not aware that depot-ventes are not legally responsible for anything they sell. It is the original owner who might be responsible but it is d****d difficult to get anywhere legally without risking lots of money. I’ve learned my lesson - do not buy anything expensive from a depot-vente without being 100% certain about it.
I can’t believe anyone would buy a car from a dépôt vente !
Did you get the statutory guarantee with it ?
Peter – this is an up-together company, about 10 French outlets, selling only cars. Mostly quality cars, altho’ the one I bought was an ‘average’ Citroen.
I am not talking about the usual dépôt vente - i.e. one which sells household goods.
And yes I did get a 3-month guarantee. When I claimed they said the problem wasn’t covered.
what was guaranteed?
Anything that went wrong? All the bits that work are fully covered.
What went wrong ?
What was ‘dud’ about the car ?
Hi i bought A second hand car from à posh Mercedes garage with à 5 star guarantee…
It broke down thé next day , in fact broke down 3 times in 3mnths.! Not covered by the guarantee they said.
I went to Q choisir thé french consumer people who wrote to the managing Director of Mercedes .
The garage took my car away fixed it i didnt pay anything and have now been driving it for 12 yrs without problems . I think i paid Q choisir 20 euros to join, they have very good lawyers.
I am pretty knowledgable about cars. I’ve had >80. Worked on everything - engines (including rotary) gearboxes, axles, bearings, steering… Need I go on?
Within a mile of driving away I had turned round and gone back. SERVICE light on, slight misfire.
Dashboard display had been turned right down to min, so the SERVICE light wasn’t obvious 'till I turned up brightness. Could get nowhere with ‘garage’ (I’ll call it a garage but remember it is a depot vente).
They signed a piece of paper I wrote out to the effect that there was a problem because the SERVICE light was on. They sent me to a garage that they use and they basically connected up a laptop to the OBD2 socket and turned off the SERVICE light.
Within 20 mins the light was back on.
… many weeks, back and forward, car basically alright, just a hint of a misfire and the SERVICE light usually on. But now always.
In the next year (purchased June 2019) did 1800km, During that time had 2 full diagnostics done at proper garages and they both showed exactly the same. 4 injectors plus associated bits and pieces…€1800 garage 1; €1400 garage2 (but s/h injectors).
How can all 4 injectors need to be replaced same time?
Then pandemic.
Then I fitted new battery. Problem gone. No SERVICE light. No ‘moteur defaut’.
4 weeks later prob returned, even worse - the auto box doesn’t change gear and the car is in ‘limp mode’.
I am adamant that the problem is very likely to be somewhere in the wiring to the fuelling system, but garages just do a diagnostic, report that 4 injectors need replacing.
I have found a report and a youtube video of an english guy who suffered exactly the same (Citroen, not identical model, but identical arrangement of wiring around the battery. He had just the same ‘diagnostic’ but traced it to a chafed wire at the back of the battery/aircleaner. He replaced wire … hey presto.
Naturally I’ve looked hard where I can for a loose connection / damaged wire… but have found nothing.
I’ve been a member of QueChoisir for 3 years. I went through all this with them in Bergerac, their lawyer section. But their advice was that it would end up with the original owner blaming the depot vente and the depot vente blaming the original owner, with me locked out of it altogether.
