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SWMBO tin top question


Grandmaster Flatcap

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POBC:

This has moved on somewhat. I've now driven the car and it's not right. Our local garage (back street proper garage that knows how to fix things) has driven it and says it is wrong.

The dealer we bought from has driven it and says there's nothing wrong and therefore nothing to fix. They have booked it in to the local Kia dealer for an "independent" "expert" opinion to "settle" it, but this is two weeks away, and patience is not my strong suit.

I think SWMBO would keep the car if it was repaired, but the shine of getting a new car is quickly wearing off and we are getting close to the point were we would like to hand it back and get a refund.

As I see it our options are:

  • Pay for a four wheel alignment check to gain written evidence to back us up (but the issue may be other mechanical / electrical)
  • Pay RAC / IAEA type engineer / A N Other to do a road worthiness report.
  • A late night visit involving four large chaps with baseball bats.

Any other avenues I could explore?

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If rejection is an avenue you want to explore then the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline are worth talking to (03454 04 05 06). 

All of the following is pretty much based on the dealer accepting that there is indeed a fault with the car - if they're not doing that then a written report from a 3rd party professional is probably what you're going to need, but that's uncharted territory for me.

Essentially if you bought the car in the last 30 days, then you have the right to rejection and a refund without giving the dealer an opportunity to repair it.

After the first 30 days (but inside the first 6 months), the onus is on the dealer to prove that the problem was not present when you bought the car and you have to give them 1 opportunity to repair it.

If they fail to resolve the problem on the first attempt, you can then reject the car and demand a refund.

If they fail to resolve the problem on the first attempt and you give them a second attempt, and they fail, I was told (by the consumer helpline) that it's harder at this point to justify rejection.

If they solve the original problem on the first attempt but another one crops up, then you have to give them 1 opportunity to repair that new problem (and so on). 

Hope that helps, apologies if not, good luck!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just to (hopefully!) close this off, the car has been to a Kia main dealer and they conceded the car dud not feel right. They plugged the laptop in to the steering ECU and said it held a couple of old error codes. They've deleted those and done a restart to standard parameters - in effect a CTRL-ALT-DEL and reboot of the steering.

This has made a noticeable difference. The car is still not really my cup of tea, but at least the steering wheels point in a predicable direction now.

Just need SWMBO to gain confidence in it again.

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GJT I know, sounds *wobble*

The idea is it saves fuel, as the engine is not driving an hydraulic assist pump.

The steering wheel is attached to a torque sensor, and the ECU decides - based on how much you turn the steering wheel, road speed, and a raft of other sensor inputs - how far to turn the front wheels and in which direction.

Here's hoping Microsoft didn't write the code *moan*

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Electric steering assist if not full steer by wire is teh way thaings are going.

I have it on my Qashqai and it raises a serious question.  If the engine is not running you get NO power assist and you really cannot turn the wheel without an enormous effort.  So what happens if you need to tow the car or even just push it to the side of the road?

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