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| Rosie | Aug 3 2006, 12:38 PM |
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Unregistered
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Wish I had never set eyes on this company. Purchased an X reg A class Mercedes Benz 190 3 days ago. Noticed a judder on the steering on the way home. That night, the car alarm went off every 10 minutes if the car was locked, so after 6 such episodes I had to unlock the car & sit up all night to watch the car as it was not then secure. I rang ACF first thing, who said to take it into an independant dealer to get an estimate, which was faxed to them. I did this: they found the wheels needed balancing & tracking as the front tyres had both been 'feathered' at the edges, one tyre more so than the other (which was considered to be an MOT failure by the garage I went to). I asked the garage to do a quick visual inspection of the car to ensure there were no more nasty surprises in store for me. They stated that the tyre needed replacing, the engine oil level was low, and that the number plates were in such a state as to be illegal & should not have passed the MOT. ACF approved the cost of wheel-balancing & tracking & replacement of a switch on the rear boot, which cleared the false-activation of the alarm. I picked the car up from the garage yesterday lunch time (2nd August 2006). Upon driving it to the shops, I noticed 2 warning lights flash up on the dash. Upon refering to these in the handbook, I was horrified to see that both warning were to do with the brake system - fault with ABS & EPR (?), which also resulted in a concomitant loss of engine power. I immediately took the vehicle back to the garage & begged the owner to do a quick visual check to see if anything could be immediately found to explain the warning lights. He was not very happy to comply, but did so at my insistence. To my absolute horror, he found that the brake caliper had a securing bolt missing, thus meaning that the vehicle was no roadworthy at the time of my purchase, and that at any time, with reasonable braking, the brake assembly could have slipped & brakes thus failing! The missing bolt was found to be due to a stripped part of bolt left in situ. The garage owner said I had had a very lucky escape. Had I ignored the warning lights or not noticed them, I could have been dead, along with my 3 children. So much for the much vaunted 136 point inspection. I am now awaiting contact from Rachel at ACF as it was too late to ring the 'Mechanical Faults' department last night. I also contact Customer Services from the garage to state what had happened, and they were less than helpful. I requested that they send a fax to Rachel on her direct fax number on my behalf & had to virtually force them to do this. I really don't know where to go from here. I fear that the car may have other faults and/or 'bodge' jobs done on it, which will appear in time. I feel like taking the car back & requesting compensation for all the time & trouble it has caused me. I work unsociable shifts in a location not frequently covered by public transport (expecially when I am working till 0200hrs in the morning). I cannot continue with normal life without a car. Please give me your suggestions as to my next step. Desperately yours, Rosie |
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| Approved Car Finance · Your Comments !! Help & advice | |
9:37 AM Nov 27
