Where do I stand?

[411514]

The important sentence in the OP's question would seem to be "currently a bit skint". That being the case, and I've been there, an engineers report might not be possible, as it's unlikely to be a free service.

I understand that the OP does not have a lot of money to throw at this, however it needn't cost a lot of money. The filing fee's for an action through the small claims court will be less than £50, and an engineers report may not necessarily exceed this. If an engineer was able to spot blatant and fresh tampering with the dpf for instance, or if the OP could contact the previous owner to determine if they disposed of the car with the problem, then that would clearly be a bit incriminating for the seller. Both of these costs would be recoverable in the unlikely event of court action, however definetely agree that sensible and refrained discussion is the best first step, Sam

[C5Steph]

hey guys rang citezens advice they advised me to write him a letter, after doing so he gave in and put 1litre of diesel addativen(not alot i know) but since then car has been spot on and we havent had an issue. When payday arrives we will be putting another 2 litres in and hopefully we will have many more trouble free miles.

[qprdude]

Well done. Hope everything stays good.

[C5Steph]

Hi guys sorry for the delay been really hectic! So here's where I'm up to so far!

Sent a letter to the garage he rang back saying it was a service item and not his responsibility! I told him that he shouldn't have sold us the car with an empty tank of something that is vital to the well being of the car! He reluctantly put 1 litre of deisel additive in it which made no difference. I took it back he put 4 more in which made no difference. He said the tank was faulty and fitted a second hand one. Everything was fine for a day now we get ESP/ASR FAULT and ANTIPOLLUTION FAULT but no unblock diesel filter or diesel addative low. Bit the limp mode has more than doubled in appearance since having it back. Another letter has been sent asking for a refund as be obviously hasn't fixed the issue. Someone said to get a quote to get the car useable..... After hours of Internet searching there could be a million reasons as to why this happens ranging from air leak to EGR valve to new turbo, what if I sue for something that doesn't fix the car?!

Also from anyone who has done it how do I go about taking him to a small claims court if the worst happens?!

Thanks for the previous advice guys and anymore that follows you've all been extremely helpful!

[addo]

Current fault could even be your brake switch (a famous one). If so, it's cheap/quick to fix and you should be sorted thereafter.

[411514]

When sueing a third party you are doing so for damages. The onus is on you to prove that damages have been incurred as a result of the breach of contract and provide account of the basis of the damages.
In practise this will mean you must pay to have the car fixed, in a manner to negate the breach of contract, i.e. to make it fit for purpose.
You may interpret this as you like when selecting a garage, however you must remember that you have a duty to mitigate the initial damage, including giving the vendor ample opportunity to rectify the situation himself.
You have not mentioned the price you paid for the car however I am assuming circa £1000. Given the faults you mention I would imagine a repair cost of several hundred. Such a significant ratio in my mind clearly establishes that a breach of contract has occurred.
Your duty to mitigate the damage extends to how you initially approach the problem, legal recourse should be a last resort.

As I mentioned before you must first clearly set out the issues with the car, how you would like the vendor to resolve them and the timescale you intend to allow.
I suggest 3 letters spaced over the course of 6 weeks, addressed to the director, at the business's registered office.
1st letter: Specify faults and desired remedy
2nd letter: Clarify intentions of first letter and introduce your intention to pursue the business for damages if they fail to meet your demands
3rd letter: Introduce clear deadline as to when contact must be made before proceedings will be initiated

Ideally you want to avoid the small claims court at all costs, as even in possession of a successful judgement it can be extremely difficult to extract debts from a ltd company. If you choose to do so best way is to use the money claim online service.

I often find that the best way of extracting money from a ltd company is to pile pressure on the director. Whilst in most situations his liability is severely restricted, often correspondence to his home address is much more effective than to business address's.

If you supply me with details of the business then I should be able to find out directors names and address'. PM me if you wish,

Sam

[C5Steph]

Thanks Sam ill PM you at some point tomorrow! Thank you so much for your help!