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Car Pre Purchase Inspection - Christchurch - advice needed


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I need help and advice on a PPI gone wrong 

 

Recently bought a car and had a PPI done from :

Euromarque

 

15 Walker Street,

Christchurch, New Zealand

 

I called and had asked specifically about what all they did and after getting the car delivered to a workshop in Auckland, we found some important things they had missed.

 

The headlight mounting is broken and the power steering pump is leaking (old leak as can see the oil is there for a while)

 

these are all visual things when you open a subaru 2007 sti bonnet (being as the power steering is right on top)

 

They missed it and now when i asked about it (as the price i paid was based on that issue not being there) they are saying its not their responsibility to have noted it in the PPI.

 

what can i do in this case because i feel ripped off being as its a purely visual thing to pick up on a PPI ..

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do you have a report from them and a list of what the service includes if they do a lot of PPI's they should have something that says what it includes, like those WOF tick sheets?

 

sounds reasonable that a visual inspection would have been done. Though some write "wear and tear consistent with age" which is what I had from AA before.

 

citizens advice have free lawyers that will give it you 30 minutes but will take a bit to get an appointment.

for that I'd grab a bunch of other companies PPI sample reports or lists of what they cover to see if there is a de facto standard.

 

could try the parent company or file a written complaint not just over the phone where it is easy to dismiss.

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had one done by the AA a few years back and they mentioned the car had 'surprisingly good' compression for its age, turns out the motor had been completely replaced a month beforehand with the wrong engine (wrx vs STI), didn't get picked up, whats more the receipts were literally in the glovebox... 

 

I wouldn't expect Euromarque to be liable for much here, probably just learn from it and move on, however I would check for anything else as if they've missed basics like that then there could be more major issues hiding. 

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Was the car a private sale that had the check done at Euromarque?

What did they give you in way of a report?

Seems odd they would miss something as easy to spot as a P/S leak.

Head light might be a different a story depending on what they actually inspect, that might be one where they don't check no matter what car.

But I would send an email of all things that were picked up by you/inspector/mechanic to the head of the service department and cc in the highest up person and advise the amount that would need to be paid to correct these issues, with a statement that the price you would have paid would have been different (lower) if you knew that these problems existed.

Also ask how they do the inspection, who does it as it could be the lowest mechanic on the ladder and how long it takes.

Stae that you are very unhappy with the inspection and ask what they can do to resolve this.

If this doesn't work then get others involved such as CAB or lawyers if warranted

2 minutes ago, YoungOne said:

turns out the motor had been completely replaced a month beforehand with the wrong engine (wrx vs STI), didn't get picked up, whats more the receipts were literally in the glovebox...

I wouldn't expect the person looking at the engine to realise the difference between a WRX and STI, as I would assume they look identical once installed, and would need to check the block for codes.

Also I wouldn't expect them to check the glove box apart from opening and closing to make sure it works.

Not great to find the engine is not the same as original, but to me thats not the fault of the AA inspector on this one.

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thanks for the updates.

 

I paid for the PPI and had called and asked them over the phone specifically about leaks and was told all visible leaks will be reported.

The Power steering is very obvious in a Subaru ej207..

 

They are now saying because it was booked in by the seller (it was in the sellers possession so obviously they had to book it in) , they cant do anything.

I had the seller write to them that the PPI was done for me but they are using that as grounds not to answer any questions.

 

 

@SpeedySub - car was a private sale and PPI organised through the company

the report was more like a wof sheet that noted tires and paint bits on the bumper

no mention of any oil leaks 

 

I had the car delivered via a transporter straight to another subaru shop when it arrived in auckland and they immediately pointed these things oit - and its part of the wof e.g. broken headlight mounting.

 

@Gripless - was a wof sheet and an email with some minor bits they mailed .

looked like really good hence the price i paid.

 

the PS pump and headlights are not a huge deal in the scheme of things BUT an added cost that could have been negotiated in the sale price and not having to fix it now

Im not happy with the PPI (the car itself is fine)

 

 

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1 hour ago, SpeedySub said:

Well I now know which place to avoid when getting an inspection done when buying and where to go when selling😉

 

highly not recomended

they missed a few other things like the suspension bolt was loose (holding on by 4 threads only)

i had stock suspension put in as didnt want un-certed adjustables

 

dont think they put the car on the hoist/jack even...

 

 

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Well perhaps you could take a deep breathe and just walk in and say: Hi man. Look I payed for a pre purchase inspection on my 2007 subaru that came back fine. Now I've brought the car and taken it into a garage to look at it myself and right off the bat when I lifted up my bonnet I could see right away that the power steering pump is leaking and the headlight bracket is broken which is already going to fail at the next wof, the suspension wasn't even fastened properly witch is very concerning. These things on there own arn't that big of a deal to me but It just worries me that if these things were missed like this then how thorougher or trustworthy was the rest of the check? I don't have peace of mind now and I've paid you good money. I'm sorry I lost my cool on the phone but I feel really gutted about this man. I know I cant actually do anything about it now and you have the law on your side sure but I've been done wrong here, I trusted you guys over AA and I probably still do, and I get we all make mistakes but Can we work something out here? I've already purchased the car now based on your trusted report but getting mad is not going to fix anything for me. So how do you feel? (perhaps bargain for a free oil change or something next time I'm not sure at this point)

 

Id go with your own spin on what I just typed. Because it's the plain vulnerable truth and I find people often respond better to that then a threat/fight. gl friend Ill be contacting you soon for a tune :)  

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10 hours ago, Zach said:

Oh your in auckland.. sorry I didn't read that proper. But if you are going to pursue this further then Id still apply the same open calm demeanour.

 

cheers bro - yea so far have just been calm as i know there is no point getting all angry remotely..

 

you mentioned that the law was on their side - how does that work?

as im thinking if i should do some legal action as this as feeling really let down..

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What exactly are you expecting the company that did the inspection to do? Pay you the difference of what you claim you could have bought the car for?

Pay for any repairs you deem necessary? I really think your are being unrealistic and hopefully have learned not to purchase a car that you haven't 

looked at yourself or by someone you know you can trust. I think that all you could reasonably expect to get from them is a refund for their poor service

and maybe an apology... if you care.

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14 hours ago, Loren said:

What exactly are you expecting the company that did the inspection to do? Pay you the difference of what you claim you could have bought the car for?

Pay for any repairs you deem necessary? I really think your are being unrealistic and hopefully have learned not to purchase a car that you haven't 

looked at yourself or by someone you know you can trust. I think that all you could reasonably expect to get from them is a refund for their poor service

and maybe an apology... if you care.

 yea lesson learned on that ..

but in all honesty whats the point of having an independent pre-purchase inspection done if the report covers nothing

 

as per usual  the plan is to get the inspection report to find faults so you either negotiate a price or get it fixed or budget a fix  when you do get the car..

 

am i unrealistic in expecting some basic items to be picked in a pre-purchace inspection?

I have never used them before but its an advertised service which i paid for and would reasonably expect at least visual items to be noted (even a wof picks these things and i paid more for the inspection)

 

this is just my personal view of the service so not sure at all who else had any issues or not..

 

anyway im wanting to claim for then meeting partway for the repair costs only so not even full costs.

i dont see that as unreasonable?

 

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14 hours ago, Loren said:

I think that all you could reasonably expect to get from them is a refund for their poor service and maybe an apology... if you care.

 

I think this is probably dead on. Their service wasn't up to the standard that was expected (or portrayed?) however unfortunately that doesn't mean they are liable for repair costs and/or to compensate you. I'd be very surprised if they agreed to assist with any repair costs.

 

@Pappu1 Personally I'd go to them with your concerns, try to help them better their service by telling them what you had expected from the service they offered and hopefully this will assist with your request for a refund.

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@Pappu1 I don't think you are being unrealistic at all, If I had purchased a PPI and the car came back with noticeable problems as yours their job was not done correctly. Its not like the car had internal engine damage that wasn't visible. Or if you had a friend check the car and they did not pick up the faults then you wear it however you have paid a company that specifically inspect vehicles for people that can not themselves. 

 

My expectations of the company would be that they go over the car with a 'fine tooth comb' and even point out things that may be needing replacement by the time the next warrant comes around etc. They should be OTT rather than slack.

 

Having a vehicle complete a PPI with no faults should give the buyer the confidence to giver the seller the price they want rather than taking funds off the purchase price however with things like this you could be paying top dollar and still end up with a list to fix after it, or even worse have suspension come loose while driving and cause an accident. 

 

IMO I am unsure what to ask them for, but at the very least a refund for the check that has been completed. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Inked said:

@Pappu1 I don't think you are being unrealistic at all, If I had purchased a PPI and the car came back with noticeable problems as yours their job was not done correctly.

 

 

If companies that did inspections were held liable for anything that went wrong after the inspection, there would be none in business. It's completely unviable. I have learned that most mechanics can not be trusted completely. None will care for your car like you do. That's a very sad and pessimistic view I know. When I find a good mechanic I hold on to them with both hands.

Edited by Loren
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1 minute ago, Loren said:

 

If companies that did inspections were held liable for anything that went wrong after the inspection, there would be none in business. It's completely unviable. I have learned that most mechanics can not be trusted completely. None will care for your car like you do. That's a very sad and pessimistic view I know. When I find a good mechanic I hold on to them with both hands.

 

Yeah completely understandable that if they were liable for anything & everything then they would be out of business however I think there is a difference between a visible oil leak (By the thread I am assuming its very visible) and something such as engine damage or rust behind tail lights for example. 

 

They should have a check sheet like a warrant inspector does and look for the normal things such as this. They will definitely have a disclosure to state that they are not liable which will be the hard part about getting funds and it purely could be human error that they have missed it on this specific car however if you have a check list in place and do a "warrant inspection" then it should be relatively straight forward. 

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25 minutes ago, Inked said:

 

Yeah completely understandable that if they were liable for anything & everything then they would be out of business however I think there is a difference between a visible oil leak (By the thread I am assuming its very visible) and something such as engine damage or rust behind tail lights for example. 

 

 

On my wrx the seal on the PS pump reservoir lid leaks a bit and there is always residue around the area... I just spray it with brake cleaner every now and then... maybe that's all it is @pappu?... and maybe that's a common thing and not worth mentioning in a report? Just speculating.

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@Pappu1 my two cents after scanning all the replies.

 

Absolutely this company failed at carrying out the service you paid them to do - that in itself is reason for a dispute. The ideal outcome here for you would be a refund of the service fee. If you can get that - just move on and never use them again.

 

They are in no way liable for any repairs on the vehicle and could never be held accountable - I think you already know this however.

 

@Loren had some good points. The one I liked the most is - always go and check the car out yourself.

 

I can sympathise with you entirely, you're in an undesirable situation - just make the best of it. I'd be extremely upset if I was in your situation. I understand it completely and you have every right to be aggrieved. 

 

Get that refund and never use them again.

 

PS: This is a great example of 'expectation setting' with your own customers. Undesirable situations like this make you a better person and businessman if you want them to.

Edited by RaKid
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