atlasthemonk

I purchased a 2015 vw car less than 3 months ago from a large 2nd hand car garage and it has broken down for the 3rd time. It has been fixed under warranty (12 months) but having lost all faith in the car and the garage i just want my money back. What are my rights and how do I go about it.

Dafty

Never easy in Portugal !
I would suggest you have a look at this link, it may be able to point you in the right direction


https://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...hts_in_eu.html

atlasthemonk

Thank you Dafty, that is a great link but it is from an EEC prospective and in my opinion Portugal doesnt always follow EEC protocol .

Dafty

True, but things are improving all be it slowly.
You may be aware that all retailers in Portugal are by Law required to have a Complaints Book ( Livro de Reclamaçoes) that they are duty bound to provide on request.
Refusal to provide - for any reason,- is a criminal offence, and reportable to the Police (GNR)
If you file a complaint in this book, the retailer has to provide you with one of the triplicate copies of your hand written signed,and dated complaint, which can be written in any language. The retailer retains a second copy, and the third is sent to the retailers governing body. They in turn adjudicate the matter. There is a stipulated time limit regarding the response times.
Quite often, the very act of requesting access to the compaints book can motivate the retailer to resolve the issue promptly.
Worth a try perhaps ?

atlasthemonk

Thank You Dafty, thats a great help and worthy of following up.

Red Eric

I would have thought that as long as the warranty is being honoured, you don't have any sustainable grounds for complaint or money back.

Here's what the consumer organisation, DECO, has to say on the matter

Dafty

O vendedor tem até 30 dias para efetuar o conserto. Se não for possível reparar o automóvel, pode optar pela substituição por outro com características semelhantes (o segundo veículo beneficia de novo prazo de garantia de dois anos) ou terminar o contrato, reavendo o montante pago. A contagem da garantia de um carro usado ou novo interrompe-se enquanto estiver privado dele. Peça um comprovativo da oficina, como fatura ou folha de obra.

We have no idea what caused the 3 breakdowns but if they have all involved the same fault, I would expect the OP does indeed have valid case.
Certainly worth a complaint whatever the outcome

Red Eric

Yes, that's a possibility.

I was working on the assumption that it was 3 separate faults.

atlasthemonk

Thank you so far....the case study
Purchased the van in Fatima 12 may 2021.
An injector failed on 22May.... replaced and repaired
Another injector failed 18 June....3 new injectors (total 4 new since purchase)
An injector failed 24th July (a new one)
From my limited knowledge of mechanics there is obviously a worn component (fuel pump, internal corrosion of fuel lines etc etc) depositing particles that are fouling the injectors, so it is a case of trial and error , replacing one component at a time but meanwhile the van will breakdown again and again.
Each time i have to return the van to Fatima (at my expense and inconvenience)for the van repaired by a third party garage (under my 1 year warranty) and the turn around time from breakdown through booking a garage appointment and picking the van up is about a week. No courtesy car.
In UK trading standards would say the "goods were not fit for purpose"
But were not in UK, so what do I do ?

m2m2012

Corrosion in fuel lines on a car that's only 6 years ago? Maybe the car was filled with the wrong fuel or contaminated fuel (from a jerrycan) at some stage; but you would think the fuel filter to stop any problems.

Dafty

Modern "piezo" injectors have an electronic componant and these are well known to give trouble. Now that all four injectors have been replaced, you may find that your problems are over, in the fuel department at least.
If however the fuel injection system continues to give trouble, It may be an idea to sit down with the head of sales department and discuss the difficulties that you have encountered. They may be willing to agree an amicable solution - trade back against another vehicle for example.
If they stone wall you, then that would be an appropriate time to ask for the Complaints book.
Failing that, and if you have seriously lost confidence in the car, shop around for something else and get rid of it.

atlasthemonk

2 updates
1 took the car back to be repaired and received a courtesy car.
2 Asked my insurance broker to look into my case and gave him my wattsapp conversation with the garage owner. He reassured me that everything would be fixed as the garage owner had said " he would do everything he could to ensure the car was fixed properly ". to me the comments were flannel but to the Portuguese it would be a disgrace to go back on his word .
Amen

atlasthemonk

update... the car has broken down again today
This time I suspect it is a seeping injector o ring .
4 breakdowns, all injector related in 6.5 months. Out of the 6.5 months , i have been in the UK for nearly 2 months and the car has been in off the road and in for repairs for 3 weeks. Salesman reaction on the phone...leave the keys with my partner.
I was looking for better customer service or even better my money back.
Any thoughts anyone ?

macliam

With a 2015 vehicle, the value will almost certainly be beyond the maximum for the consumer arbitration service and I fear it is outside the scope for the Julgados de Paz, but both of those might be worth a shot, if only to help you understand what your options are..... Maybe you'll get nothing, but if they can point you in the right direction then you'll be better armed.

riv

Not really relevant to the Poster's problem but who are these ' Julgados de Paz' ?

Was the idea consciously copied from the English ' Justices of the Peace' ? by any chance ?

Can they make enforceable judgements or are they some sort of Counsellor service ?