Just bought car - lots of problems!

[adam p]

I have had my Roadster since Saturday and already have found a lot of problems, The car was sold with a 3 month MOT and bought from a dealer in Bolton..

The dash clocks don't work so no speedo, fuel gauge, dash light etc.
Engine management light came on so was diagnosed as the o2 sensor, top right one.
Front 2 shocks knocking when jacked up in the air. One appears to be leaking but can't be 100% sure about this but no idea why it is banging. Maybe needs 2 shocks..
Power steering pipe leaking where it meets the steering rack. Diagnosed as cross threaded and needs a whole new rack?

Finally there is a huge hole in the rear cross member, maybe 4 inches in length, garage said it can't be welded?

Here are some pics:





So I have a few questions. Will having a faulty o2 sensor cause the engine to lose power? I'm not too concerned with this because I can turn it off come MOT time in March. Is it really necessary to replace the whole rack if the thread is cross threaded? Will the cross member be repairable in any way?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like not fit for purpose so send it back,

Also keep a very keen eye on the oil level.

[AndyM]

Send it back. The cross member alone is a safety issue and an MOT fail.

[Anonymous]

Wow what a dog. Take it back, there are plenty of good ones out there

Cross member looks too far gone to repair.

[Wabbitkilla]

Reject it, not fit for purpose.

Ps pipes corrode through on the U section, very expensive to replace cross thread is unlikely.
That cross member is dead and needs replacing, approx £230 from Camskill.
Banging from the suspension at the front is possibly bent shocks if they're leaking, ask yourself how they ended up leaking and probably bent! What else is damaged.
Dash faults are uncommon, it could just be a connector loose on the back of the binnacle, but why would it be loose?

This car is a dog, it wouldn't pass an mot, regardless of this 3 month mot it has.

[adam p]

Ok thanks for the good news lol. I spoke to and emailed the dealer yesterday who admitted the cross member doesn't look good. He is meant to be phoning me back today about it, but he doesn't know about the rest of the problems I found this morning so i'll need to discuss this with him and ask for my money back.

Do you know if he has to refund me by law as unfit for purpose or by law does he have the opportunity to fix it? I very much doubt he'll agree to pay for all of the work as it would cost as much as the car itself so i'd imagine he'd just give me my money back.

[loadswine]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of your woes, but I would echo what has been said, definitely return it , get a refund and walk far away from this one. Appears to be a complete money pit.
Question though, did you not see the car and drive it prior to purchasing?
Hope you get your money back soon.

[StuC]

I thought there was a thing that meant a dealer had to sell a car with a 12 month MOT.
That aside, agree with everyone else take it back and get your money back. Not fit for purpose!

just out of interest, when/how did you spot these issues?

Then get yourself a new one.  :-) :-) :-)

[Topdownman]

Yep,

What everyone else said!

You now know quite a lot of things to check when you are looking at your next one....

Dont be put off, they are usually reliable and reasonably cheap to run and awesome to drive.

[adam p]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of your woes, but I would echo what has been said, definitely return it , get a refund and walk far away from this one. Appears to be a complete money pit.
Question though, did you not see the car and drive it prior to purchasing?
Hope you get your money back soon.

I went to see it and took it for a test drive. It was raining heavily so I was unable to see the leak when I looked under the car as it was wet underneath anyway but didn't spot the cross member which I should have. Also the speedo and all the other gauges were working ok but there were no lights on the speedo or rev counter so the guy said he would fix the lights for me. A couple of days later it arrived on a trailer to my address. I took the car for a drive and realised none of the clocks were working, but they were working fine before they tried to fix the lights behind the clocks  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  . I am absolutely gutted because it's a really nice driving car. I used to race cars as part of my job until recently and the grip is good and steering responsive. I've read that some people can only go round bends at 30mph in the wet before the rear kicks out? I have to say I haven't found this and the rear is absolutely planted at 70-80mph round a sweeping bend in the wet. Such a shame  s:( s:(

It was a track day car and this is clear from the red towing eye and a camera mount fixed to the top roof pillar:

[AndyM]

It's a shame mate, it does look pretty good to be fair. I just think given the issues the cost of repair is going to mean they would need to effectively give it you for free. My guess is that (after a bit of a fight) they'll just give you your money back and auction it.

If you can get your money back though I guarantee you'll be able to get up and running soon in a equally well handling example. Good luck!  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Before you give it back rip off the front skirt, side skirts and (at a guess) rear spats..and give them to me  s:) s:)

[adam p]

Before you give it back rip off the front skirt, side skirts and (at a guess) rear spats..and give them to me  s:) s:)

I didn't even realise it had a kit. Here's the rear of the car, don't know if there's any kit on the rear or not?

[AndyM]

Yep, they are rear spats on there (I want some too!  s;) s;)  )

[Wabbitkilla]

 s:roll: :roll: s:roll:   Ignore them, they're leading you astray.
Go get your money back and find a better one.
Sorry to say £1500 isn't much of a budget for a decent car, add another 1000 and you will find a sweet one.

[Anonymous]

As said above, yep it's got rears too, full kit.

But wabbitkilla is right, ignore us and go find a goodun

[adam p]

So it has a full kit, this is bringing tears to me eyes lol. I emailed the dealer a photo of the cross member and he admitted it wasn't good and he never needed to have a look underneath. He did say he would phone me today but time's getting on now it's gone 4pm and Christmas Eve tomorrow so i'll be stuck with it until at least New Year I feel.

I've already got 2 cars, a Mitsubishi Colt 1.5T Ralliart and a 4.0 V8 Jag, this was to be a third car and also a car my wife could use to replace her Beemer, so my budget is limited to £1500 unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

The issues with your car certainly aren't unfixable but the problem from my side is why are those fairly unusual faults present and what else is damaged;

Crossmember happens to the best of us! They all go, I've replaced mine it wasn't as big job as you think.

Dash; sounds as though he tried to replace bulbs or something and has damaged it. Best case he has left it unplugged, couple of bulbs to replace and away you go. Worst case get a replacement dash (ebay) plug and play.

Steering; sounds like someone has tied to replace a failed ps pipe (again they all do it) and messed it up. New rack and pipe and away you go

Shocks; sounds like they are totally shot. Kyb replacements or second hand items. Or go to town and upgrade.

These aren't hard cars to work on and there are parts available.

My biggest problem if i were you would be with the condition of those parts; it's obviously not been particularly well looked after. So what else is lurking? Precats / oil control rings? Etc

[StuC]

+1 to more hidden problems.

[adam p]

I've just had an email from the dealer who is coming to pick the car up after Boxing Day to fix the dials and replace the cross member - fair enough.

I said to him that I like the car and so does the wife but it needs to be made roadworthy. I'm not bothered about the shocks and the O2 sensor as I can deal with them when it's MOT time but more concerned about this power steering problem. Does anyone know if the leak on the power steering would fail an MOT? I see a liquid can be bought to put in the power steering fluid I think that makes a permanant seal in the system, so maybe I could just have under the car steam cleaned once i've done that so there would be no trace of the leak?

[jinxedkitten]

Am I right in reading you test drove this with no speedo at what you believe to be 70 to 80mph in the wet on curvy roads?

I sincerely hope this was on a private road!  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[Markb]

I would be inclined to get my money back......i think once you let him fix it you are stuck with it,theres plenty others for sale.

[cabbydave]

Im sure there are better cars about but if the dealer refuses to do all the work on the car ive got a rack I can donate to you and a set of clocks should you need them

[adam p]

Am I right in reading you test drove this with no speedo at what you believe to be 70 to 80mph in the wet on curvy roads?

I sincerely hope this was on a private road!  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

At the moment I'm using a speedo app on my iPhone which is wedged in the cup holders. It was showing 70mph when I last looked at it...

[Wabbitkilla]

Power steering leak is definitely a fail, even corrosion on the pipes can be a fail.
I'm not kidding those pipes are super expensive unless you're lucky with a breaker.
hidden problems are my main concern.

I suggest you have a read of this   l viewtopic.php?f=75&t=50988 l
also another recent new buyer found his cross member was disguised using fibre glass, it was totally shot underneath.

Do not be fobbed off fooled or conned, it is all too easy to be blinded into keeping a money burner