A mother of two bought a car from the Wales Trade Center for £ 4,000 only to find out just months later the entire engine needed replacing.
Jodie Marshall of Cefn Glas in Bridgend bought the black Vauxhall Corsa in May 2012 on a monthly finance deal from the used car dealer’s Neath branch.
But at the end of September it had already failed twice – the second time at a busy traffic light that the police required to get them to safety.
Read more: “I bought two cars from Trade Center Wales and both broke down within two weeks”
“I had problems with it for the first time in mid-July, when steam oozed out from under the bonnet while driving,” says the 44-year-old accountant, who gave her a three-year guarantee.
“The water in the engine was so hot it gushed, but none of the dashboard warning lights had come on to indicate something was wrong.
“Fortunately, I had just dropped the M4 when it started.”
They called TCW to let them know that Jodie had been instructed to take the car to a local RAC-approved repair shop – they found a problem with the coolant flange – which houses the engine’s temperature sensor.
“It was £ 187 to repair, which TCW only contributed £ 50 because they said it was not covered by the warranty.
“And after that I became very careful and constantly looked under the bonnet to see if everything was okay.”
On Sunday, September 26th, around noon, the car broke down again on the way to Cardiff Bay – this time at the traffic lights on the A48.
“I got as far as Culverhouse Cross and it started making strange noises before it completely stopped,” said Jodie.
“There was a huge line of cars behind me that was getting longer by the minute. Finally the police showed up and helped push my Vauxhall off the street into a nearby supermarket parking lot.”
Workers at a repair shop told Jodie they didn’t want anything to do with a vehicle bought from TCW
(Image: Jodie Marshall)
Again, she said she had been informed by TCW that they would need to take the vehicle to a repair shop and have the problem diagnosed before they could do anything.
“I’ve been to two different places, one of which directly said they didn’t want anything to do with a car that was bought by TCW.
“Eventually I brought it to Opel who were brilliant and quickly realized that the engine had already done a lot of work. They also said the only option was to replace it entirely.
“That diagnosis cost me over £ 300 and at the time I had been without a car for weeks, hadn’t received an offer for a replacement car from TCW and had to rent one myself to get to and from work.” .
“I think I’ve spent about £ 2,000 total so far – on a car I’ve only owned for a few months.
“And all I’ve really been reimbursed is £ 138 warranty rebate, and that was from the warranty company itself – nothing to do with TCW or the finance company.”
Jodie added that she has since had to buy another car from elsewhere.
“I’m just sick of waiting to hear from TCW and I don’t want anything from them other than a refund of some of the money I had to spend.
“All I wanted first and foremost is a reliable, affordable vehicle, but that was clearly too much to ask.”
A Trade Center Group spokesman said, “I can confirm that Ms. Marshall unfortunately had a defect in her car about 5,000 miles after it was purchased.
“Our customer service team advised her to make a claim under her RAC guarantee and assured her that we would make a significant financial contribution if any costs were incurred.
“However, upon investigation, it appears that Ms. Marshall made no such claim.
“We sell over 40,000 cars annually to satisfied customers in South Wales and beyond. The last thing we want is a dissatisfied customer, and a member of the executive team will be in touch with Ms. Marshall on Monday to offer further assistance on the matter. “
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