SAAC Motors

Sold Me a Car With a Faulty Gearbox – Very Disappointing Experience Our initial purchase seemed straightforward, although looking back it felt rather unprofessional. We were never offered a test drive and had to ask to view the vehicle ourselves. We purchased a Nissan Qashqai on finance on 10th July. By 13th July, after driving approximately 40 miles, the gearbox had failed. When the dealership collected the vehicle, I was informed for the first time that a new clutch had been fitted before I bought it. I also justified how many miles I had driven, due to being told the gearbox seemed ok before I purchased, which made me feel as though I was being blamed for the gearbox failure. The dealership confirmed the gearbox needed replacing and provided us with a courtesy car. Unfortunately, this was a Ford Ka, which was much smaller than the Nissan Qashqai we had purchased and unsuitable for our family's needs. After 10 days we were ungraded to a bigger car which was helpful and more efficient. After waiting over a week with little to no update, we were told the wrong gearbox had been ordered. This meant a replacement wasn't ordered until 27th July, around two weeks after the car had gone in for repair. Because of the lack of communication and delays of the part, we began making our own enquiries. Based on information provided by the dealership and our own research, we became concerned about the source of the replacement gearbox. We were initially told it was being sourced through LKQ, but later discovered it was being supplied through LKQ Synetiq's eBay outlet as a used gearbox with approximately 70,000 miles, whereas our vehicle had covered only 46,880 miles. We explained that we were not comfortable with a used gearbox of unknown history being fitted to a car we had only owned for three days. We obtained our own quotation from Euro Car Parts for a remanufactured gearbox, which came with a 12-month unlimited mileage warranty and was available within a few working days. Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement with the dealership over the repair. Communication throughout the process became increasingly difficult. During one phone call, I experienced what I considered to be rude and unprofessional behaviour, which left me feeling extremely uncomfortable. At one stage, I was offered money alongside fitting the used gearbox instead of the remanufactured unit I had requested. I declined because my priority was having the vehicle repaired using a part I felt confident in. This conversation was recorded and reflects the events described above. Beyond the inconvenience and stress, what concerned me most was the safety aspect. A major drivetrain failure within three days of purchase inevitably made me question whether the vehicle had been roadworthy when it was sold to us. Whether or not the fault could have been detected beforehand, the experience left me feeling that my family's safety had been placed at unnecessary risk, and it completely undermined our confidence in the vehicle. By this stage, after almost four weeks without our car, we had completely lost confidence in both the vehicle and the dealership. This was also influenced by other issues we had identified, including bodywork defects and an unresolved door handle problem. As a result, we decided to unwind the finance agreement rather than proceed with the repair. To be fair, Roberto processed the unwinding of the agreement promptly and refunded our insurance, tax and deposit quickly, which I appreciate. I understand that any used car can develop faults, and perhaps we were simply unlucky. However, I believe customers should ask questions about significant repairs, replacement parts and where they are sourced from. Our experience was that a major fault developed within three days of purchase, and the way it was handled left us feeling disappointed and without confidence in the dealership. I'm sharing this experience so that other buyers, particularly young families, can make an informed decision. Unfortunately, what should have been a relatively straightforward resolution has now turned into several weeks without a vehicle during the school holidays. Overall, I found the customer service disappointing and the experience extremely stressful.