problem with my new car

[louise jones]

I bought a citroen picasso 2.0tdi SX six weeks ago from a main citroen dealer.  It had 27,000m on it and we thought was a bargain at �8,000 (cash).  In the six weeks it has been back to the garage FIVE times because of faults (first two were minor faults).  It was a lovely car to drive and then we found when we got down to approximately 170 miles left in the tank it would cut out totally, after a half hour wait we would start it again and it would really struggle as if theres no power at all.  It went in the garage last week for 4 days and we picked it up Tuesday (they said they found a fault showing on the computer on a sensor for the diesel and they cleaned it all out and it was running fine) - low and behold Saturday morning it happened again in the middle of Liverpool City Centre and we were stuck there for a hour and half waiting for breakdown recovery!  They put more diesel in it as it was still obviously faulty and it ran fine again until Sunday morning when we got 300 yards from home and it happened AGAIN!! We rang breakdown and they took it to the Citroen garage.

Do we have any rights in asking for another car?  Neither my partner or myself feel at all confident in driving the car any more in case it carries on happening.  My partner has lost 8hours pay at work because of time off going back and forth to the garage and the kids have had two days out totally ruined this weekend - its so stressful and we dont know what to do for the best.  Please help!!

[hinge1967]

Not sure about another car, but you would, i think have a case for rejecting it and getting your money back. I believe if you write to the dealer stating that you reject the car as unfit for purpose under the Sale of Goods Act, they have a duty to act. See http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts/salegoodsact.htm

[Cockney_si]

Here is a useful website to look at:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/guides_to/buyingacar/

[Gumboot50]

Louise,

This sounds like a problem I once had with a car. It turned out to be a blocked fuel tank breather pipe.It works fine when you've opened the filler cap but after you've  gone some distance the level of fuel in the tank has gone down. If the breather pipe is blocked, air can't get into the tank and a partial vacuum forms which the fuel pump eventually can't overcome. The engine then stops. The cure is usually quite simple and quick.

You can check whether this is the case. When this happens again, simply open the fuel filler cap. It the engine restarts, you've found the problem.

I hope all this makes sense!

[jean88]

So the car is second-hand then? My dad was in a similar situation a few years ago. Is it the one on Edge Lane? You should contact the trading standards in liverpool on 233 3002, or liverpool direct and ask for TS, they will send you a information pack and give advice over the phone. You should contact the garage and point out the problem and reject the car for a refund or replaceent, see what they say. If they are still making excuses, get an independent report from a different garage that you can trust or the AA also do that, enquire. Then if the report says different from the dealers, you have a case to claim for a refund and maybe for  inconvenience. The TS would advice you.

Good luck

[murvic]

There is a Picasso owners forum at www.citroenpicasso.org.uk/picasso where you might be able to find if others have had the same problem