2013 RS5 GEARBOX FAULT COURT BATTLE HELP!!!

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s5pete

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Ok so massive apologies for this stupidly long post but I really need some help and am out of my depth. I will try to keep this story as short as possible:


UK car – bought a 2013 RS5 in September. All seemed well and then 11 days in I had “gearbox malfunction” and couldn’t get out of 2nd. Took to independent garage who said there was an issue with mechatronics. Went back to the guy who supplied the car and he said he didn’t believe my garage and wanted second opinion with Audi main dealer. Took it to Exeter Audi on back of low loader. They plugged it in and told me mechatronics failure and that it had a non standard remap which may have caused the issue in first place. They provided this on audi report and it was paid for by the dealer I bought car from. You would think this was open and shut case. Dealer then agreed to take the car back, so I thought I was home and dry, however he took it back and then maintained there was no fault at all with the car and he could not get it to display any faults at all. This was in October 2019. I haven’t had the car since then and when the dealer refused my money back I took him to court. This has been rumbling on since then. I have all my paperwork from Exeter Audi stating the faults and the non standard remap etc etc but he maintains no fault and car is fine…


Anyway I thought I was making some progress in the last few weeks, and he was likely to “settle” with me and we could all move on as we are both spending money on this unnecessarily. Part of the court process was to agree on a joint expert report and so I suggested he take the car to another Audi main dealer and get them to plug it in (he was initially resistant to this which is why I suspected he was full of sh*t). Anyway, he has now provided me today the below screenshot from someone at Salisbury Audi. Note that it doesn’t actually have the vin supplied to it and I clear need to do some further investigation etc etc to see if this is legit.


My question is for those in the know at reading this software, is the supplied screenshot worth anything as evidence for him for the fact that the car is miraculously fixed or is it of no value at all. Any input would be really gratefully received.
 

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Doesn't denote any identification of the vin, it states 2013 but that's purely the module production date which is quite late in the year to go on a new car, but not impossible, what's the production date of the car itself?

Tbh you need clear identification of that car being tested.
 
audi upgrades
I would say that he needs to get Salisbury Audi to speak to you direct to confirm it’s validity and findings.

From what you’ve said, you still own the car so you have a right to know what diagnostic testing and finds have been completed.
Good luck in sorting this.
 
Buck said:
I would say that he needs to get Salisbury Audi to speak to you direct to confirm it’s validity and findings.

From what you’ve said, you still own the car so you have a right to know what diagnostic testing and finds have been completed.
Good luck in sorting this.
Click to expand...
PS I would be ringing the dealership myself in the morning to speak to the service manager.
 
Thanks for the reply. Should I be concerned it says "error messages outside guided fault finding."

Also, this is what he is saying is "proof" that there is now no fault with the gearbox. I dont know where to go from here other than speaking with Salisbury Audi tomorrow but not sure how helpful they are going to be..
 
Buck said:
PS I would be ringing the dealership myself in the morning to speak to the service manager.
Click to expand...

Yes totally agree with this! I am just baffled why it has taken him 5 months to get this report and me £1250 in court costs
 
In my understanding that is just the software responding to a “find this specific fault code”

if you know it won’t find a code then put that in and it comes up as clean.
 
s5pete said:
Yes totally agree with this! I am just baffled why it has taken him 5 months to get this report and me £1250 in court costs
Click to expand...
He’s hoping you’ll go away as him spending a couple of £k on legal fees is cheaper than replacing the gearbox.

He’s trying everything to wear you down / get you to give in.
 
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I assume that the car was sold to you with an unapproved remap? they also agreed to take the car back so in any court they will loose. The only issue you may have is lack of evidence if you have nothing in writing to back this all up. Are they claiming the car is now working ok?

The report you attached should ALWAYS show the VIN, so this report is worthless without it and could well be a fraud.
 
IJB1959 said:
I assume that the car was sold to you with an unapproved remap? they also agreed to take the car back so in any court they will loose. The only issue you may have is lack of evidence if you have nothing in writing to back this all up. Are they claiming the car is now working ok?

The report you attached should ALWAYS show the VIN, so this report is worthless without it and could well be a fraud.
Click to expand...

I have an Audi printed full report with vin and reg and everything on it stating gearbox failure. He takes the car from Audi following this report that I sent to him, it goes back on a low loader direct to him from Audi and then he messages me to say that he cannot find anything wrong with it and I’m not entitled to a refund... so he now has my car and my money...
 
Yes, also I had no idea it was remapped. He states in his defence response that I must have mapped it in the 11 days of ownership..and so it continues. Audi say they are unable to confirm a date and time when the map was placed on the car so I can’t prove or disprove that.
 
Then I really do not understand why your claim has not been settled in your favour if:
1. You have written proof of a gearbox failure.
2. A remap cannot be proved either way so discount that as the issue.
3. They agreed to take the car back for a refund.
4. The car still has an unresolved gearbox fault.

Or, in their favour if:
1. They took the car back and repaired it FOC, but you refused the repair claiming a refund.
2. They can prove the car now has no gearbox fault i.e has been fixed.
 
It’s because it hasn’t got in front of a judge yet - my date is in June! Due to the value it isn’t a “small claim” and so doesn’t fall under the straight forward small claim process and timescales.

His defence is that there is no fault on the car and he has maintained that since he took the car back in October. All he has in defence is that screenshot I provided above with no vin or reg information etc.
 
If you notified the seller about the fault within 30 days of buying the car you have the right to reject outright and cancel the contract of sale for a full refund. Consumer Rights Act 2015. You do not have to accept a repair if you are invoking the 30 day right to reject. The burden of proof is on the seller to show the car was not faulty. Can't see how he can do this, given the 1st diagnostic report. Remember, you don't have to agree to a repair under the 30 day right to reject so the fact he is saying the fault is no longer present is irrelevant. The car was sold to you without being of satisfactory quality or as described.

If you paid for the car, or even part of it e.g. just a deposit, on a credit card, then providing you put more than £100 on the card you can also claim against the card provider. They are equally liable for the car being satisfactory and you can make a Section 75 claim against them as well as chasing the seller through the courts. You can claim the full price you paid for the car, from the card provider under s.75 even if you only used the card for a £100 deposit.

A third option is to go to dispute arbitration through a body like The Motor Ombudsman, if the seller is a member of such a scheme. In fact the court may require you to do this as a pre-action protocol before hearing your case.



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HTB said:
If you notified the seller about the fault within 30 days of buying the car you have the right to reject outright and cancel the contract of sale for a full refund. Consumer Rights Act 2015. You do not have to accept a repair if you are invoking the 30 day right to reject. The burden of proof is on the seller to show the car was not faulty. Can't see how he can do this, given the 1st diagnostic report. Remember, you don't have to agree to a repair under the 30 day right to reject so the fact he is saying the fault is no longer present is irrelevant. The car was sold to you without being of satisfactory quality or as described.

If you paid for the car, or even part of it e.g. just a deposit, on a credit card, then providing you put more than £100 on the card you can also claim against the card provider. They are equally liable for the car being satisfactory and you can make a Section 75 against them as well as chasing the seller through the courts. You can claim the full price you paid for the car, from the card provider under s.75 even if you only used it for a £100 deposit.

A third option is to go to dispute arbitration through a body like The Motor Ombudsman, if the seller is a member of such a screen. In fact the court may require you to do this as a pre-action protocol before hearing your case.



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Click to expand...

Yes you are totally correct. I rejected this in writing by the book under cra within 30 days a a rejection. I never wanted a repair and never stated I wanted a repair. I continue to be fobbed off and hence why I am now just treading water until my court date. I have since begun proceedings under section 75 also as another plan of attack as I’m getting nowhere.

he is not a member of the motor ombudsman and one of the pre action protocols was not to engage with this but it was something I looked into initially.
It’s just impossible to try and deal with someone who will not engage at all.
 
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I know it's a while off but I think you should have your day in court! I can't see how he can wriggle out of it. Remember the burden is not on you to prove the car was faulty.

I forgot to add, for correctness, a s.75 claim on your credit card will only apply if the total price you paid is less than £30k. Section 75a will give you cover to just over £60k but that is only if you bought the car on a specific finance agreement.



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Yep I’m within the limit! Just! Quick question. I take it a section 75 will recover the balance of the car potentially. With regards all the court fees (I don’t have a solicitor as I don’t need one) I take it that I will have to recover these separately if the credit card company sort my car cost back to me?
 
s5pete said:
Yep I’m within the limit! Just! Quick question. I take it a section 75 will recover the balance of the car potentially. With regards all the court fees (I don’t have a solicitor as I don’t need one) I take it that I will have to recover these separately if the credit card company sort my car cost back to me?
Click to expand...
Not sure off hand. Ask your card provider. If not, then if you get your money back under s.75, I would follow that up with a Money Claim Online / Small Claims Court for your other foreseeable and reasonable, consequential losses against the seller.

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Last edited:
s5pete said:
I take it a section 75 will recover the balance of the car potentially.
Click to expand...

It will pay back to you the full amount you paid to the seller. So if you only paid £200 deposit on the credit card and paid £29k in cash, you would get £29.2k back from your s.75 claim.


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s5pete said:
Yep I’m within the limit! Just! Quick question. I take it a section 75 will recover the balance of the car potentially. With regards all the court fees (I don’t have a solicitor as I don’t need one) I take it that I will have to recover these separately if the credit card company sort my car cost back to me?
Click to expand...
Yea my exact thought process! Thanks so much for the support. Massively appreciate it.
 
HTB said:
It will pay back to you the full amount you paid to the seller. So if you only paid £200 deposit on the credit card and paid £29k in cash, you would get £29.2k back from your s.75 claim.


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Click to expand...
Yep that was how I thought it was! Thanks
 
HTB is absolutely correct. You are protected under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 IF you rejected the car within 30 days (I didn't know you did that). Bear in mind that you need everything in writing, as anything verbal will not help your case at all. You will also be entitled to reasonable expenses, Court costs in full and interest on your money as long as he has kept it. It is very frustrating waiting for a Court hearing, but from what I have read you case is a no brainer. BTW, they may well try to settle out of Court for less knowing they will lose, reject any offer if less than what this dispute has personally cost you in total to date. Any judge would be sympathetic in you doing that.
Good luck and let us all know how you get on.
 
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