Colette

Be very, very careful with GBI Cars

Be very VERY CAREFUL when dealing with this NICE family business as things can very quickly turn unpleasant if you discover there’s a major fault that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 means GBI are responsible for the repair. Be warned as they may not take responsibility and you then have to take them to court to get compensation. We know very little about how modern cars work and were hoping for a good car trader that would have quality cars. We took a Renault for a test drive and at one point when going through the gears, 6th gear suddenly revved very high, and on questioning Byron, he advised us in great detail that it was the turbo kicking in, we had never had a car with a turbo before so believed him. After the test drive we said we were interested in the car if it passed all 128 points of the AA Inspection which Byron advised would be done in a few days time after he got the MOT done and when these were completed 3 weeks later we bought the car. When we contacted GBI to advise the turbo kicking in was possibly the clutch slipping it quickly became apparent that just as other GBI Customers have fed back on this site, GBI had “provided” us with an old AA Inspection report dated before we test drove, also with less miles reported than on the clock, Byron emailed we must have worn out the clutch and suggested we possibly had a heavy driving style and may have driven the car with the clutch half pressed to wear it out. In court Byron and his solicitor insisted we were confused about the MOT and AA Inspection dates and that Byron never said they were still to be done but the Judge highlighted that there were numerous emails from us chasing them up for nearly 3 weeks. The judge also stated that Byron had misinformed us when he advised that the rev increase was the turbo during the test drive and that it had been the worn clutch and also noted further to Byrons explanation for the inconsistent mileage history that the way GBI Cars record mileage was very odd. The judge also stated that the list of faults we noted with GBI after the test drive meant that the AA Inspector must have been very careless with his inspection for so many faults to exist considering GBI said the car had not been driven after the test drive and additionally the Judge noted that the disclaimers within the AA report meant that certain major vehicle components going wrong after the report date were not guaranteed anyway. Byron suggested by email and in court that our expectations for a second hand car were “manifestly unrealistic” but we point to the fact we spent more than 50% of the purchase price on repairs within the first year. The Judge awarded us damages and costs against GBI Cars. If you do choose to deal with GBI, check all paperwork very carefully for dates and mileage and check on collection that you have the same paperwork seen previously and do not rely on GBI’s “free” AA Inspection as it was not worth the paper it was printed on in our case.