Quick update

So I have a car that works although my wife has been out in it all day so I'll have to wait till later for a full report.

Consumer direct also got back to me with a slightly confusing email with regard to my rights regarding the fault on the wheel. It seems that the dealer/manufacturer are responsible to do only what they state in their published warranty (I'll need to check the book to see what it says but I hold out little hope). It turns out however that I could pursue the finance company. See below:

Based on the information supplied within your e mail I would advise that if you were to pursue the trader and the manufacturer they are offering redress as per the terms of the warranty , you could ask for a copy of these . An alternative option would be to pursue your statutory rights .

Where goods are bought under a Hire Purchase agreement, the contract is governed by the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973. Your rights are against the credit provider rather than the trader who supplied the goods. The Act states that all goods supplied by a trader to a consumer must be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose made known and as described. If they are not, you may have rights to claim ‘damages’ from the finance company i.e. the cost of having the faults repaired, or for the finance company to arrange repairs and cover the cost.

I would advise you contact the finance company , initially by phone , but follow with a written request . Letters are best sent by recorded delivery , state your request and a fixed time fro reply , 14 days . Keep a copy for your records. Template letters are available on the Consumer Direct website as a guide.

Not sure what I'll do next. What I wanted was to go to the manufacturer and have them demand that the dealer made good. Basically I wanted to watch the dealer squirm. The actual damage was never the issue. I'll have a think over the weekend but may look for another way to get at the dealer. I want this dealer to feel my pain. I want them to resent selling me a car as much as I resent buying it. But enough of that.

I love my car, I hate mechanics and dealers.
I love my iPhone, I hate apple
I loved cigarettes, I hated coughing

Guess I just want everything all my own way. Apple have upgraded their phone software to ios 4. I can't upgrade yet because nobody has got a jailbreak that I can use yet although I do believe it's close. It has been jail broke but the fix won't work in my circumstances. Interestingly though I found that Stephen Fry (British Comedian, TV presenter, genius etc) also follows the jail breaking blogs for iPhone.