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Far too often I’ve heard complaints from consumers who have made a warranty claim only to be told that the manufacturer won’t honour it – insisting that the problem was down to wear and tear or the driver’s driving style. In many cases the decision is wrong but what do you do if the manufacturer has point blank refused to carry out a repair?

Well first off you read the relevant sections in my PCP guide – soon to be available as a free download. The same rules apply whether you took the car on PCP, HP or PCH finance. You don’t own the car so your beef is with the owner of the car – the finance provider.

If you’re not satisfied with the response from the dealer and the manufacturer, make a formal complaint to the finance provider. If you still can’t get the problem sorted you report both the lender and the dealer to Trading Standards. They will contact the dealer and the lender. Still no joy? Move on to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) but only if you have financed the car. If you bought for cash there is nothing they can do. The official alternative is what used to be called Motor Codes, now the Motor Ombudsman.

This isn’t part of FOS. FOS is a government-run independent body very much on the side of consumers. However, the Motor Ombudsman is funded by the garages that sign up to their scheme and you can only complain about a garage that is one of their members. Are you starting to get the same feelings as I’m getting? How certain can you be that you’ll be treated fairly over a part that is very expensive and needs replacing? In my opinion, avoid the Motor Ombudsman.

Next down the list are the trade bodies, a route very rarely suggested but can be very effective. Your issue is actually with the lender so check on the websites to see if the finance provider is a member of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), you should make a formal complaint against the funder if he fails to get involved or come up with an acceptable solution.

You can also ask the association for details of their Dispute Resolution Service and make an application to them to help if you are in a stalemate. Every trade body must have a Dispute Resolution Service that they can provide details of. The dealer and manufacturer must carry some responsibility, so make the same complaint to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and if you want to take up the case with them (not the lender) you can, but beware of stepping on the toes of a lender. They will also have a Dispute Resolution Service which you can call upon.

Finally, you can file a legal claim through the small claims court but hopefully, you would have resolved the problem before you get to this stage at no cost other than your time. By Graham Hill

Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, explains that the safety star rating isn’t quite as it seems or as people perceive it to be. Over the 20 years that they’ve been testing cars they’ve tested nearly 700 models and awarded ratings to 94%. Of those half have been rated 5 stars.

Over the years the tests have been refined and updated to take account of new technology and legislation. But not all 5 star ratings are equal and comparable. Not because of when the test was carried out, although clearly that has a bearing, but the ratings are awarded within the class of car. It is therefore not possible to compare ratings between say a small family car like a Fiesta and a large luxury SUV such as a BMW X5.

The test procedures are revised every couple of years, responding to new safety technologies. For example when Autonomous Emergency Braking was introduced the tests were altered to accommodate it. It was introduced in 2008 and by 2014 it became part of the star rating test. Although it is only this year that it becomes a pre-requisite of the 5 star rating.

Matthew went on to explain that the car mass (weight) plays a part as a bigger heavier car would be expected to be safer than a small car if involved in an accident. So the ratings are relative within the group. The Fiesta and the X5 could both be considered safe within their class even though they have major differences.

Crash safety science is complicated so they’re looking to make it more comparable. In the meantime, the recommendation is to seek out cars with 5 star ratings.

Now I have to say that I was shocked when I read this. I always believed that if you bought a car with a 5 star rating I believed it to be one of the safest cars on the road but what it really meant was that it was one of the safest cars on the road – within class. But what is ‘the class’? Would a Ford Focus, that cost a similar amount to say a Tiguan 4WD, be in the same class?

As I understand it the stars that are awarded are therefore relative to other cars ‘in their class’. But if a manufacturer introduces some new safety technology as standard on their car and they already have 5 Stars – where do they go from there? Six stars? If a Vauxhall Astra already has 5 Stars then Ford, who also have 5 stars awarded to their Focus, make their car even safer, how would you as a buyer be able to draw the distinction? Especially is safety is your deciding factor.

All very worrying! By Graham Hill

I’ve mentioned this in that past but surprisingly few people are aware of its existence and what it does. So just a reminder if you are buying or leasing a new diesel car or have recently taken delivery of one – quite simply it’s an additive.

It sits in a large at the back of the car, normally around 12 litres in size, and is squirted in small amounts, when the engine is running, into the exhaust gas causing a chemical reaction turning NOx gas into its constituent parts, Nitrogen and Oxygen.

Adblue is a trade name, created by its manufacturer to bring down NOx emissions in some cars that couldn’t meet the Euro 6 emissions tests. It isn’t always clear if your car uses Adblue, some include Blue in their name whilst VW uses SCR in the model name.

For most people, driving low mileage, the tank won’t need topping up between services but if you need to, following a warning light illuminating on the screen, some garages have Adbue on the pumps, costing around 60 pence per litre. Or you can buy it in Halfords or your main dealer for more.

Some cars have the top up away from the fuel filler to ensure that you don’t put Adblue in the fuel tank and vice versa. You need to check your handbook as some fillers can be well hidden, even in the spare wheel well. If you are unsure it might be wiser to call into the main dealer or Halfords who I believe offer to top it up for free if you buy the Adblue from them of course.

Warning:  The AA attended about 20,000 Adblue callouts last year, often because the car ran out of Adblue. A warning light will glow on the dashboard when you have about 3 litres left or about 1,200 miles. If you run out whilst driving, the car will continue but if you turn the engine off with no Adblue left in the tank it won’t restart. So if you need Adblue and you find somewhere to top it up – don’t turn the engine off just in case they’ve run out also. By Graham Hill

You may have read the sad story last weekend about the accident that took place in Arizona when a lady was killed by an autonomous Uber car. traveling at 40 miles per hour when it hit her whilst crossing the road with her bike. The car, an XC90, modified for driverless travel and operated by Uber, had a backup driver behind the wheel.

There were no passengers in the car and investigations are underway but the accident has certainly caused US States, the Government and operators to re-think the potential dangers. Arizona chose to impose very few regulations on autonomous cars in order to attract operators away from neighbouring California which attracted a lot of operators and developers but imposed tough regulations.

As a result, it now looks like the US Government will step in and create countrywide regulations that will overrule individual states. It has also caused many operators in both the States and around the rest of the world to review their safety systems and ask whether the drop in regulations in Arizona and other states has caused development in some developers to drop safety down the list of priorities.

The real worry for many is that there was a driver at the controls of the car that had the accident, acting as backup, and still an accident happened. Was the driver locked out of the controls at the time of the accident? The eyes of the world are now on the findings of the investigation. Much depends on what is uncovered as to how soon we will get to see autonomous vehicles on the road.

And if I may make a final point, I don’t see the benefit of a driverless car if it still needs a driver – just putting it out there. By Graham Hill

Over the past 3 years car thefts are up by 30%. In the past the cars were stolen by joyriders or in the case of prestige cars, stolen to order, stuffed into a container and on its way to India or South Africa within 24 hours of being stolen.

But these days there is a higher likelihood that cars will be stolen to sell on to unsuspecting buyers after changing its identity. As 50% of stolen cars are never recovered and with only a small proportion being shipped abroad you have to be on your guard if you are buying a car privately.

If you buy from a dealer and the car was found to be stolen you will still lose the car but you have much greater legal protection. But if you buy the car privately and the car is discovered to be stolen you could lose the car and the money you paid for it.

But even worse you could be arrested for handling stolen goods. To add to the pain it’s highly unlikely that your insurer will pay out if you make a claim. Andy Barrs, head of Police Liason at TRACKER, has some suggestions as to how you can protect yourself.

When inspecting the car check to see if new registration plates have been fitted and if they have ask why? Thieves may be trying to disguise its identity. Make sure that both sets of keys are present and working as this could also indicate that the car is stolen.

Check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for visible signs of alteration. Also, go to the GOV.UK ‘check you’re not buying a stolen vehicle’ website for valuable advice. An HPI check records mileage so if a car has been cloned you may see a discrepancy in mileage records. Take care there’s a thief about as they say! By Graham Hill

Did you know that the police can issue a ‘marker’ on the cars registered to drivers who have previously been disqualified for drink driving? No, I didn’t either but they can and in some counties they do. But it depends upon the force.

The idea is to flag up drivers wh have offended once and keep an eye on them. Research has shown that 12% of those banned for drink driving re-offend, rising to 30% of high-risk offenders caught at more than twice the legal limit. I would caveat that by saying that those % figures apply to those who are caught, with so few traffic cops on the road now I would suggest that the figure is probably higher.

This process doesn’t just apply to drink driving, it can apply to any offender suspected of possible re-offending. The police attache a ‘digital marker’ to the offender’s vehicles. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (APNR) cameras can then alert police to the driver’s status to help them better target known offenders.

However, Auto Express found out that only a handful of police forces take advantage of this facility and digitally mark vehicles. Cheshire police have 1,041 active markers which create an intelligence slide for every disqualified motorist containing personal details and any vehicle registered to them at the time of disqualification.

In Cheshire, between 2010 and 2016 57% of all banned drivers lost their licence as a result of drink driving. Merseyside police has a policy that markers will be attached once a driver is convicted and/or disqualified from driving. At the other extreme, the Met and City of London Police are two of the forces that admit to not using intelligence markers.

The Met subsequently clarified, when asked, that they would do so if there was ‘credible evidence’ that someone was driving while disqualified. West Yorkshire, in the meantime, said that they felt the attachment of intelligent markers to all drink drivers was neither ‘justified or proportionate.’ Although they admitted to having 80 live Markers.

Well, you learn something every day! Hope I provided that something for you today. By Graham Hill

If you’re a fan of the Inbetweeners, as I am, you will no doubt identify the characters with old school friends with at least one of them being remembered as a bit of a nutter. Not always on the same page as the rest of us. With this in the back of my mind, I read with dread that Nissan are developing technology that will sync your brain with the car’s technology.

Not only my nutcase schoolmates, and there were more than one, but I have had one of those moments wondering how much damage would be caused if I ran up the back of the car in front! Obviously, I didn’t do it but have you had similar thoughts? Just me then. But thinking something like that could, in my opinion, be misinterpreted!

Nissan and fellow developers, Swiss University Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, think not but are really keen to incorporate the latest tech into their cars. The brain signals will be collected and interpreted to identify whether more or less driving assistance is needed. Thus ensuring that the driver receives sufficient assistance to make his driving safe.

The system will even be able to change settings in preparation for the driver taking action like turning the steering wheel. They suggest that the technology will make autonomous driving more comfortable by sensing discomfort and changing a few settings.

That’s fine when one of my nutty friends is being driven by an autonomous car but with him sitting behind the wheel I dread to think what could go wrong or he could end up in the front row of Stringfellow’s! Hmm, maybe this needs a little more thought. By Graham Hill

I know you love a quirky, but serious, story. You may or not be aware that hitting a number of animals whilst driving must be reported to the police. However, the list doesn’t include cats which has upset a few cat owners according to a survey carried out by Carbuyer magazine.

As the law stands if you his a number of animals, including dogs, horses, cattle and sheep you must report the incident to the police but cats aren’t included. The Carbuyer study found that 59% of motorists were in favour of a law requiring you to report ‘cat incidents’ to the police.

The Labour Party have gone one step further in their calls for reform in domestic pet rules by making microchipping mandatory for cats and a new ruling that would require ‘motorists to report accidents where an animal has been injured’.

Animal rights campaigner, Mandy Lowe, sadly said that if the driver makes no attempt to locate the owner, or take the cat to a vet to be scanned for a microchip, the local authority’s waste disposal team will collect it and dispose of it. I’m not an animal person but that would make me sad if someone’s pet was killed and they didn’t know.

Figures from Highways England show that 320 dead cats were found on motorways and A roads over a 2 year period. More Pussy Power and fairness to cat owners is what I say! Can I say that? Hmmm better move on. By Graham Hill

If you are a regular reader of my musings you will know that little brings my blood to the boil quicker than reading about the abuse of the law by dealers and even finance companies. The problem that many consumers have is that they don’t understand their rights. The 30-day rule, introduced as part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, isn’t difficult to understand.

If the product, in this case, a car, is of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described you have the right to reject the goods. The confusion comes when you finance the car on HP or PCP.

Too often the customer turns to the dealer in order to reject the car when in fact, legally, the rejection should be made to the finance provider. The fact that you negotiated the deal with the dealer is irrelevant. The dealer invoiced the car to the finance company. They have then financed THEIR car under contract to you.

In this instance, Auto Express reported a case whereby Jennifer Taylor of Darlington, County Durham took delivery of a Nissan Juke, financed by Nissan Finance. When she took delivery she noticed that the front and rear bumpers were a completely different shade of blue to the rest of the car.

So bad was the difference, first noticed by her dad, she could see the difference in shade from a hundred yards away. Within a couple of days, given the fault, she decided to reject the car. But instead of serving the rejection on the finance company she served it on the dealer.

The dealer carried out a test on the paint (strange given that the difference was easily visible). As a result, the dealer suggested that the bumpers needed a re-spray, costing £954. But they weren’t clear as to who would pay for the respray. As a result, Jennifer sent photos to Nissan head office.

The dealer immediately offered to respray the bumpers free of charge. But technicians warned that they might not guarantee a perfect paint match. Besides that, as Jennifer said, ‘I paid for a brand new car, not a resprayed one.’ Jennifer finally contacted Nissan Finance, explaining that she wanted to reject the car.

After 8 weeks of investigation, Nissan Finance wrote to Jennifer explaining that they still hadn’t come to a decision. When Auto Express finally got involved Nissan Finance, who clearly had done nothing, said that they were in the process of having the vehicle inspected by one of their Field Technical Engineers. They said to Auto Express, ‘If they identify a manufacturing defect with the bodywork, we will work with the customer to ensure a satisfactory solution.’

Can you sense it? Blood is boiling. Firstly a rejection is a rejection. Not an offer to repair the fault. The supplier, in this case, Nissan Finance, has one opportunity to put the problem right – only if you agree to it. Jennifer has rejected the car so a quick inspection should have been carried out which would have obviously shown that there was a colour difference. Rejection accepted!

What has a ‘manufacturing defect’ got to do with anything? That’s for the manufacturer to identify and correct if they need to change their procedures, nothing to do with the car rejection. This whole situation is getting out of control.

When the rejection was rejected the customer should have immediately contacted her local trading standards office and the Financial Ombudsman and made a formal complaint. It’s an example of a dealer and their linked finance provider sticking two fingers up to your legal rights.

My advice to all is to take out legal cover when you take out your car insurance and make sure that you are covered for such circumstances. A couple of letters from lawyers will soon sort things out! By Graham Hill