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I purchased a 2006 Suzuki swift from a car dealership in September 2019 using finance.
When I purchased the vehicle it was sitting at around 140185km and has since been driven for 143689km.
Shortly after owning the vehicle I noticed it would make a low grinding noise when I would be breaking which is only noticeable at a slow speed, eg when coming to a stop at a traffic light.
I got in contact with the sales person that sold me this car about 2 weeks after. I said I feared the break pads were worn which they said couldn’t be correct because it would’ve been illegal to wof the vehicle, and they’re saying it’s likely that the brake pads need to be worn in as there can be a film on the brake pads and would take awhile to wear in? I listened to their advice to wait and after nearly 4 months this noise is still happening and is progressing.
When I went to test drive vehicles I said that I need a vehicle that’s safe, mechanically sound with no issues as I can’t have it breaking down on me for my job or having to fork out a ton of money on repairs so shortly after purchase.
What are my rights with this? I have sent an email to the dealership requesting that my car be looked at. Am I held responsible to pay for it to get looked at or pay for the needed parts or would I be covered under CGA Act?
Hi there,
At this stage it is unknown what/if the vehicle is faulty.
The first contact point is the selling dealer so maybe drive in and see them about the noise and also mention that you called about it two weeks after vehicle purchase. If you have no luck, then you need to get a diagnosis from a repairer to see what the issue is (this will be at your cost initially) and you might have to claim back costs through a dispute tribunal if you have no resolution through the dealer after the assessment/repair.
Hi there.
I took it back to the dealer requesting a remedy for the breaks to be looked over, they took it for a test drive etc and concluded that there wasn’t a problem needing to be solved as they didn’t find a grinding noise, even though it still happens when I’m driving.
Originally I said I thought the brake pads may need replacing and they showed me a slip that showed they had been replaced a week before I purchased the vehicle. Could it be possible the brake rotors were needing replaced and this could be why there is a grinding noise? I feel like this shouldn’t be happening still
Hi there,
It is possible that the new pads haven't bedded in to the old discs just yet, or there are marks on the discs that cause noise (grooved disc vs flat brake pads). I recommend you obtain a second opinion from a workshop so that you know if a fault is present or just an annoyance due to the fact new pads have been fitted.