Adam
1/5
JMB Trading LTD - Gearbox failure after 2 months
Was really keen to make this a positive review but sadly I've been left no choice.
I bought a 2009 Golf from these guys around September last year. It had a massive wad of paperwork, and one owner.
On the test drive, I noticed a strange, loud rattle from the gearbox. I was told all Golfs did this, but I wasn't convinced.
Either way, the guys assured me that any issues with the car, and specifically the engine/gearbox, would be taken care of, and they would, verbatim, "look after" me.
A month or two in and the noise had started to worsen. I called them about it a couple times but never had any luck getting through.
Three months in - the gearbox failed entirely.
In a different car, I drove myself to their premises only to find they'd left and moved elsewhere. Another trader nearby kindly gave me their new address, so I headed there.
On arrival, I had a very smoky chat with two guys inside their new office, whilst they each had a cigarette.
After some pleading, I managed to convince them to let me speak to the owner of JMB Trading, who reluctantly agreed to help me get it sorted, and agreed to pay £300 towards the repair of the gearbox.
I figured this was a fair compromise - it wasn't entirely their fault that the gearbox failed, but they did sell me a car with a faulty gearbox.
I nursed the car to a garage he told me to go to, who would fix it for £600, if I provided a gearbox.
Unfortunately, this is when JMB went dark. It came time to pay and mysteriously, the garage they recommended had never heard of JMB Trading LTD, and JMB stopped answering my calls.
It's been a couple of months, countless texts, and they've gone dark in favour of saving a couple of hundred quid.
I could take it to small claims court - consumer law states that if the problem is there when you buy the car, it's their responsibility to fix it, but ultimately the stress, cost and time aren't worth it - and they probably know that.
It's a used car, they all come with gremlins, I was just hoping I'd get more than a couple of months before a £1000 bill.
It's also been in a previous accident, with a wood screw holding the bumper on, and needs new shock absorbers - but whatever.
On a positive, they gave me a bottle of cold water when I came to buy the car, and did a good job at tricking me into trusting them.
