Woman gets £1k car repair bill after firm goes bust

A woman who bought her car from online retailer Cazoo has been left with a £1,000 repair bill after the company went into administration.

Ellie Rylands, 28, who bought her £10,000 Peugeot from the used car retailer, found an engine fault after a few months of purchasing it.

Ms Rylands, from Cardigan, Ceredigion, has now been told her warranty is not valid after the company fell into administration last week after cutting hundreds of jobs.

Administrators Teneo said Cazoo was now unable to process any claims made as part of the initial giveaway warranty period.

At the end of February, Ms Rylands bought her car after moving to a rural area and needing it to get to work.

She decided to pay monthly to upgrade her standard warranty from Cazoo to an extended one with The Warranty Group.

"I live in a pretty isolated area and work on a vegetable farm so a car is essential for me, she told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.

"I heard really good reviews online for Cazoo and thought it was a reputable company."

At start of May, Ms Rylands noticed an engine fault light and took the car to the garage.

"I paid £250 for a diagnostics test. It turned out a diesel piston had gone and if it wasn't fixed it would damage the car further," she said.

"I was told not to drive it any further. The garage told me that these faults would have first occurred before I bought it."

As she was still in the 90-day period for her warranty, she said she reported the fault to Cazoo but was told "the only thing I could do was to apply to be a creditor and I could get some money back".

She added: "I suspect I’ll be at the back of the queue and it may reach a point where there's no money left for people like me."

Ms Rylands contacted The Warranty Group, now part of Assurant, but her extended warranty does not cover the repairs as the fault happened before it kicked in.

She said the experience had left her feeling frustrated and in an awkward position.

After having to rely on her partner's car, she forked out more than £1,000 for the repair work and is not sure if she'll get the money back.

"I trusted Cazoo to sell me something that would work, or at least be very honest about things that needed fixing.

"My partner and I are looking to buy a house in the area but now I have to use the money for the repairs. It's such a frustrating issue."