A GREENOCK man is having his new car taken off him and receiving a refund after it was plagued by problems and ran up a £2,500 repair bill.

Arnold Clark have vowed to repay Kenneth Harkness after a series of problems following his purchase of a £9,000 Volvo S40 R-design at the end of February.

The frustrated 22-year-old driver says the car spent over a fortnight in the garage being fixed during the first six weeks he had it.

He bought the vehicle from an Arnold Clark dealership in Blackpool but problems started the very next day when power cut out on the motorway, leaving the Greenock man driving along at just 30mph.

He says other errors included engine issues, thermostat faults and problems with the shock absorber.

Mr Harkness, from Tasker Street, also alleged there had been a series of blunders from garage staff.

He says wrong parts were ordered, further delaying repairs, and that a mechanic then reversed the vehicle into another car right in front of him.

Kenneth, who had been using the Arnold Clark Ford branch in Greenock for repairs, believes bosses spent in excess of £2,500 fixing his car before the company decided to cut their losses and take it back.

Mr Harkness said: “It’s got to be the worst experience of my life.

“I was paying back £15,000 on finance for the car so it wasn’t cheap.

“I had it probably a month and a half and they spent about £2,500 on it on repairs.” Bosses at Arnold Clark have acknowledged a string of problems with the car and say that despite the best efforts of their mechanics and the manufacturer, they were unable to fully repair the vehicle.

Now the car is being sent back.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “A business decision has been made with the interests of the customer in mind to arrange for the vehicle to be returned to the branch and we will provide a refund.

“Arnold Clark strives to meet customer satisfaction at all times and this course of action is agreed as the most suitable resolution to the customer’s concerns.”