31-07-2025
Mum upset with dealership over airbag fault on car she bought four years ago
A Blackwood mum of two who was driving a car with 'defective' airbags has said the car dealership is at fault.
Bethan Smith, aged 29, has two young children under five. Owen, aged four, and Macsen, who is only 10 months.
Four weeks ago, Bethan took her car for a diagnostics check and was horrified to learn her car that she'd been driving her children in since 2020 was deemed unsafe for road use.
29-year-old mum of two Bethan Smith with partner Chris Smith 38 and sons Owen 4, and 10-month-old Macsen (Image: Bethan Smith) While she believes the fault was present at the time of sale, Trade Centre Wales says it has likely occurred since then but has offered to pay to rectify it if Bethan can provide them with an engineer's report showing it was present when they sold it to her.
Bethan said: 'My car was underpowered. I had my foot to the floor, and it was barely moving so it was plugged in for a diagnostics check.
'They said to me 'Do you know this car's been involved in a crash?'
'The airbags are non-functioning, and the lights on the dash have been tampered with to turn off the warnings so they wouldn't show when they should.'
Bethan's Mazda which she discovered had defective airbags. (Image: Bethan Smith) Bethan was shocked and believes that Trade Centre Wales in Abercynon, where she bought the car from in 2020, should not have sold the car to her in that state.
She said: 'They either knew or they've not checked the car like they said they did which is concerning.'
Bethan's Mazda which she discovered had defective airbags. (Image: Bethan Smith) During the time of the sale, Bethan said she also had questions about paintwork.
She told the Argus: 'I did say at the beginning the bonnet is a completely different colour of the car and they said it's where the light was shining on it."
She now believes it was different due to a repair from a crash.
The contractual agreement between Trade Centre Wales and Bethan. (Image: Bethan Smith) The Argus put the claims to Trade Centre Wales.
Jac Bowen, director of marketing for Trade Centre Wales, said: 'Ms Smith purchased her Mazda over four years ago from us, prior to sale, the car was subject to a manufacturer recall, completed by a local Vauxhall dealership and no-fault codes were reported.
'During our own pre-delivery inspection, no fault codes were identified. It would be reasonable to assume that the airbag fault has developed recently after four years of ownership, the Mazda has also covered approximately 18,000 miles since 2020.
'The above said, we have asked Ms Smith to provide us with an independent engineers report and if that engineers report is received and confirms that the fault was present at the point of sale, then we will of course rectify the fault at our cost.
'We are happy to discuss the matter directly with Ms Smith and help in any way we can within reason.'
The diagnostics report confirming defective airbags in the Mazda (Image: Bethan Smith) At the time of the purchase, Bethan was heavily pregnant with her first child, Owen. As a mother, she has found the entire experience extremely emotional.
Bethan is currently without a car however has said she won't be buying from them again.
