A family who bought a "lemon'' new car which had to be sent back to the dealership seven times in the first 18 months have demanded a fair deal.

Renall and Alan Caisey said they abandoned the car at the Holmes Williams & Purvey car-yard a week ago after two "life-threatening'' problems put them and their granddaughter at risk.

Mrs. Caisey said her family no longer wanted the $18,000 Skoda Felicia station-wagon because she feared it was too dangerous -- instead she wants a replacement or a refund.

"I don't want anything for free,'' an irate Mrs. Caisey said. "All I want is a fair deal. I gave them $18,000 to buy a new car so I wouldn't inherit any of the problems of a used car.'' The family's last car was a Mazda 323 which they had for 14 years.

"This car is obviously a lemon. Within the first year of buying it, it had a knocking in the steering, the back doors wouldn't open and the windshield wipers wouldn't work.

"Each time I took the car in to get it fixed, but I just can't keep doing that whenever there's a problem. In the last few months I have had two life-threatening problems. First there was a gas leak that a mechanic told me could have made the car explode.

"The most recent thing was when the clutch just gave out in the middle of a busy intersection. I had to jam on the brakes and my granddaughter flew smack-bang into the windscreen.

"I got my things out of the car, pushed it to the side of the road and called them to come and pick it up because I don't want to go anywhere near it ever again.'' She made an appeal for others dogged by similar problems to come forward.

Mr. Caisey, a linesman for Belco, and Mrs. Caisey, who looks after children in the family home at Friendship Hill, St. David's, bought the car in March last year from a dealership which has since merged to become Holmes, Williams & Purvey.

They bought the car so she could use it to pick children up from school -- which she had to do on foot at the moment.

"This car has just been one disaster after another. Every couple of months its something else.'' Holmes, Williams & Purvey chief operating officer Jonathan Brewin admitted the Caiseys had had a "number of unfortunate incidents'' with the brand new car.

He said the dealership was prepared to offer an extra year of warranty because of the "inconvenience'' the family had suffered but insisted the car was not a dud.

"We are accepting that they've had some difficulties which one would not usually expect to face with a vehicle of that age.'' But each of the problems had been "rectified'' as it occurred and the company took its commitment to customers seriously.

RENALL CAISEY -- Car `too dangerous'.