When veteran Kingston driving instructor Roy Ketley bought a new car he hoped it would bring years of trouble-free motoring.

But 22,000 miles, three replacement clutches, a new gearbox, clutch cable and pedal box later, he decided enough was enough.

Not satisfied with the car and the dealer he bought it from, Tippens in Surbiton, he decided there was only one course of action left to take protest.

The car has been parked outside the firm's Berrylands Road showroom for several weeks and Roy, who lives in Wallington and teaches in Kingston, intends to leave it there until the road tax runs out in August.

Tippens has repaired the car five times in the past year. But, frustrated with the repeated problems, he asked for a full refund on the £7,000 Kia Rio.

The car dealer, which feels it is not to blame in any way, offered a partial refund reflecting the value of the car and told Roy the recurring problem was a characteristic of cars with a cable clutch.

But Roy, 57, was not satisfied with the offer and commissioned an AA report into the problem which concluded the clutch was "uncharacteristically" stiff.

He told the Comet the clutch pedal was so bad his students could not drive the car properly.

Roy, who has been an instructor for 30 years, said: "I just want to try to protect other consumers.

"If they'd have told me it was a characteristic of the model when I bought the car I would have gone for something else.

"It seems strange they say it's a characteristic after fixing it so many times already.

"If it was a characteristic, why bother fixing it all and wasting their time and money?"

Tippens said it does not accept there is a fault with the car and the repair work was carried out by Tippens at the agreement and expense of the manufacturer in the interest of good customer relations.

A spokesman said: "We have offered to buy the car back at its market value, which has been refused.

"If Mr Ketley wants to pursue the matter further he should take it through the courts rather than taking the law into his own hands in this manner."

djudge@london.newsquest.co.uk