Bought a car off premises, delivered yesterday, can I return

[VISE]

So to make this story straightforward:

I purchased a car off-premises on finance from a main dealer (during covid, it got delivered yesterday to my door) and I've now sort of decided I miss my RWD BMW M cars so would prefer another M3 rather than go to a 4wd car. It's not a daily, so it makes sense to have a RWD car that I have more fun in.

The car I've bought has very, very strong residuals and the dealer won't need to worry about shifting it, it would be gone the next day but will I have to either:

A) find a genuine fault with the car, if there is one.
B) take a loss if no fault
C) be able to just say I'm unhappy with the car, I'd like to return it within the 14 day cooling off period.

I've found a lot of conflicting data, I didn't go to the dealer at all and the whole sale has been done over the phone/email so I've only signed e-forms, never saw the car in person before purchasing.

[andygo]

Distance selling regs may be your saviour here. Google it, I'm not a lawyer.

[interstellar]

Then just say you want to return under the 14 days cooling off period and say it’s not for you.

Edited by interstellar on Friday 16th April 15:54

[Krikkit]

interstellar said:

Then just say you want to return under the 14 days cooking off period and say it’s not for you.

Yep, presumably the dealer's prepared for this.

[VISE]

andygo said:

Distance selling regs may be your saviour here. Google it, I'm not a lawyer.

A lot of conflicting data here, I asked the finance company (Alphera) and they said the dealership would need to agree. I'm happy to pay for the delivery charges and lose a bit of money in the process, just not in the multiples of thousands for the sake of me wanting a different car.

interstellar said:

Then just say you want to return under the 14 days cooking off period and say it’s not for you.

Would this actually work? I thought there had to be a genuine fault, but unsure if that's just from in person deals.

[VISE]

Krikkit said:

Yep, presumably the dealer's prepared for this.

It feels a bit silly because it's a great car, but it's a bit numb considering it's not a daily.

[anonymous-user]

You’re still within your cooling off period. Get on to the dealership. Many will agree, especially if the car you want is at that dealership or within their network. Some might spin a yarn of how you can only reject on finance if there is something wrong with it. That’s not the case here. Some dealerships also have a no quibble 21 day term! If you’re not happy then send it back. Ask them and find out.

I bought a BMW G20. Found it so shoite. Within 14 days I rejected it. Bought a 440i GC from the same dealer. No additional transport charges. Dropped one off and collected the other. No harm done.

[VISE]

Super_G said:

You’re still within your cooling off period. Get on to the dealership. Many will agree, especially if the car you want is at that dealership or within their network. Some might spin a yarn of how you can only reject on finance if there is something wrong with it. That’s not the case here. Some dealerships also have a no quibble 21 day term! If you’re not happy then send it back. Ask them and find out.

I bought a BMW G20. Found it so shoite. Within 14 days I rejected it. Bought a 440i GC from the same dealer. No additional transport charges. Dropped one off and collected the other. No harm done.

Unfortunately for me, this is an Audi dealership. But I might just give it the weekend to see how I feel, if I've decided next week it's not for me 100%, I'll email them.

Would I just say it's not the right car for me? And what would be my counter if they said they can only take it back if there's a fault? The car I've bought is fully loaded and they're holding money very well so I know full well it would sell within 24 hours of it going back up.

A simple google brought me the following from their AutoTrader profile:
"We all change our minds every now and then. If your choice turns out to be the wrong one, our 14 day money back guarantee gives you the option to simply return any used car purchased online. Terms and conditions apply".

Edited by VISE on Friday 16th April 15:48

[anonymous-user]

Assuming it was ALL done remotely then it's a distance sale, you don't need to give a reason, you have a 14 day cooling off period. The end.

If you visited the premises to do any paperwork, etc, then it isn't a distance sale.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-f...

Edit: I see you've found it on their autotrader profile. Nice of them to present your statutory rights as if it's some special benefit for buying from them online

[VISE]

charltjr said:

Assuming it was ALL done remotely then it's a distance sale, you don't need to give a reason, you have a 14 day cooling off period. The end.

If you visited the premises to do any paperwork, etc, then it isn't a distance sale.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-f...

Nope, never visited the dealership at all.

Also, I only received the car yesterday and signed the paperwork for the finance on the 14th. They've put down the date of the sale as the 30th as I left a deposit on the 20th (had to sell my current car). Am I still within the 14 days? The rest of the deposit was sent 7th April. According to the motor ombudsman, it's 14 days from the day I receive the car - just wanted to be sure in case they try to wiggle it.

[interstellar]

you are worrying about nothing.

14 days from receipt of the car

You don't need a reason

It's distance selling.

Decide what you want to do then call them if you want to return it

The send a mail not the other way round.

[VISE]

interstellar said:

you are worrying about nothing.

14 days from receipt of the car

You don't need a reason

It's distance selling.

Decide what you want to do then call them if you want to return it

The send a mail not the other way round.

Thank you! Appreciate it massively, it was making me nervous for no reason apparently.
Going to give it this weekend and get back to them on monday/tuesday.

Also, I didn’t use their finance. I used Alphera through my own broker as it was a better rate, will this cause any issues?

Edited by VISE on Friday 16th April 16:08

[Trevor555]

Did they inform you of your 14 days to change your mind and return the car?

If they didn't then the 14 days keeps extending until they do, up to one year.

Call citizens advice, it's a free expert on the end of the phone.

They helped sort a recent battle for me, and even have template letters on the website for you to use.

[VISE]

Trevor555 said:

Did they inform you of your 14 days to change your mind and return the car?

If they didn't then the 14 days keeps extending until they do, up to one year.

Call citizens advice, it's a free expert on the end of the phone.

They helped sort a recent battle for me, and even have template letters on the website for you to use.

Nope, nothing of the sort. It might be in the paperwork they sent me over when I placed a deposit on the car which I signed, would that count?

[Trevor555]

VISE said:

Trevor555 said:

Did they inform you of your 14 days to change your mind and return the car?

If they didn't then the 14 days keeps extending until they do, up to one year.

Call citizens advice, it's a free expert on the end of the phone.

They helped sort a recent battle for me, and even have template letters on the website for you to use.

Nope, nothing of the sort. It might be in the paperwork they sent me over when I placed a deposit on the car which I signed, would that count?

Yes, it would count if it's in there.

Please call citizens advice, they really are experts, and are there for you as a consumer.

BMW simply ignored me after giving me a final decision, Citizens advice guided me through the whole thing, for free.

[VISE]

Trevor555 said:

Yes, it would count if it's in there.

Please call citizens advice, they really are experts, and are there for you as a consumer.

BMW simply ignored me after giving me a final decision, Citizens advice guided me through the whole thing, for free.

So still would have 14 days from yesterday, which is more than enough time I guess!

Will give it the weekend to sit on it, I don't want to make a decision for the sake of it either.

[Trevor555]

VISE said:

Trevor555 said:

Yes, it would count if it's in there.

Please call citizens advice, they really are experts, and are there for you as a consumer.

BMW simply ignored me after giving me a final decision, Citizens advice guided me through the whole thing, for free.

So still would have 14 days from yesterday, which is more than enough time I guess!

Will give it the weekend to sit on it, I don't want to make a decision for the sake of it either.

The three dealers I do a bit for are sending the customers their terms and conditions relating to the distance selling rules.

Briefly it includes the customer having to return the car at their expense, and a mileage limitation of which there's a charge if you go over it.

But if your dealer hasn't done this I guess they'll now try to make them up as soon as you tell them you want to return the car.

So be careful how many miles you do in the car.

A charge of £1.50 per mile over 100 miles is the most recent one I've seen.

But again, if they haven't told you I'm not sure they'd be very successful in enforcing it on you.

I've been on courses with lawgistics when I became a sales manager, but my recent help from citizens advice was eye opening for me.

[VISE]

Trevor555 said:

The three dealers I do a bit for are sending the customers their terms and conditions relating to the distance selling rules.

Briefly it includes the customer having to return the car at their expense, and a mileage limitation of which there's a charge if you go over it.

But if your dealer hasn't done this I guess they'll now try to make them up as soon as you tell them you want to return the car.

So be careful how many miles you do in the car.

A charge of £1.50 per mile over 100 miles is the most recent one I've seen.

But again, if they haven't told you I'm not sure they'd be very successful in enforcing it on you.

I've been on courses with lawgistics when I became a sales manager, but my recent help from citizens advice was eye opening for me.

The car was delivered to me, which is around 150 miles away from the dealer. I'd be okay with paying the delivery fees and a few hundred on top if it comes to it - but we'll see how I feel next week. Appreciate your help, as well as everyone else's in this topic.

Just read the agreement that was sent to me, states 14 days from delivery of the car. So 13 days left to decide, even has a form I can submit. Great to know.

Edited by VISE on Friday 16th April 17:16

[anonymous-user]

charltjr said:

Assuming it was ALL done remotely then it's a distance sale, you don't need to give a reason, you have a 14 day cooling off period. The end.

If you visited the premises to do any paperwork, etc, then it isn't a distance sale.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-f...

Edit: I see you've found it on their autotrader profile. Nice of them to present your statutory rights as if it's some special benefit for buying from them online

This. People do ask though. So you can make up anything from job loss to moving country. Anyhow. See how you go. Let us know.

[anonymous-user]

Trevor555 said:

Did they inform you of your 14 days to change your mind and return the car?

If they didn't then the 14 days keeps extending until they do, up to one year.

Call citizens advice, it's a free expert on the end of the phone.

They helped sort a recent battle for me, and even have template letters on the website for you to use.

This as well. However, keep in mind that mileage adjustments and damage come into play as with anything. The car needs to be in a sellable condition. Ideally how it arrived or better. So if you did your revenge travel to Brighton and Hove, destroyed a wheel, punctured a tyre, and asked them to give you every penny back... then appropriate deductions would be made.

Sometimes you just don’t bond with a car or have buyers remorse no matter how much you give it a chance. It happens.