New (used) car from dealer gone wrong after 3 days

[Stuballs]

Afternoon

I wanted to canvas opions on how best to proceed in this situation. Picked up a little runabaout from a local dealer on Saturday. Paid nealry £4k on my credit card. drove it on a few short return journeys locally then on Tuesday night as I was arriving home it overheated and spat its coolant.

Called dealer who want to come and collect it to fix it. I told them I have no interest in keeping a car that's gone worng after 3 days and sub 50 miles and just want my money back. I'm entirely entitled to ask for this under the Consumer Rights Act (right to reject goods not of satisfactory quality) provided this is a defect/mechanical failure. They are not keen. Said they first want to see the car as it could be damage. Putting myself in their shoes I think that's fair enough and I'm confident there's no damage but it does have me worried.

Do I risk letting them take the car back and "discovering" damage like a screwdriver through the rad.

Am I better off taking it to a third party to inpect and assess the issue?

Really don't know what to do!

[stevemcs]

Have you got breakdown cover ? if you have call them out and get them to look.

Out of interest what car is it ? Any chance its a Mini, Ford or PSA engined car

[cts1975]

What have the credit card company said? Involve the CCC from the start, follow their advice. It will help in the end that they have notes from the initial problem if you do end section 75'ing the transaction.

Edited by cts1975 on Thursday 4th November 13:49

[123DWA]

How old is the car? If its a split coolant hose or a burst radiator then I'd say that's acceptable on something 10yrs old plus as it is wear & tear (albeit very annoying it happened soon after buying) but if its on a younger car then not so much..

[Panamax]

cts1975 said:

What have the credit card company said? Involve the CCC from the start, follow their advice. It will help in the end that they have notes from the initial problem if you do end section 75'ing the transaction.

This. And I'd definitely get an independent inspection before letting the dealer take the car away. RAC should be able to inspect and report for you. Costs around £100

[Stuballs]

Hi guys

Thanks for all of the replies. Incredibly helpful!

I spoke to the credit company as suggested. They advised me to get an independant garage to look at it first so that's what I'm doing. Seller seems OK with that so all good for now.

I feel like I've done everything I can to protect myself. If the independant garage do find something damaged by road debris, so be it.

P. S. It's a 1.2 corsa 61 plate.

[ZX10R NIN]

As above get an Indy garage to look at it, it's an older car sometimes things go wrong depending on what the diagnosis is if they offer to repair it I'd let them do so but on the proviso that that warranty the work they do.

[Stuballs]

If there's any sign that this occurred due to impact damage (hitting a branch or something), I'm fully aware this will be on me. But I didn't see or hear anything at the time, and my own inspection hasn't shown anything.

However if its any kind of failure, such as the head gasket going or even an old hose splitting, I'd be confident arguing that falls under section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act and entitle me to reject the "goods" as it happened within 30 days - not of satisfactory quality. Goods don't have to be new for section 9 to apply. In fact, age is not mentioned anywhere in the Act as a mitigating factor. Granted car is 10 years old, but it only has 54k miles and has a full service history.

I have no interest in keeping a car that's overheated within 3 days of buying it, even if it can be fixed. I just wouldn't trust it on any long journey.

[Dan W.]

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

[stevemcs]

Water pumps can go on these.............. and head gaskets. The grey area will be if its been cooked.

[cayman-black]

Its good that the dealer is willing to put it right imo. Get it checked over and them tell them to repair it properly.

[anonymous-user]

Try and keep communication to email for future reference?

Doesn’t the garage have a right to attempt repair first , before rejection?

[popeyewhite]

Dan W. said:

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

Consumer Rights Act (2015) gives a buyer the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying a car, new or used. Buyer can reject outright.

[Canon_Fodder]

Stuballs said:

However if its any kind of failure, such as the head gasket going or even an old hose splitting, I'd be confident arguing that falls under section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act and entitle me to reject the "goods" as it happened within 30 days - not of satisfactory quality. .

Yes that's quite right OP. If the car is faulty within the first 30 days you can reject for a full refund. The dealer's right to repair only kicks in after that initial 30 day period.

https://www.whatcar.com/news/your-legal-rights-if-...

[cts1975]

Canon_Fodder said:

Yes that's quite right OP. If the car is faulty within the first 30 days you can reject for a full refund. The dealer's right to repair only kicks in after that initial 30 day period.

https://www.whatcar.com/news/your-legal-rights-if-...

The dealer doesn't have to accept the car back though. Only a court can enforce your legal rights by court order.
You would need to have won in court to get to this stage. The judge will expect you to have appointed an expert witness (forensic engineer) who has compiled a report that is formatted to be submissible as evidence. This report would need to condemn the car. The judge would rely on this report to make a decision.
You really need to push the credit card company to solve this it would be much much easier.

[popeyewhite]

cts1975 said:

The dealer doesn't have to accept the car back though.

True, but if there's a genuine, serious fault with the car it's rare a dealer will reject a 30 day return. I've only heard of it once. Problems seem to arise when a buyer tries to return a car for relatively trivial reasons.

[Dan W.]

popeyewhite said:

Dan W. said:

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

Consumer Rights Act (2015) gives a buyer the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying a car, new or used. Buyer can reject outright.

Can ask sure, doesnt mean it will be granted. most likely op will need to take court action to get a refund if garage decided they want to fix

We have only refunded a customer car once within 30 days and that was due a paintwork complaint, Any mechanical issue we want it back to look at it and fix it.

Edited by Dan W. on Friday 5th November 14:37

[Trevor555]

Dan W. said:

popeyewhite said:

Dan W. said:

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

Consumer Rights Act (2015) gives a buyer the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying a car, new or used. Buyer can reject outright.

Can ask sure, doesnt mean it will be granted. most likely op will need to take court action to get a refund if garage decided they want to fix

Edited by Dan W. on Friday 5th November 14:37

OP paid by credit card.

[Dan W.]

Trevor555 said:

Dan W. said:

popeyewhite said:

Dan W. said:

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

Consumer Rights Act (2015) gives a buyer the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying a car, new or used. Buyer can reject outright.

Can ask sure, doesnt mean it will be granted. most likely op will need to take court action to get a refund if garage decided they want to fix

Edited by Dan W. on Friday 5th November 14:37

OP paid by credit card.

oooof yea garage no chance then lol

[Trevor555]

Dan W. said:

Trevor555 said:

Dan W. said:

popeyewhite said:

Dan W. said:

I think the garage have a right to try to fix the car first before refunds are talked about.

They may wish to just refund you anyway but i would think they will want to fix the car

Consumer Rights Act (2015) gives a buyer the right to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days after buying a car, new or used. Buyer can reject outright.

Can ask sure, doesnt mean it will be granted. most likely op will need to take court action to get a refund if garage decided they want to fix

Edited by Dan W. on Friday 5th November 14:37

OP paid by credit card.

oooof yea garage no chance then lol

I'm certain the dealer was confident it was a decent car otherwise there's no way they'd have let the OP pay by credit card.

I'll guess the dealer became a victim of a customer doing the "my car's got a problem, I'll PX it"

OP it's up to you what you do now, but I'd give the dealer one chance to fix it.

If it is a decent dealer they'll offer to extend your warranty a bit to give you some peace of mind. That's what I'd have done.

Best of luck whatever way you go.