Options with a potentially rejecting used car
Discussion
My wife bought a used Audi Q3 Vorsprung in October last year (approximately four years old at the time, but with less than 9k miles), which for the time she had it, she loves it and all the options it comes with. However, for the last eight weeks, it has been in with the selling dealership (not Audi) for the issues I’ll mention below. What we want to know is, what our the options open to us going forward?
Note: I don’t know if there is a reason to withhold details on this topic (can only really go off similar posts where not all the information is shared in the original post) so if there is anything else that needs to be said, I’ll add it in. What I will say is whilst the car was not bought from an Audi dealership, it was bought from a big manufacturer.
13.10.2023 - Purchased car - fault on rear door lock was present on initial test drive but we were told this would be rectified before we took delivery of the car - fault returned within 24 hours of ownership
21.10.2023 - Car returned for the same fault on rear door lock - was only in for a matter of hours with the fault cleared; however, within 24 hours the fault had returned. Efforts were made to get the car back in again to get this rectified with no success
11.11.2023 - Car was returned to garage due to water ingress from the A and B pillars, from where the front seat belts come out of the sides and also both front passenger footwells. When it was returned the garage kept the car under a sprinkler for a full day to try and replicate the issue; however, they contacted us to say they could not see any leaks. We asked if they had tried driving the car to see if this caused the water to run out to where it could be seen and when they did this, it was apparent straight away to the techs that there was a leak somewhere (most obviously the panoramic sunroof)
My wife has been given three different courtesy cars since then, which to be fair are nice to drive and comfortable, but not the car she has paid for and is paying to insure/tax.
Since she purchased the car, she has had it for a total of 29 days and for the last 58 days if has been in for repair. She has contacted the garage again today for an update and has been informed that they are still waiting on a list of parts from Audi that are needed to order to complete the job with no idea on how long this will actually take.
She did take out (what seems to be) a comprehensive 3 year warranty from the selling garage but not sure how relevant this is when the car was returned within such a short time period after purchase.
I’ll say I’m the one pushing towards the reject option (if that is actually open to us) as you just don’t know what other issues will come from the water ingress in from the roof. The fact it was sat under a sprinkler system for a full day would suggest to me that a significant amount of water could have potentially made it inside and cause issues with the electrics or even just mould/damp behind the panels.
We had the car for 29 days before it was returned to the garage and now a further 8 weeks have passed with zero progress made, so I’ll ask, what our our options? Can we reject the car since it was returned within 30 days of purchase or do we still need to give them more time to perform the repair, of which they are no closer to completing?
Thanks,
Matt
Note: I don’t know if there is a reason to withhold details on this topic (can only really go off similar posts where not all the information is shared in the original post) so if there is anything else that needs to be said, I’ll add it in. What I will say is whilst the car was not bought from an Audi dealership, it was bought from a big manufacturer.
13.10.2023 - Purchased car - fault on rear door lock was present on initial test drive but we were told this would be rectified before we took delivery of the car - fault returned within 24 hours of ownership
21.10.2023 - Car returned for the same fault on rear door lock - was only in for a matter of hours with the fault cleared; however, within 24 hours the fault had returned. Efforts were made to get the car back in again to get this rectified with no success
11.11.2023 - Car was returned to garage due to water ingress from the A and B pillars, from where the front seat belts come out of the sides and also both front passenger footwells. When it was returned the garage kept the car under a sprinkler for a full day to try and replicate the issue; however, they contacted us to say they could not see any leaks. We asked if they had tried driving the car to see if this caused the water to run out to where it could be seen and when they did this, it was apparent straight away to the techs that there was a leak somewhere (most obviously the panoramic sunroof)
My wife has been given three different courtesy cars since then, which to be fair are nice to drive and comfortable, but not the car she has paid for and is paying to insure/tax.
Since she purchased the car, she has had it for a total of 29 days and for the last 58 days if has been in for repair. She has contacted the garage again today for an update and has been informed that they are still waiting on a list of parts from Audi that are needed to order to complete the job with no idea on how long this will actually take.
She did take out (what seems to be) a comprehensive 3 year warranty from the selling garage but not sure how relevant this is when the car was returned within such a short time period after purchase.
I’ll say I’m the one pushing towards the reject option (if that is actually open to us) as you just don’t know what other issues will come from the water ingress in from the roof. The fact it was sat under a sprinkler system for a full day would suggest to me that a significant amount of water could have potentially made it inside and cause issues with the electrics or even just mould/damp behind the panels.
We had the car for 29 days before it was returned to the garage and now a further 8 weeks have passed with zero progress made, so I’ll ask, what our our options? Can we reject the car since it was returned within 30 days of purchase or do we still need to give them more time to perform the repair, of which they are no closer to completing?
Thanks,
Matt
richhead said:
can you even reject a second hand car?
I bought an 2009 XKR in 2021 which blew up after 10 days. I rejected it. Mind you that was a 'mail order' sale so I probably had more rights.Normally 'refund' is last on the legal list after 'repair' and 'replace'. Maybe have a word with Citizen's Advice.
Simpo Two said:
richhead said:
can you even reject a second hand car?
I bought an 2009 XKR in 2021 which blew up after 10 days. I rejected it. Mind you that was a 'mail order' sale so I probably had more rights.Normally 'refund' is last on the legal list after 'repair' and 'replace'. Maybe have a word with Citizen's Advice.
Was hoping someone would be able to tell me that eight weeks was long enough time to give them the opportunity to repair the car so we could now say we no longer want it.
Cheers,
Matt
I'm no expert, but this is my experience from last year.
Short version.
Bought a 5 year old motorbike.
4 days later reported a fault.
7 days later goes in for repair, dealer has it for 2 weeks
2 weeks after return (so more than 30 days after purchase) engine goes pop.
I spoke to a legal rep, who is provided as part of my membership to a motorcycle group.
Apparently as I had reported within 30 days it reset a clock, I seem to remember 6 months was mentioned.
Luckily as soon as I told the dealer what happened, they accepted the rejection (I honestly expect them to fight it).
So rejection is possible, and sounds the sensible thing to do.
Short version.
Bought a 5 year old motorbike.
4 days later reported a fault.
7 days later goes in for repair, dealer has it for 2 weeks
2 weeks after return (so more than 30 days after purchase) engine goes pop.
I spoke to a legal rep, who is provided as part of my membership to a motorcycle group.
Apparently as I had reported within 30 days it reset a clock, I seem to remember 6 months was mentioned.
Luckily as soon as I told the dealer what happened, they accepted the rejection (I honestly expect them to fight it).
So rejection is possible, and sounds the sensible thing to do.
Simpo Two said:
richhead said:
can you even reject a second hand car?
I bought an 2009 XKR in 2021 which blew up after 10 days. I rejected it. Mind you that was a 'mail order' sale so I probably had more rights.Normally 'refund' is last on the legal list after 'repair' and 'replace'. Maybe have a word with Citizen's Advice.
Was hoping someone would be able to tell me that eight weeks was long enough time to give them the opportunity to repair the car so we could now say we no longer want it.
Cheers,
Matt
You’ve given the dealer a very fair opportunity to fix and if you look up consumer rights on the CAB website you’ll see what you can do. I’d start by seeing if the dealer is open to swapping the car even if it means sourcing one. If they can’t do that I’d ask if I could have my money back (they can deduct a fee for fair use I believe). If they disagree you could start looking at legal options but will be best to try and stay on friendly terms.
richhead said:
can you even reject a second hand car?
Eh?!?Of course you can.
OP, there's a few threads on rejecting cars on here if you search.
Also just do a Google search and there will be information re. rejecting a used car.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the...
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We are a nation of car lovers and car users, but what do you do when your dream car turns into a nightmare?
Help is here!
With experts on hand to assess your individual situation and guide you through the difficult process of rejecting your car, you can relax and be confident that the best outcome can be achieved.
We operate across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, so no matter where you are, we can help
Check this out.
GreatGranny said:
Eh?!?
Of course you can.
OP, there's a few threads on rejecting cars on here if you search.
Also just do a Google search and there will be information re. rejecting a used car.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the...
does this apply to buying from private seller or non trade sellers as well ?Of course you can.
OP, there's a few threads on rejecting cars on here if you search.
Also just do a Google search and there will be information re. rejecting a used car.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the...
Thanks for all the comments, and will follow the advice suggested in contacting citizens advice first to see what they say.
I do think that the dealer doesn’t want the hassle either of getting it sorted, so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement. Vorsprung Q3’s seem to quite scarce when you search for them and to be honest, I think I’d rather avoid them since they all come with the pano roof. But as it’s not my car, I don’t know what my wife will want to do.
I don’t think it’s been in a crash, it was owned by a disabled person and think it was just sat still for the majority of 2020-2021 and the seals have just degraded, but could be wrong.
Will reply back again when I have an update.
Cheers,
Matt
I do think that the dealer doesn’t want the hassle either of getting it sorted, so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement. Vorsprung Q3’s seem to quite scarce when you search for them and to be honest, I think I’d rather avoid them since they all come with the pano roof. But as it’s not my car, I don’t know what my wife will want to do.
I don’t think it’s been in a crash, it was owned by a disabled person and think it was just sat still for the majority of 2020-2021 and the seals have just degraded, but could be wrong.
Will reply back again when I have an update.
Cheers,
Matt
Ma77y said:
Thanks for all the comments, and will follow the advice suggested in contacting citizens advice first to see what they say.
I do think that the dealer doesn’t want the hassle either of getting it sorted, so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement. Vorsprung Q3’s seem to quite scarce when you search for them and to be honest, I think I’d rather avoid them since they all come with the pano roof. But as it’s not my car, I don’t know what my wife will want to do.
I don’t think it’s been in a crash, it was owned by a disabled person and think it was just sat still for the majority of 2020-2021 and the seals have just degraded, but could be wrong.
Will reply back again when I have an update.
Cheers,
Matt
A sun roof is potentially troublesome, a pano double so. I do think that the dealer doesn’t want the hassle either of getting it sorted, so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement. Vorsprung Q3’s seem to quite scarce when you search for them and to be honest, I think I’d rather avoid them since they all come with the pano roof. But as it’s not my car, I don’t know what my wife will want to do.
I don’t think it’s been in a crash, it was owned by a disabled person and think it was just sat still for the majority of 2020-2021 and the seals have just degraded, but could be wrong.
Will reply back again when I have an update.
Cheers,
Matt
I'd avoid.
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