advice needed on return of faulty car
Discussion
Would appreciate any help with this one, as I am really struggling.
So my parents bought a skoda fabia for my younger sister. She is currently working/living in Essex and my parents live in Scotland. My dad purchased the car for her at a Skoda main dealer with a full warranty and drove it down to her to use. Within a week the car cut out on the motorway, and skoda breakdown recovered it to the nearest skoda repair centre. This garage repaired it (replaced the ECU) and within two days it happened again. The car has been in the garage for nearly two months on and off, the garage can't fix it, it has since cut out on them at least twice whilst carrying out a test drive.
The local dealer wants the car returned to them, but not at the dealers cost. Suggesting it be driven by my dad or sister the 400 miles back to them, my argument being this isn't reasonable since the car is likely to cut out on the motorway which makes it unsafe. The dealer is also saying they will give the money back for the car, minus the cost of £1 per mile the car has been used. So all in this will cost over £1000, with a return trip to Essex and various test drives by the repair centre.
Where do we stand with this? Would really appreciate anyone with any knowledge or experience in this area commenting. Thanks!
So my parents bought a skoda fabia for my younger sister. She is currently working/living in Essex and my parents live in Scotland. My dad purchased the car for her at a Skoda main dealer with a full warranty and drove it down to her to use. Within a week the car cut out on the motorway, and skoda breakdown recovered it to the nearest skoda repair centre. This garage repaired it (replaced the ECU) and within two days it happened again. The car has been in the garage for nearly two months on and off, the garage can't fix it, it has since cut out on them at least twice whilst carrying out a test drive.
The local dealer wants the car returned to them, but not at the dealers cost. Suggesting it be driven by my dad or sister the 400 miles back to them, my argument being this isn't reasonable since the car is likely to cut out on the motorway which makes it unsafe. The dealer is also saying they will give the money back for the car, minus the cost of £1 per mile the car has been used. So all in this will cost over £1000, with a return trip to Essex and various test drives by the repair centre.
Where do we stand with this? Would really appreciate anyone with any knowledge or experience in this area commenting. Thanks!
Firstly, read up on your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The good news is your are well protected under the CRA and you are dealing with a main Skoda dealer so they should be easier to get a resolution than a back street garage.
You should tell them you are exercising your short term right to reject under the CRA. This means if a fault occurs within the first 30 days you can reject the car and get your money back. Crucially, the clock stops once a fault has been notified - as the fault occurred within the first week and it has not been satisfactorily repaired, you are still within 30 day period.
From the description you have given the car is not safe to drive. You should inform the garage of this, and tell them the car is available to be collected. Importantly - you must not use the car.
Put all this in writing to the dealer principal and make sure you get any response in writing. If you are not happy then escalate via their complaints procedure.
If you paid on finance you should notify the finance company. You could reject the car with the finance company as they are jointly liable but I would start with the dealership.
Under the CRA short term right of rejection the dealer has no right to make a reduction to account for use of the vehicle so bear that in mind in your discussions.
If you need the money back quickly you might consider accepting the partial refund (I.e. with the reduction for use) but make clear this is accepted under duress, is not full or final settlement and you will be pursuing them for the remainder.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
You should tell them you are exercising your short term right to reject under the CRA. This means if a fault occurs within the first 30 days you can reject the car and get your money back. Crucially, the clock stops once a fault has been notified - as the fault occurred within the first week and it has not been satisfactorily repaired, you are still within 30 day period.
From the description you have given the car is not safe to drive. You should inform the garage of this, and tell them the car is available to be collected. Importantly - you must not use the car.
Put all this in writing to the dealer principal and make sure you get any response in writing. If you are not happy then escalate via their complaints procedure.
If you paid on finance you should notify the finance company. You could reject the car with the finance company as they are jointly liable but I would start with the dealership.
Under the CRA short term right of rejection the dealer has no right to make a reduction to account for use of the vehicle so bear that in mind in your discussions.
If you need the money back quickly you might consider accepting the partial refund (I.e. with the reduction for use) but make clear this is accepted under duress, is not full or final settlement and you will be pursuing them for the remainder.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Edited by rikdogguk on Wednesday 21st February 19:01
Edited by rikdogguk on Wednesday 21st February 19:07
What the selling dealer has proposed is pretty much the industry norm.
It's also not their problem the car lives in Essex. They have no obligation (and are unlikely to budge) to get rhe car back to Scotland.
The short answer is you will need to either drive it back yourself or pay for a movement agent to get it back.
Whatever you do (and I assume you already are) is keep it all polite. Going all litigious always ends in a lot of pain and stress. It also rarely gains rhe outcome you hope for.
It's also not their problem the car lives in Essex. They have no obligation (and are unlikely to budge) to get rhe car back to Scotland.
The short answer is you will need to either drive it back yourself or pay for a movement agent to get it back.
Whatever you do (and I assume you already are) is keep it all polite. Going all litigious always ends in a lot of pain and stress. It also rarely gains rhe outcome you hope for.
Jordie Barretts sock said:
Whatever you do (and I assume you already are) is keep it all polite. Going all litigious always ends in a lot of pain and stress. It also rarely gains rhe outcome you hope for.
Agree the OP shouldn't jump straight into legal.But not fair to say it rarely gains the right outcome.
Seen a few people go through the process ang get the correct outcome.
It did cause lots of stress though, agree there, down to the long time the whole process took
In most cases the dealers caved in as soon as court papers landed on doormat.
Edited by Trevor555 on Wednesday 21st February 22:39
I used to reject cars for a finance company. Personally I would say the short term right to reject doesn't apply as repair was agreed so I would class you as rejecting the car due to failed repair which would make you liable for the mileage covered. I do think £1 per mile is on the high side and would try and negotiate that to 50p per mile.
£1.00 a mile seems excessive, surely the worst case scenario should be the difference in market value between the two mileages?
Mainstream cars don't depreciate at that level otherwise there would be many £20k cars worth nothing when they hit 20,000 miles!
And by market value i mean retail value from main dealer as that's how you bought it, not them offering to buy it back as a trade in.
Mainstream cars don't depreciate at that level otherwise there would be many £20k cars worth nothing when they hit 20,000 miles!
And by market value i mean retail value from main dealer as that's how you bought it, not them offering to buy it back as a trade in.
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