Can I reject a car that was collected in person?

[yell0w]

So I purchased a car in person, stupidly should of had it delivered like I do every car. I went to see it and looked around it, looked fine and all was well. Finance went through, I was late for a meeting so collected the car and only had a brief look inside of the show room.

I stated it had kerbed wheels that needed replacing, and he stated it'd be done and the tyres would be sorted.

This was a £65,000 car from a second hand dealership that pride themselves in this sort of car, 5 stars on AT out of 60 reviews.

• Got home and noticed a bumper looked like it had a tighter gap on one end, so I've inspected more and noticed the paintwork was really flat. Upon closer inspection, the shoddy repair job is already chipping paint on a corner.

• The paint is flat in other spots also, the old owner may have reversed into something at one point.

• They have replaced the tyre with a budget tyre which was hidden against a wall, pretty smart but stupid of me not to check.

• They have also just filled in the kerbing with a paint pen, which is already chipping after a day.

Where do I stand, if anything? I know I should have inspected closer, but it's ridiculous and embarrassing to let a car go out like that.
I have sent an email asking to return the car stating the reasons, or asking for the money to rectify the issues, but it has killed the experience to the point I'd rather return it and let them deal with it.

Will the finance company help at all, or am I just hoping for the dealer to give me a hand?

[Auto810graphy]

In short you inspected it on trade premises however if you asked them to repair or replace something and they agreed you should expect it to be done. It is not a reason to reject by a polite e-mail to the dealership should get this resolved without any involvement from the finance company.

[Simpo Two]

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

[mcpoot]

Simpo Two said:

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

Do they? What makes you say that?

[Gary C]

mcpoot said:

Simpo Two said:

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

Do they? What makes you say that?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) ?

but only after 30 days ?

[Simpo Two]

mcpoot said:

Simpo Two said:

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

Do they? What makes you say that?

OK, valid point: https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledge-base/w...

But I doubt very much the dealer is just going to say 'Ah yes of course!' and hand the OP £65K.

[mcpoot]

Gary C said:

mcpoot said:

Simpo Two said:

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

Do they? What makes you say that?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) ?

but only after 30 days ?

I was being facetious.
Within first 30 days the seller has no right to repair. After 30 days they need only be allowed one attempt.

[Gary C]

mcpoot said:

Gary C said:

mcpoot said:

Simpo Two said:

The dealer has the right to repair the issues.

Do they? What makes you say that?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) ?

but only after 30 days ?

I was being facetious.
Within first 30 days the seller has no right to repair. After 30 days they need only be allowed one attempt.

[dundarach]

Sounds like wear and tear on a used car to me, it doesn't affect the main job of a used car, which is to drive and stop.

I think you're going to be pushed to get anything more.

What car, how old, how many miles?

i appreciated £65,000 is a lot used, however, paint chips and a bit of wheel damage I'd expect on anything having done several thousand miles.

That said, try it and see what they offer.

[mcpoot]

dundarach said:

Sounds like wear and tear on a used car to me, it doesn't affect the main job of a used car, which is to drive and stop.

I think you're going to be pushed to get anything more.

What car, how old, how many miles?

i appreciated £65,000 is a lot used, however, paint chips and a bit of wheel damage I'd expect on anything having done several thousand miles.

That said, try it and see what they offer.

All reasonable comments however OP said "I stated it had kerbed wheels that needed replacing, and he stated it'd be done and the tyres would be sorted."
If dealer has agreed to replace wheels but then roughly touches in the damage then that could be grounds for rejection. Plus CRA2015 says a higher price brings a higher expectation so replacing a premium tyre with a budget one is not on when paying £65,000.

[Trevor555]

yell0w said:

I stated it had kerbed wheels that needed replacing, and he stated it'd be done and the tyres would be sorted.

Will the finance company help at all, or am I just hoping for the dealer to give me a hand?

Replace the wheels?

And all they've done is touched them in?

Letter to dealer outlining what was agreed at point of sale, and state what you expect them to do.

And give them a deadline to respond with a solution, otherwise it could drag on.

Let us know what the dealer says.

Re the finance company, yes. Contact them, copy them in on your emails with the dealer. Making a quality complaint to the finance co will get the dealers attention. But if it's a straight rejection you decide to go for, then letter of rejection to dealer and finance co.

Edited by Trevor555 on Monday 12th August 11:16

Edited by Trevor555 on Monday 12th August 11:18

[Tommo87]

Was the agreement on the wheels to replace, or refurbish?

A single OE alloy can be a couple thousand pounds, so I would assume they were thinking refurb, but took the Arhur Daley approach, rather than having it done professionally.

[Jimjimhim]

I would imagine that used cars will cost all of us more money if people keep returning cars because they've changed their mind!

[andymc]

You inspected the car, you own it, no one would replace wheels would they?

[ZX10R NIN]

yell0w said:

So I purchased a car in person, stupidly should of had it delivered like I do every car. I went to see it and looked around it, looked fine and all was well. Finance went through, I was late for a meeting so collected the car and only had a brief look inside of the show room.

I stated it had kerbed wheels that needed replacing, and he stated it'd be done and the tyres would be sorted.

This was a £65,000 car from a second hand dealership that pride themselves in this sort of car, 5 stars on AT out of 60 reviews.

• Got home and noticed a bumper looked like it had a tighter gap on one end, so I've inspected more and noticed the paintwork was really flat. Upon closer inspection, the shoddy repair job is already chipping paint on a corner.

• The paint is flat in other spots also, the old owner may have reversed into something at one point.

• They have replaced the tyre with a budget tyre which was hidden against a wall, pretty smart but stupid of me not to check.

• They have also just filled in the kerbing with a paint pen, which is already chipping after a day.

Where do I stand, if anything? I know I should have inspected closer, but it's ridiculous and embarrassing to let a car go out like that.
I have sent an email asking to return the car stating the reasons, or asking for the money to rectify the issues, but it has killed the experience to the point I'd rather return it and let them deal with it.

Will the finance company help at all, or am I just hoping for the dealer to give me a hand?

The simple answer is to call them & explain your concerns, then go from there.

Coming on here is pointless until you've spoken to the dealership,

[mcpoot]

Jimjimhim said:

I would imagine that used cars will cost all of us more money if people keep returning cars because they've changed their mind!

Yes, because that's obviously what's happened here isn't it?

[maz8062]

This is a crazy story and perhaps a sign of the times in 2024. Who buys a £65k car and takes just a cursory look over it before signing the paperwork and setting off to attend an “urgent meeting?” It’s a £65k car for Christ sakes - on finance at ££££ per month for the privilege.

Note the op stated that he should have had it delivered, presumably so that he could change his mind because of distance selling rules. This is where the op has slipped up - he appears to rely on being able to just send it back like buying a pair of shoes over the internet.

This approach to buying cars is not sustainable and it WILL cost more to buy cars if the practice continues.

My advice to the op, stop wasting people’s time and take the buying process seriously. Or because it is less than 30 days think of a spurious reason to hand the thing back and get a full refund - because you can.

[yell0w]

Quick update:

Dealer has taken the car back and it's been rejected, finance company have agreed car has been rejected and have it in writing from the dealership.
They tried saying they don't want the car back, they're under no legal obligation to take it back etc - finance company disagreed and they've now accepted it, put it back up for sale and paid it off.

The next task is getting them to refund my deposit, they're stating they bought the car back for the finance settlement (despite emails from myself, dealer, broker and finance company all agreeing it was rejected). They're saying they have no legal obligation to refund me, finance company are saying yes they do. They have 14 days to refund it, or they'll refund me themselves with interest + admin fees and pursue them in court for it.

Finance company said I have to get everything back, including admin fees and they can't take a penny as the car was rejected.

Also for those asking: I have photos of the car from when we went to see it originally, half of the damage was done after I viewed it.

[Trevor555]

yell0w said:

Quick update:

The next task is getting them to refund my deposit, they're stating they bought the car back for the finance settlement (despite emails from myself, dealer, broker and finance company all agreeing it was rejected). They're saying they have no legal obligation to refund me, finance company are saying yes they do. They have 14 days to refund it, or they'll refund me themselves with interest + admin fees and pursue them in court for it.

.

What an idiot dealer who clearly knows nothing about their responsibilities.

Fire back an email stating you're reporting them to the FCA, and copy in the finance company.

See how quick they change their stupid minds.

[yell0w]

Trevor555 said:

What an idiot dealer who clearly knows nothing about their responsibilities.

Fire back an email stating you're reporting them to the FCA, and copy in the finance company.

See how quick they change their stupid minds.

It gets even better, the finance deal was unwound and car rejected.

My broker has chased them for the deposit back as the case cannot be closed until the deposit has been returned. The dealer is saying he had a verbal agreement with me to keep all of the deposit or I'd keep the car. Then once he was told the car was defective, and he had no choice but to take it back, he said he had an email from me that stated he could keep all of my deposit... still waiting to see said email.

Laughable he thinks he was going to bend CRA 2015 and "only" accept the return of the car if it meant he could keep 6k of mine.

They must live in their own world... now the finance company are going to transfer me the money with interest, then chase him down for it. Baffles me how these companies exist.