Rejecting a car, where do I stand now?

[Ollie04TT]

Hi all, I purchased a car recently, it had issues within a week of buying it so I tried to reject it but was told to speak to the warranty company. That took time and before I knew it, I was out of the 30 days and into the first 6 months (Consumer Rights Act rules).

Now the car is mechanically totalled basically and it's all related to what I told them about only a week into ownership. They're now saying they have the right to repair it and give it back to me, but I'm saying I gave them a chance to repair it within a week of ownership and they didn't want to know.

Where do I stand with all of this? - any help appreciated!

[Thats What She Said]

Ollie04TT said:

Hi all, I purchased a car recently, it had issues within a week of buying it so I tried to reject it but was told to speak to the warranty company. That took time and before I knew it, I was out of the 30 days and into the first 6 months (Consumer Rights Act rules).

Now the car is mechanically totalled basically and it's all related to what I told them about only a week into ownership. They're now saying they have the right to repair it and give it back to me, but I'm saying I gave them a chance to repair it within a week of ownership and they didn't want to know.

Where do I stand with all of this? - any help appreciated!

Ask the garage to come and collect the car so that they have an opportunity to fix it. If they wont collect, then you will have to get it recovered to them. Once they have it back, they will either a). fix it and give it back, b). Not be able to fix it, in which case you reject it (you notified them within 30 days so you're ok on this) c). they drag their heels and you hear nothing for weeks/months.

Due to them trying to fob you off to the warranty company, I suspect option C will be the outcome.

Best of luck.

[Monkeylegend]

At the bus stop most likely.

[sixor8]

I think they may be right that 'chance to repair' only occurs after 30 days. Rejection is the option in the first 30 days under the CRA.

[119]

Monkeylegend said:

At the bus stop most likely.

[Ollie04TT]

Monkeylegend said:

At the bus stop most likely.

Got me there!! :')

[Jamescrs]

In theory yes you have a right to reject it but as always trying to enforce that is far easier said than done.

Is it a main dealer you bought from or a back street garage or somewhere in between?

I suspect as they tried to push you to the warranty company it’s not a used approved car?

[Ollie04TT]

Jamescrs said:

In theory yes you have a right to reject it but as always trying to enforce that is far easier said than done.

Is it a main dealer you bought from or a back street garage or somewhere in between?

I suspect as they tried to push you to the warranty company it’s not a used approved car?

Thanks-all for the replies.

The car was purchased from a 'reputable' second hand car dealer. Certainly not a back street type, they had cars worth over a million pounds in the showroom (though they weren't for sale) and the most expensive one they have for sale was almost half a million pounds.

I was very much at the bottom of the rung for them as my car cost me £20k, but this wasn't cheap for what I purchased. I'm a 'lesser' customer for them I suppose.

[Monkeylegend]

What do you mean when you say it is "mechanically totalled"?

[LittleRemee]

Given you're talking about £20,000, I'd probably have a quick preliminary chat with a solicitor who specialises in such matters.

Accepting a repair in the first 30 days, then going through a third party warranty (whereas it should be the dealers responsibility to fix), and driving a car with a known fault until it's 'mechanically totalled' all muddy the waters.

[anyoldcardave]

Ollie04TT said:

Jamescrs said:

In theory yes you have a right to reject it but as always trying to enforce that is far easier said than done.

Is it a main dealer you bought from or a back street garage or somewhere in between?

I suspect as they tried to push you to the warranty company it’s not a used approved car?

Thanks-all for the replies.

The car was purchased from a 'reputable' second hand car dealer. Certainly not a back street type, they had cars worth over a million pounds in the showroom (though they weren't for sale) and the most expensive one they have for sale was almost half a million pounds.

I was very much at the bottom of the rung for them as my car cost me £20k, but this wasn't cheap for what I purchased. I'm a 'lesser' customer for them I suppose.

If you financed the car then contact the finance company, they will get it sorted quicker than you, if not on finance how did you pay for it?

Bank transfer or cash are probably the only way that you have no protection, and should be avoided for large transactions, card payments, especially credit card, you have some protection that will push the dealer to act.

[MrBig]

Ollie04TT said:

Thanks-all for the replies.

The car was purchased from a 'reputable' second hand car dealer. Certainly not a back street type, they had cars worth over a million pounds in the showroom (though they weren't for sale) and the most expensive one they have for sale was almost half a million pounds.

I was very much at the bottom of the rung for them as my car cost me £20k, but this wasn't cheap for what I purchased. I'm a 'lesser' customer for them I suppose.

The showroom isn't in a former multistorey car park is it?

[Olivergt]

MrBig said:

Ollie04TT said:

Thanks-all for the replies.

The car was purchased from a 'reputable' second hand car dealer. Certainly not a back street type, they had cars worth over a million pounds in the showroom (though they weren't for sale) and the most expensive one they have for sale was almost half a million pounds.

I was very much at the bottom of the rung for them as my car cost me £20k, but this wasn't cheap for what I purchased. I'm a 'lesser' customer for them I suppose.

The showroom isn't in a former multistorey car park is it?

That was the first thought that came through my head as after reading this post from the OP.

OP, what's the car and what's the issue, there may well be an "easy" fix? "easy" being a bit flexible here, but it might be an option that you have to consider.

P.S. I can't help with the rejection, but as others have said, just because you have the right to reject, doesn't mean they will just roll over, you could end up in a long drawn out process and still not be successful. Remember, they have your money, so don't really have anything to lose by ignoring you or forcing you to jump through hoops.

Edited by Olivergt on Monday 19th August 15:50

[Ollie04TT]

Update:

They have agreed to buy the car from me now at £19,500. Given I'd done 3000 miles in the car over 2 months, I didn't think this was too bad.

I am sure I could have pushed for the full amount back, but honestly - I couldn't be bothered. I'd done 3000 miles in the (admittedly poorly) car, which was a dream car for me before it shat its gearbox oil out all over the road and nearly set on fire. There was a whole list of other issues too: misfires (blown intake manifold), juddering under acceleration (cause unknown, could have been misfires again), folding mirrors didn't fold, sunroof was failing. Prior to collecting it they'd fitted it with 3 (yes, three) new tyres from Davanti in place of the Bridgestones that are fitted when I test drove it and left may deposit, so I wasn't best please by that. They did it so that it passed an MOT with no advisories, but they weren't the right tyres for the car. Car wasn't serviced before I got it. They didn't remove the window tints the car had, which were clearly a bit naughty, not too bad, but not saleable. My mechanic said he thought it had had the catalytic converter removed so wouldn't pass an MOT next year.

But

Was happy to take the £500 hit as I did feel partial responsible for not picking these things up when I agreed to buy it. I'd done all my research on Jaguar F-Types and intended to buy one of these, but saw this W204 C63 at a garage close by. Having done absolutely no research or test driven any others; the (very pleasant) salesman turned the key to start it and I was immediately sold. The noise alone was worth all the hassle.

Also, can confirm the garage was not operating from a multi storey car park, nor a converted multi storey car park. I'm not going to give up who it was as I'm happy with the outcome and didn't need a solicitor etc to get my money back, they even gave me a courtesy car which they didn't have to. Honestly, I'd still buy a car from them, just so long as I'd properly checked it first.

As a side note, does anyone know of a good pre-purchase inspection service?

Thank you all for the replies and help.

[Olivergt]

OP, thanks for following up with the resolution.

I think you got a good deal there, 500 for 3k miles is fine, I wouldn't be argueing with that either.

But... I don't think I would be going back to them for another car, I would be looking elsewhere.

There are a lot of shady dealers out there, and it generally turns out that the worse they are, the bigger and shinier the showrooms are, remember, to get a big shiny showroom, you need to make a lot of profit, that only comes from one place!

See here for one example, there are others...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/19/tycoon...

[super7]

C63 and Heavy window tints would have been all I needed to carry on looking for F-Types!!!

[maz8062]

Ollie04TT said:

Hi all, I purchased a car recently, it had issues within a week of buying it so I tried to reject it but was told to speak to the warranty company. That took time and before I knew it, I was out of the 30 days and into the first 6 months (Consumer Rights Act rules).

Now the car is mechanically totalled basically and it's all related to what I told them about only a week into ownership. They're now saying they have the right to repair it and give it back to me, but I'm saying I gave them a chance to repair it within a week of ownership and they didn't want to know.

Where do I stand with all of this? - any help appreciated!

It seems like you got a good deal there. The car developed a fault during the first week of ownership but instead of trying to get it fixed, you carried on driving it for 3k miles until it was mechanically totalled. But it’s the dealer’s fault, right? £500 sounds like a bargain.

This consumer act malarkey will be the death knell for smaller car dealers.

[Ollie04TT]

maz8062 said:

It seems like you got a good deal there. The car developed a fault during the first week of ownership but instead of trying to get it fixed, you carried on driving it for 3k miles until it was mechanically totalled. But it’s the dealer’s fault, right? £500 sounds like a bargain.

This consumer act malarkey will be the death knell for smaller car dealers.

Without wanting to type an entire novel to explain the situation:

The fault which developed after a week was repaired, and for the avoidance of any doubt: I didn't use it when it needed repairs. It was driven from their dealership, on their instructions, home, and fixed in my driveway and I was to then claim on the warranty to be reimbursed (not received the money yet, or a response from the warranty co. its been 8 weeks with 2 chasers sent).

Repairs were successful, gearbox limp mode went away. 3k happy miles later, the gearbox shat itself and spilled fluids all over the road and hot exhaust. Leaving a plume of smoke behind me, I thought the thing was on fire. I've just recently learned it was a failed seal which gave way, allowing gearbox oil to spill onto the exhausts. So no big deal after all, I guess? Apparently they've just replaced the seal and filled the gearbox oil up again! An easy and simple repair.

Been informed by said-dealer that they intend to re-sell the car. They've fitted another budget tyre to match the rest, removed the tints, but not fixed the misfire. Probably because its not that bad and it only happens when the car is up to temp. They say their specialist has tested it thoroughly and its all OK now.

What do we think, Thread? Should I take it back? Or take the £19.5k and part ways? I'm torn: I LOVE the car, but my head tells me its just going to be one thing after another.

[Crudeoink]

Ollie04TT said:

Without wanting to type an entire novel to explain the situation:

The fault which developed after a week was repaired, and for the avoidance of any doubt: I didn't use it when it needed repairs. It was driven from their dealership, on their instructions, home, and fixed in my driveway and I was to then claim on the warranty to be reimbursed (not received the money yet, or a response from the warranty co. its been 8 weeks with 2 chasers sent).

Repairs were successful, gearbox limp mode went away. 3k happy miles later, the gearbox shat itself and spilled fluids all over the road and hot exhaust. Leaving a plume of smoke behind me, I thought the thing was on fire. I've just recently learned it was a failed seal which gave way, allowing gearbox oil to spill onto the exhausts. So no big deal after all, I guess? Apparently they've just replaced the seal and filled the gearbox oil up again! An easy and simple repair.

Been informed by said-dealer that they intend to re-sell the car. They've fitted another budget tyre to match the rest, removed the tints, but not fixed the misfire. Probably because its not that bad and it only happens when the car is up to temp. They say their specialist has tested it thoroughly and its all OK now.

What do we think, Thread? Should I take it back? Or take the £19.5k and part ways? I'm torn: I LOVE the car, but my head tells me its just going to be one thing after another.

I would take the money. 4x budget tyres fitted and a fault that hasn't been fixed but isnt that bad.....at the moment. Id walk away from purchasing a C63 based on the tyres alone, but the misfire would have me more worried as they cant fix it so its probably not an easy fix.