Do traders have to give warranties on used cars?

I have been told a trader must give a min 3 months/3k warranty on selling a used car, is this true?
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  • jeannieblue
    jeannieblue Posts: 4,761
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    I don't think they do... 'Sold As Seen' - springs to mind.

    Ready to be corrected tho.. :D
    Genie
    Master Technician
  • In the main a registered trader has to give you 3 months warranty to comply with sales of good act.
    However this at best a white line warranty....i.e. it covers you for !!!!!! all. Basically only serious mechanical failures.

    They can however get out of this by writing on the invoice something to the effect of: no warranty given or implied.
  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287
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    Sale of Goods says the goods must be:
    • as described
    • of satisfactory quality
    • fit for purpose
    If they are not then it depends when you discover they are not. If it’s close to when you buy it you can reject the goods and get a refund if you want. Later on you are deemed to have accepted the goods and can’t reject but the seller is obliged to fix or compensate.

    Obviously for second hand cars how long this protection applies depends on the car and what it cost (and the opinion of a judge). For a £200 banger it might be a week, for a £20k car it might be a couple of years.

    Other things to note are that any other warranty given by the retailer can only add to your rights under Sale of Goods and not detract from them. Any faults pointed out at the time of sale are not covered. Things like “trade sale”, “no warranty given or implied” etc etc have no effect if you are a retail customer of a dealer.
  • We don't by law, have to give anything. As long as we comply with the SOG act which states that the car must be roadworthy and fit for use.

    I offer one month on EVERYTHING, most places that offer 3*6 months onky cover stuff like engine, axle and gearboxes...
  • +1. I'm sorry viao but almost all that you have said is not true.

    My original post was perhaps a bit to rigid. The SOG in nature is subjective but in my experience 3months tends to be what the trade deems as enough to cover the SOG.
  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287
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    +1. I'm sorry viao but almost all that you have said is not true.

    Care to be more specific?
    My original post was perhaps a bit to rigid. The SOG in nature is subjective but in my experience 3months tends to be what the trade deems as enough to cover the SOG.

    three months might be what the trade deems sufficient but luckily it’s not the trades view that matters, it’s the judges.

    SOG is very subjective and whilst three months (or even less) might be appropriate for some cars it would be way too short for others.
  • Hintza
    Hintza Posts: 19,420
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    +1. I'm sorry viao but almost all that you have said is not true.

    My original post was perhaps a bit to rigid. The SOG in nature is subjective but in my experience 3months tends to be what the trade deems as enough to cover the SOG.

    It will all depend though. You should expect a bit more from say a 4 year old car versus a 14 year old car. I'm sure I have seen some case law on this notably the buyer was told his expectations were far too high for a car of that particular age. Think it s a +/- 10 year old car.
  • scully91
    scully91 Posts: 33 Forumite
    Without quoting law this is how it goes in my opinion, traders do not have to give warranties but the car they sell must be fit for the purpose regardless of price or condition etc. Traders are EXPECTED to know if there is a fault, private people arent.
    If a trader is taken to court then its up to the judge to decide, if your taking the mickey and expecting too much you will get nothing. In my life its always easier to do it the easy and nice way. I had a customer who had a £1000 problem after sale who demanded the whole lot despite him not requiring a warranty because he had money off instead and i offered to meet half way and that was not good enough, the court ordered me to pay £4000 in my absence, £1200 more than the car price i might add!!!!! So far, a year later, they have not recieved a penny and wont recieve any either. He should have taken the £500 instead of being a greedy fool, a lesson to us all i must say.
  • vaio wrote: »
    Care to be more specific?



    three months might be what the trade deems sufficient but luckily it’s not the trades view that matters, it’s the judges.

    SOG is very subjective and whilst three months (or even less) might be appropriate for some cars it would be way too short for others.


    Quite which is why you have some variations on the theme. But suggesting that a judge would make a trader warrant a car they sold 24 months ago is obscene. If that were the case i doubt there would be many traders selling £20k cars. Or if there were they'd get buyers to purchase a extended warranty either through choice or by including it 'FOC' by inflating the price of the car. But since most aren't FSA registered they might find this difficult unless they refered everyone to a online company but then they'd need to have every car officialy inspected to validate the warrant.
    Either way it doesn't add up.

    Secondly if you find a fault on a car after collecting it you can not simply reject it. This applies even on a new car. Taking a brand new car for example for most manufacturers they will only accept rejections if there is a serious faliure of the drivetrain or engine within 3-6months. Obviously in this instance any other faults would be repaired FOC under the Manafacturers warranty.

    The reason 3 months is a common period used by traders is not because that is what they have decided is fair but its because they know thats generally what a court would decide is fair. I know for a fact that this 3 month policy is used by the largest dealer group in this country among others. You can bet your last £1 that they offer this because they have been advised that legally this likely to be the minimum they can get away with.

    I repeat SOG is subjective and their will be expetions to this in either direction. But in general thats what you get and if after going to court to fight it out you got any more that would be a bonus......but more likely than not you'd just have a hefty court fee's plus a repair bill.

    Also reference the trade sale bit. Why would a retailer sell a customer a car as a trade sale? ( TBF i'm not sure of the legallity on this as i've never seen it tested) I've bought a number of cars as "trade sales" because i paid 'trade' price. Therefore why should i expect to retain the same rights as a retail customer??
    Conversley why would a Retailer sell a customer a car at trade price if they retain the same rights as a retail customer. Surely they'd be better just getting it underwritten by another trader or sending it to the block?
  • colino
    colino Posts: 5,059
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    Traders do not have to give a warranty at all.

    If however you have a major fault with a car within the first six months of purchase, it is, albeit still within the remits of reasonability/cost/value etc, for the trader to prove that the major fault was not there when the car was sold. After six months, its down to the buyer to prove.

    OFT/BERR guidelines still will not let you get your £500 back after six months for your banger when you wear out the clutch, brakes and tyres though!

    Interestingly, when you go and see a car and take along "Dave" your pet mechanic to sus out the car for you, the trader can quite legitimately state the car and all its defects have been examined and accepted.
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