Used car buying rights

wirralite · 9 October 2016 at 12:37AM

My son has been looking for a used car. He was about to get one through a main dealer when I had the brilliant idea of saving him some cash.

I found a car. It is not without its faults but the dealer assured me that everything would be good the day I pick it up. One of then was an apparent oil leak from the gearbox. Dealer said it would be sorted. The car is ex motability

I left a deposit on credit card. Then I googled the company and came up with an endless last of complaints. I have also quickly searched the mot details of the car and found that despite the dealer saying the car just came in, it has been declared Sorn since February 2016.

The car comes with 3 months warranty. They sell longer warranties through an insurance company. Now I'm not sure if the 3 months is with the dealer of the insurance company.

I roughly know my rights according to the same of good act and if anything goes horrendously wrong I have additional protection using my credit card.

But we are also trading in a car. Let's assume they lie to me and the oil leak gets cleaned but not fixed; and I end up fighting for a refund. What happens about the trade in? I'd they sell it on?

Thanks.

Fat_Walt · 9 October 2016 at 12:41AM

First off it'll be the consumer rights act and not sale of goods act that applies.

If they sell your trade in on then any refunds within the first six months will be for the full cost of the car. After six months it'll be minus any use you've had from the car.

mije1983 · 9 October 2016 at 12:50AM

wirralite wrote: »

I left a deposit on credit card. Then I googled the company and came up with an endless last of complaints.

Maybe a better idea to google the company before you hand over money next time

wirralite wrote: »

I have also quickly searched the mot details of the car and found that despite the dealer saying the car just came in, it has been declared Sorn since February 2016.

Quite possible the dealer was right. It may have been off road since Feb with a previous owner and they may have just had it in as a part ex or similar.

wirralite wrote: »

Now I'm not sure if the 3 months is with the dealer of the insurance company.

Probably the dealer, but you need to find that out before you commit. And also what it excludes.

wirralite wrote: »

But we are also trading in a car. Let's assume they lie to me and the oil leak gets cleaned but not fixed; and I end up fighting for a refund. What happens about the trade in? I'd they sell it on?

I would imagine the trade in would be given a value on the invoice. So if you end up having a refund it would probably be the price you paid for the car + the trade in value of your car.

Don't get ahead of yourself though and thinking things will go wrong. Do you know anyone who could go with you that has a bit of car knowledge that could give it the once over?

bris · 9 October 2016 at 1:25AM

In the first 30 days you have rejection rights, after that the sixth month rule comes in but beware however that the 6 month rule doesn't include normal wear and tear . This is a factor when buying a used car, age and mileage is taken into consideration, so an 8-10 year old car is going to have a lot more normal wear and tear than a 2-3 year old car.

As for the trade in, well you can't really expect them to hold onto it just in case you have an issue can you.

unholyangel · 9 October 2016 at 1:27AM

Fat_Walt wrote: »

First off it'll be the consumer rights act and not sale of goods act that applies.

If they sell your trade in on then any refunds within the first six months will be for the full cost of the car. After six months it'll be minus any use you've had from the car.

With motor vehicles the 6 month rule on deductions from refunds does not apply - they can reduce the refund after the short-term right to reject passes I believe.

Trade in would be valued at whatever value was given as a trade in if they couldn't return the car. If you're that worried, take it the day you get it and get another MOT. You might have to pay for it but at least you'd have peace of mind one way or another.

wirralite · 9 October 2016 at 8:25AM

Thank you for all the fantastic advic and information..

Yes it probably would be good to google the company before dealing with them, but I take reviews online with a pinch of salt. I expect there are a lot of fake reviews both positive and negative online, in particular in a competitive industry like the motor industry where one dealer wants to make another look bad for their own benefit.

You are right that I should not assume the deal will go wrong right from the beginning.

As for the car it is a fairly low mileage ex motability car, less than 4 years old. There was a snag list including some damaged trim pieces but externally body work was great. I have "some" knowledge and diagnosed a gearbox leak. Everything has been noted and I am assured it will all be fixed. The salesman assured me if it is not he will return my deposit. And as the deposit is on credit card that should be OK.

I am a little nervous with the warranty only being 3 months, but the obvious answer there is top pay for an independent warranty for a year after the 3 months.

As for the trade in, if things did go sour, the issue there is that it was overvalued on the invoice to reach the agreed price.

I think my own answer is... Pay everything on my credit card, and pay for an independent 12 month warranty, and also visit the dealer the day the work is complete without my son so I can inspect the car and make sure everything, in particular the oil leak is actually resolved.

Thanks again everyone. The 30 day right to reject is something I was not aware of.

wirralite · 9 October 2016 at 8:55AM

Can someone please answer another question for me, before I go reading the full consumer rights.

If I take out an independent warranty, do I need to do so from the day I pick the car up, from when the 3 month warranty expires, or from 6 months according to the consumer rights?

The dealer is offering 3 month warranty. I am assuming that is directly with them, but will check this, and also what is covered. According to consumer rights I have 6 months to complain and expect a resolution; Is this basically like saying they have to offer a 6 month warranty.

This is quite a large, flash dealership by the way; I did go to one that was a guy in the back of an industrial estate, which I walked away from. But the one I purchased from has presence, and some rather expensive cars on the forecourt.

My main concern is the oil leak. Trim, etc. is easy to ensure it is rectified. But a leak on the gearbox could be cleaned with degreaser and made to look fixed, only to resurface slowly over a few months.

takman · 9 October 2016 at 10:24AM

You don't need to pay everything on a credit card. You have paid the deposit so that covers you for the full purchase price.

The consumer rights act does not offer a 6 month warranty of any kind. All it does is mean that you are covered for any faults that are there are the time of purchase. But remember this isn't a new car so wear and tear won't be covered by this.

If you don't trust them to fix the leak properly then arrange to see the car on the ramp and see what they have done before you buy the car. Or fully check it after you buy it to make sure it is fixed and take it back immediately if it isn't.

takman · 9 October 2016 at 10:27AM

Also in my opinion an independent warranty is a waste of time. They won't cover any pre existing faults or bad repairs and won't cover anything related to wear and tear. So it won't offer you much protection in this type of scenario and it's better to just save a monthly amount for future repairs.

unholyangel · 9 October 2016 at 1:09PM

takman wrote: »

You don't need to pay everything on a credit card. You have paid the deposit so that covers you for the full purchase price.

The consumer rights act does not offer a 6 month warranty of any kind. All it does is mean that you are covered for any faults that are there are the time of purchase. But remember this isn't a new car so wear and tear won't be covered by this.

If you don't trust them to fix the leak properly then arrange to see the car on the ramp and see what they have done before you buy the car. Or fully check it after you buy it to make sure it is fixed and take it back immediately if it isn't.

I agree with what you say about a warranty being a waste of time but as for consumer rights act only meaning you are covered for faults.....any fault in the first 6 months is assumed to be inherent and its for the retailer to prove otherwise - not exactly a warranty but given a lot of warranties will only provide cover for manufacturing faults (rather than physical damage etc)....it certainly offers the same protection as some warranties.

Worth noting we dont know what the 3 month warranty terms are though - theres every possibility its very generous. But if it provides less than the law would entitle OP, the warranty terms would possibly be unfair - unless they also explain what the consumers statutory rights are (merely saying "statutory rights are unaffected" will not make an unfair term fair).

The reason I included that last part as I've known secondhand car dealers to try and tell consumers that if anything goes wrong after their 3 month warranty, its tough luck.

Used car buying rights

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