Bought a car..later found it has been in an accident

bobcfi

Hi,

Recently purchased a BMW. Around £30,000. From a dealer but not BMW.

The car is only a year and half old with 6000 miles. I was told it was a finance reposession.

Was given an RAC check all parts passed and ok. (Not done by myself)

Given an HPI check...all clear. (not done by myself)

I asked the dealer if it has been in an accident. He advised NO.

Owned the car for around 5 weeks and for the last few weeks kept hearing a knocking noise. When taken to BMW for a service, was informed that the car has been in an accident and repaired. But there are still many damaged items of the bodywork damaged/cracked and or welded.

They advised me to take it to the specialist bmw bodyshop to get the exact extent of the damage etc.

I have contacted consumer direct and have been advised to write to the finance company who now own the car (as it is on hire purchase), using a template letter asking them to sort the problem out. Which i have done.

What i would like to know is where do i stand in all of this. I have purchased a car that i had been told hasn't been in an accident-i would never have purchased having known the history. I do not want the car to be fixed, i actually want to cancel the finance and return the car. Is this a right that i have?

The stage i am at right now is I have sent a letter asking for the problem to be sorted and given 14 days for a reply. It has been around a week.

If anyone has any advise at all it would be greatly appreciated. thank you

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LinasPilibaitisisbatman

Taking it straight to the finance company seems premature.

It may be a genuine mistake by the dealer who will resolve it first. Id definitly give the dealer a call and get his take on it first.

Can you prove any of what was said about accidents/HPI/RAC checks etc?

Is the independent dealer willing to say the car was unroadworthy?

cookie_monster

Unless the accident has been reported I doubt it will show on HPI but it sounds like it should have been picked up by the RAC report.

Have you tried to contact the previous owner to check history?

yummymummy79

As it's on HP then the finance company is the legally responsible party for the car so not premature, the dealer could be seen as the finance company's agent though so you could def contact both. As you specifically asked the question about it being in an accident and they gave you a false answer then you could argue that the car didn't meet it's description.

As you've had it for 5+ weeks, recission of the contract for a full refund/cancellation of finance may be tricky but you could argue that you dealt with the issue as soon as you found out about it so it may be an option. I would write to finance co and copy in the garage, assuming the template letter would have mentioned the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 (if it doesn't, then add it in!) and inaccurate description, so go with that and see how it goes initially.

maninthestreet

If you didn't request the HPI check, who did?

sarahg1969

The accident would only be recorded on MIAFTR if is a total loss. If it had been involved in an accident, but deemed repairable, then it would not be recorded on an HPI check.

Or like others have said, the accident may not have been reported to the insurer.

socrates

sarahg1969 wrote: »

The accident would only be recorded on MIAFTR if is a total loss. If it had been involved in an accident, but deemed repairable, then it would not be recorded on an HPI check.

Or like others have said, the accident may not have been reported to the insurer.

Sarah you seem to know a lot about insurance claims - my cousin has an old Fiesta which was deemed too much to repair after an accident.

He decided to buy it from the insurance company and has owned it ever since - can he take advantage of the Scrappage Scheme as technically it was never written off?

sarahg1969

socrates wrote: »

Sarah you seem to know a lot about insurance claims - my cousin has an old Fiesta which was deemed too much to repair after an accident.

He decided to buy it from the insurance company and has owned it ever since - can he take advantage of the Scrappage Scheme as technically it was never written off?

If it's not on MIAFTR, there's no reason why not. As far as I know. There's no way of telling if a car's had an accident (apart from inspecting it, of course!) if it's not registered anywhere.

In fact, would a car be precluded if it had been a previous total loss? If it was a repairable cat D, or a cat C and had got a VIC allowing it to be back on the road, they may still accept them. I honestly don't know what the rules of the scheme are.

bookworm1363

You can write to the dealer and formally reject the car, but you must stop using the car immediately. Your reason for rejecting the car is that you were lied to about the state of the car, and that if you had been made aware of the accident in the first place, you wouldn't have purchased it. Whether it was a genuine mistake or a deliberate lie on behalf of the dealer is completely irrelevant.

I think the 5 weeks shouldn't be a major issue here when it comes to such an expensive item, and especially as you have just found out about the accidnet issue.

Main thing is to act fast and do it in writing. Copy the finance company in the correspondence. Ask the dealer to arrange collection of the car at their expense, it is their responsability.

On a personal note, I completely agree with you, I wouldn't feel secure driving a car like this either and I wouldn't have bought it either (especially not at that price!!!) knowing it had been involved in a crash.

Freddie_Snowbits

I do not get this thread. last year on the M% I smashed the fron bumper, grill and radiator of my Ford Focus, and it was repaired. To me it is none of your business, it was repaired by a Ford Dealer to its original condition.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

Freddie_Snowbits wrote: »

I do not get this thread. last year on the M% I smashed the fron bumper, grill and radiator of my Ford Focus, and it was repaired. To me it is none of your business, it was repaired by a Ford Dealer to its original condition.

Well it reduces the value of the car possibly, not to mention the possible mechanical issues or poor repair so it is relevant to most people buying a car.

The dealer has no duty to disclose as do you however if you are asked and lied you are in breach of contract and are liable for compensation/rejection of vehicle.