Car sold without legal lights

harveybobbles

The fog light should be on the outside light cluster. ie if it's right hand drive it should be on the right, if its left hand drive it should be on the left... some, but not many have two rear fog lights. As for the reverse light - it's not tested on the MOT, so your guy was just being helpful pointing it out.

It could have had a bump and someone relaced the lights with some cheap ones which were never tested correctly.

I had a 307 with aftermarket headlights which were the wrong way, but it passed it's mot.

molerat

Possibly original ordered for British Forces Germany and for some reason not delivered or sold early on.

Silk

harveybobbles wrote: »

I had a 307 with aftermarket headlights which were the wrong way, but it passed it's mot.

It would not pass an MOT if the lights dipped the wrong way so either they did dip the right way or the MOT station did not test them

DrScotsman

Okay, this thread is a bit all over the place as to where the car is from, so let's make it clear.

Is it right hand drive?
Did you buy it in the UK?
At any point were you told it was an import?
At any point were you told that the lights were pointing the wrong way?

If you answer Yes/Yes/No/No, then you have a very clear cut case in my opinion, unless there's something in another act that cancels out the Sale of Goods Act. For the car to be "fit for purpose" it would have to be road legal (unless you bought it for £1 or something like that), which it isn't. So the dealer is liable to make it fit for purpose, and provided that's all you failed the MOT on, pay your retest fees (although I imagine they'd try to resist that)

Hintza

My suggestion to OP is to speak to dealer first before getting too excited about it. It has happened nothing you can do about it now. All you really want them to do is sort the problem out for you.

I'm slightly concerened that the OP is angling to push this further?

TLSH31

Thanks for your advice. As Trading Standards closed I was just looking for some peace of mind as to whether the dealer could just claim he didn't know either and I couldn't do anything about it.

The car was 1st registered in the UK, I'm guessing it was imported because its the only logical explanation. The dealer never said it was imported or said anything about the lights believe me I didn't pay a £1.

Believe it or not though it's not often driven at night I haven't been flashed lots and my partner who drives it says the same. The other problem is just with fog light on the wrong side not the reverse light.

And Hintza, I called the dealer this morning, was passed to 3 different people and then told the person who needed to deal with it would call me back but they had no idea when. I do just want them to 'sort the problem' without the cost and inconvenience of not having a car while they decide what they will do and when they will do it. I hope that resolves your concern.

Premier_2

molerat wrote: »

Possibly original ordered for British Forces Germany and for some reason not delivered or sold early on.

It certainly sounds like an ex-forces vehicle.

I don't think Ford produce a Focus in this configuration (RHD but suited to be driven on RHS of road), but garages in British forces areas (e.g. Germany) modify the vehicles to suit local conditions.

The headlights are quite straightforward; just replace the headlight units.
(I don't think the dipping direction is adjustable like on some cars, e.g. Jaguar)

The rear lights are more problematic. As well as changing the lenses, the wiring would have been modified in some way.

Premier_2

TLSH31 wrote: »

...The other problem is just with fog light on the wrong side not the reverse light...

Where is the reversing light situated? I thought it was opposite the fog light in the bumper?

However, if your car has 2 locations for fog lights, but only one side lights, it's possibly very easy to rectify. The wiring loom would cater for both sides. It may simply be a matter of taking out the bulb and putting it in the other side

Rolandtheroadie

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Nothing to do with what side the steering wheel is on.

I'd imagine any company in the world building cars for the UK market will first of all decide "Right, lets put the steering wheel on the right hand side for these ones" then some little guy in the corner will say "and we better change the way the lights shine as well so we dont blind oncoming vehicles".

Hotspur

The Sale of Goods Act applies and the good (car) must be fit for purpose when sold/supplied. If you can show it wasn't, and the MOT test fail is a good indication, then you have six years in order to make a claim.

The resolution would be, IMO, for the seller to rectify the problem by replacing the lights with the appropriate parts. I would expect the seller to replace all parts FOC as lighting isn't generally considered a wear and tear item.