I think I have been sold an imported car - what can I do?

Hello all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice.

I bought a brand new car today, took the finance with the dealer as the apr was good but I'm starting to wonder if it was really a deal too good to be true.

The salesman told me that they had done a deal with the factory and that 6 of these cars were being shipped over, the only stipulation was that they had to pre-register the car. I was happy enough with this as they had taken £5k off the price and the salesman assured me the car was built/had a manufacturing date of 3 weeks ago.

Got the car this afternoon, my friend had one look at the windows and tyres and was able to tell me that it had been built in week 14 of 2008, so the car is a year and a half old and has probably been sitting in a field.

Secondly, we found a piece of paper under the drivers seat that states that the car had actually been brought into Ireland by a dealer there.

I was given a warranty guarantee with the car but this states that the warranty is valid on a uk car sold by a uk dealer, surely this is an import?

I don't know what to do next. I still feel like the car is worth the £15k but at the same time I have been lied to every step of the way by the salesman. It now seems like I have an imported car, I don't know how this affects the insurance, that is already a year and a half old with a dubious warranty.

Could anyone make some suggestions. How do I check if the car is an import?

I also should mention, in the warranty handbook, the dealer has stamped it and written in the registration but has not put in the warranty start date, finish date or the vin number of the car.
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Comments

  • Get over to the dealer first thing in the morning and kick off! You could start by phoning the customer services department of whichever manufacturer made the car and check its history with them. Various issues can crop up with non uk imports, the main one being the warranty, which is most likely to be for two years rather than three, in most cases year three is offerred by the uk importer.
    I'd be rejecting the car, getting the finance stopped and threatening all sorts of hellfire for the dealer/salesman.

    But really, you should have done all this checking BEFORE you took delivery of the car, it's much easier to walk away.

    Good luck!
  • SueSueSue wrote: »
    Well I think your being preprostourous

    Cars very rarely unless a rare or desired model are manufacturd then just sold. Cars are sitting in fields everywhere. Its still a brand new car and I dont think you have any cause for complaint here

    Re import status. I very much doubt it will be classed as an import and first registered in the UK. Many cars sold in the Uk wont be manufactured in the UK. An import is a car registered elsewere and brought in.

    Certainly query it but I think your being paranoid on both parts.

    Cars very rarely unless a rare or desired model are manufacturd then just sold. Cars are sitting in fields everywhere

    Not any more they're not!

    Its still a brand new car and I dont think you have any cause for complaint here

    Despite the dealer giving assurances that it was manufactured three weeks ago. I'd complain like hell!

    Re import status. I very much doubt it will be classed as an import and first registered in the UK. Many cars sold in the Uk wont be manufactured in the UK. An import is a car registered elsewere and brought in.

    Many vehicles are exported to one country where they remain unsold. They are then sold unregistered to the UK, where they are registered. This happens mostly in Eire, being the only other RHD country in Europe. I have two such vehicles. Neither of which came with the third year warranty. I knew this when I bought them and budget/bargained accordingly.

    I think your being paranoid on both parts

    I don't agree. The OP came here looking for genuine advice and a practicable solution. Your advice is unsound, unwanted and unwelcome. Please go troll somewhere else, ie !!!!!!&GTFO.
  • I don't think being an import like this affects the insurance, it didn't affect mine.

    Why not give the dealer in Ireland a ring and see if they can tell you anything.
  • SueSueSue wrote: »
    Well I think your being preprostourous

    Cars very rarely unless a rare or desired model are manufacturd then just sold. Cars are sitting in fields everywhere. Its still a brand new car and I dont think you have any cause for complaint here

    Re import status. I very much doubt it will be classed as an import and first registered in the UK. Many cars sold in the Uk wont be manufactured in the UK. An import is a car registered elsewere and brought in.

    Certainly query it but I think your being paranoid on both parts.

    I specifically asked when the car was built and I was told it came off the line 3 weeks ago. If he had of said that it had been sitting in a field for a year and a half then I wouldn't have a reason to complain but then I also wouldn't have bought the car.

    I know I should have checked the date on the tyres but I was that excited about getting the new car that it just never entered my head at all.

    As far as it being imported goes, I wasn't informed of this. I just happened to find paperwork under the drivers seat stating that it had been inspected and the battery had been checked by a dealer in Galway, Ireland. If I hadn't of seen this then I would have had no idea. This discovery is especially annoying to me as I spoke to the salesman last Tuesday and he told me the car was sitting at Dover waiting to be transported to the dealership.
  • KeithP
    KeithP Posts: 37,306
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    Got the car this afternoon, my friend had one look at the windows and tyres and was able to tell me that it had been built in week 14 of 2008, so the car is a year and a half old and has probably been sitting in a field.
    All your friend has established here is when the glass and tyres were made.
    They may have been stored somewhere before your car was built.
  • KeithP wrote: »
    All your friend has established is when the glass and tyres were made.
    They may have been stored somewhere before your car was built.

    This is what I don't know. From what I have read the tyres are stamped when the car is coming off the production line, this is how you determine when the car was made.

    The glass has 08 on it and the tyres are week 14 of 08.

    I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just repeating the bits and pieces I'm picking up.

    The thing that is annoying me the most is that I spent so much time researching the gap insurance and finance to make sure I got the best deal, I never for one second imagined I would get caught out like this.
  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,684
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    I bought an Audi TT imported from Holland and first registered in the UK. The warranty was only 1 year.
    I would contact the manufacturer. Give them the VIN # and ask them to confirm if it was a UK spec car and warranty.
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • Are you referring to the manufacurers' stamp on the tyre? This would have been done at the tyre factory, not the car factory, it's done so you can tell how old the tyre is, they recommend changing them after ten years regardless of wear because of natural degradation.
    I normally notice at most two months' difference between the tyre date stamp and the facory build date on the cars I order. The car manufacturers don't hold more than a couple of weeks' stock of most parts they buy in.
  • shellsuit
    shellsuit Posts: 24,749
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    Just asked OH who used to work in Vauxhalls and he said that the glass could have been sat in a warehouse for ages and the same with the tyres too.

    He said he would check the import situation though.
    Tank fly boss walk jam nitty gritty...
  • KeithP
    KeithP Posts: 37,306
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    As far as it being imported goes, I wasn't informed of this. I just happened to find paperwork under the drivers seat stating that it had been inspected and the battery had been checked by a dealer in Galway, Ireland. If I hadn't of seen this then I would have had no idea. This discovery is especially annoying to me as I spoke to the salesman last Tuesday and he told me the car was sitting at Dover waiting to be transported to the dealership.
    You haven't told us the make, but is it not possible that if the car came from the other side of the world, all cars destined for Europe are unloaded in Galway (is there a dock there?) and inspected. There are then shipped on to 'others'.

    I have no idea whether this sort of thing happens or not, just trying to offer a possible explanation.
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