car finance co, liable for repair

ptf

I read on here once that if you buy a car on finance then if there is ever mechanical problem or fault then the finance company is legally responsible for paying the bill for fixing it, Is this true, and also as I paid the deposit by credit card do they have a certain liabilty. I have owned the car for a year now, but the fault has been intermitent for about 6 months.

chalkie99

Absolutely!

In fact if you have had it that long why not ask them to give you a new one! :rolleyes:

And don't forget that if you have a mortgage on your house then the building society are responsible for redecorating, fixing the dripping taps, etc., etc,.

~Brock~

ptf wrote: »

I read on here once that if you buy a car on finance then if there is ever mechanical problem or fault then the finance company is legally responsible for paying the bill for fixing it, Is this true, and also as I paid the deposit by credit card do they have a certain liabilty. I have owned the car for a year now, but the fault has been intermitent for about 6 months.

Protection is provided under s75 of the Consumer credit Act. This applies as much to cars as it does any other product. The extent of your remedies are, however, guided by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Sale & Supply of goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.

If the goods purchased are second hand then the law recognises that expectations should be lower than if the goods were new, and this is usually reflected in the asking price.

You should expect the goods to be fit for purpose and free from obvious defect (unless you knew about this at the time). If faults occur after purchase, that were not present at the time of purchase, then these are generally your own responsibility although the 2002 regulations introduced the requirement that if this is in the first 6 months of ownership it is for the seller to prove that the defect was NOT there at the time. This is known as the reversed burden of proof.

In your case, if would seem that the fault started to occur some time after purchase and as such neither the seller of the lender can be held liable.

selecta_c

I wish this was true cos mines cost me a few bob after the warranty ran out....

BenL

I'm afraid what you have read before ptf is incorrect. The finance agreement will have conditions that you are responsible for the upkeep of the car and are required to look after the finance companies asset.

Regular attention, fixing issues promptly and servicing within manufacturers guidelines etc

ptf

Thanks all, thought it was too good to be true