Cancelling finance and returning a faulty car.

TinaM

Does any one have some good advice on what to expect when trying to give back a faulty car when it has been bought with finance arranged through the garage?

My sister bought a car just over 2 months ago and has only driven it for about 2 weeks in total, it has some major faults the main one being a cylinder head gasket problem. She tried with the garage originally and was getting no where so contacted the finance people saying she wanted to give it back and cancel the agreement as the car was defective. They said she had to give the garage to opportunity to repair it before they would entertain that notion . So it was a eventually towed away and returned after a couple of weeks. 2 days later the same fault presented and she has been back onto the finance people. They have now said they are recommending that the garage take back the car, but if they don't want to, my sister will have to sue the finance people who will in turn sue the garage to get back her payements and her other costs for it being off the road.

Now fortunately we have never had this situation before so we wanted to know is the normal expected course of action or are the finance people making it harder than it should be,

The car does not fit the SAD FART rules and as my sister does not actually own to car should it not be down to the finance people to pay her back the payments they insisted she continue pay and then they reclaim the money with the garage?

Some sound advise would be greatly appreciated.

sp1987

Is it a secondhand car? (I presume so?)

When did she first detect the fault/s?

When after detecting the faults did she contact the dealer and what did she say?

Did the car come with any warranty/guarantee or not?

Has she requested a replacement vehicle?

Either way in order to return the car/get a refund (whatever may apply in this situation) she will have to act quickly. If I was her I would contact the CAB as a matter of urgency. If she keeps the car too long with faults she believes were there when she took the car and is deemed to get reasonable use from it her argument for a refund/replacement could be more difficult.

Some useful CAB links;

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/buying_second_hand_vehicles.htm#you_bought_the_vehicle_from_a_dealer

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/c_secondhand_cars.pdf

TinaM

The car is second hand, she noticed the faults within the first 2 weeks and got straight onto the dealer as she had a 3 month warranty, but ended up having to go to the finance to get things moved along as the dealer was saying that she caused the issues and weren't covered on the warranty.

The finance paid for her to have a hire car for a week while her car was in getting 'fixed', for the second week of fixing she was on holiday so the car was not necessary. The Finance aren't going to pay for a hire car any more though since they want the dealer to take the car back.

She has been trying to give it back, but no one is taking it. With the added problem of the Finance saying she will get marked on her credit score if she doesn't continue to pay the payments and she has been told not to drive the car so it will need to be towed again. It's all a bit of a mess.

Thanks for those links, I'll get her to contact the CAB and see what they say.

Cheers, :0)

Clive_Woody

The people you need to speak to are Consumer Direct, they are a government organisation and can advise on your rights and the best course of action.

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

lincoln_dj

i'm having the same problem at the minute.

dealer has already agreed to a refund and to take the car back. but this was 2 weeks ago now. they claim they are waiting for the finance company to fax a settlement figure (despite me telling them it) yet the finance people say they have sent it over 3 times.

is wasnt bought off evans halshaw by any chance??

zppp

lincoln_dj wrote: »

i'm having the same problem at the minute.

dealer has already agreed to a refund and to take the car back. but this was 2 weeks ago now. they claim they are waiting for the finance company to fax a settlement figure (despite me telling them it) yet the finance people say they have sent it over 3 times.

is wasnt bought off evans halshaw by any chance??

Said company is awful. I had to write a letter for someone to exit them from an agreement. They use alot of delay tactics. Please contact Consumer Direct/Trading Standards straight away while you have a chance.

lincoln_dj

i've been liasing with CAB all the while, and the Finance company are sending a rep there in person tomorrow. Unfortunately the rep was on holiday for 2 weeks (no idea why other people cant do work for absentees!)
it's just a bummer as the car i bought was quite a specific model, so the dealer is an hour away from where I live. otherwise i'd be bothering them in person every day!!
have defo learnt the hard way - wish i'd read up about them beforehand!