'Old' new car???

malnik

Good afternoon. I purchased a new car from a large well known dealer in Cambridge. I was very happy with the deal that we did. I purchased it in September last year and am the first registered owner.
Just recently i have become aware that the vehicle was built in 06/08. This means it was 15 months old when i got it. I am not very happy now. If the dealer had told me it was over a year old already, i would not have purchased it at that price. Thats not to say i wouldnt have purchased it at the right price.
I am more concerned regarding the detioration of parts, for eaxample the battery, during that year. Batteries generally last 3 yrs....only mine will last for 2....and its not covered in the warranty.This means that anything on it will fail a year earlier than i expect it to. The engine was not started for a year and the possible problems with no oil in the turbo etc..... Do they have to tell me about the age of the car? It was not at the dealer when i ordered it and had to come from the manufacturers UK stock, there was no way i could have known it had been sitting for so long and it was not mentioned when i took delivery.
I understand a few months but 15 months is too long.!

goldspanners

you still have the 3 year warranty, your warranty starts when you buy the car not when its built.
batteries will usually last more than 3 years, mine is on year 6 now.

you might even find if the car had been sitting for 15 months when they went to start it the battery was beyond a good charge and may well have been replaced. this is quite often the case.

your not alone here, millions of cars are stored as stock for months and months 15 months isn't unrealistic as far as im aware.

as for getting money back or even returning the car you have no chance.

hethmar

I suggest you contact Trading Standards and ask them about this situation. How did you only now become aware of the age of the car, was it not on the documentation with it? Obviously a car that is a year older than you had been informed is not what you thought you were buying.

waynedance

My car is 10 years old and has the original battery!!!

Exemplar

Hi Malnik. I presume you have bought something manufactured by one of the big brands e.g. Vauxhall, Ford etc. 15 months is nothing for one of these. If it had been sitting in a field somewhere it would normally be coated in film to protect it against the elements etc. When I worked for a Smart car dealer we were offered 3 Smart For Twos that had been sitting 'lost' in a field for 4 years!! They were 2001 Y plates. When they arrived they were like new as they had been protected. As with your first statement about being happy with your deal, be happy! The only thing you would need to worry about is if the model year had changed and significant upgrades had been made (e.g. Jan 2007 Vauxhall Astra suspension upgrades etc). I would not be worried. As for getting your money back, not a chance.

almillar

malnik - have you never seen the disused runways full of cars that haven't been sold yet? Did you expect your car to still be warm out of the oven?!
To put your mind at rest, cars don't age in years so much as in miles. Wear and tear, and the way your car is driven (short journeys for example) will have a much bigger effect on how long all the components last. Batteries defo don't fail after 3 years these days for example...
No oil in the turbo? The first time the car was started after sitting, the oil got back into it, so no problem there.

jaydeeuk1

So the vehicle was built in 06/08. Guess what, a lot of components would have been built and kept in stock way before then. Same on any high volume car!

ukjoel

alcot33uk wrote: »

When I worked for a Smart car dealer we were offered 3 Smart For Twos that had been sitting 'lost' in a field for 4 years!! They were 2001 Y plates. .

I can beat that - When I was at Ford we found 5 Scorpios that had been put into the compound at Dagenham and forgotton about for 9 years. They had to be scrapped as during the years they had been sitting there the emmission regs had been enhanced and they would fail the latest Euro regs so could no longer be registered. They now autoship cars to dealers after 6 months to ensure this doesnt happen again.

RE OP - As you can see this isnt unusual and bearing in mind the vast number of models and derivatives and colours etc some orders will just not be required and will sit around a while.

I dont think you have any comeback as the previous posts have said - car is considered born on the reg date, not the build date.

Exemplar

I loved the Ford Scrapiron!

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

OP - Marshalls by any chance?

And I think you will generally find most batteries last longer than 3 years (my beloved little Focus has not long had its second battery installed - the first one lasted 10 and a bit years)

As others have said, it is the wear and tear that "ages" a car more than anything.

goldspanners

hethmar wrote: »

I suggest you contact Trading Standards and ask them about this situation. How did you only now become aware of the age of the car, was it not on the documentation with it? Obviously a car that is a year older than you had been informed is not what you thought you were buying.

they won't get anywhere, theres nothing sinister here.

the factory builds ( to simplify things) for 2 months they build blue cars, for 2 months they build green cars, for 2 months they build black cars,for 2 months they build silver cars,for 2 months they build yellow cars. so if you go in to the dealer and want to buy a new car in blue, it comes from thier stock,which in my scenario will be at least 10 months old.
they don't just phone the factory and "say we will have another blue please,make it a fresh one"

(change the colours for specifications) generally the base spec cars and vans are first built to make it quicker to build stock and maximise initial profit,then the higher spec vehicles get made that may take a little longer.

even before a new model is released they have to build up a stock of them before the release date so they can meet demand.