SOGA in relation to used cars from dealerships

9wizard9

Hi - hoping someone can give me some advice.

I recently purchased a used car (just over 2 years old) from a main Mazda dealer. Still in manufacturers warranty, and with the warranty extended to 12 months as part of the dealership's standard terms.

I've just found a load of water in the boot following the snow melting and the heavy rain, so it's booked in for a trip back to the dealer tomorrow. It's the first time it's really rained properly since I've owned the car, and it's only done about 300 miles since I've owned it due to the snow.

I'm hoping they'll just find an obvious leak and fix it without charge, but from previous experience I know that leaks can be hard to find and fix, so the car might stay leaky. Also I noticed that the extended warranty specifically excludes water ingress and faulty seals (cheeky in my opinion), so I'm probably relying on goodwill in this case.

Does the Sale of Goods Act give me any protection in this case - presumably it would be reasonable to expect a relatively new car to be watertight, and therefore I could argue that it is not fit for purpose and ask for a refund if they can't fix the leak? What sort of time period would be considered reasonable before I would no longer have this option (assuming I have it now)?

harveybobbles

!!!!!! grow up you silly sod!

CHR15

Have you considered opening the boot and having a look at the freaking seals youself??

You already know leaky seals are not covered by the warranty but you are giving it to them and keeping your fingers crossed.
What are you going to do if they present you with a nice chunky invoice to pay??

vaio

if it still has makers (rather than extended) warranty then can't you get it fixed under that?

Otherwise I'd have said that SOGA would apply and the dealer should fix it

Exemplar

Agree with Harveybobbles 'whinge whinge whinge', 'SOGA', get a grip....... its a second hand car under manufacturers warranty........

Hintza

My only thought is call previous owner and find out if it has been dinged!
(V5C)

andygb

I am with the OP on this one. Why should a car be any different to any other purchase. A two year old car from a main dealer should be pretty near perfect. A boot full of water is not acceptable. I agree that the OP could look at the seals, I probably would, but then again, we live in the UK where we have a lot of rain, and seals should not fail after two years.
What if the water is getting in somewhere else? Take it back, quote SOGA, and insist that the dealer sorts it out.

harveybobbles

andygb wrote: »

Take it back, quote SOGA, and insist that the dealer sorts it out.

Or kindly ask if they could look at it. Better chance of it being fixed FOC rather than blurting out the SOGA, which could get you frog marched off the yard...

andygb

harveybobbles wrote: »

Or kindly ask if they could look at it. Better chance of it being fixed FOC rather than blurting out the SOGA, which could get you frog marched off the yard...

Yes, totally agree, there is obviously a correct way of doing things. A little diplomacy (without appearing weak) can work wonders.

harveybobbles

...............so avoid the SOGA for a start. This gets people no where.

Exemplar

And puts peoples backs up