New car and The sales of Goods Act - Help NEEDED

Gather

Dear All

I bought a brand new Fiat 500 in March and it was delivered on April 30th.

The Fiat500s were upgraded in January 2010 to have Start&Stop fitted as standard. (Where the car cuts out when you stop in traffic and restarts when you press the accelerator).

I have just found out that my car does not have this feature! I took it into the dealer today and they have confirmed that it doesnt. It puzzled them as much as me.

They cannot get at my paperwork in the office until Tuesday so they are going to ring me then.

The problem I have is that the start&stop function is a major engine modification and for my 'new' car not to have it, I am concerned I have a 2009 model car and engine which has been shipped as a 2010 car.

I don't want the car to be sent away for modifications as I don't see it as something that can be fitted afterwards.

Can I reject the car under the sales of goods act as not being what I ordered? Is there a breach of contract there somewhere?

I bought the car on the scrappage scheme so does anyone know what the issue is with me claiming a refund and the price of my scrappage car and the £2000 that was knocked off?

Thanks in hope
Steve

Homersimpson

I wouldn't have thought you'd have a leg to stand on to be honest, I would expect the manufacturer to retain the right to modify the specification of their cars at any time.

Did the one you test drove have the feature?

chrisw

Values aside, I have it on my car and it drives me mad. I can turn it off, but everytime I get in the car again it defaults to 'on'. I end up sat at the lights, etc with my foot on the clutch to prevent it kicking in. So the clutch wear will probably end up costing more than any fuel saved.

iolanthe07

Manufacturers always retain the right to change specification without notice.

Kilty_2

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Manufacturers always retain the right to change specification without notice.

But they changed the specification 3 months before the OP bought the car they have?!

If it was part of the specification you agreed to then you don't have what was described. I'd not be so sure it's not something that can be retrofitted though - you'd be surprised what can be!

Weirdlittleman

The OP in likiehood bought a brand new 59/10 plate Fiat 500 and this is what they got.
Unless somewere it was stipulated the most recent model at delivery or it had to have stop/start the dealer has done absolutly nothing wrong. The OP should have researched better in advance.

harveybobbles

I dont really see the point of Start/Stop features as it is more wear on the battery, starter motor etc. Starting a car up uses more fuel than it just ticking over for 30 seconds. Also imagine in winter when you have lights, heater, heated seats, heated rear window on and you're constantly having the stop/Start feature cutting in...?!

Back to the original Q - you knew about the SS feature being standard from Jan2010 so did you ask to make sure yours would have this?

Also, did you order the car brand new and pick colours, or did they have one "in stock, unregistered" ie in a field somewhere off the M1. Which could've been an 09 model.

Find your chassis number and ring Fiat HQ a ring to get them to confirm the build date.

Alias_Omega

Gather wrote: »

Dear All

I bought a brand new Fiat 500 in March and it was delivered on April 30th.

The Fiat500s were upgraded in January 2010 to have Start&Stop fitted as standard. (Where the car cuts out when you stop in traffic and restarts when you press the accelerator).

I have just found out that my car does not have this feature! I took it into the dealer today and they have confirmed that it doesnt. It puzzled them as much as me.

They cannot get at my paperwork in the office until Tuesday so they are going to ring me then.

The problem I have is that the start&stop function is a major engine modification and for my 'new' car not to have it, I am concerned I have a 2009 model car and engine which has been shipped as a 2010 car.

I don't want the car to be sent away for modifications as I don't see it as something that can be fitted afterwards.

Can I reject the car under the sales of goods act as not being what I ordered? Is there a breach of contract there somewhere?

I bought the car on the scrappage scheme so does anyone know what the issue is with me claiming a refund and the price of my scrappage car and the £2000 that was knocked off?

Thanks in hope
Steve

If you had test drove a demo car which had this feature, and you asked for that model then i cant see why it shall not be fitted.

If you read a brochure which mentioned this model,and asked for this model, and it was listed as it being fitted to this model as standard, then i would ask for it to be fitted.


It could be a problem if they sold you a 2009 car, at a 2010 price..

Alias_Omega

From the Fiat website, from the 'compare the spec' option.

I can see that the start-stop is fitted standard to 1.2 sport, 1.4 16v pop, unsure what model you have to check further.

Fiat also have a forum, which you could post up there and make a highlight of it - http://www.fiat.co.uk/Community/forums/10/ShowForum.aspx

ukjoel

If the car was delivered in April chances are it was built in Jan or Feb (or probably earlier).
Very unlikely a car ordered in March was delivered as a new build for April.
Even the most efficient manufacturers have a 12 week order to delivery and thats only possible as they pull cars that are already in pipeline but can tailor spec to customer reqs.
Agree with previous posters - unless your sales bill specifies that its a 2010.25 model then you wont win.
Think the retailer is being either very naive or very clever. Telling you that 'ooh we are very surprised' basically admits no liability but makes the manufacturer look like the bad cop.
The retailer probably got the old car at a greater discount as manufacturer wanted to clear stock before new model arrived.
The fact this was bought scrappage just underlines this as its very much a price led promotion.

Cant see you being able to do anything about this really, although I would say the retailer would have been very aware from day 1 that your car wouldnt have had this function. If not your salesman must have been pretty useless.

The lesson here which has been undelined in so many posts is JUST BECAUSE ITS AN 2010 PLATE DOES NOT MEAN ITS A 2010 MODEL VEHICLE.

Vospers in Plymouth stuck a car on the roof of their dealership for a launch about 20 years ago and then wernt allowed to remove it as using a crane was considered too dangerous by health and safety. 20 years later it eventually came down and was sold as a new registration with that years number plate on.
20 year old car with 5 miles on the clock.

property.advert

The Fiesta built from some month this year has the stability package across the range. Were I to order one and they tried to give me one which did not have it, then they might as well try to give me a Vauxhall or indeed a caravan or an apple because they have not delivered what I ordered. If they tried to cover up the fact that they delivered some else, then I still hold them liable, perhaps even more so.

I hold the dealer responsible as they are the experts, the factory just builds things, not knowing for whom they are producing that vehicle, except in special order cases. Either way, I hold the dealer at fault.

The same would be if it came with the wrong engine or with the wrong number of doors. The critical piece of information will be the exact specifications of what you ordered but as you say both you and the dealer knew about this modification and presumably talked about it in pre contractual negotiations, which form part of the contract, then I do not see how they can evade liability.

If they refuse to play ball, then you will have to take it further but as you say, they are only starting to look into this, so wait a little.