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When is a DODGY CAR DEALER accountable?
Comments
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No.
The rest of your post shows the correct understanding, that a car must be 'satisfactory' and that will take into account age, condition mileage, price, the purpose for which it was sold etc etc etc
If it was sold for the purpose of being a family car, and it works, i.e. it drives, is road worthy and it gets you home and about and then fails lets say after a week. It would depend on the above factors to be decided if it was satisfactory and to be expected that it could fail at any time after sale. If it is so decided then the retailer does not have to fix any or all of the problems within the first six months.
In the OPs case the court will have to decide if the fact that it did not get the customer home (10 miles) and after repair only 5 miles, means that the car was not satisfactory at point of sale. They would have to weigh that against the fact that it did never the less get her 10 miles.
My interpretation of the 6 month rule comes from an article in Car Mechanics Mag a while ago, where the editor is a home trader aswell, and they went into some detail on how the new regs would affect trade sellers, especially in the lower end of the market when almost any fault could swallow the entire profit margin.
The rest of my post was more directed at the rest of the sale of goods act, and how it used to be interpreted, but the section you have highlighted is the recent addition which introduced the 6 month rule.
Another example of New Labour and their unbelievable ability in trying to "nanny" every part of our lives.0 -
My interpretation of the 6 month rule comes from an article in Car Mechanics Mag a while ago, where the editor is a home trader aswell, and they went into some detail on how the new regs would affect trade sellers, especially in the lower end of the market when almost any fault could swallow the entire profit margin.
The rest of my post was more directed at the rest of the sale of goods act, and how it used to be interpreted, but the section you have highlighted is the recent addition which introduced the 6 month rule.
Another example of New Labour and their unbelievable ability in trying to "nanny" every part of our lives.
Just so we are on the same page.....
What "new 6 month rule" ?
And to save time google "thain v anniesland"0 -
benjy7,
Phone Consumer Direct, 0845 4 04 05 06, for advice on your rights as a consumer.
Sold as Seen is an unfair term in a consumer contract and may also offend the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
Trading Standards will consider the description e.g. excellent condition and age of the good, and the law and then make a judgement on whether to look into it further or not. TBH for a car of this age it would be unlikely to make it very far given the resources local government trading standards have at there disposal.
Consumer Direct advise on your civil law rights.
Good luck H0 -
Benjy7, you really need to edit your posts to remove names.
Like the idea of a bunch of placard-waving people outside the garage.
If they simply will not back-down, and the car is still faulty when returned, then as long as it is taxed, MOT'ed and insured, there is nothing stopping your sister printing-out the original advert, enlarging it, sticking it in the car's window along with a big sign stating 'This car was bought here after being advertised as being in good condition. It broke down after 10 miles. Buy from here at your peril', then parking the car right outside their garage (not blocking their access of course).
They would have no legal way of having it removed, so it would stay their until the MOT/Tax/insurance expires. This happened to a local Landrover Dealer last year, a disgruntled customer of another Landrover main dealer (who went bust before fixing all the faults). The poor main dealer was stuck with a brand new Range Rover parked outside their showroom complete with a sign-written list of faults on it.
As I already stated, this could cause all sorts of problems now, specially if the garage get wind of this thread before the problems are sorted out, and it's best to take a softly softly approach before resulting in name branding them!0 -
Just so we are on the same page.....
What "new 6 month rule" ?
And to save time google "thain v anniesland"
A year or so agothey introduced a new regulation that basically stated that any used car must be free from any fault at the time of sale,and for sixmonths after sale, can't remember the exact wording, as I read the article a while ago.
It appeared to give a specified period of time that a used car is exoected to remain free of faults that the trader should reasonably been able to spot at the time he sold it.
It caused a lot of discussion in the used car trade at the time.
I will Google the case you have suggested.
Had a quick look and that case occured prior to this newly introduced 6 month rule, not sure what it is actually called, I just call it the 6 month rule, and to be honest it hasn't made life easier for buyers, just pushed the "marginal" traders further into dodgy private sale territory and almost certainly led to the rise in crap being flogged on eBay by slightly dodgy traders.
In the case of the OP, she needs to find out what is wrong with the car at an independant garage, but it does seem strange the Trading Standards aren't interested.
Other than that it is a case of get it fixed and see if you can sue the Garage concerned.
Though with the information posted who knows if the car was a good buy or not.
Unless the car has just stalled rather than actually break down, there are too many grey areas for anybody to be truly constructive in the advice they can give.0 -
A year or so agothey introduced a new regulation that basically stated that any used car must be free from any fault at the time of sale,and for sixmonths after sale, can't remember the exact wording, as I read the article a while ago.
It appeared to give a specified period of time that a used car is exoected to remain free of faults that the trader should reasonably been able to spot at the time he sold it.
It caused a lot of discussion in the used car trade at the time.
I will Google the case you have suggested.
Had a quick look and that case occured prior to this newly introduced 6 month rule, not sure what it is actually called, I just call it the 6 month rule, and to be honest it hasn't made life easier for buyers, just pushed the "marginal" traders further into dodgy private sale territory and almost certainly led to the rise in crap being flogged on eBay by slightly dodgy traders.
In the case of the OP, she needs to find out what is wrong with the car at an independant garage, but it does seem strange the Trading Standards aren't interested.
Other than that it is a case of get it fixed and see if you can sue the Garage concerned.
Though with the information posted who knows if the car was a good buy or not.
Unless the car has just stalled rather than actually break down, there are too many grey areas for anybody to be truly constructive in the advice they can give.
I know why, but am refraining from posting my reasons as to be independent to the OP's posting!0 -
under these cercumstances i would write a detailed letter to the garage.
1. vehicle problems.
2. communication breakdown.
3.refusal of refund under soga.
4.his manner in the way he has dealt with your sister,
5.describe the sales of goods act word for word.
6.demand a full refund.
7.describe how if he fails to refund and communicate you will be forced to take legal proceedings against him
in the way of small claims court.
8.inform him he has 7 days in wich to reply either by telephone or letter sent by same manner as yours (so he cant say he did reply but got lost in post)
9. send recorded delivery.
10. have a dictorphone on hand incase he calls to record convorsation, just incase it all abuse and you can prove this in court.
11. if he doesnt reply then go with proceedings to court dont forget that your sister will be able to claim back AA recovery of her vehicle through the courts aswell.0 -
It appeared to give a specified period of time that a used car is exoected to remain free of faults that the trader should reasonably been able to spot at the time he sold it.
Ok, well I hope somone will be able to enlighten us on that then.
I have been thinking on this and even under "the new rules" Thain would still have lost her case, because the fault was not there at time of sale and the trader could not have known that it was going to happen. In Thain, the driveshaft bearing broke or something like that rendering the car undriveable. It is a black and white issue either it is working or it is broken. The car could be driven after purchase therefore the fault was not there at time of sale. And that is the point they proved in court.
There is something under SOGA or something else (I can't find it) but it says something like within the first 6 months the retailer has to show the fault was not there at time of sale and after 6 months it would be for the buyer to show the fault was there at point of sale.
That's what I thought you were going to refer to. So it may be worth the OP threatening to persue this line through the court and the seller will probably back down depending on what the fault is. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a judge who wouldn't agree that the car which failed 10 miles after purchase had "a fault at the point of sale".0
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