Consumer rights after buying a faulty used car from a dealer- small claims court now!

minibbb

It was £80 to register the claim and £40 allocation fee so £120 in total

From Christmas onwards I wanted the seller to sort things out but they point blank refused to even speak to me and instead their legal team wrote to me several times denying responsibility and at NO point offering any help. The time for an offer of repair is long long gone and y no means will I accept this now.
I went to Surrey to buy the car, had the dealer offered help earlier when it was roadworthy I would have taken it to them, now its SORN and uninsured I wont be.

Numerous letters on my part with no action made this course of action necessary, believe me I wish this could have been dealt with another way!

Tilt

Hopefully the letters from their 'legal team' will suggest that they wern't prepared to do anything for you in which case will help you explaining why you havn't taken the car back to them. we really need to show that the seller has refused the opportunity to inspect the vehicle.

s_b

i use lawgistiks but havent needed to use them yet if you understand me
i have faith they would be good if needs be mind:)

'the other side of the fence'

minibbb

Another update to the Jeep saga....

Following my last post I wrote to the judge requesting that he/she approves me obtaining a mechanical inspection of the Jeep from a local independent garage- they never bothered to reply! I went ahead and did it anyway!

On the day the garage staff came to collect it the immobiliser packed up!! They managed to get it going.

It turns out the wiring was a mess, the central locking/immobiliser wiring were tangled together making both play up. Both are now fixed.

The spotlights relay switch was broken- now fixed

Yes the roof leaks!! Easy one to prove and something I certainly wasnt aware of on purchase

The differential fault is a tricky one. The garage aren't sure if its faulty or not!! Im going in tomorrow to show them the symptoms, its horrible to drive when turning tight corners which according to the forums strongly points at this fault.

They havent witnessed the interior light flashing which in turn flattens the battery. Isnt it always the way that whenever you want a fault to show itself it doesnt!!! Regardless, the lights do flash and this has been witnessed by neighbours who alerted me to the problem in the first place. I keep charging the jeep and it keeps going flat.

When changing from 2wd to 4wd the car seems to be playing ball......at the moment!! It was taking numerous attempts for me when I was last able to use it.

So..... a mixed result from the garage really, I was hoping the faults would be clearly identified thus strengthening my case. Im now torn as to what I should do. I can either wait until September and go ahead with the case or try and sell the jeep now (for 700-900 I suppose) and get a refund of £165 court fees from the court.

I don't really see why I should back down now, the dealer haven't honoured the sales of goods act whatsoever or offered any help. Also, the car is a heap!! Following the judge's letter to the both of us they havent requested to examine the car.

Mediation is taking place over the phone next week, I suppose they may make me an offer but I rather doubt it now!

Any advice/ suggestions welcome. Please dont slate me about expecting an old car to be perfect etc! The roof leaks and it usually wont start- therefore not fit for the purpose for which is was purchased IMO.

thisnamesux

What happened with this?
I'm currently going through something similar

You may find this interesting
http://www.cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/court-rejects-dealers-right-to-repair-fault-and-orders-him-to-pay-2750/52909

Basically, this case didn't even give the garage chance to repair, and still won!

colino

The case in CarDealer is an interesting one that is defined by two points. Both sides represented themselves and the outcome is not regarded as a landmark case setting precedent.
The trader needs to fork out for decent counsel and get this overturned, not only to prevent unjust financial penalty to himself, but to prevent retail, in every sector, completely closing down.
A nonsense judgement apparently upheld by another provincial court.
(If taken at face value you might get served a bad pint in one pub and instead of resolving the issue there and then, go across the road and buy a pint from a competitor and bill the first pub. A laughable interpretation of the law).

Flyboy152

This appears to be the basis of the District Judge's and Appeal Court's decision:

However leave to appeal was refused by Worcester court which said that McGrath’s “returns and repair” policy should have been defined at time of sale in his terms and conditions.
‘Very few dealers have any ‘returns or repair’ policy defined in their conditions of sale’ says Bonham Carter ‘and most people would assume that the first recourse of the customer would be to the dealer. But the court ruled in favour of the claimant on this and hence all dealers should take note and be seeking to make clear how any fault should be dealt with as part of their conditions of sale.’

One would presume he had representation at the appeal. So, I doubt any further appeal would be any more successful.

I also presume that if he had been given leave to appeal by Worcester Court, it would not be condemned as merely a "provincial court."