Do I have any rights, found out car we bought has been in accident

sitcom321

We bought a car from a reputable garage 3 weeks ago, went through all the checks with them we were told it had no bumps and had been checked out etc. we took the car thru a car wash the other day and there is some paint come off the front bumper near fog lights on closer inspection it looks like the car has been involved in some kind of accident and has been touched up and filled in with filler. we have phoned them up this morning and they have asked us to bring in the car on Wednesday and they will have a look at it.

Can anyone advise us do we have any rights over this with the garage or is it just tough luck on us, we paid over 7500 for the car so not cheap for us. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

mcjordi

Did you HPI the car at all?

it could of just been a scuff/scrape on the bumper and a crap repair done by a previous owner. doesnt mean it was in an accident.

sitcom321

Yes it had HPI done so I think it probably had just been badly repaired by previous owner and is now showing after the power wash, but do we have any comeback on this with the garage should they pay to get it repaired properly or is it down to us

Mat_Lock

you spend £7500 on a car and put it through an autowash. ouch !

sitcom321

Mat_Lock wrote: »

you spend £7500 on a car and put it through an autowash. ouch !

it wasnt an autowash it was a hand car wash but they used power spray around tyres and near bumper

Notmyrealname

They only have to inform you if it has been a write off or if you ask them they have to tell you the truth. If it hasn't been involved in an accident and you don't ask them they don't have to tell you.

Filled in with filler doesn't necessarily mean it has had an accident, sometimes slight blemishes are filled during manufacture. When I was an apprentice I was taught never to use a power wash lance at anything closer than a foot because it can lift the lacquer off the paint. At these hand car wash places, they damned near have the lance touching the bodywork and if there's even the slightest imperfection in the paint such as a stonechip it can pull the paint off.

The garage may repair it as a gesture of goodwill as it'll only cost maybe £100 or so at the most but they're not obliged to as the damage has been caused by abuse even though it wasn't you that did it but the car wash.

colino

"If" the garage was aware of major damage they have broken the law, by omission, by not telling you and you are entitled to your money back. However, if the car looked straight to you, looked straight to them, cleared HPi and was only damaged by your (cleaning) actions you are relying on their seasonal goodwill.
There's a saying "they've all had paint" and that goes straight from the factory floor to your driveway. Not every repair is obvious, recorded or claimable.

Notmyrealname

Indeed. I had a Rover 420 where I had a minor shunt resulting in a 2ft crack in the bumper - it caught on a high kerb as I was reversing. £150 at a bodyshop and you couldn't tell it had ever been there unless you took the bumper off where you'd see the plastic weld on the rear side.

Say someone opened their door in a carpark and put a crease in yours. It'd be repaired but not recorded and would have no effect on the safety of the vehicle.