Advice needed please : ever returned a second-hand car??

Duckyboos

Long post warning...

I thought I'd found the perfect replacement for my beloved 306 which was written off three months ago. I've been looking around for ages and I finally found one at a dealership, a fine looking 306 TD with 55K on the clock and not a scratch on it. The bloke at the dealership took us for a spin in it, although neither Tom nor I drove it. It sounded okay – for an 8 year old car – so I put a deposit down on it last week, Dad put the rest into my bank account yesterday and I went to pick it up today.

Now before I go on, I'm expecting a fair degree of heckling over the fact that I didn't have someone mechanically-minded check it over first. I asked the guy about it and he said he'd been there nearly 35 years (which he has) and only 1 in 10 of his customers commission a separate vehicle inspection, and none have ever reported any problems. He doesn’t do warranties, because he isn’t a garage.

Now for the annoying bit – it broke down on the way home, and wouldn’t start again. I had to get the b/f (who I was following home) to tow it back to the house. It wasn’t out of fuel, because we topped it up on the way. I ‘phoned the chap at the garage when it first happened and he was all very sympathetic, but he said he couldn’t do anything about it today (being a Sunday) and that he’d call me in the morning to sort out picking it up again. Since then, Tom’s had a look around the top of the engine and found a load of oil leaking around. This has wigged me out terribly and I certainly don’t want to be driving this around – it looks like I’m going to have to leave the 306 dream behind after all and spend a bit more money on something reliable. I’ve done a bit of reading around this afternoon, and it seems I’m afforded a fair bit of protection from the 1979 Sale of Goods Act, especially as we told them immediately that there was a problem, and that the problem obviously existed when we purchased it…”Under the Sale of Goods Act, goods, including second-hand cars, must be of satisfactory quality and reasonably fit for their purpose.” …and… “If you can show the goods to be faulty or misdescribed, you have for a short time after purchase a right to reject the goods and get a refund of the purchase price”. So Tom called them back and politely told them this wasn’t acceptable, that it clearly wasn’t fit for use, and that we were ‘rejecting’ the goods and wanted a refund. Yer man said we’d have to speak to the gaffer tomorrow morning – that he wasn’t in any position to make this decision. I’ve since followed this up with a fax confirming the conversation and advising that we’ll be in touch tomorrow.

I’m no mechanic, and I do a lot of motorway mileage and I need to be able to rely upon the car. I didn’t spend a fortune on a car because I spent my savings on a bike and all the extras, hence me having to go to Dad for some pennies. I haven’t told Dad yet, he warned me to have it checked out before I bought it and it would make for a very difficult conversation. I’m leaving it to Tom to make the call tomorrow morning, I’m a bit too soft in these situations and he’ll keep his cool better. In the meantime however, I’m worried that I’m going to be stuck with this thing and a future of hellish repair bills and AA recoveries.

Has anyone else ever had to return a second-hand car? Any ideas on what the outcome of this might be? Any advice at all??

Go easy on me, I know I've made a boo boo...

rizla01

To be totally fair to the seller you should at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Take it back and let him see what the problem is first.

It may be only a minor fault and something that could not have been forseen, like a nut left loose or a connection that has snapped.

Don't be too hasty in judging this chap.

Make sure of your facts before threatening him with 'Sale of goods act' etc.

I think you are over-reacting at this moment in time.

Duckyboos

Fair points, certainly. And I'd agree that there's a degree of over-reaction here, but it has worried me a great deal... that I could have been doing 70mph on the motorway when it decided to cut out, or miles away from anywhere. In conversation, he gave a glowing report about the car, and positively dissuaded me against commissioning a vehicle inspection. He said he'd had a few calls about it already that day, and having spent the last three months searching for a suitable buy, I didn't want to miss out. I have a decidedly uneasy feeling about the car now, and I'm inclined to trust my instincts at this time, rather than regret it later. I hope that's understandable at least ... :undecided

diesel9181

i think under the sale of goods act you have to give him the opportunity to rectify the problem. i bought a car which on later inspection was not up to standard. the garage took it back and sorted it pretty quickly. if your still not happy with the repair you can then discuss a refund. was it a small dealer?

Duckyboos

Not really, no. Big enough to have a fairly good website and a good selection of stock at various prices. He prides himself on having 'the cleanest cars in town' (quote) and this is why I went to him in the first place. I've also made a bit of a hasty purchase, because I need the use of a car from this Friday (I won't be able to use my motorbike). As it is, it looks like I'll be hiring one - unless I can find another buy in the meantime. And this is why I'd prefer a refund.