Car purchased from Trader issue, Help please

gruner

Afternoon all,

3weeks ago I purchased a car from a home trader inc a 3month mechanical breakdown warranty. Just the other day the engine warning lights displayed on the car so called the RAC to inspect. They gave me the fault code from the car an it indicates a faulty catalytic converter or Lambda sensor, each would set me back over £150 to fix.
I then contacted the Trader to ask if he could do anything about it but the reply was if it starts OK its not my problem.

Is it my problem? .... under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that any item you buy from a trader must be: of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose..If you bought goods six months ago or less and there's something wrong with them, the trader should accept that there was something wrong at the time of sale. Unless it’s really obvious you caused the problem yourself, the trader should offer to put things right.

Should i just sort this myself or should i be asking the trader and following citizens advice.... don't want to be going to court an end up paying loads of costs, I purchased this car to try save money.

Any help would be great thanks

bris

It depends on the age and mileage of the car, while the six month rule is true, when it comes to second hand goods such as a used car wear and tear under normal circumstances is also taken into consideration.

The warranty may give you some extra rights but as it's above your statutory rights you would need to check the terms of the warranty and see what exactly is covered. The problem with car warranties is they often only cover major failures and not the little things that come with the cost of running a car.

spacey2012

Enforcing rights are a minefield and often second hand car dealers are LTD companies with dozens of unpaid CCJ's to the company name.
The only real chance is if they are a reputable business with something other than a £99 sign to lose or the dealer is a sole trader with some assets to make a grab for.

italiastar

Sadly, as another recent post proves, even buying a car from an "upmarket" main dealer guarantees nothing. As you are a member of the RAC cant you contact their legal advice department?

From my experience, buying cars has always been one of luck - my worse experiences have been with main dealers.