When is a 'new' car not new?

napoleon1769

I'm in a difficult situation and I would be very grateful for any help please.

I bought a car through an online broker website. The car was described as 'new' on the website, was confirmed to be 'new' when ordering over the phone and took about 8 to 10 weeks to be built by the manufacturer. I don't think I was therefore unreasonable to expect it to be new.

I paid a deposit on my credit card at the time of ordering and the balance on my debit card shortly before delivery. The car was paid in full and there were no loans or hire agreements taken out.

The car got delivered directly to my house by the dealership. It had 8 miles on the clock and was obviously brand new out of the factory.

As with brand new cars nowadays, the DVLA are supposed to send the tax disc and log book in the post within a week or two of registration. Unfortunately, these never arrived.

I chased the DVLA continuously and, after two months, the DVLA confirmed that the broker company was the registered keeper. They are now arranging for me to become the registered keeper, but I will now be the second keeper on the log book.

I contacted the broker company and they have told me that I agreed for it to be pre-registered at the point of sale and that they won't enter into further correspondence about the matter! I definitely did not agree to it being pre-registered at any point and I'm not happy that its resale value has been affected by the broker misrepresenting the car.

The car was purchased over the phone (i.e. entirely at a distance). The order form, which was sent by email, had a hyperlink to terms and conditions, but these were not provided in a durable means at any point. Since I was not informed of my cancellation rights by a durable means, am I right in thinking that I can cancel under the Distance Selling Regulations within three months and seven days from the day after delivery?

Otherwise, would I be worthwhile making a Section 75 claim on my credit card? Could I reasonably expect my credit card provider to either arrange a full refund (and returning the car) or a refund of the difference between the resale values (which would be impossible to calculate presumably)?

Any help would be much appreciated please.

Thank you

TLDR - 'New' car was pre-registered. Broker won't help. Can I either return the car for a refund or claim the difference in resale values?

AdrianC

You'd have to quantify the loss you're claiming, and prove the difference in resale value between two identical vehicles, one with one previous keeper, one with a two (one for a _very_short period). And, obviously, that moves from "difficult to predict" to "utterly impossible" without knowing how long you'll be keeping the car etc etc.

Are you _absolutely_ sure you didn't agree to it being pre-reg? Really? 100%? You've been through every bit of small print, every T&C?

Apart from that, AIUI, goods that are built-to-order (such as a new car that took 8-10 weeks to be delivered) are outside the DSR.

Are you really trying to return the car _solely_ because of a single digit on the V5C?

motorguy

I wouldn't get hung up about it. Its clearly a brand new car. You most likely saved a fortune and the extra name on the tax book will mean diddly come resale time - unless its some high end exotica.

napoleon1769

AdrianC wrote: »

You'd have to quantify the loss you're claiming, and prove the difference in resale value between two identical vehicles, one with one previous keeper, one with a two (one for a _very_short period). And, obviously, that moves from "difficult to predict" to "utterly impossible" without knowing how long you'll be keeping the car etc etc.

Are you _absolutely_ sure you didn't agree to it being pre-reg? Really? 100%? You've been through every bit of small print, every T&C?

Apart from that, AIUI, goods that are built-to-order (such as a new car that took 8-10 weeks to be delivered) are outside the DSR.

Are you really trying to return the car _solely_ because of a single digit on the V5C?

I guess quantifying the difference is the difficult bit. It would depend on a huge number of factors, including predicting what the market will be like in a few year's time.

I have checked everywhere and I there is no mention of it being pre-registered. I would not have purchased it otherwise. My invoice shows that I paid the "first registration fee" of £55.00, so does this prove that it should have been registered to me rather than the broker?

Unless I'm mistaken, it doesn't count as being 'custom made' under the Distance Selling Regulations. It would be 'custom made' if I asked for the car to be built 10mm less than the standard size, but choosing alloy wheels or optional extras don't count because they are 'off the shelf' components. Please could somebody confirm this?

napoleon1769

motorguy wrote: »

I wouldn't get hung up about it. Its clearly a brand new car. You most likely saved a fortune and the extra name on the tax book will mean diddly come resale time - unless its some high end exotica.

I saved a bit off the list price, but definitely not as much as normal pre-registered cars. I'm annoyed at that and I'm annoyed with the broker's dismissive attitude

nobbysn*ts

Definitely won't hurt to start a chargeback for the full amount from the credit card company. They may not want to, but the car supplied certainly isn't what you ordered.

motorguy

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Definitely won't hurt to start a chargeback for the full amount from the credit card company. They may not want to, but the car supplied certainly isn't what you ordered.

The op orderedba brand new car and got that?

Also they may not have read the terms of the contract fully - not sure how that makes it not what they ordered?

neilmcl

OP, it may help if we know who the online broker is?

nobbysn*ts

motorguy wrote: »

The op orderedba brand new car and got that?

Also they may not have read the terms of the contract fully - not sure how that makes it not what they ordered?

Maybe to a dealer, such as yourself, you would call a car with one previous owner new to the second owner, not all would agree. New implies it isn't pre owned to most of us.

napoleon1769

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Definitely won't hurt to start a chargeback for the full amount from the credit card company. They may not want to, but the car supplied certainly isn't what you ordered.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think I was unreasonable to expect to be the first registered keeper (especially after paying a fee to register the car!). I just don't know quite how a chargeback or Section 75 claim would work in this case.

motorguy wrote: »

The op orderedba brand new car and got that?

Also they may not have read the terms of the contract fully - not sure how that makes it not what they ordered?

I was told that it was 'new', which, to me, means no previous keepers. I signed an A4 document which contained the details of the car (all correct), a small paragraph about cancelling the order and a hyperlink to the terms and conditions. Nowhere, even on the terms and conditions webpage, did it state that it was pre-registered.

neilmcl wrote: »

OP, it may help if we know who the online broker is?

I'd prefer not to name and shame at this point sorry. They mainly specialise in leasing, but they also sell new cars outright at a reasonable discount.

AdrianC

napoleon1769 wrote: »

My invoice shows that I paid the "first registration fee" of £55.00, so does this prove that it should have been registered to me rather than the broker?

Not necessarily.

Unless I'm mistaken, it doesn't count as being 'custom made' under the Distance Selling Regulations. It would be 'custom made' if I asked for the car to be built 10mm less than the standard size, but choosing alloy wheels or optional extras don't count because they are 'off the shelf' components. Please could somebody confirm this?

You're right. Bottom of p17.
http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/view/NCC048215