Used car - am I entitled to ask for my money back

Klom81

Hi

Three weeks ago I bought a 10yr old land rover discovery from a small independent car trader.

On the drive home from picking the car up it broke down. I was about 8 miles away from home and 22 miles away from the dealer so decided to limp it home rather than trying to take it back to the trader.

I took it straight round to a friend who is a mechanic for him to look at it and phone the trader to advise them of the issue. They advised they weren't aware of any problems with the vehicle and had in fact been using it themselves without issue.

My friend resolved one issue with the vehicle and manage to get it running well enough to drive it back to the trader however it was still seriously lacking power. The vehicle is too heavy for anyone I know to have towed it the 30 miles back to the trader.

I manage to get the vehicle back to the trader exactly a week after I bought it. They had it 48hrs and advised that is was ready to be collected and that they had replaced the fuel pump.

When I collected it took it for a short test drive and although it was obviously running better in my opinion it still lacked power at low revs. Not being familiar with the vehicle I assumed this was something I needed to get used to and didn't mention it to the trade.

I have now has the vehicle back for 10 days and it has become apparent that it does lack power at low rev which in turn renders it useless for the job I bought it for, towing a horse trailer (which was made clear to the trader).

My friend also thinks it looks like it is unlikely that the fuel pump has been replaced and access to the fuel tank is by lifting a plate under the carpet in the boot and this carpet doesn't look like it has been disturbed.

My friend has taken it in to his work today for further investigation and a second opinion and I have received a message from him saying they agree it is not right and will give me full details later.

My question is do I have the right to request a refund for the vehicle or do I have to allow the trader to try any put any faults right. I now don't have a lot of faith in them and their integrity.

To top it off I have found that the service book that came with the vehicle actually belonged to another vehicle at some point and has had the vehicle details tippexed out and written over with my vehicle's details.

I was only given a months warranty so I'm now getting a bit anxious that I will be stuck with a vehicle that will not do the job I bought it for.

Sorry for the long post

Thanks

Nodding_Donkey

Well they seem to be trying to sort it out. There is no such thing as a 1 month warranty when it comes to used vehicles, they can't limit your statutory rights under the sale of goods act. Who is the trader? have you searched the web to see if they have a name for pulling a fast one?

Basically you do have to give them a chance to fix any faults but don't let them fob you off about the warranty, it is absolutely meaningless.

(the fuel pump is fixed to the engine if it's a diesel Disco )

Iceweasel

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Well they seem to be trying to sort it out. There is no such thing as a 1 month warranty when it comes to used vehicles, they can't limit your statutory rights under the sale of goods act. Who is the trader? have you searched the web to see if they have a name for pulling a fast one?

(the fuel pump is fixed to the engine if it's a diesel Disco )

That would be the High Pressure injector pump on the engine though - there is also a low pressure feed pump in the tank.

Nodding_Donkey

They have an engine driven lift pump as well as the injector pump.

macman

The falsification of the service record seems to be the most serious offence here-but can you prove that the dealer altered it and not a previous owner?
You have no automatic right to a refund, you have to allow the dealer the opportunity to rectify any faults.

Nodding_Donkey

I should also say that the most likely fault is oil in the injector wiring loom. Pull the red plug off the ECU and see if there is any oil showing. If there is it needs a new loom but that is an easy job, albeit for the dealer to sort out.