Buying a car 'as is' from a dealer

*pinkpanther*

Hi, I am hoping someone can help clarify this for me. Last weekend I bought a car 'as is' I knew it needed some work but was confident I could complete the work myself as it was a few minor things.

Today I removed the dash to discover tape had been placed over a fair amount of warning lights, including the air bag warning light.

Is there any point in even approaching the dealer seeing how I bought it 'as is'?

Many thanks in advance

JustinR1979

Well it has to be roadworthy, not perfect.
How did it pass an mot with an inoperable srs light?

jaydeeuk1

Tape on a bulb wouldn't make it unroadworthy, it isn't illegal to drive round with an airbag light on, so unless the garage selling it took the dash off they probably wouldn't know. Was it a £300 sh*tter?

bod1467

As-is means nothing when it comes to dealer sales ... consumer protection regulations trump any such-like T&Cs a dealer may have stated. (I'm assuming you bought as a consumer and not as a business).

If they hadn't made you aware of the masking of the warning lights (whether they knew or not is irrelevant) then (IMHO) you do have some comeback against them.

This thread might be better-served in the Consumer Rights forum. PM a board guide (e.g. Crabman) if you'd like it moved over.

*pinkpanther*

Its a BMW 320 compact and not a total wreck (or so we thought) we tried the dashboard test but the button wouldn't push down and the dealer said it was broken! We have since found it was filled with silicone, I assume to stop anyone doing the test as it would have made us question why certain lights wernt showing up!

*pinkpanther*

Thank you bod1467 that is really helpful! I'm hoping when I contact the dealer and let them know they will be helpful but if not I just wanted to know if it was worth getting my angry head on and pushing it further!

Joe_Horner

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

Tape on a bulb wouldn't make it unroadworthy, it isn't illegal to drive round with an airbag light on, so unless the garage selling it took the dash off they probably wouldn't know. Was it a £300 sh*tter?

MOT manual RFR 5.4.2:

"A Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) malfunction indicator lamp indicating a system malfunction. "

is an MOT fail.

As the "expert" in the transaction, the dealer would be expected to know this, and know that being unable to test it suggests a problem. Which, taking due diligence as a dealer, he should have investigated.

"As is" means nothing but you may have a hard time enforcing your rights because SOGA is pretty toothless in this sort of case until / unless Trading Standards decide to take action against the dealer - which they don't generally do on a single report, so no-one bothers reporting, so they never get more than one report......

arcon5

Sounds like misrepresentation to me!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

certain year BMW's have known issues with SRS airbag modules and ABS failures, it can cost over £1000 to correct if both are proven to be faulty. you now have the added issue of the odemeter having to be replaced and the clocks corrected for true mileage due to silicone being bunged in it.


IMHO, the trader knew exactly what he was doing, this is SOLD AS SEEN tactics to shift it on without having to correct these issues as he knows it comes with a big massive bill to correct them to pass MOT. if you paid £2-300 then scrap it and recover some of that cost. if its more then I'd try and go after the trader who sold it to you.

jaydeeuk1

Joe_Horner wrote: »

MOT manual RFR 5.4.2:

"A Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) malfunction indicator lamp indicating a system malfunction. "

is an MOT fail.

As the "expert" in the transaction, the dealer would be expected to know this, and know that being unable to test it suggests a problem. Which, taking due diligence as a dealer, he should have investigated.

"As is" means nothing but you may have a hard time enforcing your rights because SOGA is pretty toothless in this sort of case until / unless Trading Standards decide to take action against the dealer - which they don't generally do on a single report, so no-one bothers reporting, so they never get more than one report......

I know its an mot failure, what i mean is that it isn't illegal to drive round with it on. Was the car sold with 12 months brand new mot?

tedted

a air bag light on is an mot failure but if it is not on then it is a pass and advise