Issue with faulty car part

rossp

Hi all,

I purchased a part for my car, alternator, exactly 1 year ago today. It started to develop a fault a few weeks ago, at which point I contacted the seller that I purchased it from to advise it was faulty.

Their response is that they need to send it back to the manufacturer to confirm it is faulty, I can order another alternator and they will refund the value of it if the manufacturer confirms a fault.

I advised that their response was not acceptable - I will either be without my vehicle for a considerable period of time, or I will be out of pocket. I said to them that I was entitled to expect that the unit would last a "reasonable" length of time, and that <1 year does not meet that requirement. I said that I would accept a replacement or a refund. They are sticking to their guns though.

Before I push it further, I just want to check that I'm in the right here and that it's nonsense for them to expect me to wait for the manufacturer to test the unit. My contract is with the seller, nothing to do with the manufacturer.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

burlington6

Surely you don't expect them to send you a new part based on your word you'll return the old one to be tested, do you?

And if it wasn't faulty, surely you don't expect them to take your word once again you'll return the new part, which by this point will be used because no doubt you'll fit it to your car

marliepanda

After a year (indeed after 6 months) you are not in the right at all. You're the one talking nonsense.

If there is a warranty you are bound by the warranty terms. If not, under the SOGA they have the right to inspect the part.

macman

If you want to claim under SOGA, they can repair, refund or replace-their choice, not yours. A replacement will be sent (if that's what they decide to do) once they have confirmed that the original is faulty, and they have a reasonable time to do that. They are not responsible for the time and cost of your vehicle being off the road, or any other consequential losses.
Since it's now out of time, assuming one year, the manufacturer's warranty no longer applies, so you can't claim under that instead, which would probably have been quicker.

wealdroam

macman wrote: »

They are not responsible for the time and cost of your vehicle being off the road, or any other consequential losses.

Are you sure about that?

I thought The Sale of Goods Act allowed one to claim for consequential losses.

macman

You could try, but no retailer is going to pay the OP's consequential losses-what if he was a taxi driver?