MPG Misselling by a Salesman

C-Sae

I purchased a new vehicle from a national dealership (Arnold Clark) in October and have since entered a complaint against it which the dealer refuses to uphold. I bought the car under the provision it would achieve upwards of 70mpg on my commute, this was confirmed to me by the salesmen at the time and was the crux of making a deal on the purchase. Since then the car has never achieved above 50mpg for any length of time. The dealership attempted a repair which failed but then said they could not find a fault so would not return and refund the vehicle. Since the mpg I am achieving is nearly half of what I was told I would get (in person, not by the adverts) the car is unaffordable for me and causing me a great deal of financial hardship and stress. Is there grounds for a court claim on being mis-sold a vehicle not fit for purpose? Similar to a case presented and won by a gentleman in Donegal a couple of years or so ago?

motorguy

C-Sae wrote: »

I purchased a new vehicle from a national dealership (Arnold Clark) in October and have since entered a complaint against it which the dealer refuses to uphold. I bought the car under the provision it would achieve upwards of 70mpg on my commute, this was confirmed to me by the salesmen at the time and was the crux of making a deal on the purchase. Since then the car has never achieved above 50mpg for any length of time. The dealership attempted a repair which failed but then said they could not find a fault so would not return and refund the vehicle. Since the mpg I am achieving is nearly half of what I was told I would get (in person, not by the adverts) the car is unaffordable for me and causing me a great deal of financial hardship and stress. Is there grounds for a court claim on being mis-sold a vehicle not fit for purpose? Similar to a case presented and won by a gentleman in Donegal a couple of years or so ago?

No

And Donegal is in Ireland, not the UK.

And 50mpg compared to 70mpg is 71%.

Any official MPG figures are taken in controlled circumstances, not in real world circumstances and at very best, can only be used as a reference as to how a car "might" perform compared to another car.

If fuel consumption was a real concern, theres any amount of real world information out there from the likes of Honest John, etc. In fact, check your car against what other owners are saying...

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/

Also, you may wish to look at your driving style - you may not be driving with economy in mind.

motorguy

C-Sae wrote: »

the car is unaffordable for me and causing me a great deal of financial hardship and stress.

IF you are doing 20,000 miles a year, then 50mpg instead of 70mpg amounts to £45 a month difference, or £10 a week.

How has that pushed you to "a great deal of financial hardship and stress"?

And if it has, what possessed you to buy a new car in the first place, which you clearly cant afford?

C-Sae

I'm paying a couple hundred pounds in diesel money a month, not a paltry amount. I also couldn't do any real mpg research on the vehicle before hand as it was a new model Kadjar. I got the first one to be sold by that dealership. I said it has never achieved 50mpg, it actually gets around 43 on the extra urban cycle.
It has an eco meter that measures your driving style and even in the high 90% it still doesn't do over 50mpg.

I'm aware the advertised figures are lies but I didn't take my figures from the adverts, I was told them by the salesmen in the dealership I would get up to and around 70mpg on my commute. This would have made the car a damn site cheaper per month.

C-Sae

I also had to get a car go not lose my job after a car crash and had no money to purchase. I went for a newer car expecting better economy, coupled with not having to pay mot's or tax it seemed a fairly solid bet. Unfortunately it wasn't but I'm sure youve never made a mistake in your life motorguy?

pappa_golf

choose a different comuter route to work , find a house and a job that are both situated on a quiet motorway.

gibby9

C-Sae wrote: »

I also had to get a car go not lose my job after a car crash and had no money to purchase. I went for a newer car expecting better economy, coupled with not having to pay mot's or tax it seemed a fairly solid bet. Unfortunately it wasn't but I'm sure youve never made a mistake in your life motorguy?

Something familiar here.

motorguy

C-Sae wrote: »

I also had to get a car go not lose my job after a car crash and had no money to purchase. I went for a newer car expecting better economy, coupled with not having to pay mot's or tax it seemed a fairly solid bet. Unfortunately it wasn't but I'm sure youve never made a mistake in your life motorguy?

Yes, i've made mistakes, but i take ownership for them.

Alarm bells must surely have been ringing that a 4x4 style car was going to achieve 70mpg? :eek:

Even a small amount of due diligence would have told you otherwise.

If you're currently spending around £200 a month on fuel @ 43mpg, then you'd have been spending approx £70 a month less @ 70mpg

Again, if finances are that tight that that is causing you a large amount of stress and financial hardship, perhaps a brand new £16K+ 4x4 style car was the wrong car?

C-Sae

I wish I could.

My company are moving to walking distance next month but it doesn't change the fact I'm not satisfied with the car.

motorguy

C-Sae wrote: »

I was told them by the salesmen in the dealership I would get up to and around 70mpg on my commute.

Unless you got that in writing, you're stuffed.

tberry6686

Do you have proof that the salesman told you that ?

If it is such a new model then how would the salesman know what you could expect from it. He would be going by the published figures (not really lies but only achievable in the lab under specific conditions).

To be honest I don't know of any car that will give 70mpg in normal driving conditions, close to is possible but even then it will depend on your driving style. What car is it ?