Second hand car deposit, refund after RAC inspection?

berkshirelady

Hi everyone,
Earlier this week I put down a £500 deposit on a second hand car. Hubby did a lot of research. The dealer seemed reputable with good reviews. The price was on the high side but the mileage was quite low. We did a HPI check which came back clear. The advert described all the detailed checks done on the vehicle. We had a good look at it and did a test drive.

All seemed ok and we paid the deposit.

Then I phoned a motor insurance company and was told (in response to their question as to whether I had made a precious claim) that according to their external claims database, a claim had been registered for the vehicle 13 months ago. The company had only the first line of the details of the claim, but when they described an accident on a slip road, the klaxons went off.

Hubby commissioned RAC to do a detailed report on the vehicle. It turns out the body work has been damaged in several places and while to a non expert it looked ok the RAC man said that the repairs and repainting have been poorly done and could be costly to put right in the future. This is entirely contrary to the advert which said (amongst other things) that the exterior had been carefully inspected by the dealer and I quote 'and as you might expect of such a low mileage car, the exterior paint surface is immaculate'. The advert made other glowing claims (we did a screen shot of it)

Meanwhile the dealer has been on the phone pressuring me to pay the balance and collect the car.
We have given RAC permission to share the report with the dealer, so if they didn't know about the problems before, they do now.

We want to pull out and get our deposit back. As a new driver this is my first attempt at a car purchase and I can't afford a new car.

Now that both we and the dealer know the car isn't what was advertised, do I have a chance of a refund?

Thoughts and advice most welcome - thank you.

motorguy

Car not as described. Refund please. Simples.

They might huff and puff about it but its a far cry from the car you were told it was.

If they postulate, escalate to the dealer principal or if they're a franchised dealer, to the uk distributors customer service team.

berkshirelady

Thanks Paul!

As a total newbie to buying cars i am now getting really worried. Because I told the dealer I couldn't collect the car myself, would put hubby on insurance so he can collect it for me, they asked me to fill my details on the registration document as the new keeper. Not knowing any different I complied. Was this a really stupid thing to do? They haven't sent me anything to confirm this and I haven't taxed the vehicle. Help!

motorguy

berkshirelady wrote: »

Thanks Paul!

As a total newbie to buying cars i am now getting really worried. Because I told the dealer I couldn't collect the car myself, would put hubby on insurance so he can collect it for me, they asked me to fill my details on the registration document as the new keeper. Not knowing any different I complied. Was this a really stupid thing to do? They haven't sent me anything to confirm this and I haven't taxed the vehicle. Help!

I'd let them know immediately you wont be taking the vehicle because its not as described. In fact its far short of "as described".

Not your problem. They put a substandard car on their forecourt without checking it properly.

berkshirelady

Thank you :-)
The RAC report arrived earlier this evening, so we will be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning to tell them.

motorguy

berkshirelady wrote: »

Thank you :-)
The RAC report arrived earlier this evening, so we will be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning to tell them.

Make sure they know that you arent taking the car because THEY failed to provide you with the car they described. If the car was as described, you'd be more than happy to take it. Previously damaged and poor repairs.

berkshirelady

Will do. I will have the mobile on speaker so that both myself & hubby can participate in the call and I will follow it up in writing.