Bought car, garage wont/can't fix dash light

JustAnotherSaver

As soon as someone suggests the best course of action to go from here knowing everything that has happened from the build up to purchase, the actual purchase & then afterwards, that's when i'll answer the question as to why i cleared the codes.

Don't think for a minute i can't see what's going on - people wanting to go round & round in circles over something that can't be undone, probably for a finger pointing exercise. To me that's a waste of time. What's done is done, time to move forward & deal with the present.

AdrianC wrote: »

So you knew before purchase that this fault was there...?

The reason i don't like repeating myself is because it doesn't move anything forwards and only wastes time. Surely once is enough, no?

Feel free to say that there's attitude there but really, the answer to your question was there in the thread before you even asked it.




Mercdriver - as you seem most interested in dealing with the present - i'd have to check the receipt to be able to answer your question. Off the top of my head i THINK it may have been put on there that it was to be fixed although i'm not 100% sure and it may well have just been a verbal thing at the time. It was certainly mentioned at the time of purchase, i just couldn't honestly tell you if it was in writing or verbally.

shaun_from_Africa

But your being aware of the problem before the purchase was finalised is a very important point which could well have major implications as to the obligations of the seller.

The consumer rights act allows dealers to sell goods that are faulty provided that the purchaser was aware of and accepted those faults before committing to the purchase.

4)The term mentioned in subsection (1) does not cover anything which makes the quality of the goods unsatisfactory—

(a)which is specifically drawn to the consumer’s attention before the contract is made,

(b)where the consumer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or

(c)in the case of a contract to supply goods by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample

So unless you can prove that they agreed to repair the car, they might successfully argue that you were fully aware of the problem prior to purchase.

Joe_Horner

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But your being aware of the problem before the purchase was finalised is a very important point which could well have major implications as to the obligations of the seller.

The consumer rights act allows dealers to sell goods that are faulty provided that the purchaser was aware of and accepted those faults before committing to the purchase.


So unless you can prove that they agreed to repair the car, they might successfully argue that you were fully aware of the problem prior to purchase.

Although, it doesn't allow the selling of a car that's unroadworthy. Only a "reasonable belief" that it won't be used on the rad until it's repaired does that - which is a bit hard to show when you hand the new owner the keys to drive off the forecourt!

The point there is that, having had a steering fault identified, the seller must have agreed to rectify it as part of the sale, or they couldn't have sold it.

Which means the OP wasn't buying a car with a known fault, he was (perhaps naively) buying one where a fault he'd flagged had been rectified.

shaun_from_Africa

But did they sell an unroadworthy car?

The OP has stated that when they purchased it, the warning light was off so at that time, it was technically roadworthy.

Semantics I know but as far as the law is concerned, it may well have been legal at the time of sale.

davidwood681

Sounds like the OP is one of those ''know it all'' ''my brother is a mechanic'' types who probably works in an office, owns a near mint pair of overalls and changed a tyre himself once.

Mercdriver

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But did they sell an unroadworthy car?

The OP has stated that when they purchased it, the warning light was off so at that time, it was technically roadworthy.

Semantics I know but as far as the law is concerned, it may well have been legal at the time of sale.

Sounds like the OP has stitched himself up. I still don't understand why he cleared the codes. Effectively the dealer can say that when he sold the car there were no lights on.

Joe_Horner

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But did they sell an unroadworthy car?

The OP has stated that when they purchased it, the warning light was off so at that time, it was technically roadworthy.

Semantics I know but as far as the law is concerned, it may well have been legal at the time of sale.

Since there's obviously a fault with the power steering, yes they did. Fairly or not, "I didn't know" isn't a defence on that one for a trader.

I agree that the OP has probably done himself no favours, but the law is on his side. A serious / expensive fault within days of buying a car (no matter how old) isn't acceptable and the dealer needs to sort it.

That may sound one sided but I'm speaking as a business owner who recognises that consumers using the rights they have, and businesses honouring those rights in good faith, is good for everyone except the cowboys.

takman

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

As soon as someone suggests the best course of action to go from here knowing everything that has happened from the build up to purchase, the actual purchase & then afterwards, that's when i'll answer the question as to why i cleared the codes.

But you have already said the reason you cleared the codes:

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I told them i cleared all codes to see what would return & for the rest of the test drive it didn't return. When they had it in they said the battery caused it (obviously didn't), then they said later on they'd sorted it (obviously haven't).

Unless that wasn't true? But that sounds like a realistic reason to me.

Muscle750

It will more than likely be the Squab ring behind the steering wheel playing up its the steering angle sensor light your looking at

pepita

Did they sell you car as spares and repairs? if so, I don't think its that much you can do. If not, you can always ask to repair. I'm almost certain there is 3 months warranty if you bought it from dealer!