Early Right to Reject Faulty Car

FrankieMc

On the evening of 19 June I took delivery of a second hand 3 year old car from Europe's Biggest Car Supermarket. On the afternoon of 21 June after less than 30 miles in total and less than 10 miles on that particular journey, the car developed a fault with overheating. I asked my local garage to come look at the problem, as it was not fit to drive. They established that the pressure on the car had got so high, it had blown the water pipe off the phlange and lost all coolant. They also stated that due to marks on the pipework they were of the opinion that this was not the first time this had happened with the car and it would continue to occur in the future. Their advice was to reject the vehicle. I contacted the retailer by phone twice on 21 June, then on 22 June I sent them a diagnostic report from my local garage, photographs of the issue and a letter stating that I was exercising my early right to reject.

Long story short, they eventually collected the car on 26 June - had to hassle them to collect and for updates. They then sent an email on 28 June saying that they had performed stress tests on the car, stated it was not an on-going issue, the pipe had merely been loose, and there was no "significant" damage to the engine. As a gesture of goodwill they would refund the fee for the diagnostic check from my local garage and service the vehicle as it was due a service.

I responded by reiterating the contents of my letter of 22 June. They sent a further email saying they had outlined their stance and "unfortunately were not in a position to assist with the return of the vehicle" (whether that was to them or to me was unclear).

So now we're at a stalemate. My local garage were adamant that I should not keep the vehicle as it was going to be a major headache on a regular basis. As far as I am aware, I have an early right to reject as the vehicle was not as advertised and is not fit for purpose. So where do I go from here? The car was paid for by part x and the balance on a debit card (they don't accept credit cards and now I know why)

I can't enlist the help of the Ombudsman until tomorrow at the earliest and in the meantime I am still without a car, so I just wondered if anyone had any ideas to tide me over until then.

Thanks in advance for any advice.


Update 06/09/19: The Dealership have finally agreed to accept my right to reject. Had to go through a very slow conciliation process. They are arguing about paying any compensation for the fact that I have been without a vehicle for 11 weeks and ignoring the fact that they completely ignored the Consumer Rights Act. We may yet end up in the Small Claims Court. I'm updating in case anyone else happens to need any info/help with their own cases.

Greta_Sharbo

You are entitled to exercise your short term right to reject within the first 30 days (beginning the day after taking possession) providing you can prove there is an inherent fault.

The report from the other garage should help do that.

If the ombudsman can help then use this, if this doesn't resolve it a letter before action may make them respond and if not then court action.

bris

You will struggle reject the car as faulty for a loose connection. The pipe is very unlikely to come off again if properly secured so your garage is pretty much scare mongering.


I doubt you will get anywhere with this, it's not a faulty car.

unholyangel

bris wrote: »

You will struggle reject the car as faulty for a loose connection. The pipe is very unlikely to come off again if properly secured so your garage is pretty much scare mongering.


I doubt you will get anywhere with this, it's not a faulty car.

It may not be faulty now, but thats because they've repaired it. A repair OP is under no obligation to accept.

Perfectly fine cars don't overheat.