Can I Reject Used Car?

Danny30

Hi all, I was hoping for some advice. My wife and I bought a 2015 seven seater from a Ford Dealership just under 2 weeks ago and we noticed a noise coming from the manual gearbox when the car is warm and moving from a stationary position. We took it to a local ford dealer to check as the one we purchased the car from was an hour drive away and they told us that they need to hear the fault before they could do anything. The first time when we were there the mechanic drove the car but couldn't hear anything so asked me to come back when I hear the noise again. I came back a few days later and he drove the car and heard the noise himself and said he pretty much knows what it is and that it likely a flywheel that is damaged and that they have to remove the gearbox to look at the flywheel first which is apparently a 4-5 hour job and then likely will have to replace it.
My wife is not happy and does not want the car now. Apparently it is a common issue with that model car. Are we allowed to reject the car on the 30 day money back consumer rights law in this instance? We have spoken to the dealer and he said that they have a right to repair the fault first but he seems to be quoting the law pre 2015. I said that I would like to get a refund and he said he will be passing it on to the legal team and that they will contact me. I just wanted to know where I stand. Any replies would be appreciated.

shaun_from_Africa

You do have the legal right to reject the vehicle and get a full refund provided that you can prove that a fault exists and that this fault was there when you took possession of the car.

Has the garage you took it to provided anything in writing stating what the problem is?
If not, contact them and see if they will be willing to do this then show this to the dealer you bought the car from.

How did you pay for it?

Danny30

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

You do have the legal right to reject the vehicle and get a full refund provided that you can prove that a fault exists and that this fault was there when you took possession of the car.

Has the garage you took it to provided anything in writing stating what the problem is?
If not, contact them and see if they will be willing to do this then show this to the dealer you bought the car from.

How did you pay for it?

Hi, thank you for the reply. The fault was reported a few days after buying the car. I don't have anything in writing. Do you think that the Ford dealership that noticed the problem will provide me with written confirmation and if not what should I do? It was paid by Debit Card by my wife's ex father in law. He was going to pay by credit card but the salesman said they don't accept credit cards.

mattyprice4004

I think a little common sense needs to be added to the situation - flywheels are a common issue on most modern diesels, and you’ll be getting a new one fitted so it’ll likely last another 60-100k or more without needing to be done again.
Another car you pick could have it fail within a few months - putting you back to square one.

Why not let them fix it? Your wife suddenly not wanting the car anymore isn’t a massively logical argument, if the car gets a new flywheel you’re in a better position than you’d be in with most cars of a similar age.

Danny30

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

I think a little common sense needs to be added to the situation - flywheels are a common issue on most modern diesels, and you’ll be getting a new one fitted so it’ll likely last another 60-100k or more without needing to be done again.
Another car you pick could have it fail within a few months - putting you back to square one.

Why not let them fix it? Your wife suddenly not wanting the car anymore isn’t a massively logical argument, if the car gets a new flywheel you’re in a better position than you’d be in with most cars of a similar age.

It,s a petrol not a diesel. Also he wasn't very dishonest about the petrol consumption which has been awful. We specifically told him that we wanted something with at least a decent mpg. I know the mpg figures are always overestimated but this one is ridiculous so with that in mind and the fault my wife would prefer a refund.

societys_child

he wasn't very dishonest about the petrol consumption

:huh: . . .

unholyangel

Danny30 wrote: »

Hi, thank you for the reply. The fault was reported a few days after buying the car. I don't have anything in writing. Do you think that the Ford dealership that noticed the problem will provide me with written confirmation and if not what should I do? It was paid by Debit Card by my wife's ex father in law. He was going to pay by credit card but the salesman said they don't accept credit cards.

For me, that would've raised a red flag. I'm not saying every car dealer who doesn't accept credit cards is shady but its incredibly common for the shady ones not to accept credit cards.

If you want something in writing for events that have already happened, try emailing them. Something like:

On x date we purchased a x vehicle from you and on x date we informed you there was a problem. Your mechanic has stated this is an issue with the flywheel which is a known fault with this model and we have asked for a refund but have been told we need to allow you the opportunity to repair. I believe you were going to check with the legal team and I was just wondering if there have been any further developments.

Its not conclusive but if they reply without contradicting you then you should be able to rely on it later (if you need to) that you did indeed try to reject within the 30 days.

Danny30

unholyangel wrote: »

For me, that would've raised a red flag. I'm not saying every car dealer who doesn't accept credit cards is shady but its incredibly common for the shady ones not to accept credit cards.

If you want something in writing for events that have already happened, try emailing them. Something like:

On x date we purchased a x vehicle from you and on x date we informed you there was a problem. Your mechanic has stated this is an issue with the flywheel which is a known fault with this model and we have asked for a refund but have been told we need to allow you the opportunity to repair. I believe you were going to check with the legal team and I was just wondering if there have been any further developments.

Its not conclusive but if they reply without contradicting you then you should be able to rely on it later (if you need to) that you did indeed try to reject within the 30 days.

I tried sending this reply but there is no email address for them so I sent it through there website but they have sent me a "we will be in touch with you email" but with no copy of the message.

Should I contact trading standards and ask for advice and for them to log this information on there system for evidence or would that not work?

lincroft1710

Danny30 wrote: »

Should I contact trading standards and ask for advice and for them to log this information on there system for evidence or would that not work?

You can only contact TS via CAB and doubtful they would be interested unless they're building a file against this particular dealer.

DoaM

unholyangel wrote: »

For me, that would've raised a red flag. I'm not saying every car dealer who doesn't accept credit cards is shady but its incredibly common for the shady ones not to accept credit cards.

Actually, I believe it's very common these days for most dealers to not accept CC payments ... at least not for large amounts. The card charges are exorbitant so dealers are very reluctant to take CC payments.

unholyangel

Danny30 wrote: »

I tried sending this reply but there is no email address for them so I sent it through there website but they have sent me a "we will be in touch with you email" but with no copy of the message.

Should I contact trading standards and ask for advice and for them to log this information on there system for evidence or would that not work?

Hopefully there will be a copy when you get a reply. Its not a massive thing - civil claims work on the balance of probability, that if something is more likely true than not then the court will generally accept it as such. Why else would they be responding to you if not because you had contacted them. Plus most parties tend to get into disputes because they think they're right, rather than knowing they're wrong and purposely lying about it.

DoaM wrote: »

Actually, I believe it's very common these days for most dealers to not accept CC payments ... at least not for large amounts. The card charges are exorbitant so dealers are very reluctant to take CC payments.

The test to see if its to do with how much they're charged would be to ask if you can pay a nominal amount on credit card. If they're shady, they'll stick to the no credit card payments stance. If they're a genuine trader who just can't fit those fees into their generous mark up (we're talking 30-70% mark up as standard - now if you think 1% card surcharge is exorbitant then what does that make their mark up?) then they should be more than happy to accommodate that request to secure a sale.