Short Term Right To Reject - Used Car

tacpot12

The fact you had the car for three weeks and it ran ok means that the crankshaft position sensor was working at the time of sale and has failed during your time of ownership. Fraudulent traders sometimes reset fault codes and hope that they don't trigger again during the test drive, but they will usually reoccur on the first drive home or very shortly thereafter. It would be very unusual for this fault not to represent itself very quickly if the dealer had just cleared the fault code.

So you need to work with the dealer to give them the opportunity to repair the car. If it goes wrong again after the repair you will have a right to a refund, but note that it will not be a full refund. The dealer will be allowed to reduce the amount of the refund based on the use you have had of the car.

chuffniut

On the balance of probability, you are more than likely to win a court case and get a refund. Despite the fact you would need to show proof the fault was present on the day of the sale, it's quite easy to convince a judge that the crucial part was failing gradually at the point of sale. Rightly or wrongly, that is most of the time what a judge will see. They are more on the side of consumers than traders.

With that said, if this is the action you wish to take, you need to notify the garage you are exercising your short term right to reject as the car is not of satisfactory quality and you are giving them 14 days to refund you your money. You have to be prepared to go through with this though, don't bluff. You will end up with costs and stress if you take this route but ultimately I would say you have an excellent chance of wining in court.

But do not expect for one moment that the garage in question will take this lying down, they may choose to reject your rejection and state they are happy to repair. There is a world of difference between what you may be entitled to, what a judge will rule and what a garage will accept.

You have bought a used car and as they often do, it has broken down. The dealer has probably played a straight bat and it's just one of them things. Either saddle up and be prepared for a rough ride and your day in court or accept you have been unlucky and be glad the garage are repairing it without trying to fob you off.