Used Car Return due to Fuel Economy?

foxy-stoat

Mneil5 wrote: »

I recently bought a 2017 Kia Sportage from an Arnold Clark dealer but since then have experienced very poor fuel economy which means I am going to be around £700 out of pocket on fuel each year compared to a mid-range equivalent. Do my consumer rights cover a 30 day return when it is the fuel economy in question rather than any mechanical fault?

The advertised fuel economy is 37mpg but the actual is around 30mpg. Fuel economy was never mentioned during my interaction with Arnold Clark.

Must be a wind up.

AdrianC

TBH, even 30mpg at current fuel prices is <20p/mile. Add all the other costs of ownership together, including finance and depreciation, and they'll probably be in the same ball park. Saving ~3.5p/mile (£700 over 20k) is not really here or there. People just get excited about fuel costs because they're the single most visible factor.

Next time somebody asks about PCPing some small-engine diesel German premium "bling" on <6k/year for a couple of hundred quid a month plus insurance etc, work out their total cost per mile...

family4tunes

Mneil5 wrote: »

I recently bought a 2017 Kia Sportage from an Arnold Clark dealer but since then have experienced very poor fuel economy which means I am going to be around £700 out of pocket on fuel each year compared to a mid-range equivalent. Do my consumer rights cover a 30 day return when it is the fuel economy in question rather than any mechanical fault?

The advertised fuel economy is 37mpg but the actual is around 30mpg. Fuel economy was never mentioned during my interaction with Arnold Clark.

If you asked this question when you were buying the car and had a definitive answer which was either independently witnessed or written down during the sale then you might have a case against the dealership.

However, if this did not happen then basically you don’t have a leg to stand on because you brought a used car and the efficiency and advertised performance relates only as a guide.

Fuel economy is governed mostly by the driver in the way they accelerate, change gear, deaccelerate, braking, fuel tank filling, tyre inflation and even carrying passengers and luggage. Identical cars fuel performance will be completely different when inducing these variables.

System

family4tunes wrote: »

Fuel economy is governed mostly by the driver in the way they accelerate, change gear, deaccelerate, braking, fuel tank filling, tyre inflation and even carrying passengers and luggage. Identical cars fuel performance will be completely different when inducing these variables.

This. On the Mondeo owners club forum when it existed there were people getting a range as wide as a difference of 20MPG with the same sized engine as my Mondeo, some getting high 50's and topping 60MPG, others getting low 40s. I usually exceed the stated figures because mine gets used for travelling to work on a 56 mile round trip on major A roads at hours when I'm lucky to see another car. When my wife drives my car the trip computer drops the average MPG by 10-15% because she drives it like she does her petrol car.

bigisi

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Must be a wind up.

You’d hope so but nowadays nobody takes any responsibility for their actions now so the OP not doing their due diligence BEFORE buying the car MUST be the dealer’s fault. They should be given a gagillionty pounds in compensation for this blatant mis[STRIKE]-buying[/STRIKE]-selling :mad:

almillar

The advertised fuel economy is 37mpg but the actual is around 30mpg. Fuel economy was never mentioned during my interaction with Arnold Clark.

And how about your previous car - how did your personal MPG compare to the official figures?

That advertised fuel economy did happen, in a lab under strict testing conditions. You should take ~25% off whatever number it is you're reading for fuel economy, for a more representative read of what you'll get with your own driving pattern.

foxy-stoat

bigisi wrote: »

You’d hope so but nowadays nobody takes any responsibility for their actions now so the OP not doing their due diligence BEFORE buying the car MUST be the dealer’s fault. They should be given a gagillionty pounds in compensation for this blatant mis[STRIKE]-buying[/STRIKE]-selling :mad:

Miss sold all the way - 7 mpg less than stated on a web site.

I wish my car did 7 mpg less than the manufacturer claims.

Def a wind up.

Next we will get claims of mis-selling because the air con in the car isn't making the whole cabin 16 degrees as the coldest it gets is 17.8 degrees.