Second hand car right to return

tao858

Hi,

Looking for advice please.

I purchased a second hand car from a dealer just a week ago. The car now will not start, the engine does not turn over at all and the electrics go crazy.

I negotiated a 12 month RAC warranty at time of purchase but in the small print diagnostics are not covered under the warranty.

If I had had the car for a few months or more and completed substantial mileage I might be inclined to accept the warranty conditions but as this fault has appeared within a week and having completed less than 100 miles I am thinking that I've been sold a dud and should get my money back or at least a full repair at no extra expense to myself.

My question is - what are my rights? The car is 9 years old and has 76K miles on.

Thanks in advance.

Arklight

Ignore the warranty. Your contract is with the dealer not the RAC.

shaun_from_Africa

It could be something as simple as the battery being low voltage as this can often cause all sorts of weird and wonderful problems.
Try giving it a charge then see what happens.

tacpot12

Your rights are outlined here:

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand-car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

But it does sound like the battery is flat. If you get the battery recharged, and it fails again, then either the battery is at the end of its working life (they usually last about 5 years) or the alternator is faulty. Call the dealer and negotiate how they are going to test the alternator. You could charge the battery again to allow you to start the car once to get to the dealer.

tao858

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated.