Dispute over repair with used car dealer.

Jumblebumble

jmould859 wrote: »

Hi, I hope some clever people on here can offer some insight. Apologies for the long story which follows.

I recently purchased a 2010 Renault Grand Scenic from a used car dealership. During the test drive I noticed a fault light and warning message about the electronic parking brake. I queried this with the dealer who said that they would fix this for me before I picked the car up. He advised that it was probably a faulty switch rather than a problem with the actual handbrake. This seems to be the case as the brake engages and disengages fine. I was assured that the problem would be fixed.

The dealer replaced the switch and the fault was gone for a day or so before it reappeared. The dealer said that the replacement switch was second hand so could also have a fault and I took the car back to the dealer for them to investigate further. They then said that the battery output was slightly low due to the age, and that although the engine starts fine, the slight drop in voltage was causing the handbrake alarm. They advised that the battery was not covered under their warranty but would last another 1-2 years so I could replace it when it suited me.

The car has a reversing camera powered from the cigarette lighter. Between the dealer and myself we decided to try driving for a day with it unplugged to see if that made a difference. It didn't so I contacted the dealer again to ask him to replace the battery. I also told him that I was unwilling to pay for a replacement as he had told me he would fix the problem. The car is now back with him to double check that it is the battery causing the problem.

These are my thoughts at this point:
As I understand it, I have a right to a repair under Consumer Act 2015 since the car is not as described.
Even though I knew the fault was present when I bought, I had been assured that it would be fixed.
I understand that the battery is not covered under warranty but in my mind this is irrelevant since the dealer made no qualifications on his promise that the problem would be fixed.

The dealer has suggested, but not quite offered, that they could cover half the cost of replacing the battery. I'm reluctant to take this offer as I feel like I'm entitled to have the whole thing covered - if I'd been buying a car that definitely needed a battery replaced I'd have negotiated a lower price to begin with.

Any advice welcome.

You are being fobbed off
Someone telling you an old battery will last for 1-2 more years is telling fairy stories as they cannot possibly know if this is true