Paintwork Issues On Used Car

zb_rad

Morning all,

I am looking for some advice if possible to see where I stand.

I purchased a VW Golf GTI in January from a retailer, when we purchased the car it was an overcast day and the car was pulled under a canopy. We checked over the car and from what we could see there were no faults. When we collected the car at handover it was dark and hard to really spot any defects.  We did notice that in the boot was a broken wing mirror but thought nothing of it as the car had one on it so must of been replaced. 

In February we had an issue with the rain/light sensor which the dealership replaced as it was fault. Since Jan/Feb we didn't get the car washed as the weather was poor, my work then went into lock down on 13/03 due to Covid-19 and other businesses followed suite so was unable to get the car properly cleaned (we don't have an outside tap so can't do myself). On the 21/05 I decided to have the car professionally cleaned as I usually do this every now and then to keep the paintwork in good nick. When the guy finished cleaning the car we noticed that 1. the wing mirror replaced was actually a metallic one instead of a flat black one which is the cars colour (only noticed as you can see the metal flakes in the sun) 2. the car had severe polish swirls all on the passenger side 3. on the passenger side B pillar there was a bad burn from polishing. 

The next day my friend referred me to a body specialist to see the above could be resolved, from his look around the passenger side he believes the vehicle had been in an accident as it seems filler was used and numerous signs of a poor respray being done. We have also noticed that on several spots of the car the paintwork is staring to come away.

I understand that as a consumer we have to check the vehicle which we did and didn't notice these defects. You can only really notice the extent if the vehicle has had a proper clean. We did all the normal checks i.e HPI and the dealer didn't mention that any accidents or repairs had been carried out. 

So I guess I'm just looking to see where I stand as the repairs are going to cost me a lot of money which I feel is unfair. 

Appreciate any help.

Brad

powerful_Rogue

The dealer might not have known it had been in any accidents if the HPI check came back clear.

How old is the car? You can't buy a new car and expect it to be in the same condition as a new one straight out of the factory. You've also had six months to spot any issues with the paint work. I can't believe tha until now you hadn't spotted anything. We still had some bright sunny days in Jan & Feb.

DoaM

powerful_Rogue said:

The dealer might not have known it had been in any accidents if the HPI check came back clear.

Unfortunately (for the dealer) that doesn't absolve them from liability - as the expert they're expected to know, so not mentioning it pre-contract means that they're in breach of contract (i.e. the goods don't conform to contract) so are obliged to provide a remedy.

@zb_rad when in January (date) did you take delivery of the car, and when (date) did you inform the dealer about the issue? Actually ... have you informed them about the issue? (If delivery was in January then you're still within 6 months from purchase, therefore the fault is assumed to have existed at the time of purchase and the dealer must prove otherwise).

powerful_Rogue

DoaM said:

powerful_Rogue said:

The dealer might not have known it had been in any accidents if the HPI check came back clear.

Unfortunately (for the dealer) that doesn't absolve them from liability - as the expert they're expected to know, so not mentioning it pre-contract means that they're in breach of contract (i.e. the goods don't conform to contract) so are obliged to provide a remedy.

@zb_rad when in January (date) did you take delivery of the car, and when (date) did you inform the dealer about the issue?

But no-one knows whether the vehicle has been in an accident yet. Unless the bodyshop is going to change from "believeing" to "confirming" and putting that one paper, which might be used in court - Then that part of the discussion is moot.

DoaM

Please see my edit.

powerful_Rogue

Even if still just within the 6 months, this will be an uphill battle for the OP.

"So 5 months after purchase you took the car to get it professionally cleaned. After that clean you noticed polish swirls and burn marks from the polishing?. We are a dealer, it's our bread and butter to make sure all cars are clean and gleaming on the forecourt. It was not noticed by yourself then and we have the exterior condition reports available here".....

Not disputing what the OP is saying, but this isn't going to be an easy battle to win. How much was the car and what year is it?

zb_rad

Hi,

Picked the car up on 18/01 and raised this issue formally on 22/05 both with the dealer and the finance company (Black Horse). Car was £14k.

The dealer has already responded to say cosmetic problems are not covered. I appreciate that the issue was raised in May but as I said in original post we did not notice when we picked up the car and then went into lock down so the car wasn't used much. The dealer boasts that they complete a 114 point check which includes bodywork so I'm confused to how this wasn't picked up when the check was done. The body specialist who checked over for me noticed the defects within 10 minutes.  

The issue isn't the accident, I can appreciate that vehicles can be accident but the repairs are awful. 

Thanks again

k3lvc

zb_rad said:

The issue isn't the accident, I can appreciate that vehicles can be accident but the repairs are awful. 

But they can't have been that awful if it took 4 months and a specialist cleaner to notice them/point them out to you.

zb_rad

k3lvc said:

zb_rad said:

The issue isn't the accident, I can appreciate that vehicles can be accident but the repairs are awful. 

But they can't have been that awful if it took 4 months and a specialist cleaner to notice them/point them out to you.

I'm not an expert in this field, the car is black so they are hard to notice at first but once pointed out it does become more noticeable. The point is that dealer should of noticed these repairs and done something about it. Parts of the paint are starting to chip away now which means it's only going to get worse.

powerful_Rogue

How old is the car?

zb_rad

powerful_Rogue said:

How old is the car?

Its a 63 plate.