Used electric vehicle not as advertised - wrong spec/motor/charger - what recourse?

MK_Paul

I've asked for a full refund and expenses, as there's associated costs such as transport, insurance change over and one tricky area is yesterday I ordered a charge point which has a £350 discount... on the basis you have an EV (!) so how that plays out could be a whole other discussion... 

So as it stands I've emailed and explained the errors/problems and requested a refund and costs. So basically I'm back to where I was before this episode. 

Any further advice is of course still welcome, and I will update as and when I can, but I don't want to make this one of those angry blow-by-blow topics.  

Manxman_in_exile

I hate to ask this (because I think you've got a good argument that the car was not as described in the advert) but did it not cross your mind to double-check and confirm with them that it was a Q90?  If it was so important to me it would have been the very first thing I asked them when I got there.  In fact I would have asked them before I arranged to go and buy it.

And they didn't mention anything to make you think it was not a Q90?  eg You:  "So this has the quick charge feature?"  Them:  "No sir, it doesn't."  Just seems odd to me that you wouldn't check, and if you did check, that you wouldn't mention it here.

MK_Paul

Manxman_in_exile said:

I hate to ask this (because I think you've got a good argument that the car was not as described in the advert) but did it not cross your mind to double-check and confirm with them that it was a Q90?  If it was so important to me it would have been the very first thing I asked them when I got there.  In fact I would have asked them before I arranged to go and buy it.

And they didn't mention anything to make you think it was not a Q90?  eg You:  "So this has the quick charge feature?"  Them:  "No sir, it doesn't."  Just seems odd to me that you wouldn't check, and if you did check, that you wouldn't mention it here.

I did ask the spec via email (using the AutoTrader system) very early on in conversation and they confirmed it was a Q90 via email.  There was no reason to doubt it once I had email confirmation from them it was as advertised.

MK_Paul

Externally and internally there are no obvious markers/indicators that is a Q or R model, it turns out there's a small sticker on the B-Pillar (which I didn't even notice when looking for the tyre pressures on Thursday night, also on the B-Pillar!) and the configuration under the bonnet is slightly different (some metal on one vs some plastic on the other).  That (as far as I'm aware now, after some further research) are the only ways to tell.

But as I say, once confirmed it didn't cross my mind it wouldn't be the correct model and spec motor/charger.

JamoLew

On the plus side - you are acting very reasonably (compared to other posters) which should help you get a more acceptable solution (and advice on here)
Good Luck

MK_Paul

Credit where it’s due, the dealer have offered compensation to keep it or a return/refund.

While it’s a lovely car, it’s not the right one for my needs, or the one I thought I was buying, so let’s see how the refund process works out.

Thanks again for all the advice so far.

JamoLew

good result (so far) 
thanks for the update
people make mistakes - its how they fix them that counts, definitely sounds like they are being reasonable

jonesMUFCforever

To the OP - can I just add something for future reference?
You said that you paid a deposit using a debit card but had to pay the balance using a bank transfer  because the limit on your card was not enough? With a debit card the limit is normally your account balance (plus any agreed o/d facility).
Paying anybody with a bank transfer when they take cards should be a no no IMO.
Although in your case here it seems that the garage will refund you - had there been a dispute - there is no way you could have asked your bank to recall the final payment.

MK_Paul

jonesMUFCforever said:

To the OP - can I just add something for future reference?
You said that you paid a deposit using a debit card but had to pay the balance using a bank transfer  because the limit on your card was not enough? With a debit card the limit is normally your account balance (plus any agreed o/d facility).
Paying anybody with a bank transfer when they take cards should be a no no IMO.
Although in your case here it seems that the garage will refund you - had there been a dispute - there is no way you could have asked your bank to recall the final payment.

I checked with the bank and they had a £10k limit for card transactions.

photome

MK_Paul said:

Credit where it’s due, the dealer have offered compensation to keep it or a return/refund.

While it’s a lovely car, it’s not the right one for my needs, or the one I thought I was buying, so let’s see how the refund process works out.

Thanks again for all the advice so far.

Compensation to keep it , what about compensation ( travel costs ) for a return/refund