Breach of T&c’s/agreement - dealer refusing deposit refund.

bartelbe

Dealers union out in force I see. It is amazing that so many car dealers on here are still outraged by the change in the law which requires them to describe their cars accurately. It doesn't matter if it is a bog standard car, the law assumes the dealer is an expert and therefore should be capable of spotting any faults.

The dealer should have spotted the illegal modification to the suspension arms and if the dealer failed to do that, they are incompetent. If they spotted it and failed to put it in the ad, they have broken the law.

All the dealers on here have to do to avoid issues is properly describe faults and list them when they place their ads. If the dealers on here are incapable of doing that, they need to look for another line of work.

williamgriffin

bartelbe said:

Dealers union out in force I see. It is amazing that so many car dealers on here are still outraged by the change in the law which requires them to describe their cars accurately. It doesn't matter if it is a bog standard car, the law assumes the dealer is an expert and therefore should be capable of spotting any faults.

The dealer should have spotted the illegal modification to the suspension arms and if the dealer failed to do that, they are incompetent. If they spotted it and failed to put it in the ad, they have broken the law.

All the dealers on here have to do to avoid issues is properly describe faults and list them when they place their ads. If the dealers on here are incapable of doing that, they need to look for another line of work.

Why do you think it's a dealers union because the question asked has been answered?

You're obviously of the opinion the OP should have been told what they wanted to hear. 

sheramber

Nobody on here can force the dealer to collect your car and return your deposit.
You have the opinions of the posters on here. You don't agree with them so there doesn't seem to be  much point in pursuing it here.

ontheroad1970

Mswizzj said:

Grumpy_chap said:

That is a very long OP, but conveniently short of detail.

• What type of car? What was paid for it?
• Age, condition, mileage?
• What is the modification that make the car illegal?
• Can the modification be remedied more sensibly than rejecting the vehicle?

 Some types of cars are just more likely to have been modified and "blinged" up than others, and the buyer of that type of car is potentially likely to be aware that this type of modification is, apparently, desirable.

It’s not exactly a ‘blinged’ up car, it’s a Audi A3 TDi.

Cost me just shy of £10000 (minus the £2000 deposit).

It could possibly be remedied, but that’s not the point, I’ve done 500 miles in a car that could of potentially cost me my license, annoying.

This is what leads me to say bog standard Audi.  People come on here all the time complaining that they are being asked to return a car hundreds of miles away when there is a problem.  Nearly all the time it's just a standard or fairly standard car that they could have found easily well within reach of their home address.  

I'm not a car dealer, nor do I want to be one.  But people are failing to do due diligence and do a risk assessment of their decisions.  Many are driving 300 miles and not doing a test drive, and then finding out that when they have an issue, that they then face a 600 mile round trip to sort it out.  OK, something might be priced keenly and appear to be a bargain.

Even before you get to "if it looks too good to be true" you have to weigh up the possibility of issues and ask yourself if the saving is enough to cover the expense and hassle of having to physically get to the dealer.  If it's a simple enough issue, the dealer might agree to it getting sorted out at a garage close to you, but in order to avoid hassle getting reimbursed then you have to get prior agreement preferably in writing.  Why?  If it goes to court, you will be expected to mitigate costs by getting best value and giving the dealer fait accompli may result in the judge not giving full value of those costs.  He willl expect you to show fairness to the dealer.  

If you reject an item, as I said before, the law requires that you return the goods.  Out of goodwill, some dealers might agree to pick the car up at their cost, or agree to split the cost.  You know that this is unlikely to be the case with this dealer as he isn't agreeing to the return of the deposit.  You cannot reject the item by simply leaving it at the main dealer.  Taking it to a main dealer to sort out would have been inadvisable in any case as a judge may well see this as asking for unreasonable costs, and failing to mitigate your costs.  Therefore the judge is likely to only award a proportion of the costs.  He will not order anything if you do not return the goods to the supplier.  

I'm sorry if this is not what you want to hear, but you could end up in all sorts of difficulties if you fail to get the goods to the supplier.  You should have S75 protection for the deposit from the finance company.  You will not be able to use this unless the car is formally rejected by having it returned to thew supplier.  At the moment, the car is still owned by the finance company.  How long do you think it will be before they set the legal dogs on to you?  A CCJ will hurt a dealership less hard than it would hurt you.

Next time when you see what looks like a bargain miles and miles away, think twice.  Do a search to see if you can find somewhere much closer first.

ontheroad1970

bartelbe said:

Dealers union out in force I see. It is amazing that so many car dealers on here are still outraged by the change in the law which requires them to describe their cars accurately. It doesn't matter if it is a bog standard car, the law assumes the dealer is an expert and therefore should be capable of spotting any faults.

The dealer should have spotted the illegal modification to the suspension arms and if the dealer failed to do that, they are incompetent. If they spotted it and failed to put it in the ad, they have broken the law.

All the dealers on here have to do to avoid issues is properly describe faults and list them when they place their ads. If the dealers on here are incapable of doing that, they need to look for another line of work.

Please do reach adulthood.  No one is saying that the dealer is correct in withholding the deposit.  No one is saying that the OP doesn't have the right to return.  He does, but he has to return it.  Otherwise he is not complying with the terms of said legislation.  It requires the goods to be returned.  That is the OP's responsibility.  Should there be a moral responsibility for the dealer to come and pick it up?  Sure, but there is not a legal responsibility for him to do so.  Purchasers noosing to buy from 290 miles away have to take some responsibility themselves in their research, and be aware of what might happen should there be a problem.  The dealer doesn't have to immediately accept a repair being done elsewhere, legally after the first 30 days for example, you have to give the dealer an opportunity to sort the situation out.  That might require  the goods getting to him.  

Yes, you could repair it yourself through a local garage, but you will have to then chase for payment possibly via moneyclaimonline.  Long Distance purchasers should consider the hassle factor versus money saved before driving 300 miles to buy a car that many of them don't even test drive.  The time for a test drive is before purchase, not on the 290 mile return journey.  

Too many consumers think that consumer laws mean that they don't have to take due diligence.  They do.  It's easy to say let the dealer carry the can, but then everyone else pays through increased prices.  

Herzlos

So the short story is that the car has some minor faults which could be easily rectified (depending on what happened with the airbag). The dealer doesn't feel the car needs to be rejected and has either offered to fix it for you (if you return it) or to buy it back from you (at a trade cost)? You got the finance undone but you're still out by the deposit (2k)
For some reason you chose to buy a car from 290 miles away which sucks because the onus is on you to return it to where you got it.

To make matters worse, when you took it to Audi they gave it an MOT and it failed, so now you can't "legally" drive the car back to the dealership you bought it from?

Do you like the car? Getting the wishbones replaced will solve that problem and cost you less than getting the car back to the dealership.

If you want to return it anyway, then your options appear to be: Drive it back anyway or pay someone to trailer it up there. Once it's up there you've got a fight with the dealership about the rejection - you want a full refund and they don't think it warrants it.

It may actually be cheaper for you to get someone non-franchised to replace the wishbones for you and then drive it back yourself. At least that way you can potentially claim the repair back from the dealership, or have the car repaired if you need to collect it again.


You also think the garage got it a dodgy MOT? I'd report that to VOSA (I think) and see what happens there. It might stop others being screwed over.

AdrianC

Herzlos said:

You also think the garage got it a dodgy MOT? I'd report that to VOSA (I think) and see what happens there.

Too late.

The MOT was done prior to purchase on the 3rd December.
It can only be appealed within 28 days of the test.
https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/problems-with-your-test-result

DrEskimo

The fact the dealership are treating this £2k as separate from the cost of the car is nonsense. It was an upfront payment to secure the car yes, but it forms as part payment for the cost of the car.

The car was £12k and you paid £2k upfront and financed £10k. If the finance company has agreed and issues the dealer to refund in full, this is for the full cost of the car.

The fact that the upfromnt cost also happened to constitute as part of a holding deposit is utterly irrelevant IMHO.

They need to be told as much.

Unfortunately I agree that you are responsible for returning the car to the dealership, so will have to arrange transportation.

burlingtonfl6

Mswizzj said:

Sorry? williamgriffin said:

Another dramatic invalid insurance thread then. 

Sorry? Wouldn’t exactly call it dramatic when I transfer children as a job.

Did you buy this car through your business then?

Mswizzj

burlingtonfl6 said:

Mswizzj said:

Sorry? williamgriffin said:

Another dramatic invalid insurance thread then. 

Sorry? Wouldn’t exactly call it dramatic when I transfer children as a job.

Did you buy this car through your business then?

No, I was using it for my line of work though.