Should I be rejecting this car.

keithc440

Purchased a used Vauxhall Astra online from an Nationwide dealership on 20/01/2021.  Noticed fairly soon that the steering was pulling to the left. Contacted dealer to book in to be looked at (within first 30 days from delivery).  As dealership was 30 miles away, they agreed to let me get the tracking checked at a local garage. This however made no difference to the problem. 
Also I have since spotted that the front passenger head light has a chip in the corner and the body panel around this is not aligned correctly. This is not damage I have caused.   I took the car to one of the dealer's branches closer to home and they advised me they would email the branch I bought it from to say how much it would be to fix. They have done so and it is around £800.
I have spoken to the selling branch and they have said they will book it in to be looked at and will give me a courtesy car.
They are contacting me tomorrow to book it in next week. I am in work all week and would rather they collect the car from me. Am I within my rights to request this ?
I am not really bothered about a courtesy car if they can collect my car from me. 
Also I am going to stress that as well as the bodywork fixed and the headlight replaced, that I  want the car to drive in a straight line and not pull to the left. I am within my rights to request this am I not ?
Should I be mentioning rejecting the vehicle at this point (Consumer Sales Act 2015)or work with the dealer to resolve the issue ?
Or should I be asking for a replacement vehicle.
Advice appreciated.

williamgriffin

What do you want?

keithc440

I like the car but only want to keep it if the faults are fixed.

williamgriffin

So get it fixed then. 

George_Michael

Pulling to the left and body panels not aligned properly could be an indication that the car has been in a reasonably serious prang and there is now a problem with the chassis or running gear.
I know that the problems stated could have nothing to do with an accident but it's certainly worth considering.

williamgriffin

George_Michael said:

Pulling to the left and body panels not aligned properly could be an indication that the car has been in a reasonably serious prang and there is now a problem with the chassis or running gear.
I know that the problems stated could have nothing to do with an accident but it's certainly worth considering.

Chassis on an Astra. 

angrycrow

It does sound a little coincidental that it has left sided body damage and pulls to the left.

That said we don't know how old the car is. It could be an older car with knackered lower arm bushes causing the suspension alignment to wander when being driven. 

keithc440

Just under 3 years old. 20k on the clock.

Richard53

Pulls to one side, damaged headlight, misaligned body panels. That shouts heavy impact and I'd be running a mile. Get your money back while you can.

dogshome

On the 30 days rule, you have the right to Reject the car outright, the supplier only has the right to attempt a single fix after the 30 days - Reject the car.

With obvious damage to the front nearside, a tracking check by your Local Garage isn't good enough - It needs a full Hunter rig alignment check that checks ALL the steering angles, but this will cost around £60 just for the report

AdrianC

Low-mileage 3yo car... Prime franchise dealer approved-used territory... Which would give a no-quibble 30day exchange for no reason needed.

You say a "nationwide" dealer - do you mean a chain that operates nationally (if so, was it a Vauxhall approved-used from a Vauxhall dealer), or do you mean a dealer simply called "nationwide", perhaps https://www.nationwide-cars.co.uk/ ?

If it wasn't part of the Vauxhall approved-used from a franchise dealership, then the first question has to be "why not?" - why wouldn't they accept that car for stock? Let me guess - it was considerably cheaper than the same car but approved-used through a franchise dealer...?

The CRA protection applies to faults that weren't readily apparent at the time of purchase, and which can't be reasonably expected from used goods of that age, relative price, and apparent condition.

Tracking out, so the wheel is off-centre and the car pulls, would have been apparent on a pre-purchase test drive.
Body damage would have been apparent to a visual inspection.
But... you chose not to inspect the car at all pre-purchase.

If the transaction was totally at a distance, and you never set foot on their premises before the transaction was complete, then you had 14 days under the distance selling regs to unwind it for whatever reason you wish. But that's long since expired.
It sounds like you only notified the tracking within 30 days - and you accepted their offer to adjust it, a trivial procedure and part of routine maintenance.

Do they need to collect it? No. Even if they accept your rejection of the car, they only need collect it if they delivered it to your door.

Is it reasonable to expect a 3yo car to have suffered some minor body damage in the past? Absolutely. Something like a third of all brand new cars have had some damage rectification prior to delivery.

A chipped headlight is not proof of major crash damage - quite the opposite. It states whatever damage there may have been wasn't bad enough to require the light to be replaced.
Tracking is more likely to be as minor as bad parking or kerbing, while a slightly misaligned wing could be a simple parking dink. They are not grounds to reject a 3yo car that you didn't bother to inspect pre-purchase.