Rejecting faulty vehicle

beavere38

I bought a vehicle less than 2 weeks ago from a used car dealer and it has 2 dangerous faults. It was a lot of money, nearly £20k so I am very keen to get my money back. It is a long story but these are the basics:

I contacted the dealer in person and advised I was rejecting it. I left him this in writing and also emailed him the same letter. The letter template I used came from the which website. He has said by reply in an email that he will give a refund "less any damage or over mileage allowance which we allow which is written on the front website as shown to you today".

The sale invoice shows the mileage at 141,000 exactly and the odometer is showing nearer 141,800 now but I have not done 800 miles, more like 200 maximum. The 141,000 was rounded down but I cannot prove that.

His website mentions mileage but it does not make sense and it also is in reference to purchases made without seeing the car in person (due to covid). It also states these terms expire in April 2021 so they are no longer valid. It may be reasonable for me to swallow a slight loss but having used the vehicle for less than a week before parking it up as unroadworthy I do not feel I should have to take anything more than a tiny loss.

What reduction should I accept? I believe he has committed an offence under section 75 of the RTA by selling an unsafe vehicle but I do not want to antagonise him and risk him refusing to refund me at all so I do not want to mention that to him at this stage.

If I accept a part refund does this prevent me from taking legal action afterwards for a further amount which I feel I am due?

neilmcl

You shouldn't accept any reduction. You need to inform them that you are rejecting the car as part of your "Short Term Right to Reject" as defined in the Consumer Rights Act (2015) and a full refund is appropriate under law.

beavere38

OK but what if he refuses? Do I accept his offer then go to court for the rest or refuse his offer and go to court for the full amount?

GrumpyDil

Firstly, was this a distance sale or in person. In other words did you buy the car off his website/phone without seeing it first (distance sale) or did you buy the car after going to the garage to look at it?

If it was a distance sale then the advice about using the short term right to reject is correct and should be without any deduction.

If you purchased the car after visiting the garage and inspecting it then the rights are different as you would be returning the vehicle due to the defects.

What exactly are those defects as I'd guess that with 141000 miles this is a relatively old car, although 20000 purchase price suggests an expensive one as well, as the state of the car has to be viewed in relation to the age etc.

Also the value of 800 miles on a 141000 mile car is going to be tiny anyway. 

Ectophile

How did you pay for the car?  It makes a difference if you paid on credit, even if that was only paying part of the cost on a credit card.

beavere38

It is a 2016 66 plate and I viewed it in person before buying. One of the front brake calipers is leaking very badly. I have been advised this is very dangerous. I only became aware of this when the brake fluid warning showed up after a couple of days. The other fault is an exhaust leak in the engine bay which is resulting in fumes getting into the cockpit.

The dealer is not very nice. When I told him I was rejecting the vehicle under the Consumer Rights Act he first told me there was no such thing. He then later said regarding Consumer Rights that he is ICO registered which is "higher up than that". I thought ICO was just data protection and nothing to do with consumer's rights? My son recorded the entire conversation on his mobile phone.

I am rejecting the car as I can see it being impossible to get any repairs done properly should I keep it and further faults appear.

beavere38

I paid by bank transfer. I did ask if he had a card machine but he said he did not.

neilmcl

GrumpyDil said:

Firstly, was this a distance sale or in person. In other words did you buy the car off his website/phone without seeing it first (distance sale) or did you buy the car after going to the garage to look at it?

If it was a distance sale then the advice about using the short term right to reject is correct and should be without any deduction.

If you purchased the car after visiting the garage and inspecting it then the rights are different as you would be returning the vehicle due to the defects.

What exactly are those defects as I'd guess that with 141000 miles this is a relatively old car, although 20000 purchase price suggests an expensive one as well, as the state of the car has to be viewed in relation to the age etc.

Also the value of 800 miles on a 141000 mile car is going to be tiny anyway. 

The rights regards the short term right to reject is enshrined in the CSRs and apply regardless of whether it was a distance sale or not.

neilmcl

beavere38 said:

OK but what if he refuses? Do I accept his offer then go to court for the rest or refuse his offer and go to court for the full amount?

That's entirely up to you but you are entitled to go down the latter route.

Jumblebumble

beavere38 said:

I bought a vehicle less than 2 weeks ago from a used car dealer and it has 2 dangerous faults. It was a lot of money, nearly £20k so I am very keen to get my money back. It is a long story but these are the basics:

I contacted the dealer in person and advised I was rejecting it. I left him this in writing and also emailed him the same letter. The letter template I used came from the which website. He has said by reply in an email that he will give a refund "less any damage or over mileage allowance which we allow which is written on the front website as shown to you today".

The sale invoice shows the mileage at 141,000 exactly and the odometer is showing nearer 141,800 now but I have not done 800 miles, more like 200 maximum. The 141,000 was rounded down but I cannot prove that.

His website mentions mileage but it does not make sense and it also is in reference to purchases made without seeing the car in person (due to covid). It also states these terms expire in April 2021 so they are no longer valid. It may be reasonable for me to swallow a slight loss but having used the vehicle for less than a week before parking it up as unroadworthy I do not feel I should have to take anything more than a tiny loss.

What reduction should I accept? I believe he has committed an offence under section 75 of the RTA by selling an unsafe vehicle but I do not want to antagonise him and risk him refusing to refund me at all so I do not want to mention that to him at this stage.

If I accept a part refund does this prevent me from taking legal action afterwards for a further amount which I feel I am due?

Has he actually said how much deduction he is going to make ?
You have in my view very little  chance of proving that the caliper or exhaust were leaking before sale on a 140K mile car

neilmcl

beavere38 said:

It is a 2016 66 plate and I viewed it in person before buying. One of the front brake calipers is leaking very badly. I have been advised this is very dangerous. I only became aware of this when the brake fluid warning showed up after a couple of days. The other fault is an exhaust leak in the engine bay which is resulting in fumes getting into the cockpit.

The dealer is not very nice. When I told him I was rejecting the vehicle under the Consumer Rights Act he first told me there was no such thing. He then later said regarding Consumer Rights that he is ICO registered which is "higher up than that". I thought ICO was just data protection and nothing to do with consumer's rights? My son recorded the entire conversation on his mobile phone.

I am rejecting the car as I can see it being impossible to get any repairs done properly should I keep it and further faults appear.

He's trying to fob you off and clearly doesn't know his CSRs from his GDPRs. As you rightly say the fact that he is registered with the ICO is neither here nor there. Sounds like you need to right a formal LBA to reject the car.