Rejecting a new car

PhilB3374

I purchased a brand new VW Golf in March this year, in the 5 months since then numerous electronics/software faults have become apparent. 

The car has been back to a VW dealer (not the original dealer due to geography) twice to repair the faults under warranty, and to cut a very long story short the dealer and VW have now confirmed that it's a known fault but there is no current fix or timescale for having a fix. The faults manifest themselves as continual (hundreds of times in a journey) warning lights and beeps which makes the car unbearable to drive. It feels like I'm left with no option but to reject it.

I paid a deposit to the dealer (on credit card) and the balance was financed on a PCP through VW Financial Services. I've made 5 monthly payments since purchase. I also purchased a service agreement, I've not yet used any of the included services.

What I'm interested to know is how much of what I've already paid (deposit, monthly payments, service agreement) I should expect/am entitled to get back when I do reject it. VW have suggested that I won't be entitled to everything back that I've already paid as I've had some use of the vehicle. If I had purchased a TV or vacuum cleaner and an inherent fault became apparent after 5 months I'd expect to get all of my money back, not to get some of it back and have to pay for the 5 months us usage!

Would there be any validity in a claim for compensation in addition to the refund?

Thanks in advance for your help

ItsComingRome

PhilB3374 said:

I purchased a brand new VW Golf in March this year, in the 5 months since then numerous electronics/software faults have become apparent. 

The car has been back to a VW dealer (not the original dealer due to geography) twice to repair the faults under warranty, and to cut a very long story short the dealer and VW have now confirmed that it's a known fault but there is no current fix or timescale for having a fix. The faults manifest themselves as continual (hundreds of times in a journey) warning lights and beeps which makes the car unbearable to drive. It feels like I'm left with no option but to reject it.

I paid a deposit to the dealer (on credit card) and the balance was financed on a PCP through VW Financial Services. I've made 5 monthly payments since purchase. I also purchased a service agreement, I've not yet used any of the included services.

What I'm interested to know is how much of what I've already paid (deposit, monthly payments, service agreement) I should expect/am entitled to get back when I do reject it. VW have suggested that I won't be entitled to everything back that I've already paid as I've had some use of the vehicle. If I had purchased a TV or vacuum cleaner and an inherent fault became apparent after 5 months I'd expect to get all of my money back, not to get some of it back and have to pay for the 5 months us usage!

Would there be any validity in a claim for compensation in addition to the refund?

Thanks in advance for your help

Seems a bit much to expect compensation AND the free use of a car for 5 months.

neilmcl

PhilB3374 said:

I purchased a brand new VW Golf in March this year, in the 5 months since then numerous electronics/software faults have become apparent. 

The car has been back to a VW dealer (not the original dealer due to geography) twice to repair the faults under warranty, and to cut a very long story short the dealer and VW have now confirmed that it's a known fault but there is no current fix or timescale for having a fix. The faults manifest themselves as continual (hundreds of times in a journey) warning lights and beeps which makes the car unbearable to drive. It feels like I'm left with no option but to reject it.

I paid a deposit to the dealer (on credit card) and the balance was financed on a PCP through VW Financial Services. I've made 5 monthly payments since purchase. I also purchased a service agreement, I've not yet used any of the included services.

What I'm interested to know is how much of what I've already paid (deposit, monthly payments, service agreement) I should expect/am entitled to get back when I do reject it. VW have suggested that I won't be entitled to everything back that I've already paid as I've had some use of the vehicle. If I had purchased a TV or vacuum cleaner and an inherent fault became apparent after 5 months I'd expect to get all of my money back, not to get some of it back and have to pay for the 5 months us usage!

Would there be any validity in a claim for compensation in addition to the refund?

Thanks in advance for your help

Vehicles are treated differently under the law, the only time you can expect a full refund is if you were to reject it within the first 30 days.

Grumpy_chap

Rejecting a car will be subject to a charge for the time / mileage you had beneficial use of the vehicle.

However, there are some success stories achieving an amicable outcome:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6292225/brand-new-car-with-fault/p1