Advice/help - faulty car / consumer act 2015

daisydoom

Hello

I bought a second car from a dealer on Monday (30th of August 2021) It got delivered on Thursday (2/9/2021).

Car has full service history/ Motd' until next May and comes with a 12 month warranty - reviewers for dealer are also good on auto trader/ google.

It now has 5 faults

1 – Engine over heating/ red radiator warning light is on  -- advisory from VW site is not to drive the car 

2 - Air con/ climate system not working - blowing hot air

3– Passenger air bag amber light on  – meaning this may not deploy in an accident 

4 – Engine warning light is on  -

5 – Right indicator flashing double time 

I alerted the dealer each time a fault appeared (I have now driven the car 3 time doing a max of 50 miles in total - it was on the last drive that I was aware of the red warning light - I alerted the dealer/ complaint email and I have not driven the car since) 

I have asked for a full refund/ the car to be collected under the consumer rights act 2015

I emailed them this - when the red warning light came on 

I am asking for a full refund to provided under the consumer act 2015 as the car is not as described/ is not of satisfactory quality/doesn’t match the description and is faulty.

I would like you to put this right by refunding me the cost of the car & collecting at your cost.

I only have a complaint email to deal with - the dealer with not engage with me and just say they are "sales"

They have asked me to drive this to a garage to get repair costs - even thought I have not asked for a repair & I have advised them that  red warning light means the car should not be driven.

Like anyone with an issue I feel sick to my stomach , I have not slept the last 2 nights due to the worry of this

The dealer does deliver nationwide but are unfortunately 300 miles away from me and the car is not currently in a state to be driven - due to the red overheating warning
. (this was the nicest car I saw and if it wants faulty I would be over the moon with the car - it is a 65 plate - I did not expect it to be perfect - there are wee bits & bobs that I don't mind at all due to the age of the car - but I do need to be able to drive it!) 

I am terrified I am going to be left with a car that I cannot drive & that the consumer act is actually really of no use and wont be enforced?  or who I would contact to enforce this? I am in Scotland  car was bought in England.

Any advice or feedback very welcome - everything I have googled says the dealer will do anything they can to not take the car back/ the lack of engagement from the dealer is not leaving me feeling very positive (they were lovey to deal with on purchasing & even moved my delivery spot due to an appointment I could not change) 

The car was paid outright - no finance.

NSG666

Hi

I'd be tempted to put this on the Consumer Rights section of the forum as the ones who are more knowledgeable about the legal aspects seem to lurk on there. If you keep both post going put a message on the new one to the effect that you have posted in two sections.

It sounds like it was an online purchase? Clarify that on there/ here.

In the meantime dig out and have a good read of the sales contract that you have just in case you get any questions or find out what their procedure is.

I can understand you feel gutted and hope you get sorted quickly.

AdrianC

daisydoom said:

I bought a second car from a dealer on Monday (30th of August 2021) It got delivered on Thursday (2/9/2021).

Car has full service history/ Motd' until next May and comes with a 12 month warranty - reviewers for dealer are also good on auto trader/ google.

It now has 5 faults

1 – Engine over heating/ red radiator warning light is on  -- advisory from VW site is not to drive the car 

2 - Air con/ climate system not working - blowing hot air

3– Passenger air bag amber light on  – meaning this may not deploy in an accident 

4 – Engine warning light is on  -

5 – Right indicator flashing double time 

I alerted the dealer each time a fault appeared (I have now driven the car 3 time doing a max of 50 miles in total - it was on the last drive that I was aware of the red warning light - I alerted the dealer/ complaint email and I have not driven the car since) 

I have asked for a full refund/ the car to be collected under the consumer rights act 2015

I emailed them this - when the red warning light came on 

I am asking for a full refund to provided under the consumer act 2015 as the car is not as described/ is not of satisfactory quality/doesn’t match the description and is faulty.

I would like you to put this right by refunding me the cost of the car & collecting at your cost.

I only have a complaint email to deal with - the dealer with not engage with me and just say they are "sales"

They have asked me to drive this to a garage to get repair costs - even thought I have not asked for a repair & I have advised them that  red warning light means the car should not be driven.

Like anyone with an issue I feel sick to my stomach , I have not slept the last 2 nights due to the worry of this

The dealer does deliver nationwide but are unfortunately 300 miles away from me and the car is not currently in a state to be driven - due to the red overheating warning
. (this was the nicest car I saw and if it wants faulty I would be over the moon with the car - it is a 65 plate - I did not expect it to be perfect - there are wee bits & bobs that I don't mind at all due to the age of the car - but I do need to be able to drive it!) 

I am terrified I am going to be left with a car that I cannot drive & that the consumer act is actually really of no use and wont be enforced?  or who I would contact to enforce this? I am in Scotland  car was bought in England.

Any advice or feedback very welcome - everything I have googled says the dealer will do anything they can to not take the car back/ the lack of engagement from the dealer is not leaving me feeling very positive (they were lovey to deal with on purchasing & even moved my delivery spot due to an appointment I could not change) 

The car was paid outright - no finance.

Did you buy the car totally remotely, or did you view it before purchase?

If totally remotely, then CRA is not the relevant legislation - it's a distance sale, and you have 14 days to reject it for no reason other than you don't like it. Collection is their responsibility.

If you viewed or visited their premises, then you have the right to reject within 30 days for any fault that's outside reasonable expectations for (in this case) a 6yo car.

The right indicator is almost certainly just a blown bulb. Trivial.

Is it actually overheating? Have you checked the coolant level? It's entirely possible that a stone has damaged the radiator since delivery - which would not be the vendor's problem. The engine management light could well be related to the coolant level/temp.

It's not unreasonable for them to suggest you get the problems investigated before the car is transported back to them.

Ultimately, if they refuse to accept the rejection, then you will have to physically return the car to them, before launching a court claim for the money - I presume it's more than £10k, so not a small claim.

Is the car financed, or did you buy outright? If it's financed, even on a credit card, then the financier is equally liable as the vendor.

daisydoom

Thank you both so much - apologies I missed there was a specific thread for that - I am a little unsure how to move a thread (so I will go and try & find out how to) .

I saw the car online/ purchased over the phone.
For my own records I screen grabbed the entire webpage with the car details/ and downloaded the car information from the dealers site.

I had no idea this would maybe come under the distance selling regulations - thank you - I will look into that as well.

The first thing I did on spotting the red light warning - was to google this/ then when I realised what it was I opened the bonnet & checked the coolant level  was in-between the min/ max - I also rechecked after an hour when the car had totally cooled down and - its fine.

However because the car was not handed over & unfamiliar to me I did not spot / realise the red light was there (its quite small in its position and is with other info that you click through on the dash - where the amber warning lights are much more prominent) .

I totally agree the indicator is just a little thing (that's really no big deal) 

The car was £5275 - so I'm the limit for a small claim 

The sales contract - I didn't sign because it was done remotely .

Thank you both for taking the time to reply - its very much appreciated and will give me something else to look into.

NSG666

Just as a matter of interest do you have a picture of the red warning symbol? I don't know whether this makes a difference and maybe AdrianC might know better but with it overheating and the air-con stopping I wonder whether it's as simple as a broken ancillary drive belt that drives the a/c compressor and the water pump?

If the airbag light has been on since you got it then it might have been turned off if the previous owner had a baby/child seat in the front.

I don't suppose you have a 'home start' type recovery on it?

Best case scenario it could be as simple as a bulb for the indicator, a switch for the airbag and a belt for the a/c and overheating?
If it were just this would you be happy to keep it?

Grumpy_chap

daisydoom said:

I bought a second car from a dealer on Monday (30th of August 2021) It got delivered on Thursday (2/9/2021).

The dealer does deliver nationwide but are unfortunately 300 miles away from me and the car is not currently in a state to be driven - due to the red overheating warning

If the Dealer is 300 miles away and you purchased and received delivery without ever visiting the Dealer, then this is a remote purchase and you can reject the car for any reason, or none, within 14 days of delivery.  Assuming that to be the case, then this is the route to go down in this case.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations-ajWHC8m21cAk

daisydoom

Thank you again!

I would be happy if the was no warning lights! the wee car is utterly lovely & the dealer was so nice when I bought it. 

Hence I am a little shocked (stupidly) of their lack of concern. hindsight is always a wonderful thing

daisydoom

Grumpy_chap said:

daisydoom said:

I bought a second car from a dealer on Monday (30th of August 2021) It got delivered on Thursday (2/9/2021).

The dealer does deliver nationwide but are unfortunately 300 miles away from me and the car is not currently in a state to be driven - due to the red overheating warning

If the Dealer is 300 miles away and you purchased and received delivery without ever visiting the Dealer, then this is a remote purchase and you can reject the car for any reason, or none, within 14 days of delivery.  Assuming that to be the case, then this is the route to go down in this case.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations-ajWHC8m21cAk

Thank you - I have contacted them to ask for their distance selling regulations.

Replies so very much appreciated. Thank you 

NSG666

I'm not suggesting it's up to you to fix anything but you may as well have a look at your handbook regarding disabling the passenger airbag - often a switch located on the end of the dash visible when you open the passenger door that is operated using your ignition key. If it's been deactivated then turn it back on and that's one issue off the list although disappointing that it wasn't picked up prior to delivery.

Do you have home start recovery on it?

AdrianC

daisydoom said:

Thank you again!

I would be happy if the was no warning lights! the wee car is utterly lovely & the dealer was so nice when I bought it. 

Hence I am a little shocked (stupidly) of their lack of concern. hindsight is always a wonderful thing

90degC certainly isn't overheating.

First off, top it up to max. It may be that it's over-worrying about being slightly low. It may also simply be that the level sensor needs cleaning.

NSG666

AdrianC said:

90degC certainly isn't overheating.

First off, top it up to max. It may be that it's over-worrying about being slightly low. It may also simply be that the level sensor needs cleaning.

Sorry AdrianC - did you see my post suggesting it might be the 'fan belt' with it being both the engine temp and the a/c not working? Although it might just be that the car defaults the cabin heater to fully hot in order to try and lose heat from the engine.
Possibility or total nonsense? Obviously not for the op to fix but could be simple fix?