Car sales and returns

mandymoo91

Good afternoon, I hope someone can help me here.
I purchased a car on 19/01/21 from a car dealership, the car seemed like the perfect one, I purchased the car knowing the sunroof wasn't operating, at which they gave me a discount and said I could take it to my local garage to get fixed and they thought it would only cost me a couple of hundred, they said I was saving a good amount doing it that way. 
Fast forward to today and my local garage said they could replace the motor but it doesn't mean it would work because the car had signs of being flooded, so more than likely the electrics would also be buggered, they said it would cost more than a couple of hundred to be fixed. I feel like a fool, I travelled 2 hours to get this car, they sold it to me saying that it was an easy fix, now I know why they didn't bother fixing it for me and told me to go elsewhere.
Am I entitled to a refund when the paperwork says "sold with sunroof not operating"

Many thanks for any advice given.
From a foolish purchaser who has potentially lost £10,000

Aylesbury_Duck

mandymoo91 said:

Good afternoon, I hope someone can help me here.
I purchased a car on 19/01/21 from a car dealership, the car seemed like the perfect one, I purchased the car knowing the sunroof wasn't operating, at which they gave me a discount and said I could take it to my local garage to get fixed and they thought it would only cost me a couple of hundred, they said I was saving a good amount doing it that way. 
Fast forward to today and my local garage said they could replace the motor but it doesn't mean it would work because the car had signs of being flooded, so more than likely the electrics would also be buggered, they said it would cost more than a couple of hundred to be fixed. I feel like a fool, I travelled 2 hours to get this car, they sold it to me saying that it was an easy fix, now I know why they didn't bother fixing it for me and told me to go elsewhere.
Am I entitled to a refund when the paperwork says "sold with sunroof not operating"

Many thanks for any advice given.
From a foolish purchaser who has potentially lost £10,000

I don't think you're entitled to a refund, no.  They explained it wasn't working, it is down to you to decide whether to proceed and to check what it might cost to get it fixed.   "They thought it would only cost a couple of hundred" is exactly that - a guess, and you should have walked away at that point if a working sunroof and a fixed price was important.  That's been compounded by your local garage also guessing at what's wrong and what it might cost.  It sounds as if you still don't know exactly what's wrong, what's needed to fix it and how much it will cost.

Is a sunroof important?  I haven't had one on a car for 20 years or so and don't see them around much any more.  Why can't you just drive it as it is?

[Deleted User]

mandymoo91 said:

From a foolish purchaser who has potentially lost £10,000

I'd be surprised if fixing the sunroof wil cost £10,200.

TELLIT01

If the car had been flooded it's likely to have been an insurance write off.  You can check here https://www.freecarcheck.co.uk/insurance-write-off-check/

If it was written off and the dealership didn't tell you, you may be able to reject it.

Grumpy_chap

Why does the OP think they have potentially lost £10k?

The OP purchased a car that works, other than the sunroof.

Stuff about being flooded is just hearsay really and what does "flooded" really mean?  Totally immersed in the sea?  Or some minor damp got into the electrics somewhere?  Or somewhere in between - like someone at sometime left the sunroof open in a storm?  Quite a broad spectrum of seriousness.

Even so, the car still works just the same as when the OP bought it, so carry on using the car and accept the sunroof is faulty.

Ectophile

I lived for years with a car with a broken sunroof.  That particular model was known for having a fragile mechanism.  The solution was to assist the roof to the closed position (shove it while pressing the close button), then pull the fuse so it never tries to open again.  Job done.

ssparks2003

Why have you waited over a year to look into this issue if its important? 

mandymoo91

ssparks2003 said:

Why have you waited over a year to look into this issue if its important? 

Sorry my mistake, it was meant to say 2022, brain fog

rockey100

Flood damage often results in car write off status and you will be entitled to a full refund if that's the case.

When a dealer sells a car, it needs to be fit for purpose, as described. I'd look for a contribution at a minimum.

If a car has suffered flood damage, the seller really needs to take some responsibility for it as there may well be long term issues.

As mentioned, definitely run a background hpi check for write-off https://www.carveto.co.uk/car-history-check/freecarcheck/ it costs less than a tenner.

Anthony147

It hasn’t been asked so I will - What did you buy?
Any expectations are tempered by the typical faults of a car the same age / mileage 

The sunroof you’ve not got a leg to stand on so not grounds for a refund.

As for the “flooding” - Ask them to explain the “signs”, take a step back and decide if it has the ring of truth / plausibility.