Car rejection

Cogsy_neil

Hi all hoping for some advice here, I purchased a car from a garage on finance 3 weeks ago. I decided to purchase as it was a one owner car and to me that sounded like it had been looked after, however I have had a number of issues with the car and to be quite honest with you I am tempted to just hand it back to them (if I can).
firstly when I picked it up there was a broken catch in the boot, they purchased the catch but just left it in the boot…. (This was replaced today by a local garage at there expense) I then had an issue at the weekend where the car wouldn’t start so had to join the RAC who came out and said the battery connections hadn’t been tightened, the wiring not routed correctly and there was no battery clamp in the boot so basically I have a loose battery in the car….

I have also pointed out other issues which were cigarette lighter not working and drivers side speaker and I’ve already replaced the battery in the key fob as this was dead a few days after purchasing and I’ve already had a headlight bulb go.

I know these are all minor issues but tbh the well looked after one owner car I thought I was buying is actually not in very good condition inside either which makes me think if it’s like that inside it’s obviously not been looked after mechanically either. 

The dealer has agreed to replace and fix the issues mentioned above but I just want to know what my rights are? For info the car is a 2014 bmw which has done 75k and I paid £13,000 for on finance.

any help much appreciated!

thanks

shiraz99

You purchased a used car with minor issues that sound like they are commensurate to it's age, none of which would be a reason to reject the car.

TELLIT01

I thought an insecure battery was an automatic MOT failure.  Even if the garage didn't actually put it thought an MOT I would expect them to ensure that it was of a standard to pass it.  That, along with not replacing the boot catch, suggests a less than rigorous attitude by the garage.  The garage couldn't know the bulb was going to blow or that the fob battery would fail.

None of the issues would be enough for the car to be returned and it actually sounds more like buyer's remorse than anything else.  Presumably the OP was the state of the car's interior and test drove before purchase, so I don't see any basis for comeback against the garage.

Anthony147

So you didn’t look at or check the car over before purchase.
All minor and not unusual for an old car niggles the dealer has agreed to replace or fix.

Not seeing any grounds for rejecting the car and maybe your expectations are out of whack with what your spending / age of vehicle.

dogshome

An unsecured battery is not a Minor issue, it's a huge Fire Risk and an MOT fail

Cogsy_neil

OK so I actually have found out some more information on the car, basically I took into my local body repair specialist as the sideskirt had popped out and upon him taking it off it appears that there has been damaged that has been repaired on that section of the car (evidenced by overspray on the window rubbers) obviously this isnt general wear and tear and I have asked the repair place if they are willing to confirm that to them.

I get about the other stuff and in the general scheme of things they are small but coupled together I feel that this could cause me further problems in the future.

shiraz99

TBH, it seems that you're just searching for things wrong with the car in order to get rid of it, buyer's remorse as another poster has already said.

It's an 8 year old car, so likely to have had some repairs in the past and if it was only visible by popping off the side skirt (why were you doing this anyway?) then not sure if the dealer would've known about it either. If you do really want to take this further then you'll also need to speak to the finance company.

Cogsy_neil

The sideskirt wasnt flush with the car so I took it to a bodywork specialist who found filler and a repair on that side of the car along with overspray on the window rubbers from where it has been done.  Dont get me wrong I know an 8 year old car will have its faults but this is a one owner car that I had assumed had been looked after but this along with all of the other issues makes me wonder how much trouble it will cause me in the future.

The car was booked in with BMW for a recall and I have asked countless times for a copy of the vehicle health check from BMW but so far thats fallen on deaf ears which makes me think they are hiding stuff from me on that respect.

Anthony147

Cogsy_neil said:

The sideskirt wasnt flush with the car so I took it to a bodywork specialist who found filler and a repair on that side of the car along with overspray on the window rubbers from where it has been done.  Dont get me wrong I know an 8 year old car will have its faults but this is a one owner car that I had assumed had been looked after but this along with all of the other issues makes me wonder how much trouble it will cause me in the future.

The car was booked in with BMW for a recall and I have asked countless times for a copy of the vehicle health check from BMW but so far thats fallen on deaf ears which makes me think they are hiding stuff from me on that respect.

Sounds like you’ve reached a decision already - as others have said mostly non dramatically nothing untoward or unusual with what you’ve bought and it’s age.

You can contact the dealer saying you want to reject - see what they say and even go the LBA and claim route. Good luck.

DB1904

dogshome said:

An unsecured battery is not a Minor issue, it's a huge Fire Risk and an MOT fail

In the scheme of repairs and rejection it is. How hard do you think it is to fit the clamp?

Cogsy_neil

DB1904 said:

dogshome said:

An unsecured battery is not a Minor issue, it's a huge Fire Risk and an MOT fail

In the scheme of repairs and rejection it is. How hard do you think it is to fit the clamp?

Totally agree on this so why didnt they do it at the outset?