Used car came with different wheels to those advertised

anewman

Bought a car that should have come with 18" wheels as new, and was advertised by the dealer as having them. Only figured out on the journey home when checking tyre pressures that it had 17" wheels.

I've contacted the dealer who hasn't responded.

The dealer is an AA approved one so I'll raise a complaint with them.

What are my rights likely to be?

Thanks.

Username03725

It's not as advertised so you have a reasonable claim for that to be corrected. It's then up to you how to then progress it, assuming they deny responsibility etc. Course, they might just say yeah you're right, and fit the bigger wheels. Maybe. 

Grumpy_chap

This may well come under E&OE.

What type of car is it and what age?  Was the Dealer a main dealer - I suppose possibly not if "AA approved".  Quite often the text in adverts online is auto-populated based upon generic "typical" characteristics and this can lead to slight discrepancies in factors such as wheel size.  Particularly as same trims can often have different wheel choices and very minor data-set error could result in the difference:
Typical family hatchback, GLE trim has 17" wheels (18" wheel cost option) but GLX trim has 18" wheels standard (17" zero cost option).  GLE trim from 1st Mar 2000 has 18" wheels, but before that was 17" wheels.  You bought car registered 2nd March 2000 so the auto-populated text says 18" wheels but your car was actually a stock model built the week before so has 17" wheels.  Easy to see how this type of data variance can occur.

Here is the disclaimer text for one popular on-line car listing website:
"The data displayed above details the usual specification of the most recent model of this vehicle. It is not the exact data for the actual vehicle being offered for sale and data for older models may vary slightly. We recommend that you always check the details with the seller prior to purchase."

On a new car, the larger wheels may have been a £500 option but the difference in second-hand value is going to be nil.  Clearly the car did not look that bad, because you saw the car, though it looked OK with the fitted wheels and completed the purchase.  You may gain in the long run as smaller wheels tender to mean cheaper tyres and better MPG.

Given that you bought the car in person and this was an easily checkable parameter, I suspect your rights to any remedy are nil, so I do not agree with the response just given above.

The difference would be if you saw the car with 18" wheels and then the wheels had been changed by the time you collected.  It does not seem as though that is the case from your post.

When did you buy the car?
When did you ask the Dealer?  
Give them time to respond, but they may not.  This is unlikely to be a matter worth any time or effort to pursue.

What loss or detriment do you suffer as a result of the wheels being different?

EssexExile

Does it really matter? It looked fine when you viewed it and it drove fine when you tested it.

Username03725

You should get a smoother ride anyway, assuming that 17" wheels with taller tyres are fitted to match the gearing of 18" rims on lower profile tyres. 

MX5huggy

Presuming they are OEM wheels, I would count your self lucky and enjoy cheaper tyres. 

Flight3287462

That is a real win OP why are you complaining?

anewman

Grumpy_chap said:

What loss or detriment do you suffer as a result of the wheels being different?

I guess ultimately the detriment would be the cost of purchasing the correct wheels (and tyres), minus the sale price of the existing wheels. And if not that, then the hit on resale value at a later date.

I'd expect an honest dealer to at least apologise if it were a genuine error, and if they feel they cannot do anything them explain that's the case. It makes it appear as though they're complicit in asset stripping cars they sell.

I'll try contract the previous registered keeper asking who they sold it to, and which wheels were on. If they say it was sold to that dealer, and it had the original 18" wheels, then I can safely conclude the dealer swapped the wheels, and leave reviews to this effect.

Car_54

OP, if those wheels were not original you need to advise your insurer of the modification.

Grumpy_chap

anewman said:

Grumpy_chap said:

What loss or detriment do you suffer as a result of the wheels being different?

I guess ultimately the detriment would be the cost of purchasing the correct wheels (and tyres), minus the sale price of the existing wheels. And if not that, then the hit on resale value at a later date.

I suspect the hit on future resale value will be nil.  So, unless you really are going to buy the "correct" wheels and sell the "incorrect" wheels - are you? - then you loss is nil.

Even if you do exchange the full set of wheels, you may not have any grounds to claim from the Dealer as this is a parameter that even an "unintelligent" purchaser could be expected to see and check prior to purchase.  "Unintelligent" used in legal context, not in any way derogatory.

Herzlos

Are they original manufacturer's wheels or 3rd party? You might take a bit of a value/insurance hit if someone has fitted factory spec wheels, but will see a bigger hit if someone has stuck a set of 3rd party wheels on.

Are they same ones from the as photos?