Used car within 30 days

rickyroma

Bought a used car 2 weeks ago from a dealer.  I've gone to book a service so it can be given an independent once over and just by a quick look under the bonnet the garage owner spotted a fault. It will cost about £200 to sort. Not the end of the world but it has set alarm bells ringing. Not having the service done until the fault is sorted 
To be fair the dealer said they will fix it (making arrangements tomorrow) but after researching the car I'm starting to worry. Am I within my rights to refuse the repair and demand my money back? 
What if they refuse? Is my only option the small claims court? 
If so, how long would this take and if I won, would I get court fees back?  Just trying to work out where I stand. No point threatening taking them to court if I'm not going to follow through if necessary 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Probably need a few details on what was paid, how old the car is and what the fault was to determine whether the fault would mean you could reject the car under the 30 day short term right to reject. 

Generally if you mitigate (lessen) your losses my understanding is the court will award costs including the court fees (happy to be corrected on this though), I don't know how long it takes but you'd need to be sure the company would pay if you won, if they are large company that have been around for years that's a bit different to a fly by night type who might fold their company and start again under a different name. 

rickyroma

It's a cracked heat shield and a 2018 car

TELLIT01

If the heatshield is fixed, and there are no other problems identified, I don't think you would have grounds for returning the vehicle.  Some garages do allow vehicles to be returned, but the return period varies, and not all garages have any form of returns policy.

rickyroma

TELLIT01 said:

If the heatshield is fixed, and there are no other problems identified, I don't think you would have grounds for returning the vehicle.  Some garages do allow vehicles to be returned, but the return period varies, and not all garages have any form of returns policy.

Granted, if I go ahead with the repair. I was thinking more of rejecting the repair under the consumer rights act. The dealers policy would be irrelevant surely? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

rickyroma said:

TELLIT01 said:

If the heatshield is fixed, and there are no other problems identified, I don't think you would have grounds for returning the vehicle.  Some garages do allow vehicles to be returned, but the return period varies, and not all garages have any form of returns policy.

Granted, if I go ahead with the repair. I was thinking more of rejecting the repair under the consumer rights act. The dealers policy would be irrelevant surely? 

That's correct, if the goods do not conform to the contract you have 30 days to reject them for a refund (I know the final right to reject means a deduction for usage on motor vehicles is permitted regardless of times, I'm not sure about the short term right though). 

I don't know much about cars OP, hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me can say whether the cracked heat shield is acceptable or not.  

macman

Is the vehicle still under warranty? Only 4 years old.

diystarter7

Op, keep the car as the garage seems half decent and these things can happen.. You bought the car as you like the car/colur/spec, price etc so why go through the ordeal of finding the same car from another garage and most cars of that age will have some minor issue or even a minor crash repair etc, etc.
Stick with it if it only that.

rickyroma

macman said:

Is the vehicle still under warranty? Only 4 years old.

No, I checked with the manufacturer 

DullGreyGuy

Within 30 days you can reject the purchase under the CRA however be aware that motor vehicle are different to other class of products in that the merchant is entitled to reduce the refund to reflect the use you've had out of it... for all other products they cannot do this within the first 6 months. 

The second it goes over 30 days then the merchant has the right to attempt repair 

mattyprice4004

Rejecting over a heat shield? 
This is a very (very!) minor issue, with no consequence or likely issues to follow. 
I really wouldn't bother if you otherwise like the car, it's a total non-issue and doesn't indicate you'll have issues with the car down the line. 

If you've done some homework (the time to do this is before purchase...) and find that you're not happy with the reliability of the car, that's a change-of-mind and unrelated to the issue you're booking the car in for. 
As for mentioning court for such a minor thing that the dealer is sorting for you...!