Car brought from dealership which is now being scrapped by them.

Debsnewbudget

Hi
My son bought a 3 year old car from a Vauxhall dealership at the start of December 2022.
He loved the car, but he took it in this week due to engine light coming on and problems with it.
They have said it needs to be scrapped due to the amount of work required on it.
He can either get a new car off them or get his money back, however they are taking £400 off him due to the mileage he has driven since he bought it.
Does this seem fair? 

pogg000

what does he want? a free ride

DullGreyGuy

Debsnewbudget said:

Hi
My son bought a 3 year old car from a Vauxhall dealership at the start of December 2022.
He loved the car, but he took it in this week due to engine light coming on and problems with it.
They have said it needs to be scrapped due to the amount of work required on it.
He can either get a new car off them or get his money back, however they are taking £400 off him due to the mileage he has driven since he bought it.
Does this seem fair? 

Motor vehicles are unique in the CRA in that the retailer can reduce the refund to represent the use received within the first 6 months... all other products are only after 6 months. 

The law doesn't say how use should be calculated. How much was the car? How many miles did they do since buying it? As the garage how they came to the £400 number

MikeJXE

A bit rich asking for £400 and then saying he can have another car off them. I would run a mile 

GhibliFan

A 3 year old car and has to be scrapped? I think you really need to consult someone who knows the law, like Trading Standards or Citizens Advice. That’s mental - they surely shouldn’t have even sold it in the first place!

HillStreetBlues

If it's has to be scrapped  as it needs a lot of work how has  then I can't see how having  it a month has caused the car to be devalued as it must have been sold in that condition.

DullGreyGuy

HillStreetBlues said:

If it's has to be scrapped  as it needs a lot of work how has  then I can't see how having  it a month has caused the car to be devalued as it must have been sold in that condition.

Its not about devaluation... the CRA says the refund can be reduced to reflect use:

24(8) If the consumer exercises the final right to reject, any refund to the consumer may be reduced by a deduction for use, to take account of the use the consumer has had of the goods in the period since they were delivered

Alderbank

GhibliFan said:

A 3 year old car and has to be scrapped? I think you really need to consult someone who knows the law, like Trading Standards or Citizens Advice. That’s mental - they surely shouldn’t have even sold it in the first place!

Good luck with consulting Trading Standards.

The car could have been perfectly fine when purchased but a catastrophic event could have happened such as cambelt or camshaft failure wrecking the engine. The dealership will say that the cost of repair exceeds the scrap value.

We are not talking about a 20 year old banger. You might be surprised at the scrap value of that 3 year old car.

Debsnewbudget

HillStreetBlues said:

If it's has to be scrapped  as it needs a lot of work how has  then I can't see how having  it a month has caused the car to be devalued as it must have been sold in that condition.

They never gave him the pre sale MOT report or service report even after he asked for them a few times 

MikeJXE

And this is a main dealership ? I think I would have a word with Vauxhall 

CKhalvashi

Debsnewbudget said:

HillStreetBlues said:

If it's has to be scrapped  as it needs a lot of work how has  then I can't see how having  it a month has caused the car to be devalued as it must have been sold in that condition.

They never gave him the pre sale MOT report or service report even after he asked for them a few times 

The MoT will be available online.

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

DullGreyGuy said:

HillStreetBlues said:

If it's has to be scrapped  as it needs a lot of work how has  then I can't see how having  it a month has caused the car to be devalued as it must have been sold in that condition.

Its not about devaluation... the CRA says the refund can be reduced to reflect use:

24(8) If the consumer exercises the final right to reject, any refund to the consumer may be reduced by a deduction for use, to take account of the use the consumer has had of the goods in the period since they were delivered

But the question would have to be whether £400 is reasonable.

Different usage case, but my last car was (for arguments sake using rounded numbers) £31k new and £14k after 161000 miles (and 5 years). That would work out to about 10.5p/mile, or in that case around 4000 miles (which for a used car is probably pushing it, the car in question was a Jag XE, purchased new in 2015 and part exchanged in 2020).

Looking at Autotrader, my current car (a Hyundai Ioniq Electric) has lost around £5k in the 61000 miles I've owned it, so again less than 10p a mile (closer to 8p). This was again purchased (admittedly at a discount) as a factory order. Note I can't find a Premium SE with the larger battery pack and similar mileage so am comparing with the standard 'Premium'

Remarketing costs would not feature in this, whatever the use was, nor necessarily would any change in the value between then and now. £400 likely (subject to use) on that basis wouldn't be reasonable, a lesser amount likely would be.