Used car not as described twice

jakann86

Any help on consumer rights for a not as described used car which is not a straightforward situation please ... I bought a used electric car from a dealership just under a year ago. It was a distance sale and the car was delivered to me with all details via email. The advert hadn't been listed online so the only details I had were via email and a video. It became apparent after a month (after my home charger was installed) that the advertised 6kwh charging speed was incorrect and it was only 3kwh. I complained to the dealer who was adamant the price paid matched the 3kwh version and it was just mistaken communication and offered me a small partial refund (£350ish) towards the electric charger or to return for a refund. At the time I felt I had no choice but to accept the partial refund with jobs and nursery runs requiring the car. Fast forward to today, the car has been in for it's MOT and whilst it passed, it became clear that the promised front brake disc replacement from the dealer didn't happen (although the pads were replaced). The discs are worn down completely (pads are near new according to the report today). I know I can push for a replacement of the discs under consumer rights but do I have any recourse to request a return and refund now (appreciate it may be reduced due to a year's use) or am I SOL? I did pay in part on credit card if I recall correctly. There have now been two not as described issues, and with hindsight of actually using the car over the year, the first issue of the slow charging speed is something I should have returned and got a refund for. I have zero confidence in anything the dealer told me and whilst I have to accept that I chose to take the partial refund the first time, I should not be back in the position of a not as described car again! Any thoughts appreciated, even if the answer is yes you're SOL. Thanks 

powerful_Rogue

jakann86 said:

Any help on consumer rights for a not as described used car which is not a straightforward situation please ... I bought a used electric car from a dealership just under a year ago. It was a distance sale and the car was delivered to me with all details via email. The advert hadn't been listed online so the only details I had were via email and a video. It became apparent after a month (after my home charger was installed) that the advertised 6kwh charging speed was incorrect and it was only 3kwh. I complained to the dealer who was adamant the price paid matched the 3kwh version and it was just mistaken communication and offered me a small partial refund (£350ish) towards the electric charger or to return for a refund. At the time I felt I had no choice but to accept the partial refund with jobs and nursery runs requiring the car. Fast forward to today, the car has been in for it's MOT and whilst it passed, it became clear that the promised front brake disc replacement from the dealer didn't happen (although the pads were replaced). The discs are worn down completely (pads are near new according to the report today). I know I can push for a replacement of the discs under consumer rights but do I have any recourse to request a return and refund now (appreciate it may be reduced due to a year's use) or am I SOL? I did pay in part on credit card if I recall correctly. There have now been two not as described issues, and with hindsight of actually using the car over the year, the first issue of the slow charging speed is something I should have returned and got a refund for. I have zero confidence in anything the dealer told me and whilst I have to accept that I chose to take the partial refund the first time, I should not be back in the position of a not as described car again! Any thoughts appreciated, even if the answer is yes you're SOL. Thanks 

Forget the first issue, that's done and dealt with. You was offered to return the car for a refund, but instead opted to accept the car for a partial refund.

What do you have in writing about the discs from the dealer when you purchased the car? The car can't be doing too bad if you've been using it for a year and it's passed the MOT.

jakann86

Simply that they will be changing the front brake pads/discs. They did the pads but not the discs. Potentially it looks like they polished them to remove corrosion but didn't replace. Can't prove that though. The MOT done last year and the year before has an advisory for the brake discs, and the check done today says they're below manufacturer minimum spec now. They've marked them at 0% (fully worn) on the form.

Yeah, it passed the MOT. All the advisories add up to about £800 though. Including changing the two front tyres which were changed when I bought it supposedly. I've only done 5000 miles so they must have used very cheap tyres...

powerful_Rogue

jakann86 said:

Simply that they will be changing the front brake pads/discs. They did the pads but not the discs. Potentially it looks like they polished them to remove corrosion but didn't replace. Can't prove that though. The MOT done last year and the year before has an advisory for the brake discs, and the check done today says they're below manufacturer minimum spec now. They've marked them at 0% (fully worn) on the form.

Yeah, it passed the MOT. All the advisories add up to about £800 though. Including changing the two front tyres which were changed when I bought it supposedly. I've only done 5000 miles so they must have used very cheap tyres...

You can't look to be claiming back advisories after a years worth of driving. Even if they did replace the tyres with the cheapest new ones, as long as they are road legal there is no issue and clearly visible.

What was the vehicle year, price and mileage?

Do you have it in writing that it comes with new discs?

Have you spoken to them since the MOT?

Aylesbury_Duck

A refund after a year's motoring and 5,000 miles on the basis of some brake disks is unrealistic.

Go back to the selling dealer with what you have on the disks and see what they say.  You're probably reliant on goodwill because after this long, they may not accept your evidence.

The tyres?  Surely that's on you to have checked them when the car was delivered, or at any point over the last year.  You should be checking tyre presures and condition regularly, not just waiting for an MOT verdict.  If they were new tyres at purchase, you should have noticed.  I suspect you're right and that they were cheap rubbish or weren't actually new, but proving that now is going to be impossible.

Aylesbury_Duck

A refund after a year's motoring and 5,000 miles on the basis of some brake disks is unrealistic.

Go back to the selling dealer with what you have on the disks and see what they say.  You're probably reliant on goodwill because after this long, they may not accept your evidence.

The tyres?  Surely that's on you to have checked them when the car was delivered, or at any point over the last year.  You should be checking tyre presures and condition regularly, not just waiting for an MOT verdict.  If they were new tyres at purchase, you should have noticed.  I suspect you're right and that they were cheap rubbish or weren't actually new, but proving that now is going to be impossible.

jakann86

No I appreciate that. The tyres are annoying but I'm not querying those, just the brake discs. 2016 (66), £12k, 45k mileage at purchase, 50k now. I have in writing that they will be changing the brake pads/discs before I receive it. I have emailed them asking for the service record where the brake pads and discs were changed but have not discussed my issue. I got email confirmation that the agreed parts were changed but no official documentation that I can find.

Keep_pedalling

How can a car pass an MOT if its disks are shot? EVs can suffer from rusty disks because they make use extensive regen breaking and this seems a particular issue on low mileage EV that are driven gently.

Grumpy_chap

jakann86 said:

Simply that they will be changing the front brake pads/discs. They did the pads but not the discs. Potentially it looks like they polished them to remove corrosion but didn't replace. Can't prove that though. 

jakann86 said:

I have in writing that they will be changing the brake pads/discs before I receive it. 

What exactly did you have in writing in this regard?

Did they write, as you have, "we will replace the brake pads / discs"?
That could be interpreted in expanded form as "we will check the braking system and replace the brake pads and / or discs as required to ensure that the car is roadworthy at the point of sale".  The Dealer could then consider they did the inspection and only the pads required changing so that is what they did.

OR, did the Dealer write something that more specifically said they will replace the brake pads AND the discs? 

jakann86

Keep_pedalling said:

How can a car pass an MOT if its disks are shot? EVs can suffer from rusty disks because they make use extensive regen breaking and this seems a particular issue on low mileage EV that are driven gently.

No idea honestly. All I know is they weren't an MOT advisory because they had no corrosion but they also did some checks on the car and a report which states the brake discs are below manufacturer minimum requirements and marks them as 0% (needs replacing). 

jakann86

Grumpy_chap said:

jakann86 said:

Simply that they will be changing the front brake pads/discs. They did the pads but not the discs. Potentially it looks like they polished them to remove corrosion but didn't replace. Can't prove that though. 

jakann86 said:

I have in writing that they will be changing the brake pads/discs before I receive it. 

What exactly did you have in writing in this regard?

Did they write, as you have, "we will replace the brake pads / discs"?
That could be interpreted in expanded form as "we will check the braking system and replace the brake pads and / or discs as required to ensure that the car is roadworthy at the point of sale".  The Dealer could then consider they did the inspection and only the pads required changing so that is what they did.

OR, did the Dealer write something that more specifically said they will replace the brake pads AND the discs? 

In response to me asking what the tyre condition was like the reply was:

"No problem we will be changing one of the front tyres as it is low the other front tyre is 3.9 and the rear 5.5 so all good, we are also changing the front pads/disks.
...
Hopefully that answers all the questions if you can think of anything else please let me know , once the tyre and brakes are done I will get the video over for you."