Faulty Used Car Sale

RetroEmpress453

Hi, this is my first post.

I’m wondering what my rights are for a used car that bought and is faulty.
I bought it last Thursday from Ultimate Autohaus Ltd in North London. All seemed ok on the viewing and it drove well on test drive. It had a reverse light out which the seller agreed to fix before selling to me (replaced the reverse switch). I drove it away from the dealer, put half a tank of unleaded petrol in and it broke down 20 minutes later. I had to pay £150 for a recovery vehicle.

The dealer has accepted liability for the breakdown (via text message) and agreed to try and fix the car. I ordered an RAC ‘Advanced Inspection’ to determine if the car is fit for purpose which was agreed with the seller. The RAC engineer has gone today to inspect the car at the time agreed with the seller this morning and the seller suddenly isn’t available. He’s in Manchester and can’t be in London until after an inspection can take place. RAC have informed me that the £340 which I paid for the inspection is non-refundable and is now lost.

I bought a warranty with the car which covers full cost. But as this is within 30 days of buying (the car is clearly faulty and the dealer is unwilling to allow an inspection) do ‘Consumer Rights’ apply here. If so how do I kick-off proceedings to get all of my money back, which includes

• Car refund (plus warrant)
• Recovery Expense
• RAC Inspection 

If consumer rights don’t apply, what options do do I have?

Thanks.

RetroEmpress453

Apologies. This is, in fact, my second post. The last one was in 2017. It’s been a while since I last logged in. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Sounds like you have a strong case for rejection of the car for a full refund of the purchase price, recovery cost and warranty.  I'm not convinced you have a right to the RAC charge, because that was your choice and wasn't a necessity.

Contact the dealer, tell him you are rejecting it, returning the car and documents to his premises and await a refund of the purchase price and the warranty cost.

born_again

Got any car details?
Have they fixed the car?

Alderbank

Consumer rights do apply. They are unaffected by any warranties, etc.

You say the vehicle broke down and had to be towed away because it was undriveable.
You then booked RAC Advanced Inspection. This inspection differs from their cheaper inspections in that it includes an extensive road test.

The Terms of the inspection, quite reasonably in my opinion, include

 

You must present the vehicle in an un-laden, reasonably clean, roadworthy and driveable condition at the address provided at the time of the booking. 

Failure to meet these obligations may mean that the Inspection cannot be carried out in full or in part on the date booked and We reserve the right to charge the full fee.

I don't think you will be able to claim that fee back.

RetroEmpress453

When it broke down, the car acted as though the engine had stalled while I was on the North Circular travelling around 40mph and I couldn’t then restart the engine. The recovery vehicle took the car back to the seller’s office, but as soon as it was off the recovery truck around an hour later, the engine started again. I left the car at the seller’s office overnight and gave them the key the following morning.

After accusing me of filling up with diesel (which my fuel receipt states was unleaded) the seller agreed to take a look at what may have happened. He responded via text saying that it was a mistake by the mechanic and something hadn’t been reconnected after replaceing the reverse switch. They claim the issue is now fixed, but I’ve asked several times for the info on what exactly wasn’t reconnected, but they’re being shady on giving me that info by making excuses and not answering the question. That’s what prompted me ordering the RAC Inspection.

RetroEmpress453

born_again said:

Got any car details?
Have they fixed the car?

Thanks born_again - what sort of details are you looking for? Make/model/year?

They claim to have fixed it, but are not forthcoming with exactly what was wrong or what they ‘reconnected’.

born_again

RetroEmpress453 said:

born_again said:

Got any car details?
Have they fixed the car?

Thanks born_again - what sort of details are you looking for? Make/model/year?

They claim to have fixed it, but are not forthcoming with exactly what was wrong or what they ‘reconnected’.

Age mileage etc. Yhe more the better.

So given they say it's fixed. Have you driven it?

They do not have to tell you what the fault was. Although it does help.