Car dealer - can they just be excused?

Freshideas1991

Hi all.

My sister purchased a £20,000 used car , it was a 5 year old. She had that car 4 months and the car suffered major faults with the engine and turbo going. The car could not be driven.

She went back to the dealer to ask for help , they said no. They pushed her onto the warranty company , saying “ well the faults weren’t there when you bought the car” but the fact is the faults could have been developing . It’s not just a simple
case of saying they weren’t there on sale, no one can categorically say that - and based on that principal no one would be able to ask for help on any 2nd hand item purchased ? It makes no sense to me.

We have also found out from dealing with the warranty they are not worth the paper the warranty is written upon and the dealer is just refusing to help in any shape or form. Silence from them. It feels so underhand and feels like they are trying to avoid any responsibility to help us by ignoring us and saying “ go to warranty”

Note - We have been investigating and pushing the issue for 7 months now and working to get the faults resolved ourselves in order for her to drive the car as a nurse , but my question to you all - is are we still covered under the consumer rights law of  
'fit for particular purpose' and 'Of Satisfactory Quality' and last sufficient period of time. With that value of car , we should get more than 4 months despite it being a used car, the car was undriveable  due to the nature of the faults and is estimated to have costed us 5k - which the dealer is unwilling to help us with and we have to had to help find my sister. 

I just want to know how where we stand and what rights we have? I am thinking of taken the case to small claims as It’s just under the 5k mark. We have spoke to trading standards, citizens advice but no one has really been able to give us what exactly are rights are. It feels like the dealer has us over a barrel and we have been on our own fighting this. I get an overwhelming sense of your on your own.

Any help would be great - I feel I have exhausted all avenues of support and now I come here. Thank you 

ArbitraryRandom

It's a "yes, but..." 

For a used car, “satisfactory quality” takes into account the car's age and mileage, plus how it was advertised/the condition it was in when you bought it rather than the price you paid. 

Technically, if the faults developed within 6 months of purchase, then the law says it was faulty on purchase (unless you were told the part was worn/damaged when buying, or they're claiming the faults aren't faults but damage caused by misuse/improper care, or normal wear and tear for a car of that age/use).  

Within 6 months, the onus is on them to prove the faults weren't there on purchase, but if they are point blank refusing then you can pay for an independent report - and if you're right include the cost of the report in with your claim. 

Citizen's advice have a page on this that might help: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repairing-a-car/problems-with-a-used-car/

fatbelly

You will need to start a small claim on this

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/how-to-reject-a-car-your-consumer-rights/#your-rights-30-days-6-months

The limit for a small claim is 10k

pinkshoes

So what has happened in 7 months?

Ideally if they refused, then you should have taken it to an independent garage to prove the fault was present at the point of purchase (inherent fault) then gone back to the garage you purchased it from and insisted on a repair. They would have ONE chance to repair it. 

Lots of dealers will try and fob you off with the warranty. 

tacpot12

Does your sister own her own home? If so, she is likely to have home insurance, and if she has it, she might also have legal expenses cover. If she has this cover she can call the legal helpline provided by her insurer and they will give her professional leal advice, and will act for her if they think she has a good case (i.e. she is likely to win if it the matter goes to court).