Used Car Rejection

GecHo

i recently bought a used Volvo Xc90 from a dealer on the second day of ownership i rang them to reject the car. on the way home the engine management light came on but after a restart it didn`t come on again. first of all we could smell burning plastic from around the gear shift and cup holder, we later went over a speed bump and the air vent on the passenger side fell off which revealed damage to the dashboard when its fits into the ducting. gears were a little sluggish but new car to me an thought this was normal but later found that this was a gearbox fault which may need parts or just a service. this was confirmed with a diagnostic machine. the following morning i looked into the boot and found a puddle on the parcel shelf, as i looked up to the roof of the car i could see water dripping which looked like the shark fin was leaking. i have been in contact with both dealer and finance company and as of today i have received a letter from finance company refusing my rejection. i have logged a complain with the FCA and the ombudsman which i was told this could take 6 months before they look at my case. can anyone help me understand my rights and is there a quicker way to get this resolved sooner. also the faults i have listed surely these are good enough grounds for rejection. surely the fact we can smell burning plastic/wires is cause for concern and im surely not going to take my family in that car ever again
thanks and looking forward to your response
Mick

Grumpy_chap

GecHo said:

i recently bought a used Volvo Xc90 from a dealer on the second day of ownership i rang them to reject the car. on the way home the engine management light came on but after a restart it didn`t come on again. first of all we could smell burning plastic from around the gear shift and cup holder, we later went over a speed bump and the air vent on the passenger side fell off which revealed damage to the dashboard when its fits into the ducting. gears were a little sluggish but new car to me an thought this was normal but later found that this was a gearbox fault which may need parts or just a service. this was confirmed with a diagnostic machine. the following morning i looked into the boot and found a puddle on the parcel shelf, as i looked up to the roof of the car i could see water dripping which looked like the shark fin was leaking. i have been in contact with both dealer and finance company and as of today i have received a letter from finance company refusing my rejection. i have logged a complain with the FCA and the ombudsman which i was told this could take 6 months before they look at my case. can anyone help me understand my rights and is there a quicker way to get this resolved sooner. also the faults i have listed surely these are good enough grounds for rejection. surely the fact we can smell burning plastic/wires is cause for concern and im surely not going to take my family in that car ever again
thanks and looking forward to your response
Mick

Can you clarify the dates that apply to "recently"?

How old, mileage, price was the car?
Was the Dealer a franchised site, supermarket, local fly-by-night?
Did you buy the car as a remote purchase?
Did you test drive the car before purchase?

You say you rang "them" to reject the car.  I assume that "them" is the supplying Dealer.  Then towards the end of the post, you say that the finance company refused the rejection.  Who did you contact to reject the car?

Aylesbury_Duck

Return it to the dealer.  You can't reject it and retain the car.  Return it to the dealer and formally reject it.

What date did you collect it?

Alderbank

GecHo said:

i recently bought a used Volvo Xc90 from a dealer on the second day of ownership i rang them to reject the car. on the way home the engine management light came on but after a restart it didn`t come on again. first of all we could smell burning plastic from around the gear shift and cup holder, we later went over a speed bump and the air vent on the passenger side fell off which revealed damage to the dashboard when its fits into the ducting. gears were a little sluggish but new car to me an thought this was normal but later found that this was a gearbox fault which may need parts or just a service. this was confirmed with a diagnostic machine. the following morning i looked into the boot and found a puddle on the parcel shelf, as i looked up to the roof of the car i could see water dripping which looked like the shark fin was leaking. i have been in contact with both dealer and finance company and as of today i have received a letter from finance company refusing my rejection. i have logged a complain with the FCA and the ombudsman which i was told this could take 6 months before they look at my case. can anyone help me understand my rights and is there a quicker way to get this resolved sooner. also the faults i have listed surely these are good enough grounds for rejection. surely the fact we can smell burning plastic/wires is cause for concern and im surely not going to take my family in that car ever again
thanks and looking forward to your response
Mick

Welcome to the forum.

Having a car rejected is expensive for the dealer so they will fight against it.

The fault or faults must be 'significant'. What that means varies enormously from car to car. The vehicle's age, class, price, mileage and condition are all taken into account.
For a brand new car, the wrong paint colour can be a significant fault. For older, high mileage cars, faults usually have to render the car unroadworthy.

Volvo have made the xc90 for more than 20 years. There are examples around ranging from brand new to 200,000 miles+ and in all conditions and prices.

What is the model, age, mileage and price of yours please?

HillStreetBlues

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Return it to the dealer.  You can't reject it and retain the car.  Return it to the dealer and formally reject it.

What date did you collect it?

If the dealer doesn't accept the rejection then OP shouldn't leave the car.
The car is the OP's and will remain that unless there is an agreement or legal ruling to say otherwise.

Aylesbury_Duck

HillStreetBlues said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Return it to the dealer.  You can't reject it and retain the car.  Return it to the dealer and formally reject it.

What date did you collect it?

If the dealer doesn't accept the rejection then OP shouldn't leave the car.
The car is the OP's and will remain that unless there is an agreement or legal ruling to say otherwise.

Indeed, but it doesn't sound as if OP has tried to return and reject it.  They've "been in contact with" the dealer and finance company, and it's the finance company that has responded.

GecHo

the car is a 68 plate with 72000 miles which i purchased on 18.11.2.23 and was collected for repair which i have never agreed to on 20.11.2023 and never seen the car since. today is the 13.01.2024. i did test drive the car which ran out of fuel on the test drive which should have been a red flag. the was purchased by a large dealer with 6 showrooms across the country. have since had the final response letter from the finance company and they have sided with the garage and i cant reject the car. fca and ombudsman been informed so just waiting.
there was an issue with the finance agreement when i purchased the car which has now come to light. the dealer told the finance company the car had done 29000 miles and over a 4 year pcp this would leave the end mileage around 57000 but the car had done 72000 miles and with 4 years at 7000 would end the car with around 100,000 miles would leave me to pay around 43000 x 0.9p in over mileage. is this not fraud ??
so lets see what happens

Aylesbury_Duck

I doubt it's fraud.  It looks like a straightforward administrative error, someone's probably put another car's mileage in by mistake.

How did this discrepancy come to light?  Was it always there and you've only just spotted it, or was it concealed somehow?

powerful_Rogue

GecHo said:

the car is a 68 plate with 72000 miles which i purchased on 18.11.2.23 and was collected for repair which i have never agreed to on 20.11.2023 and never seen the car since. today is the 13.01.2024. i did test drive the car which ran out of fuel on the test drive which should have been a red flag. the was purchased by a large dealer with 6 showrooms across the country. have since had the final response letter from the finance company and they have sided with the garage and i cant reject the car. fca and ombudsman been informed so just waiting.
there was an issue with the finance agreement when i purchased the car which has now come to light. the dealer told the finance company the car had done 29000 miles and over a 4 year pcp this would leave the end mileage around 57000 but the car had done 72000 miles and with 4 years at 7000 would end the car with around 100,000 miles would leave me to pay around 43000 x 0.9p in over mileage. is this not fraud ??
so lets see what happens

Not sure why running out of fuel would have been a red flag. Did you not look at the fuel gauge?

sheramber

The finance company own the car until the outstanding finance is settled.

The finance company have to agree to reject the car.

Alderbank

18 November: you bought the car.
19 November: you identified some faults and told the dealer you wanted to reject.
20 November: the dealer collected the car for repair.
20 Nov - 15 Dec: you were told the car was fixed and was ready for you to collect but you refused and insisted to both dealer and finance company that you still wanted to reject it.
15 December: the finance company confirmed that they would not accept your claim to reject.

If the above is correct then I am afraid that is how the law works, they have complied with the law and the car is yours.

What you must do now is collect the car and give it a thorough trial and inspection. If there are still any significant faults it would be wise to get an independent inspection, such as RAC inspection.

If, and only if, there are still significant faults which you were not told about and where not evident when you test drove the car, you would have a claim to pursue the rejection you started on 19 November, but even then expect a fight from the dealer/finance house. Rejection is expensive for them. They will try to dispute that any remaining faults are significant in a 5 yr old car that has done 72k miles, or they will offer to have another go at fixing it (but you would have to agree to that).

Otherwise the car remains yours. I realise that you are not friends with that dealer at present but if he has another car that you like he will probably cut a good deal with you so as not to lose the sale. But failing that your only option is to trade the car in somewhere else.

However your essential step first of all is to collect the car and give it a good going over.