Car Dealership Refuses My Right to Request a Repair

Daz_17

On August 29th 2023 I purchased a Hyundai i10 from Evans Halshaw for £4750. I opted for the standard three month warranty and not any extended options. On December 29th 2023 however, I had to get towed home as the vehicle had developed a fault. The red oil light came on and there was a noise coming from the engine. The recovery firm were of the opinion that the oil pump had failed or was failing and the noise is likely a signal of engine damage. I contact several local garages in the days that followed to seek their advice.

All advised me I may be looking at a new engine, the cost of which will exceed £1000 and to contact the dealership as it was a big issue to go wrong so soon. I contacted the dealership as I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I have a right to request a repair or replacement if I have owned the vehicle within the 30 day to six month window. Unless they could prove a fault was not present when sold beyond reasonable doubt, then the act regards it as being there when it was sold.

The dealership would not accept this and kept on that I should have taken an extended warranty. My understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that this is immaterial. Ultimately, they have refused to repair or even look at the car to diagnose it. All they said was that I could try to formally reject the vehicle this would almost certainly be rejected as the "engine was running" when I drove the car away at time of collection. 

Is my understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 correct please? Furthermore any advice on what steps I can take next to try and move this towards a resolution. I am struggling to get to and from work as I am advised not to use the car for obvious reasons!

Grumpy_chap

Daz_17 said:

On August 29th 2023 I purchased a Hyundai i10 from Evans Halshaw for £4750. I opted for the standard three month warranty and not any extended options. On December 29th 2023 however, I had to get towed home as the vehicle had developed a fault. The red oil light came on and there was a noise coming from the engine. The recovery firm were of the opinion that the oil pump had failed or was failing and the noise is likely a signal of engine damage. I contact several local garages in the days that followed to seek their advice.

All advised me I may be looking at a new engine, the cost of which will exceed £1000 and to contact the dealership as it was a big issue to go wrong so soon. I contacted the dealership as I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I have a right to request a repair or replacement if I have owned the vehicle within the 30 day to six month window. Unless they could prove a fault was not present when sold beyond reasonable doubt, then the act regards it as being there when it was sold.

The dealership would not accept this and kept on that I should have taken an extended warranty. My understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that this is immaterial. Ultimately, they have refused to repair or even look at the car to diagnose it. All they said was that I could try to formally reject the vehicle this would almost certainly be rejected as the "engine was running" when I drove the car away at time of collection. 

Is my understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 correct please? Furthermore any advice on what steps I can take next to try and move this towards a resolution. I am struggling to get to and from work as I am advised not to use the car for obvious reasons!

I am minded to think that you are correct.
Can you please confirm:
1. How old and what mileage was the car when purchased?
2. How many miles have you covered in the car since purchase?

Daz_17

Grumpy_chap said:

Daz_17 said:

On August 29th 2023 I purchased a Hyundai i10 from Evans Halshaw for £4750. I opted for the standard three month warranty and not any extended options. On December 29th 2023 however, I had to get towed home as the vehicle had developed a fault. The red oil light came on and there was a noise coming from the engine. The recovery firm were of the opinion that the oil pump had failed or was failing and the noise is likely a signal of engine damage. I contact several local garages in the days that followed to seek their advice.

All advised me I may be looking at a new engine, the cost of which will exceed £1000 and to contact the dealership as it was a big issue to go wrong so soon. I contacted the dealership as I believe under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I have a right to request a repair or replacement if I have owned the vehicle within the 30 day to six month window. Unless they could prove a fault was not present when sold beyond reasonable doubt, then the act regards it as being there when it was sold.

The dealership would not accept this and kept on that I should have taken an extended warranty. My understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that this is immaterial. Ultimately, they have refused to repair or even look at the car to diagnose it. All they said was that I could try to formally reject the vehicle this would almost certainly be rejected as the "engine was running" when I drove the car away at time of collection. 

Is my understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 correct please? Furthermore any advice on what steps I can take next to try and move this towards a resolution. I am struggling to get to and from work as I am advised not to use the car for obvious reasons!

I am minded to think that you are correct.
Can you please confirm:
1. How old and what mileage was the car when purchased?
2. How many miles have you covered in the car since purchase?

Thank you for replying! It had 86,851 on the clock when I bought it and and I've done only around 2,300 miles on it over the last four months, don't have the exact figures on hand at the moment. The car is a 64 plate but was new in January 2015. Hope this helps.

born_again

As oil light came on, was there plenty of oil? & was this checked on a regular basis?

Aylesbury_Duck

born_again said:

As oil light came on, was there plenty of oil? & was this checked on a regular basis?

This.  How often did you check the oil level and when did you last check it before the light came on?

Daz_17

born_again said:

As oil light came on, was there plenty of oil? & was this checked on a regular basis?

Oil is checked by myself on a weekly basis and had been checked earlier that week. Level is where it should have been and correct oil has always been used.

Daz_17

Aylesbury_Duck said:

born_again said:

As oil light came on, was there plenty of oil? & was this checked on a regular basis?

This.  How often did you check the oil level and when did you last check it before the light came on?

I check the oil level every week, it was check a few days before earlier in the week and was where it should be.

Veteransaver

If you stopped driving immediately the oil light came on (which you should) then engine may not be damaged.
Sudden oil light illumination (and staying on) usually never means you are low on oil (unless it's a sudden loss of oil) it means there is a loss of oil pressure usually due to a pump failure or blocked filter or pipe somewhere and you must stop the engine as soon as possible.
Oil light coming on briefly would often signify low oil, usually if going round a corner.
When was the oil last changed, did the car have a good service history?

Daz_17

Veteransaver said:

If you stopped driving immediately the oil light came on (which you should) then engine may not be damaged.
Sudden oil light illumination (and staying on) usually never means you are low on oil (unless it's a sudden loss of oil) it means there is a loss of oil pressure usually due to a pump failure or blocked filter or pipe somewhere and you must stop the engine as soon as possible.
Oil light coming on briefly would often signify low oil, usually if going round a corner.
When was the oil last changed, did the car have a good service history?

No sudden loss of oil as that was looked for. It had a pretty good service history, I've got the paper here. Think it's last service was start of last year under the previous owner. I'm guessing the oil was changed then, I don't have full details of what was or wasn't checked on that service.

Veteransaver

Daz_17 said:

Veteransaver said:

If you stopped driving immediately the oil light came on (which you should) then engine may not be damaged.
Sudden oil light illumination (and staying on) usually never means you are low on oil (unless it's a sudden loss of oil) it means there is a loss of oil pressure usually due to a pump failure or blocked filter or pipe somewhere and you must stop the engine as soon as possible.
Oil light coming on briefly would often signify low oil, usually if going round a corner.
When was the oil last changed, did the car have a good service history?

No sudden loss of oil as that was looked for. It had a pretty good service history, I've got the paper here. Think it's last service was start of last year under the previous owner. I'm guessing the oil was changed then, I don't have full details of what was or wasn't checked on that service.

You are missing the point, the oil light coming on and staying on is a very bad sign and is nothing to do with the oil level, it's to do with the loss of oil pressure, and you should stop the engine immediately. If you didn't and just continued your drive and there was engine damage they could be within their right to refuse even a warranty claim anyway. Without a warranty you may be on very shaky ground.
If you take the oil filler cap off, can you see any sludge/deposits?

Are you also sure the failure is related to oil, did the car continue to drive after the oil light came on or did the engine just stop completely?

Veteransaver

Daz_17 said:

 correct oil has always been used.

Sorry, but how do you know this? You don't seem to be sure whether it was changed at the last service. Unless you changed the oil yourself?