Used Car - Not of Satisfactory Quality / fit for purpose - Want to reject

Forumnewbie1

Hi, 

I recently purchased a 2019 second hand vehicle from a main luxury dealership for £29K and have had nothing but problems and issues with it, therefore am seeking any help/assistance anyone can give please. I put a £4K deposit down and purchased the rest on finance. 

I agreed to purchase the vehicle on 15th October 2023 but due to it needing a new wing mirror I wasn't able to pick the vehicle up until 16th November.  On driving the vehicle home, the back drivers side window kept going down on its own - each time I would put it back up, it would shortly do it again. As the dealership was shutting for the evening I waited until the next morning to call, however, on driving to work that morning the Engine Management Light came on.  As soon as the dealership opened I called and reported both issues and they duly came out and collected the vehicle and bought me a courtesy car. 

I was informed on the 17th November that the DPF Filter had split so would need to be replaced along with a new EGR Cooler filter and they were fitting a new back window!  This fix was done on the warranty of the car but would have cost in excess of £4K I was advised. The car was ready for collection on the 4th December. 

During December and January, whilst caring for my sick father and ultimately his passing, I experienced the alarm wouldn't set properly and it would go off as soon as I walked away from it. As my priorities at this time were my father, I didn't report this.  

On 5th February, whilst driving all of the infographic screens and front dash board went blank when I opened a window!  On stopping and starting the engine, the screens returned.  This happened again the following day but without opening a window! I duly called the dealership and they offered an appointment on the 30th March for it to be looked at!!

On the evening of 8th February, the engine management light came on again at which point I've really had enough and I duly called the Sales Manager on the morning of the 9th February to advise the vehicle is really not fit for purpose and I wanted to reject the car. The dealership offered to buy the car back from me for £22.5K but didn't feel I was in a position to reject the car. As more faults were developing, I asked the dealership for all the paperwork of the work that had been carried out on the vehicle to date and was surprised to find out that a new window hadn't been fitted when the car went in on the first occasion so feel I have been misinformed on this matter!  I escalated the complaint to a director of the business who duly arranged for my car to go back into the dealership to find out what was wrong this time. The car went into the dealership on the 13th February and still remains there now!!

The faults found on this occasion are listed below and likely to be in excess of another £5K to fix (although I'm sure will be covered by the warranty):

• Needs new turbo, EGR Pipe and EGR filter and EGR 'B' filter
• New volumetric sensor for alarm needed
• New APIX cable needed

My confidence in the car has now gone and my trust in the dealership also diminished. I have sent a formal letter of rejection of the vehicle to both the finance company and the main dealership but would really like to hear if anyone else has been in a similar situation where they have rejected a vehicle within the first three months of purchase or knows what my legal rights are to receive a full refund and put me back into the position I was before purchasing the car. Many thanks.

Aylesbury_Duck

As I understand it, you can reject the car on the basis they've had a chance to fix problems and haven't done so.  However, you're not entitled to a full refund, the dealer can lower the refund to take into account depreciation - the time and mileage elapsed since purchase.  They appear to have offered a sum for this - £22,500.  Whether that's reasonable is up for debate because we don't know the age, mileage, etc.  They have valued your three and a half months of ownership at £6,500.  It sounds like it's time to negotiate, perhaps involving the finance company if you don't think the dealer is being reasonable.

Grumpy_chap

It sounds like the £22.5k is more akin to normal trade in value for that car rather than returned funds for a rejection.
The OP could obtain a reference trade price using an online car buying service.
The OP may be able to gain additional leverage if the finance provider is involved in the rejection, as they are jointly liable...

Mr.Generous

Is it a Range Rover?