New car with faults. Can I decline the car?

joshhbowenn

Hi, 
I recently purchased an Audi A3 Saloon 2021 in April this year. It has 13,000miles, currently on 15,500miles. 

Since having the car it has had issues. 4 suspensions creaking, Child Lock Fault message (intermittent), drive system fault message (intermittent) and recently this week the rear view camera not showing any footage on the screen (intermittent). All the issues started to occur very soon after purchase, apart from the rear view camera which is new, and have been on-going since. 

I have a quality dispute open with my finance provider (Lloyds Bank), as when I approached the dealership they declined any support with the vehicle. The car is currently booked into Cardiff Audi on the 13th August for diagnostics. 

As this car was £22,500, it really worries me that these issues are occurring and even more so that they could be on-going. Or even if they are resolved now, they could occur again in the future. Have I got any grounds to decline the car now and return it to the dealership as it isn’t fit for purpose and the issues occurred within the first 6 months and arguably at the point of sale? I want to know my full options before the diagnostic result as my trust has gone from the dealership although Lloyds Bank have been amazing. 

Thank you!

pdel61

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Alderbank

You won't know your full options until you get the diagnostic results.

Having a car rejected is very expensive for a dealership so they will fight very hard to challenge it. To be sure of winning your claim against them the fault(s) must be substantial and must have been present when you bought the car even though they might not have been apparent at the time. Hopefully Cardiff Audi will give you the evidence you need.

Intermittent electrical issues are often just a loose connector or a failed sensor so are easily fixed. Unfortunately if they don't occur often they can be devilish to find. Many intermittent warnings such as the drive system fault message should leave a footprint in the car's OBD system which the main dealer can read.

Don't complicate matters by raising, or even worrying about, things that 'could occur again in the future'.

joshhbowenn

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

joshhbowenn

Alderbank said:

You won't know your full options until you get the diagnostic results.

Having a car rejected is very expensive for a dealership so they will fight very hard to challenge it. To be sure of winning your claim against them the fault(s) must be substantial and must have been present when you bought the car even though they might not have been apparent at the time. Hopefully Cardiff Audi will give you the evidence you need.

Intermittent electrical issues are often just a loose connector or a failed sensor so are easily fixed. Unfortunately if they don't occur often they can be devilish to find. Many intermittent warnings such as the drive system fault message should leave a footprint in the car's OBD system which the main dealer can read.

Don't complicate matters by raising, or even worrying about, things that 'could occur again in the future'.

Thank you for this. I suppose I’m just really annoyed at how awful the dealership has been and the fact that it changes your view/feel for the car so much. Especially as it was a £22,500 investment on a relatively new and low mileage car! 

I’ll wait for the diagnostics and go from there as you suggested. Thanks. 

powerful_Rogue

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

You're claiming it's not fit for purpose, yet still driving it.

You could be making issues worse by continuing to drive the vehicle for over a month knowing there are issues.

Do you use the vehicle just to drive to work and back, or is it used for work?

Also a 2021 Audi A3 Saloon is never going to be an investment as there is only one direction the price is going to go.

Alderbank

Wonka_2 said:

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

But to reject it you have to stop using it immediately - irrespective of how inconvenient it may be. 

Why?

If it is unroadworthy you have to stop using it immediately however inconvenient, but that is under the Road Traffic Act, not the Consumer Rights Act, and there is no suggestion that this car is unroadworthy.

All the CRA says is that the trader can charge you for using the car while it's in your possession.
In fact section 24(9) of the Act says that if the trader faffs around before agreeing to the rejection, he can't charge you anything for your continued use during that period.

HillStreetBlues

Alderbank said:

Wonka_2 said:

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

But to reject it you have to stop using it immediately - irrespective of how inconvenient it may be. 

Why?

If it is unroadworthy you have to stop using it immediately however inconvenient, but that is under the Road Traffic Act, not the Consumer Rights Act, and there is no suggestion that this car is unroadworthy.

All the CRA says is that the trader can charge you for using the car while it's in your possession.
In fact section 24(9) of the Act says that if the trader faffs around before agreeing to the rejection, he can't charge you anything for your continued use during that period.

I agree
If there is a breach, the OP would be entitled to a car while it it settled, as having no car clearly leaves OP at a disadvantage.
The OP needs to mitigate any loss, so hiring a car while this is on-going would be more expensive than continuing to drive the current car.
The OP is doing what is correct, and should continue to drive car until it have been sorted out, unless as you say it's unroadworthy.

Wonka_2

Alderbank said:

Wonka_2 said:

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

But to reject it you have to stop using it immediately - irrespective of how inconvenient it may be. 

Why?

If it is unroadworthy you have to stop using it immediately however inconvenient, but that is under the Road Traffic Act, not the Consumer Rights Act, and there is no suggestion that this car is unroadworthy.

All the CRA says is that the trader can charge you for using the car while it's in your possession.
In fact section 24(9) of the Act says that if the trader faffs around before agreeing to the rejection, he can't charge you anything for your continued use during that period.

OK - post deleted but OP still hasn't confirmed where car was purchased from, whether a warranty is involved (and if so why they've gone straight to finance company rather than warranty claim), and where Audi Cardiff fit into the picture ?

joshhbowenn

Wonka_2 said:

Alderbank said:

Wonka_2 said:

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

But to reject it you have to stop using it immediately - irrespective of how inconvenient it may be. 

Why?

If it is unroadworthy you have to stop using it immediately however inconvenient, but that is under the Road Traffic Act, not the Consumer Rights Act, and there is no suggestion that this car is unroadworthy.

All the CRA says is that the trader can charge you for using the car while it's in your possession.
In fact section 24(9) of the Act says that if the trader faffs around before agreeing to the rejection, he can't charge you anything for your continued use during that period.

OK - post deleted but OP still hasn't confirmed where car was purchased from, whether a warranty is involved (and if so why they've gone straight to finance company rather than warranty claim), and where Audi Cardiff fit into the picture ?

I thought it was best to leave the retailers name from the post as it isn’t necessary, but was what I thought was a reputable company. The retailer gave a 3 month “warranty” with the vehicle. Every time I contact the retailer they push me toward the warranty. However, the warranty company “Momentum” do not cover diagnostic investigations or even some of the issues mentioned. They also reached out to the retailer who again denied support. Hence then going to Lloyds Bank who have been brilliant and who opened the Quality Dispute and paid for diagnostic at Audi Cardiff. 

joshhbowenn

powerful_Rogue said:

joshhbowenn said:

pdel61 said:

As it's on finance your dispute will likely be with the finance company and not the dealership. At the point you discovered the problem and raised it with the finance company you should have stopped using it and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. You may also be able to make a claim against your credit card company assuming to paid some of it on CC.

I'm not sure if having driven 2500 miles since you discovered the problem as you say it occurred soon after purchased will count against you in any way.

Thank you for the response and advice. I raised it early with the warranty company but couldn’t stop using the car due to work. Also the 13th August was the earliest that Cardiff Audi could book the car in! So things have taken longer than I would like. 

You're claiming it's not fit for purpose, yet still driving it.

You could be making issues worse by continuing to drive the vehicle for over a month knowing there are issues.

Do you use the vehicle just to drive to work and back, or is it used for work?

Also a 2021 Audi A3 Saloon is never going to be an investment as there is only one direction the price is going to go.

Unfortunately most people’s lives mean stopping using the car isn’t possible. Even if maybe it would help. 

An investment can mean many things. This investment of money was one where I was purchasing a relatively new and low mileage car to invest in worry free motoring. But it hasn’t gone to plan!