New commercial vehicle purchase, rusty chassis. Options / rights?

petersprojection

Hi,

March 2023 I paid a deposit by bank transfer for a 3.5T Isuzu tipper with purpose built tipping back through an Isuzu dealership.

Took delivery / finance date of April 2024. Delay was due to vehicle body builder times through Isuzu and personal issues for myself.

I spoke with Isuzu 24th April 2024 regarding rust on the chassis and missing spare wheel bracket.

26th July 2024 Isuzu visited with replacement spare wheel bracket (wrong one for the vehicle) and I also informed them that the cab was heavily dented on the roof apparently from where the vehicle body builder had knelt to fix the beacon.

Isuzu acknowledged that some chassis had come from the factory in Japan with poor finish / not thick enough paint and said they would rectify. I am not too concerned about the wheel clamp, I am a bit unhappy that a very expensive new vehicle has dents in the roof and I'm not sure whether it is best to have them pulled out or left.

The chassis in 2 places shows bare metal and it flakes off so easily - it really looks like one thin coat! I am concerned about how this can be rectified - I believe the whole vehicle would need dismantling of nuts, bolts, cables etc so that it can be sprayed / treated properly. I intend to keep this vehicle for as long as possible and don't wish to be paying for chassis welds in several years. The vehicle has done less than 1K miles.

Where do I stand legally if Isuzu don't rectify to my satisfaction?

Thank you.

Aylesbury_Duck

As a business, you ask your legal advisor or insurer to step in and ensure the supplier provides what they are contractually obliged to provide, or provide a resolution as set out in the business contract, e.g. a refund.

molerat

Where do I stand legally if Isuzu don't rectify to my satisfaction?

Where you stand depends entirely on the contract you have with who you purchased the vehicle from.  You have no consumer rights as this is a B2B transaction.

Baldytyke88

Looking at a website selling an Isuzu tipper there is no mention of bodywork or rust warranties.

It does mention that some panels are made from aluminium. You need to read your warrenty and speak to the dealer,

Grumpy_chap

petersprojection said:

Hi,

March 2023 I paid a deposit by bank transfer for a 3.5T Isuzu tipper with purpose built tipping back through an Isuzu dealership.

Took delivery / finance date of April 2024. Delay was due to vehicle body builder times through Isuzu and personal issues for myself.

I spoke with Isuzu 24th April 2024 regarding rust on the chassis and missing spare wheel bracket.

26th July 2024 Isuzu visited with replacement spare wheel bracket (wrong one for the vehicle) and I also informed them that the cab was heavily dented on the roof apparently from where the vehicle body builder had knelt to fix the beacon.

Isuzu acknowledged that some chassis had come from the factory in Japan with poor finish / not thick enough paint and said they would rectify. I am not too concerned about the wheel clamp, I am a bit unhappy that a very expensive new vehicle has dents in the roof and I'm not sure whether it is best to have them pulled out or left.

The chassis in 2 places shows bare metal and it flakes off so easily - it really looks like one thin coat! I am concerned about how this can be rectified - I believe the whole vehicle would need dismantling of nuts, bolts, cables etc so that it can be sprayed / treated properly. I intend to keep this vehicle for as long as possible and don't wish to be paying for chassis welds in several years. The vehicle has done less than 1K miles.

Where do I stand legally if Isuzu don't rectify to my satisfaction?

Thank you.

This all comes down to whatever is in the contract for the purchase.  Even though it is not a consumer contract, I would still expect that there is some clause regarding quality.

Some of the issues you mention will be very difficult to address.  The vehicle was delivered in April and in July the issue with the dented roof was reported to the manufacturer because "someone" had knelt on the roof.  Very difficult to prove whether that "someone" was before or after the delivery.