Brand new PCP car faulty - what are my rights to reject under CRA2015?

keldar89

Good evening,

I am based in England - I would like to know my rights and timings in regards to a replacement, or refund, for a brand new (now faulty) car I took out on a PCP deal from an official Ford dealer.

I signed a 4 year PCP agreement for a brand new Ford Puma via an official Ford dealer on Wednesday the 27th of November, 2024. I picked up the car on Monday the 2nd of December at midday from the dealership. The dealership is near to where I work, 30 miles from my house (this might be relevant later).

Upon driving home that very day, I noticed the engine management light (EML) come on and the engine struggling in the higher rev range with misfires - I stopped, pulled over, and noticed the car juddering. I turned it off for 10 minutes and tried again, and the problem was no longer present for the remaining journey. I emailed my dealership that evening and they got back to me Tuesday morning, asking me to bring it once they had arranged a hire car. They told me it was safe to continue driving. I dropped it off to them on Wednesday the 4th of December. On Friday the 6th of December, I received a phone call where I was told they replaced the fuel injector and it’s working again. I picked it up the same day. Everything seemed to be working. Until…

I was driving home yesterday (Sunday the 15th of December), I was on the motorway when the EML came on and the car struggled with power. This time the issue was more prevalent and would struggle gaining power, even at lower revs. I pulled over and I called Ford Recovery and an AA van came out to me. The mechanic tried to get it up and fully running with little success, so I had to be towed to my local Ford dealer in my hometown - still an official dealer, but a different franchise from whom I had purchased the car (bearing in mind I do not live close to where I work, near to the garage where I bought the car from). It’s currently there, waiting to be booked in and diagnosed.

After I had got home, I emailed Ford Credit and stated I’d like to return the car, cancel the credit agreement, and receive a refund for the deposit I paid (£1,000 and Ford put in £2,000 due to me returning my previous PCP car from them). I rang them this morning and, initially, the representative I spoke to me said that isn't possible due to the 14-day cooling off period expiring. I informed him of my rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that that is irrelevant and I have potentially 30 days now to walk away without any questions asked due to said fault. I also understand I have up to six months if the fault continues BUT the dealer needs to offer to attempt to repair the car once.

He reluctantly took my details, raised a complaint, and told me somebody from the Customer Relations team will contact me within five working days.

I also understand if a fault occurs within the first six months under the CRA2015, I can reject the car still but need to give them one opportunity to fix the fault.

I have a couple of questions as I am unclear on timelines. I understand I now have 30 days to reject the car without any questions asked, potentially extended to six months due to the dealer offering to fix the car.

1. With the fault occurring on the first day, which they offered to fix (and did, with it seemingly working for just over a week), and the car developing another fault which I feel is related to the first, is the former fix their one opportunity to fix it?
   
   I.e. am I now entitled to reject the car if another fault develops within the first six months should something occur between now and then?
2. Am I right in thinking the 14-day cooling off period is redundant because the fault had arisen, and the 30-day rejection period supersedes the cooling off period? I.e. is what the guy told me not true?
3. Does any future fault within six months need to be related, or can I deem the quality not fit for purpose and reject the car regardless of another fault occurring, stating they had already tried fixing the car once and, couldn't, and another fault occurred? This is somewhat related to question (1) as I feel it'll be dependent on that.

Thank you.

born_again

14 day cooling off only relates to finance. So you would still owe for the car.

What was the purchase price?

keldar89

Got you - thank you. Can the finance agreement be cancelled if the car is deemed faulty and handed back? The car's retail price is £34,000.

daveyjp

You have a right to return for the inherent defect and receive a full refund. It is down to the dealer, manufacturer and finance company to have policies and processes in place for dealing with this situation.

All your focus should be on getting the car back to the dealer if it can be driven, getting your deposit back and notification from the finance provider that the agreement is cancelled.  Just be aware fice working days take us nicely into the Christmas holiday period so don't expect much action quickly.

Frozen_up_north

Can you not accept a free loan/hire car from the dealer? A neighbour had a very posh hire car for weeks while their new car was being sorted. The free hire car was a Seat Cupra, and one of the more expensive ones at that!

Would be a lot less hassle than rejecting the car.

laidbackgjr

To reject the car, you need to speak to the dealer not to Ford Credit, it should be as simple as return the car to the dealer and get your deposit back and finance cancelled.

Alderbank

laidbackgjr said:

To reject the car, you need to speak to the dealer not to Ford Credit, it should be as simple as return the car to the dealer and get your deposit back and finance cancelled.

Ah, if only life was that simple...

The trouble is that taking the car back is very expensive for the dealership, so they will fight hard to resist it.

If you are canny, that can sometimes be used to your advantage. If you have a strong case for rejection the trader can often be persuaded to give sweeteners to coax you to keep the car once they have fixed the faults.

Don't confuse cancelling the finance with rejecting the car.

sheslookinhot

If you want to reject the car, take it to the dealer with a letter of rejection. Ask for a refund within 7 days.

photome

Frozen_up_north said:

Can you not accept a free loan/hire car from the dealer? A neighbour had a very posh hire car for weeks while their new car was being sorted. The free hire car was a Seat Cupra, and one of the more expensive ones at that!

Would be a lot less hassle than rejecting the car.

OP doesnt want his new car sorted, can’t say I blame him.