Car dealer false advertising refused refund

Aylesbury_Duck

Acedrive said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You've rejected it, taking it back now undermines your case.  

Follow CAB's advice, issue the letter and see if they react.  If they don't, you'll have to persuade the court that an aftermarket infotainment screen is sufficient grounds to reject a used car.  It would help your case if there are indeed safety features that are now missing as a result, but I can't believe they are going to be critical safety features, are they?  Is it more like tyre pressure warnings, etc?  And presumably the aftermarket unit can connect to a phone but just not in the way the original equipment would have done?

Do you stand a chance in court?  Yes, but I don’t think your case is that compelling, to be honest, based on the information you've provided here.  It may not come to court, they may relent when they get your letter.

Should their advert not have specified an aftermarket screen fitted?

Should?  Maybe.

Must? I don’t think so.  It doesn't sound like it's a crucial part of the car and if an original screen or all original equipment was a requirement of yours, you should have asked.

What's CAB's view?  Having sought their advice, I'd go with it.

Grumpy_chap

Aylesbury_Duck said:

 if an original screen or all original equipment was a requirement of yours, you should have asked.

If the original screen was that critical to the purchaser, it might be suggested that the purchaser would have familiarity with what the original screen is and therefore noticed the aftermarket device prior to purchase.

photome

I also don’t think it is grounds to reject, depending on what safety feature are missing …what features are missing OP ?

I don’t think many people use in car sat nav’s as it’s much better to connect a phone using Google maps , can you do that OP? 

If the car was made during or after covid it is possible an alternative had to be fitted from new , I know Suzuki had to do that 

PHK

Just to point out that upgrading a Jeep Renegade infotainment system is very common as the stock system is pretty poor. (I think essentially unchanged for ten years(

It is not a cheap upgrade so I think it may well be seen as a significant feature improving the cars worth. 

It may just be the OP needs a bit of hand holding, no offense intended but you don't come across as particularly tech savvy. 

But if the upgrade is not done properly then you can get "bus lock up" which might stop some functions working. Although given the Renegade's history of electrical issues it could be hard to tell. 

Undervalued

Acedrive said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You've rejected it, taking it back now undermines your case.  

Follow CAB's advice, issue the letter and see if they react.  If they don't, you'll have to persuade the court that an aftermarket infotainment screen is sufficient grounds to reject a used car.  It would help your case if there are indeed safety features that are now missing as a result, but I can't believe they are going to be critical safety features, are they?  Is it more like tyre pressure warnings, etc?  And presumably the aftermarket unit can connect to a phone but just not in the way the original equipment would have done?

Do you stand a chance in court?  Yes, but I don’t think your case is that compelling, to be honest, based on the information you've provided here.  It may not come to court, they may relent when they get your letter.

Should their advert not have specified an aftermarket screen fitted?

Debatable.

Other routine servicing and repairs, depending on the age of the car, may well have been done with 3rd party parts - brake pads, shock absorbers etc etc. I don't think it would be reasonable to reject a car on those grounds unless it had been specifically advertised that only manufacturer's original parts had ever been used.

So, to me, the same applies providing the replacement is of a reputable make (however you define that) and does the job.

Acedrive

Grumpy_chap said:

I am struggling to see what the grounds are that the OP is seeking to reject the car.

The OP has purchased a used car (how old?, how many miles?) from a non-franchised motor trader.
The car was advertised as having some features.
All those features are there.

After purchase the OP has found that one of the features is not the manufacturer's original part but an aftermarket accessory.
If that was not obvious to the OP at test drive, it may not have been obvious or even known to the Dealer.
Some may consider that the aftermarket unit is an upgrade to the manufacturer's original part.

Really, I don't think there is grounds for the vehicle to be rejected on those grounds.
Nor do I feel that the Dealer needed to state it was an aftermarket accessory.

Can the OP search online for a manual for the actual after market unit that is currently fitted in the car?

I have stated that the dealer fitted it, an aftermarket unit from Aliexpress is not an upgrade in my mind,,and because of this unit fitted, the heated seats do not function nor does the cars usb port work either.

Acedrive

I do thank you all for your replies, but I'm still do not believe  the 2015 consumer rights act has been followed.

A Guide to the Consumer Rights Act 2015

pinkshoes

Acedrive said:

I have stated that the dealer fitted it, an aftermarket unit from Aliexpress is not an upgrade in my mind,,and because of this unit fitted, the heated seats do not function nor does the cars usb port work either.

OK, so now you've listed something that is evidence that the car is not functioning as it should. I assume these were listed in the advert? (sorry, too tired to read the advert). A little more feasible than just the radio not functioning.

You will need to outline clearly in your letter before action what EXACTLY you are rejecting the car for, giving them a deadline for when you want your refund. Personally I would have had an independent expert look over the car to highlight everything that didn't work against the advert. Bit late for that, and taking it back once you've rejected it doesn't look good. 

Your refund needs to reflect any mileage driven. How far have you driven it in the three weeks you've owned it? If it's less than 50 miles then a full refund is appropriate. If you've done 100s of miles then you need to pay for this usage. 

Acedrive

pinkshoes said:

Acedrive said:

I have stated that the dealer fitted it, an aftermarket unit from Aliexpress is not an upgrade in my mind,,and because of this unit fitted, the heated seats do not function nor does the cars usb port work either.

OK, so now you've listed something that is evidence that the car is not functioning as it should. I assume these were listed in the advert? (sorry, too tired to read the advert). A little more feasible than just the radio not functioning.

You will need to outline clearly in your letter before action what EXACTLY you are rejecting the car for, giving them a deadline for when you want your refund. Personally I would have had an independent expert look over the car to highlight everything that didn't work against the advert. Bit late for that, and taking it back once you've rejected it doesn't look good. 

Your refund needs to reflect any mileage driven. How far have you driven it in the three weeks you've owned it? If it's less than 50 miles then a full refund is appropriate. If you've done 100s of miles then you need to pay for this usage. 

We have taken it back today so we can workout what is not functioning as it should, bear in mind this type of vehicle relies solely on the infotainment screen for its functions, heated seats do not work as we were told this officially today, (why they did not tell us this at the time of viewing and purchase?) well because if they had we would not have bought the car, we are also waiting for Jeep UK to confirm if fitting an aftermarket screen is a safe option.

Also they told us today that they have a disclaimer on their autotrader advert that states its not their fault if a vehicle they sell does not match the advertised discriprition .

Grumpy_chap

Acedrive said:

I have stated that the dealer fitted it, an aftermarket unit from Aliexpress is not an upgrade in my mind,,and because of this unit fitted, the heated seats do not function nor does the cars usb port work either.

How do you know that the Dealer fitted the after-market display unit?
It may have been fitted by a previous owner of the car and the Dealer may not have known - it is obviously not that different (visually) from the standard fit unit otherwise you would have noticed from the test drive.

Whether the aftermarket unit is an upgrade or not is really rather moot - unable to prove either way as "upgrade" can be subjective.

I still don't think the after-market display is necessarily a sufficient grounds to reject the car.
Rather than raising your concerns about the display unit being an after-market exchange, your compliant may have more grounds if raised around the specific features that are not functioning.  The Dealer may be able to provide instructions how these features are operated, or the root cause of the features not operating may be unrelated to the display unit.  The root causes may then be resolved under either warranty or consumer rights.