Mid-sold car service history

confusedcustomer1

I purchased a second hand Kia from a well know national dealer in September 2022. I still have £5k outstanding on the finance. 

I opted for the Kia as they have a 7 year engine warranty and wanted the peace of mind that I’d be covered if I hand any issues. In order for the warranty to remain valid, the car must be maintained as per the manufacturers recommendations, I.e a full service history is required. 

As such, having a full service history that validated the warranty was an essential factor in my purchase decision. I spent some time with the sales agent to find the appropriate car. I even put a deposit down on a car which we thought was perfect but it transpired that this car didn’t have full service history and so I cancelled the purchase. 

The advisor then found a car which he said had the required history and assured me that my warranty was valid. I decided to purchase the car and take out a 3 year service plan.

Fast forward to this week, my car suddenly suffered from catastrophic engine failure. I took it back to the dealership who got in contact with Kia to discuss repair works. 

Kia have come back and said that my warranty is void. That’s because the first 2 services that the vehicle received were done so beyond the stated mileage requirement. These services occurred prior to my ownership. 

So essentially, I now have a broken car with a huge repair bill. 

My next step is to argue that I was mis-sold, as the car did not in fact have a valid warranty when I bought it.  What are my chances of succeeding with this? What evidence would I need?

The assurances given by the agent were verbal and I don’t have much solid proof other than some paper work from my actual car purchase and paperwork from the car purchase that I cancelled.

Any advice appreciated!

Aylesbury_Duck

The trouble you might face is that the car did indeed have a full service history when you bought it.  What it didn't have was a preserved warranty because two of those services occurred beyond the mileage service interval.  On that basis, I think your complaint needs to be that you were sold the car with supposedly five years of the original warranty remaining and that has turned out to not be the case.  

How 'late' were those services?

Is there anything on the paperwork that mentions the warranty, or implies it was in place?  If not, a verbal agreement is still contractual, but obviously trickier to prove.  It's helpful to have the cancelled sale because ultimately if this went to court, that could be very useful.

First thing I'd do is ask the seller what they plan to do.  If they dig in, then explain that you're prepared to consider legal action, backed by the cancelled sale as evidence of your stated requirement of a preserved warranty.

MyRealNameToo

What evidence do you have that the dealer stated the service history was compliant with the warranty?

Have you checked for yourself either when you bought it or now? Dont know if Kia has changed its policy or servicing intervals overtime but in other similar cases have known companies make mistakes

Mark_d

The fact that you put a deposit on one car, then cancelled it due to warranty issues...might be enough to convince a magistrate that the warranty played a key part in your decision to buy.

When you bought the car, did you not get a physical copy of the service history?  If you did, then it could be argued that you should have checked it at the time

daveyjp

Were those services also due during Covid?

GrumpyDil

Mark_d said:

The fact that you put a deposit on one car, then cancelled it due to warranty issues...might be enough to convince a magistrate that the warranty played a key part in your decision to buy.

When you bought the car, did you not get a physical copy of the service history?  If you did, then it could be argued that you should have checked it at the time

It probably won't convince a magistrate (hears criminal cases) but might convince a judge hearing a civil cases.

MyRealNameToo

Mark_d said:

The fact that you put a deposit on one car, then cancelled it due to warranty issues...might be enough to convince a magistrate that the warranty played a key part in your decision to buy.

When you bought the car, did you not get a physical copy of the service history?  If you did, then it could be argued that you should have checked it at the time

Why's this going to criminal court @Mark_d? 

Civil law is dealt with by the county court with a judge sitting not a magistrate. 

born_again

confusedcustomer1 said:

I purchased a second hand Kia from a well know national dealer in September 2022. I still have £5k outstanding on the finance. 

I opted for the Kia as they have a 7 year engine warranty and wanted the peace of mind that I’d be covered if I hand any issues. In order for the warranty to remain valid, the car must be maintained as per the manufacturers recommendations, I.e a full service history is required. 

As such, having a full service history that validated the warranty was an essential factor in my purchase decision. I spent some time with the sales agent to find the appropriate car. I even put a deposit down on a car which we thought was perfect but it transpired that this car didn’t have full service history and so I cancelled the purchase. 

The advisor then found a car which he said had the required history and assured me that my warranty was valid. I decided to purchase the car and take out a 3 year service plan.

Fast forward to this week, my car suddenly suffered from catastrophic engine failure. I took it back to the dealership who got in contact with Kia to discuss repair works. 

Kia have come back and said that my warranty is void. That’s because the first 2 services that the vehicle received were done so beyond the stated mileage requirement. These services occurred prior to my ownership. 

So essentially, I now have a broken car with a huge repair bill. 

My next step is to argue that I was mis-sold, as the car did not in fact have a valid warranty when I bought it.  What are my chances of succeeding with this? What evidence would I need?

The assurances given by the agent were verbal and I don’t have much solid proof other than some paper work from my actual car purchase and paperwork from the car purchase that I cancelled.

Any advice appreciated!

I take it that this is a KIA (franchise)?
Seems odd that when dealer contacted Kia they declined. As Kia do not have online service records (only stated this year on new cars)
So dealer would have known before submitting claim it was going to be void.
Kia require a stamped service book as proof of servicing. If serviced outside Kia than a Invoice listing ALL kia parts used & Spec of oils used (VAT reg as well)

Kia servicing schedules. Kia allow 1 month of 1K miles late.
https://www.kia.com/content/dam/kwcms/kme/uk/en/assets/static/owners/service-maintenance/Kia_UK_Service_Intervals.pdf

Warranty does not cover all for 7 years.

Which Kia, how old & what mileage?

Alderbank

confusedcustomer1 said:

Kia have come back and said that my warranty is void. That’s because the first 2 services that the vehicle received were done so beyond the stated mileage requirement. 

What exact words did Kia use in their written statement that the warranty is void?

Kia say, 'A late or missing service does not automatically invalidate the warranty. However, if a fault can be attributed to incorrect maintenance that claim will be declined.'

Kia's service records are not online. They are in the Warranty Information and Service Record book. 

Looking at the book for my own Kia Ceed, the first service record says 'Due at whichever comes first of 12 months or 10,000 miles' followed by the dealer's entry of date and miles completed .
The second record says 'Due at...24 months or 20,000 miles.'

What do those entries state in your book?

confusedcustomer1

Thank you for all of your contributions! To answer some common questions:

Car is a Kia Ceed 2019 plate.

In regards to warranty: I have been advised by that dealer that 3 services were done beyond the required time and mileage. Due to there there multiple missed services the warranty wouldn’t be valid and the failure would likely due to lack of maintenance. (Lack of maintenance before I owned the car) 

I’ve raised a complaint with the dealer and sent the below email, what do you think my chances of success with this are? Any further advice? 

——————————-

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the mis-selling of a vehicle purchased from X branch on X date.

The vehicle in question is a Kia Ceed, registration X, purchased under Order No. X, and financed through Hire Purchase agreement X.

I chose to purchase a Kia primarily because of the manufacturer’s 7-year engine warranty, which was a decisive factor in my buying decision. I made it explicitly clear to your sales advisor that a valid warranty and full service history were essential requirements for any vehicle I would consider purchasing.

This is demonstrated by the fact that I cancelled an order for Order No. X, after being advised that the vehicle associated with that order did not have a full service history and therefore did not meet Kia’s warranty conditions. Following this, I was presented with the vehicle registration X, and I was assured by the sales advisor that this particular car had a full service history and an importantly a valid manufacturer’s warranty.

Relying on this assurance, I proceeded with the purchase and even took out a 3-year service plan to ensure I complied with Kia’s maintenance terms going forward. To be clear, I was of the informed belief that my vehicle had a current, valid warranty at the time of purchase.

On X date, my vehicle suffered catastrophic engine failure, including complete loss of braking functionality, posing a serious safety risk to myself and other road users. The following day, I presented the vehicle to the X, where I was assisted by Service Manager X

Service Manager X contacted Kia and subsequently informed me that the vehicle’s manufacturer warranty is in fact invalid and I would therefore be unable to claim for the repair under warranty. This is due to previous services having been carried out beyond the acceptable mileage thresholds. Importantly, these service history issues occurred prior to my purchase of the vehicle and were therefore not in my control. At no point did the sales advisor make me aware of the fact that these services had been conducted beyond acceptable thresholds and that my warranty would be invalid.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as supported by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, it is unlawful for a trader to engage in misleading actions or omissions that cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken.

In this case, the sales advisor represented that the vehicle held a valid manufacturer warranty, which was untrue.

Had I been correctly informed, I would not have purchased this vehicle – as evidenced by my previous cancellation of another vehicle that did not meet my specified valid warranty conditions.

The misrepresentation was material, and I have now suffered financial and practical loss due to the resulting engine failure, which is no longer covered.

I request that X take full responsibility for this mis-selling and provide an appropriate remedy. At minimum, this should include:

1. Full cost of vehicle recovery, engine repair or replacement to restore the vehicle to the condition it was promised at point of sale.
2. Provision of a courtesy car whilst necessary repairs are made.
3. Consideration of further compensation for the inconvenience, potential safety risk, and breach of trust in the sales process.

Please consider this a formal complaint. I would appreciate a written response within 14 days of receipt of this letter. If this matter is not resolved satisfactorily, I will have no choice but to escalate it to the Motor Ombudsman and pursue legal proceedings regarding breach of contract and misrepresentation under consumer law.

Alderbank

Like you, @confusedcustomer1, I'm also confused.

I can't understand your strategy here.

You bought a used car in 2022. Three years later some unidentified but serious engine thing has happened rendering the car unuseable. You believe (and have some supporting evidence) that the cause of this engine thing was some form of user neglect which happened after the car was manufactured and first sold but before you bought it.

I could understand a claim that because of these latent defects that your seller was in breach of the contract of sale and you have a valid claim under Chapter 2 S19ff of CRA 2015 for a full repair and also various expenses you have incurred. I think you would have a fair chance of success. Simple and straightforward.

But you are not claiming that.  Why?

You seem obsessed with this warranty stuff.
You obviously know how the Kia warranty works and what its limitations are, because you previously investigated at least one possible purchase and determined that it did not qualify for warranty.

Yet you bought this car and have owned it for three years knowing that the warranty is void. You haven't shared with us how much the warranty is voided by, but a 5 year old child could look at the service record and see that this car was out of compliance.

If the warranty had been in place, Kia are clear that their warranty does not cover vehicle recovery or provision of a courtesy car yet you are claiming for 'loss' of those.

The warranty only covers faults in manufacture so faults due to neglect of previous owners would not have been covered. 

Neither Kia's warranty nor the CRA includes 'further compensation for the inconvenience, potential safety risk, and breach of trust in the sales process' yet you are claiming for 'loss' of those as well.

Is 'breach of trust in the sales process' even a thing? Has the revelation that car salesmen occasionally stretch the truth or even tell porkies come as such a shock that you had to take to your bed and miss work?

I'm confused.