Used car warranty

kraven_t_punter

My wife has just purchased a new car. The advertised price was £12195, however when we went to pay for the car, they tried to bung in a load of extras, which for me should be part of the advertised price (e.g. a charge for a full polish and vacuum, care pack, cleaning kit, etc). The full set of "extras" took the price up to nearly £15,000!

I managed to get them to knock most of them off and ultimately we got most of the extras for free as I made them aware we hadn't been prewarned about them would have rejected them if we had, but they had already prepared the car to go out of the door.

They did a really hard sell on the warranty aspect, however, which was an extra £700. In end I insisted the sale wouldn't go ahead as we had £12,195 and not a penny more.

Part of my insistence was Martin's "warranty schmarranty" phrase echoing in my mind - but on reflection I'm not sure if this applies to used cars? Can anyone help with this?

I know you can get third party warranty cover, which I will probably look into, and it will probably be cheaper than the one the dealership was offering. But first I need to know what statutory rights you have with used cars?

Brie

I'd say keep a copy of the ad so if something comes up that contradicts it you have proof.  So  "good tires" but they fail in 2 months you have come back no matter what the policy says.

Well done for sticking up for yourselves.

eskbanker

kraven_t_punter said:

But first I need to know what statutory rights you have with used cars?

No more and no less than any other goods you buy, i.e. required to be of satisfactory quality, durability, etc, taking account of the price paid:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-statutory-rights-are-there-under-a-goods-contract
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-remedies-are-there-if-statutory-rights-under-a-goods-contract-are-not-met

As with any other goods, faults identified within the first six months are deemed to have been present at the time of sale, unless the trader can show otherwise, but thereafter the burden of proof is reversed and the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that faults found were present when sold, which will typically require an independent inspection.

kraven_t_punter

eskbanker said:

No more and no less than any other goods you buy, i.e. required to be of satisfactory quality, durability, etc, taking account of the price paid:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-statutory-rights-are-there-under-a-goods-contract
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-remedies-are-there-if-statutory-rights-under-a-goods-contract-are-not-met

As with any other goods, faults identified within the first six months are deemed to have been present at the time of sale, unless the trader can show otherwise, but thereafter the burden of proof is reversed and the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that faults found were present when sold, which will typically require an independent inspection.

Interesting - thanks for the info.

The dealer told us they cover everything for the first 3 months - whereas they should be legally obliged to cover everything for 6 months?

So after the first 6 months, would it be worth getting a third party warranty? What are people's opinions on this?

Also, I should have mentioned that the car is a 2022 MG ZS. According to information here, this should be covered by MG's 7 year warranty:
https://www.mg.co.uk/warranty

If this is the case and it covers everything the dealer's warranty would cover, why would the dealer try to sell us warranty? Is this not blatant mis-selling?

born_again

Just remember to check that MG warranty is still in place. It will be reliant on car being serviced in line with MG time frame & using the correct spec parts & oils. Odds on will not cover everything.
Just the same as dealers, consumable parts will not be covered.

https://www.mg.co.uk/sites/default/files/2025-07/MG_Online_Warranty_Statement_July_2025.pdf

• Each main service is carried out within 1000 miles / 1609 kilometers or 28 days of the recommended mileage interval or service anniversary date, using Original Equipment Specification parts and fluids. 

Note page 3 time limit on certain parts.

eskbanker

kraven_t_punter said:

eskbanker said:

No more and no less than any other goods you buy, i.e. required to be of satisfactory quality, durability, etc, taking account of the price paid:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-statutory-rights-are-there-under-a-goods-contract
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/part/1/chapter/2/crossheading/what-remedies-are-there-if-statutory-rights-under-a-goods-contract-are-not-met

As with any other goods, faults identified within the first six months are deemed to have been present at the time of sale, unless the trader can show otherwise, but thereafter the burden of proof is reversed and the onus is on the consumer to demonstrate that faults found were present when sold, which will typically require an independent inspection.

Interesting - thanks for the info.

The dealer told us they cover everything for the first 3 months - whereas they should be legally obliged to cover everything for 6 months?

So after the first 6 months, would it be worth getting a third party warranty? What are people's opinions on this?

Although you have statutory rights under CRA, this doesn't necessarily translate into 'cover everything' - as with any car there are consumable items such as tyres and brakes, and there is normal wear and tear to be factored in too, i.e. many items will naturally require eventual replacement, so warranty may offer better coverage than statutory rights, depending on the terms, but neither warranty nor CRA rights will 'cover everything'.

Also, the six months referred to is simply a reversal of the burden of proof, rather than marking some sort of milestone after which warranty automatically makes more sense - you still have statutory rights both before and after those six months....