Issues with new (used) car - what are my rights

Castledrobe

Hallo, I bought a used car from a main dealer last week. It was listed at 58000 miles. It's mileage is in fact nearly 64000. I know I should have spotted this at the time. In addition, the MOT I reviewed online had no advisories, but the MOT they did the day before I picked it up has advisories on both front tyres, with both close to the legal limit. The MOT also has the mileage at nearly 64000. 

I like the car and it was a good price. But I am really not confident in anything this garage says or does now and am wondering about requesting a refund.  

The other thing I thought of was taking it to my local garage for a once over. They can do this for £70, but I'm not sure how much this would reveal.

What would you do? What should I ask for?

Really grateful for any advice

TadleyBaggie

How old is the car? A 6K difference in milage isn't likely to alter the value of a car by much if it's 6 years or older. Tyres are visible and you could have picked up if they were close to the legal limit if you inspected the car prior to agreeing to but it.

eskbanker

Castledrobe said:

Hallo, I bought a used car from a main dealer last week. It was listed at 58000 miles. It's mileage is in fact nearly 64000. I know I should have spotted this at the time. In addition, the MOT I reviewed online had no advisories, but the MOT they did the day before I picked it up has advisories on both front tyres, with both close to the legal limit. The MOT also has the mileage at nearly 64000.

I'd argue that advertising the mileage as 58k when it's actually 64k would be a clear misrepresentation, even though you could easily have spotted it before driving away, but tyres can obviously become worn in between MOT tests - how long ago was the earlier one done, was it done by this dealer, and was there any statement about the condition of the tyres in the advert?

I believe you have the right to reject the car (on mileage rather than tyre wear) for a full refund if you wished to do so, or potentially to negotiate a price reduction if you're happy/confident to take that approach.

A_Geordie

Asking us what we would do is not particularly helpful because whether you should keep the car or not is subjective and really comes down to your own opinion of the car and the deal overall. 

You have indicated that you like car and got it at a good price so it sounds like there is something inside you that would be happy to keep the car if issues resolved to your satisfaction. 

First of all, what evidence do you have to show there are inconsistencies between what you viewed/read and what has been provided by the dealer? The onus is going to be on you to prove this and without that evidence, you might struggle to have any basis for a claim. If the advert is still up on the website or you have a photograph of it then save a copy or multiple copies somewhere safe and the same with the MOT. You need to make sure you have all evidence gathered before you approach the dealer, just in case they try to do something underhand and deny liability e.g. alter documents.

From a legal perspective, the 58k/64k and the MOT could be considered a misrepresentation, breach of the Consumer Rights act 2015 in that the goods were not accurately described, or breach of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 in so far as unfair commercial practices by failing to give/omitting material information about the car at the time. Each of these rights have distinct remedies ranging from a discount, reduction in price to complete termination of the contract and returning the car. 

If you like the car and want to keep it, you can tell them that they are in breach of consumer rights but that you will keep the car on the condition that (a) they fix the advisories listed on the MOT (b) carry out a full service of the car, both at their own cost and on the condition that there are no immediate costs to carry out material repairs to the car following the service. You can also consider other options such as upgrades like car mats, mud guards etc in lieu of the issues but be reasonable - asking for something that's equivalent to £2k when the cost of repairs are much less is not reasonable. I don't think at this stage you are entitled to go to a local garage and pay £70 to then recover that cost from the dealer.

If they cannot offer what you want then simply return the car on the basis of the above, but you may want to be prepared to fight the dealer if they are being difficult or putting obstacles in the way of you ending the contract - it may be as far as you having to start legal proceedings which is all the more reason why your evidence needs to be up to scratch. 

We can help guide you along the way, but the decision is ultimately yours to make. 

Castledrobe

Thanks so much.

To answer some questions. It's an inexpensive car, a 2018 Skoda, cost of £7,250

 Unfortunately I don't have screen shots of the listing. I do have the invoice, which lists the car as 58000 miles. 

There was an MOT done the day before I picked the car up, which I have only just seen, which shows mileage of 63,876. I've printed that out.

So the mileage definitely isn't in doubt

Re the tyres. I went through the MOTs that had been done previously with the salesman when I went to view the car. There were no advisories at that point. I specifically remember him saying that the tyres were good, one was brand new due to a blow out, and that the others had I think 4mm or 3mm tread. I thought that sounded a little low, but okay and he was very clear that it was good.

On the MOT done the day before I picked it up the advisories are -  Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Nearside Front Inner [5.2.3 (e)] • Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Offside Front Inner [5.2.3 (e)]

I did look at the tyres, they looked okay to me to be honest. But I really am no expert at all in cars, I just need something reliable!

Castledrobe

I'm not bothered about car mats etc and certainly want to be reasonable. I just want to be sure that the car is sound really and that the paperwork is accurate. I would ideally like to keep it, but am feeling less confident in this garage. It's probably just sloppiness, but doesn't give me faith in the car.

Castledrobe

Sorry @eskbanker. To answer your questions the previous MOT was done in February, not by the dealer and I don't remember any statement about the tyres in the advert

eskbanker

Castledrobe said:

Unfortunately I don't have screen shots of the listing. I do have the invoice, which lists the car as 58000 miles. 

There was an MOT done the day before I picked the car up, which I have only just seen, which shows mileage of 63,876. I've printed that out.

So the mileage definitely isn't in doubt

The issue isn't really what the mileage currently is, it's whether it was misrepresented prior to sale, so to make that stick you'd need some sort of evidence that it was advertised at 58k.

Castledrobe said:

Re the tyres. I went through the MOTs that had been done previously with the salesman when I went to view the car. There were no advisories at that point.

But how long ago was that MOT done - also worth checking the mileage at that point?

Edit: cross-posted - there's obviously plenty of time for tyres to wear over the year, so different MOT outcomes nine months apart don't necessarily signify any issue.

Castledrobe

The last MOT was in February, no advisories and mileage of 55k.

I don't have any evidence that it was advertised at 58k, although I know that it definitely was. I do have evidence that it was sold to me at 58k when it is actually 64. Does that not count?

And does the fact that the salesman specifically told me that the tyres were good not make a difference?

Not being at all chippy, just want to know my ground! Very grateful for your input, thank you. 

eskbanker

Castledrobe said:

The last MOT was in February, no advisories and mileage of 55k.

I don't have any evidence that it was advertised at 58k, although I know that it definitely was. I do have evidence that it was sold to me at 58k when it is actually 64. Does that not count?

The point was really that an invoice doesn't influence your decision to purchase, whereas an advert/listing does, so proof of the latter is much more powerful.

Castledrobe said:

And does the fact that the salesman specifically told me that the tyres were good not make a difference?

It'll come down to your word versus his regarding what was said verbally but MOT advisories can be issued when tyres are at 3mm, well above the legal limit of 1.6mm, so they can still have plenty of life in them.

Yorkshire_Dangermouse

I think you'll have a battle on for anything more than a couple of front tyres.  Tyres are within their gift, and can be quickly and cheaply resolved by them, and they keep their sale.

Anything more, and I suspect they'd be happy to take the car back and resell.