Covid cars

jbindebt

Has it been discussed anywhere how buyers of second hand cars should deal with discovering their new car purchase is a vehicle where part of the normal specification was not installed? Therefore if you buy a particular brand and specification then later find out several standard items were not installed and you were never told, is that "fraudulent"? Would the finance have been fair, would the value have been fair and more importantly when the new buyer then goes to sell the car how do they explain this to the next buyer. I have experienced this recently and what is also worrying is the dealer has the original build sheet and says I have various items installed as standard and I am able to say, "No I don't and why doesn't the build sheet reflect this." It seems to be a future compensation scandal waiting in the wings and no one appears to know what to do about it for now.

flaneurs_lobster

Why that thread title?

Ayr_Rage

Unless the specification is misrepresented when sold second hand then there is no issue.

As with all purchases, check what you are getting.

Future compensation scandal, not on your nelly.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6654873/covid-cars

Are you talking about buying from a private seller or a dealer?

"Fraudulent" would need an intent, it can still be an issue if they inadvertently say it has a feature that wasnt installed but it wouldnt be fraud.

Obviously with private sellers the matter is very different and the onus is much more on you to check than for them to tell you.

jbindebt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880130#Comment_81880130

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/consumer/how-covid-cars-are-affecting-used-car-market

This should explain. I never knew it was a "thing" until yesterday to be fair.

jbindebt

My situation is a big name manufacturer who apparently are just realising their records don't match reality and we are all pretty much scratching our heads as to what to do next. Return the vehicle, retrofit the vehicle, begin compensation. Even their in house finance don't know what to do. It seems odd that no one has devised any process as it will no doubt be happening quite often now and in the future. There are various articles as per this example.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/consumer/how-covid-cars-are-affecting-used-car-market

caprikid1

Out of interest what is missing on the car you purchased ?

I had a quick google and can find no real world examples

jbindebt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880218#Comment_81880218

Totally fair question. I've had the same car brand and high level spec previously so knew what I was buying, or so I thought. Due to a fault a question was raised with the dealer and after they consulted the build sheet they realised multiple cameras which are standard and connected to the fault have not been fitted. Then going down a build list other high end items have come to light e.g 100% they should be in that car. I assume the original owner would have gone with compensation of sorts but then that raises the question, if a spec is advertised and later found to be incomplete should it have been made aware to the secondhand buyer first? The finance company appear to be in agreement but no one knows how to proceed. I assume it will just be a car return and replacement but it's an odd scenario.

GrubbyGirl_2

In 2006 I bought a 6 month old Mercedes SLK from a Mercedes dealer, I bought it in winter and when summer arrived I couldn't get any A/C so took it back to the dealership for repair. Turns out it didn't actually have A/C but fortunately all the paperwork I had from them said it did. They investigated and it turned out that although it was a right hand drive the car was imported from Spain where they could specify with or without A/C. I said they will need to install it then!

To retrofit A/C was cost prohibitive so they offered me a full refund even though I'd been driving it for 5 months. I couldn't complain about that but I did have all the specification that came with the purchase which clearly said it had A/C fitted.

QrizB

I assume the original owner would have gone with compensation of sorts but then that raises the question, if a spec is advertised and later found to be incomplete should it have been made aware to the secondhand buyer first?

As asked above, did you buy the car from a dealer or from a private individual? Did you have the opportunity to inspect the car before purchase or was it a distance purchase?

Was the car advertised as "includes features A, B and C" which you now find are missing, or was it just a "Platinum Z-pack model" and the specific features weren't listed?

jbindebt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880428#Comment_81880428

I no longer have access to the dealer Autotrader advert from four months ago regarding my purchase so sadly I cant see if anything untoward had been done. Luckily for me I am still waiting for some cosmetic work that was discovered just after purchase so I can still wind back the deal if necessary but that's not the point. By sheer luck I've discovered items are missing this week and I'm surprised that this hasnt been mentioned more frequently by consumer groups. My example will likely disappear after getting resolved but the issue for others may start to appear more frequently in the future.