Used car dealer trying to dodge responsibility

TF03

Hi all

Probably a common question asked and I'm pretty certain I'm right in what I'm thinking/asking but some opinions would be great!

• Purchased 2018 used car from large dealer on 21/11/25. They stated that it comes with a 3 month 3 warranty from A1 warranty (3rd party warranty company). Came with the usual pre-purchase multi-point inspection etc. Dealer is about 100 miles from where we live but it was the right car at the right price.
• When we test drove and purchased the car, I noted that there was a wavy line across the screen on the touchscreen. Was told by salesperson, it was probably just condensation and will clear. It was all working fine, so gave benefit of the doubt.
• 2 weeks later, the cruise control stops working. Turns off at random and can't be turned back on until car is turned off. This has been particularly worrying as it disengaged at 70mph on the motorway causing the car to slow down in the outside lane.
• Then the touch screen started having a mind of it's own, registered phantom presses and making it unusable. It access menus and changes settings, turns off the air con, returns the radio, programmes in random destinations in the sat nav. Again, we are worried because not only is it annoying, it has turned off safety features by itself in vehicle settings. Upon further investigation it appears the screen is delaminating and it is a known issue in these units.
• A couple of days later, the car refused to start. RAC came out and diagnosed flat battery and was replaced at our cost to the tune of £240.
• Reported these issues to the dealer, who passed it straight onto the warranty company A1. They rang us on Christmas eve to say that the dealer had passed the claim onto them and they would be in touch after Christmas as they would be shut till the new year. But no follow up from them at all.
• Again raised all this 3 weeks ago with the dealer, and no reply to an emails. 2 weeks ago whilst driving the car, check engine light comes on and stop/start error message displays, which is now on permanently.
• Sent another email to dealer customer services who said they would look into it. With the invoice and diagnostic from RAC for battery, and asking dealer to either arrange collection to repair the car or give us permission to take to local garage to get repaired.
• Received reply today saying the dealer would not cover any of the costs. Batteries are considered wear and tear and not covered by consumer rights act. They are satisfied that car was fit for purpose at time of sale. They have not been provided any diagnostic evidence to confirm battery was faulty at time of sale. As for the other issues, they are saying we need to go through A1 warranty to claim.

I believe that all the issues are electrical related and related to each other. I also believe I am right in saying that as per the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the car should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the car they sold me is faulty.As we are within 6 months of purchase, I am of the belief that these issues should be dealt with by the dealer and not via a 3rd party warranty, which would incur cost to me via excess and claim limits. And the "free cover" from A1 runs out in 2 weeks as well.

I think that the right to repair or replacement applies here as it's within 6 months of purchase.
Faults identified between 30 days and 6 months allow you to request a repair or replacement. Dealers are only given one attempt to fix the issue or must provide a refund.

Any thoughts on what my next steps should be please. This was a significant purchase for us, we need 2 vehicles and are now not using this one to prevent any further issues developing.

Thank you.

sheenas

The question I have is why did the dealer only seam to talk about the battery? If I understand correctly you paid for that and you didn’t give them a chance to fix it. Fair enough, but did the other issues happen/continue to happen after the battery was replaced? Sounds like they did and the Dealer have one chance to resolve them. I think you should write to them offering them a chance to resolve the issues else your rejecting the car. These are significant failures on a 7 year old car.

TF03

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880652#Comment_81880652

Sorry, yes the battery failed miles away from home and we had to get it replaced there any then by the RAC and pay for it out of own pocket.

The other issues have continued or happened after the battery was replaced.

Mildly_Miffed

Battery fails in an 8yo car - hardly unreasonable or unexpected. Your problem.

You noticed the touchscreen pre-purchase and still bought the car. Your problem.

Fault codes - get them read, without that there's only guesses available…

sheenas

The op needs to give the dealer the chance to repair the faults first, before spending money on diagnostics.

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881149#Comment_81881149

The dealer has told the OP to talk to the warranty company. They clearly don't want to look at it.

But 3rd party warranties like this are intended to distract you from your consumer rights. The warranty is unlikely to pay out on anything. And by the time you've spent months fighting the warranty, your 6 month rights against the dealer have run out.

photome

battery is down to you as it is a consumable

the touchscreen issue should be sorted by the dealer but no idea why you would buy the car when you thought there was an issue with it on test drive

facade

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882436#Comment_81882436

The salesman assured them that it would get better when it dried out….

(They blame everything on "it's just had a valet" presumably a "valet" means getting the hosepipe to the inside!)

Never, EVER, believe any sentence starting with "It just…" e.g. "It just needs a re-gas" "It just needs to dry out" "It just needs driving for a few miles" "it's just because it has been standing"

Never trust any sentence with the word "sort" in it either, e.g. "We'll sort that before you pick it up/at the service", make sure it is the first thing you check before accepting the car.

sheslookinhot

People are so gullible.

Pay a small deposit, returnable by "X" days if not sorted. Tell me its fixed so I can check it and then I'll pay fully for the car.

sheenas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882047#Comment_81882047

It for the dealer to arrange the repair and they can claim on the warranty if needs be and it's covered. The point I am making is make to dealers issue. Further if the OP has finance hassle them also, the finance company has quite a bit of power over dealers. No dealer wants to be black listed and the finance companies just want it off their hands.

TF03

Just to give you an update.

The dealer has refused anything for the battery. Ok, I can see that. Just bad luck the battery died 2 weeks after purchase.

However, they are refusing to even investigate any of the other issues (I assume they are incorrectly linking the other issues to the flat battery).

Their email stated: I am sorry to hear that you remain unhappy with our final response.

At this stage, no further investigation is required, as we have completed our investigations and have already provided you with our final response. My previous email outlined my findings, and this now marks the end of our internal complaints process.

If you are still dissatisfied, please refer to my final response letter for details on how to escalate the matter to the The Motor Ombudsman, should you wish to do so.
​
I have sent a final email today this evening stating:

So just to confirm,

You will not be honouring the consumer rights act 2015, which as a registered car dealer you are required to by law? I just need you to clarify that you will not even be investigating the issues this car has? Which again I include below:

-A complete failure of the head unit and touch screen. It is unusable and now, dangerous. It is jumping through menus and disengaging/engaging systems whilst driving. It is also turning off the air conditioning/climate control meaning I am unable to de-mist the car effectively. This needs investigating and diagnosing.
-The cruise control fails at random and will not work again unless the car is completely turned off and then on again.
-Upon starting the car, I get a stop/start warning message on the screen and then a check/service light permanently on.

I will also be calling them tomorrow and recording the call. This has been my engagement with a customer service rep, so I will be escalating. I have the car booked in on Wednesday at my local garage to be looked at and I want confirmation that they are happy for that to happen or they want the car back to do it themselves.

Apart from that, I don't really know where to go apart from go to the Ombudsman. That'll take weeks and I don't really want or need a car sitting on my drive not being used when I need it to get to and from work etc.