Bought a car from a dealer and discovered several faults. What should I do?

Sandwich

The situation:

Bought a car for £8500 from a dealer around 3 weeks ago. Paid £299 on credit card, the rest by bank transfer.

Have since discovered several faults I believe were 'pre-existing'. Specifically:

• The door handle broke within 24 hours.
• The car battery died within a week (inspection report subsequently showed it at 7%/11.8v health).
• Washer jet leaking into engine bay discovered after 11 days.

Have contacted dealer, who has declined to help (because he said I "got a good price", and these items are "wear and tear"). None of the faults were mentioned on the original advert for the vehicle.

I've since got a quote for all the work totalling around £750 (this includes the cost of the battery, which I've already had to replace because it wasn't holding a charge for longer than a couple of hours).

I believe I still have the right to reject, although I'm not inclined to do that for various reasons. I am going to proceed with getting the work done and then I'm going to bill the dealer. Assuming he refuses to pay, what recourse do I have? And do you guys have any other advice for me in the situation?

aManHe

Hi, Sorry to hear about your situation.

Car portal (Honest John) has guide 'How to reject a car: Your consumer rights and the 30-day rule' which is quite comprehensive.

Not sure if I can post a direct link here, but it should be easy to web search.

I think next time I am buying a car it will be purchased online, after thorough inspection of the car by a my mate.

Mildly_Miffed

What car, age, apparent condition, price relative to other similar cars are we talking about?

A couple of minor issues and a tired consumable on a car that's likely not in the first flush of youth. Woo.

The bigger question here is how replacing the battery, replacing a door handle (interior or exterior?), and fixing a screenwash jet is costing £750. Somebody's taking you for a ride…

sheenas

That sounds a lot, A battery tops is £200 and a washer jet is easily cleaned. The door handle could be many things and the only complex thing that would most likely need a garage. Put in writing the issues and then you have given them the chance to repair.

Goudy

I'm not sure if you can count all of those as pre existing.

Batteries have a life. Even the best ones you can buy have a guarantee of 4 or 5 years. The most normal batteries you can buy would be 3 years.

If I bought say a 4 or 5 year old car without any evidence of a new battery, I'd consider it's life would be limited. It is a life limited part but it should be fit for purpose. Now depending on the age of the car, that purpose could be just to start the engine once and get you home.

Of course with a brand new car, you'd be correct in expecting it to last 3 to 5 years minimum without abusing it.

The door handle broke after you bought it. I can understand the dealers attitude to this. How can it be proved there was a pre existing fault and you or someone else just broke it?

That leaves the washer jet. I would say that's possibly a pre existing fault, but I don't know why it's leaking so hard to say.

PTP123

The biggest crook is the one trying to charge you £750

Sandwich

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971578#Comment_81971578

It's £575 for the door card and washer fix. Nearly £300 of that is for the new door card from Skoda because he reckons it needs the part. Can't find any used parts either. I have no idea what it should cost tbh.

Sandwich

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971568#Comment_81971568

If the battery health is at 7%, surely it can't have been at an acceptable level just a week prior, when I bought it? That's also not something you can readily inspect without specialist equipment.

The handle break happened within the first 24 hours, again during normal use.

At the end of the day, what matters is how this would pan out in a legal dispute.

wongataa

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81971713#Comment_81971713

I would be asking why can't you re use the existing door card.

tom192

I have to agree with the other posters re the battery, it's a consumable, it started when you collected the vehicle.

Screenwash leak will likely be a fairly easy fix, door will be very hard to prove it wasnt you.

How old is the car? With the price I suspect 8-10 years old?

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6665078/bought-a-car-from-a-dealer-and-discovered-several-faults-what-should-i-do

What age, mileage and general condition was the car when you purchased it?

Which model of Skoda?

The battery is a consumable item.

In what way did the door handle break? If the door handle was operating as it should when you saw / collected the car, how can you demonstrate it was not your ham-fistedness that broke the handle?

What is required to resolve the concern with the washer fluid? Is it just a case of a pin to clean the jet nozzles?