Help Needed - New Car Damaged by Dealer

bitgiggy

Hey guys, wonder if anyone can provide any help.

Basically went to pick up a brand new car from the dealers at the weekend, only to discover there were three small dents in the wing of the passenger side - it was also missing chrome wing mirror caps we had specifically ordered and paid for.

We pointed this out to the dealer immediately and they said that it would be sorted immediately. Took the car in yesterday to have the work done on it, chrome caps fitted no problem, but the dents are now having to go to the 'body shop' which will take god knows how long. I know in hindsight we should have perhaps refused to pay for the car and leave it at the dealers until it is sorted but we were excited and the damage is not so significant.

What I wanted to know was, what are my rights as to asking for compensation (am currently without my car as was told it would be ready for collection today), and should I perhaps demand a brand new car? The dealer has been nothing but useless, not returning my calls or having no clue as to whats going on. I'm due to go in to speak to the manager tomorrow so I want to go in armed with something to use against him so he can't fob me off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**woody123**

I have no advice as regards to compensation or refunds..

But inspect the repair job done on your car when it has been done because a bad repair job is easily noticeable and may be a stumbling block when you come sell the car on..

matt1987

In all fairness i dont think you should of paid or signed to say you have recieved the car in perfect condition.

bitgiggy

I did pay for it but I made sure that the form I signed clearly stated that there was damage to the body work and also that the accessories were not fitted as requested.

Looking back I probably should have refused to pay for it until it was sorted but if you were to buy damaged goods in a shop you would be entitled by law to a full refund or replacement - wondered if the same rule applied to the purchase of cars.

matt1987

I think the best advice anybody could give you is to contact your local trading standards. Let us know how you get on.

Wig

bitgiggy wrote: »

Looking back I probably should have refused to pay for it until it was sorted but if you were to buy damaged goods in a shop you would be entitled by law to a full refund or replacement - wondered if the same rule applied to the purchase of cars.

If you buy damaged goods in a shop, you have the right to expect the retailer to offer a reasonable solution
Refund
Repair
Exchange
It is up to the retailer to decide what to offer you. You only have the right to a refund before "acceptance" of the goods has taken place. "Acceptance" is (AFAIK) recieving the goods and having an opportunity to inspect the goods and to then, not subsequently "reject" the goods.

There is the possibility of making a case in court that you can reject the goods after repeated failure of the goods to be repaired (as far as I know, so far untested in court).

In your example, it appears there may be some confusion, Although you have not yet recieved the goods and had a reasonable chance to inspect the goods thouroughly, therefore your right to "reject" still exists, you have seen and arguably "accepted" a repair of certain defects which were present on delivery. Therefore IMHO you have lost the right to reject the car on the basis of these defects - providing they are satisfactorily repaired. (IANAL)

I believe you have upto 6 months 'right to reject' period for a new car. But you would need to read the case Rogers v/s Parrish 1987 and fully familiarise yourself with the judgement before trying it.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=43

and you might want to read this thread.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=813393


IANAL (I Am Not A Lawyer)

Scuttsy

Hi I work as a car salesman for a well known manufacturer and have done for some years now. Unfortunately cars on a site are moved around fairly regularly and accidents do happen it is something we genuinely do try to avoid as it is usually us that foots the bill for the repairs. I am sorry your experience of picking up the vehicle has been tainted by this you every right to expect a new car to be perfect when you collect it. If the dealer has acknowledged the repair and it is only a minor pin dent a professional repair centre should be able to put the vehicle back to as new in a relatively quick and simple process. Under these circumstances we would follow a similar route to that you are experiencing and try to make sure everything was put right for the customer first time. Literally £1000's is tied in to customer service satisfaction rating which all major manufacturers of which I am aware employ these days and it is vitally important that customers are happy with the car.

I am sure if you remain polite but firm you will be back in your new car in no time. We would however if you are genuinely without a vehicle due to our fault lend you a courtesy car whilst the issue is being resolved and I feel you have every right to ask for this service. I would also ask what has been done to repair the car if they are only minor dents no filling or painting of the area should be necessary but if they mention having had to resort to this then do check the quality of the repair carefully as standards of this type of repair vary dramatically although based on your description I would suggest this is unlikely.

Hope this helps give them a chance to put things right before going in talking about rejecting the car, trading standards and the like, this will only put their back up and make them more likely to drag their heels, whereas a polite reasonable customer will more often than not get the situation resolved quickly and easily.

anewman

As this is a new car, I would expect a new car as replacement. Not a damaged bodged second hand car the dealer has been abusing.

You are buying the car, demand a brand new replacement and nothing less. Take a note of the chassis number and do not accept a car without a dfifferent chassis number. Make them work for your money and let them sell that car as a pre-registered one.

Scuttsy, customers have the right to drag their heels. Why should someone accept a damaged repaired car just to please the dealers? Even the dealer's could't sell such a car as new. All they need to do is replace one car for a brand new car. It's simple and easy to do.

Scuttsy

You are extremely unlikey to get a new car as a replacement. Any demands such as this are probably counter productive in resolving the situation quickly and getting what you ultimately want. Which is to get your new car back in new condition as quickly as possible. during produstion of the vehicle on the assembly line cars are occasionally knocked and similar repairs to that which i would expect to be carried out on yours will be done without either your prior knowledge or that of the dealer in question. Whilst in danger od repeating myself this happens and can be quickly and easily resolved. I would feel inclined to ask for use of an equivilant car whilst the repair is untaken and also some form of compensation would not be unreasonable. I would suggest perhaps a full tank of fuel and/or refill of tank at dealer expense when empty or perhaps some form of accessory which will be of use to you but the dealer can give away at cost price.

Scuttsy

anewman yes you are quite correct customers have the right to drag their heels and this is not what I am saying but by dragging you heels you will prolong the period for potentially a long time before you have a car whiich you are happy with. If the car can be repaired without any major paintwork done on the car to as new surely this will be acceptable.

n.b it is not quick and easy to replace the car it will already have been registered with the DVLA to bitgiggy and unregistering it and ordering and replacing the car is likely to take weeks to happen.

anewman

Scuttsy wrote: »

You are extremely unlikey to get a new car as a replacement. Any demands such as this are probably counter productive in resolving the situation quickly and getting what you ultimately want.

To me a car isn't new once it is damaged. I would expect nothing but perfection - and a repair isn't prefection. In many years time the damage may rust, or the paint may be thinner than manfr specs on the rest of the car again potentially causing problems years down the line. If they can't give a lifetime no quibble guarantee (if for example in 7 years it starts rusting) on the repairs they make then they can't be putting enough effort into the repair.