Help Needed - New Car Damaged by Dealer

deltic_2

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 Article 14(2) says:

(2A) For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(2B) For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,
(b) appearance and finish,
(c) freedom from minor defects,
(d) safety, and
(e) durability.

(2C) The term implied by subsection (2) above does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory—

(a) which is specifically drawn to the buyer's attention before the contract is made,
(b) where the buyer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or
(c) in the case of a contract for sale by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.


Article 35(6) also says:

(6) The buyer is not by virtue of this section deemed to have accepted the goods merely because—

(a) he asks for, or agrees to, their repair by or under an arrangement with the seller, or

deltic_2

Basically, you have the right to reject the goods if they are not of satisfactory quality. Section 2(B) item (c) is applicable in this case and section 2(C) is negated, in my opinion, by the fact that you found the defects and nnoted them on incpection.

Due to the extent of the repairs being suggested, in my opinion, a court would rule unsatisfactory quality and apply compensation or refund.

This is my opinion and not legal advice, but may be very useful for you to use with the dealer and sound knowledgable. But most of all TALK TO TRADING STANDARDS for proper advice on this !

Scuttsy

td wrote: »

Scuttsy could I hijack this thread a little to ask your advice please?

I have worked at the same dealership for a number of years now and have a significant amount of repeat customers. Poor service frustrates me and I pride myself on providing excellent customer service as well as competitive prices. Ultimately you are unlikely to go back to this dealership in the future to purchase another car and this is an extremely short term point of view when it comes to customer service and long term growth. The two go hand in hand in any business.

In answer to your qusetion you have nothing to loose by complaining further. The dealer and Citroen are two different companies, always complain to the highest level you can at least the dealer principal or if a large company find out who the Managing Director is, do not be fobbed off by middle management. The customer service centre at manufacturers are usually ran by temporary staff who in my experience ten to inflate a problem rather than solve one. You are better off finding out who runs Citroen Uk and writing directly to them rather than dealing with the frustration of a customer service call centre. This information is easily available online.

Good Luck customer saisfaction is extremely important to all dealers and is worh £1000's of pounds. But the reporting mechanism is obviously the survey that was filled in on your behalf. This is dodgey to say the least. The dealer should be providing excellent service in the first place so they don't need to fabricate survey results.

Scuttsy

deltic wrote: »

Basically, you have the right to reject the goods if they are not of satisfactory quality. Section 2(B) item (c) is applicable in this case and section 2(C) is negated, in my opinion, by the fact that you found the defects and nnoted them on incpection.

Due to the extent of the repairs being suggested, in my opinion, a court would rule unsatisfactory quality and apply compensation or refund.quote]

Scuttsy

deltic wrote: »

Basically, you have the right to reject the goods if they are not of satisfactory quality. Section 2(B) item (c) is applicable in this case and section 2(C) is negated, in my opinion, by the fact that you found the defects and nnoted them on incpection.

Due to the extent of the repairs being suggested, in my opinion, a court would rule unsatisfactory quality and apply compensation or refund.quote]

Legally this is quite right however "DO" use this as a bartering point but bear in mind, to go down this route may be more trouble than it is ultimatley worth, only you can make this choice. A compromise with a decent quality repair and/or satisfactory compensation would in my personal opinion be a better route.

DealDrivers_company_representative

Scuttsy, you have provided some of the best, most balanced, realistic and non-emotional advice we've seen on here in a long time. it is nice to see a good dealer on here doing just that.

Well done. We got permission to post on here 2yrs ago from ML to help correct some of the 'bad' advice answers being given, or 'emotional' and 'shout a lot and sue' type answers that are often posted in answer to people's genuine problems with cars, so we too have tried to provide sensible balanced advice to guide the customers through problems ...or the common misinterpretations of manufacturer jargon and pricing that seem to lead a lot of drivers to assume the worst even when a new car sale goes really well (as millions do every year!)

Cars are emotional things as they are expensive items, but common sense in any transaction has to prevail and trading standards may not be rushing to get involved in 3 small cosmetic dents that the dealer is already trying to put right.

It sounds as though the dealer has been a little remiss in trying to hand it over with the superficial damage which probably occurred in their compound where lots of cars are being moved around, especially when so many want their cars in March or September (so the movements are many and compounds very full), but they have done all the right things to ensure it gets put back to showroom condition as soon as they can so far.

The car is 'fit for purpose' and the dealer is making effort to resolve the problem so demands for a replacement car will be met with a negative by the franchised dealer and the manufacturer whom they represent in that local area - they are just cosmetic issues which have marred the delivery experience for the driver, so lets hope the dealer gets them sorted quickly.

chadsteruk

Hi Guys

I have an 07 plate corsa that i bought new last july.

I took it to the dealers in february to get a rattle in the dash sorted and the window regulators replaced. while it was there it got damaged in two places,a dent in the front wing and a scuff and dent on rear panel where it meets the bumper.

Dealer apologised and got it sent to the bodyshop,apparently the bodyshop manager wasnt happy with the paintwork so had to be done again.

finally got the car back a week later and noticed paint missing from the bumper in 3 places,and another dent this time in the drivers door! pointed this out and was told to take car back in 2 days later,the next day(before i took it back)i noticed the paint on the front wing had "sunk" and it looked like the black underneath the paint was coming through so pointed this out when i took it back and was told it must be some sort of reaction so back in it went again. Got it back at the end of the week and all seemed well until a couple of days later when i noticed that what had happend to the paint on the front wing is now appearing on the rest of the car,except for the bonnet and roof and also the paintwork they did initially to the back bumper looks dodgy,almost likem someone had put pin pricks in it.which means now every part of my car except the bonnet and roof needs respraying which i'm not happy about as it will affect my resale value and none of it is my fault.

Where do i stand in asking for a replacement car?

Wig

Scuttsy wrote: »

The car should be covered by an anti perforation warranty (for the brand I work with this is 12 years) which should not be affected by any repair work.

Usually subject to an annual paint and body inspection which is another way of saying, "We will guarantee the paintwork for an annual fee of £xx which we think most people will not bother to pay for and we won't remind you of the need for the inspection."

If the damage is repaired with paint and filler the paintwork may well be thinner than manf specs and would not in my mind be an acceptable repair. However if the dents are merely removed this process should not involve altering the paint in the slightest and would not under any circumstances increase the risk of rust or similar damage.

There could be microscopic cracks in the paintwork which affect the car after a few years. IMHO a dealer who sells a car repaired as new should have to give a localised guarantee for the paintwork in the local area of the dent for a substantial part of the life of the vehicle 8 - 10 years over and above any manufacturer paintwork guarantee and not dependent on any "paid for" annual inspections.

Wig

To bitgiggy,

If you do find the repair unsatisfactory, and you do think about your options. Hypothetically, if you do reject the goods and they refuse a full refund, be warned that the value of the car is more than the £5000 limit on the small claims court. So any legal action by you to recover the full purchace price would be subject to legal fees and if you lose you would also be liable for the cost of the retailers legal fees.

If, however, you change your demand to a monetary compensation amount, you accept the car as it is, but you sue the retailer for compensation for the defects, i.e. how they affect the value of the car. This amount would be below £5000 and could be dealt with in small claims court, and you would not be liable for the retailers legal costs if you lost your case.

bitgiggy

Hi guys

Just a quick update.

Phoned the dealer this morning, spoke to the manager regarding the repair, and he said that until the body shop see the car they wont know what needs to be doing. I said to him that if it involves any kind of filler or panel bashing then not to do it After expressing how annoyed I was he asked me how he could put the situation right, to which I said supply me with a brand new car, minus the dents. He said to me this would not happen, but after quotng several parts of the Sale of Goods Act to him, as supplied by deltic above, he stumbled a bit and then instructed me to put everything I wanted in writing and to send it into him to pass on to the director of after sales service. I did this today and sent it recorded delivery around lunch time so it will almost certainly reach him by tomorrow.

In the letter I basically set out how frustrated I was at the service I have received and why I should not have to have a new car that has been repaired. I know there are some of you who have been saying not to demand a new car but I wouldn't have been happy until I at least gave it a try. I basically included some of the sections of the sales of goods act in the letter saying that I would accept nothing less than a replacement car as well as some form of compensation. In reality I know that I will probably not get a brand new car but it gives me the advantage when negotiating what exactly they are going to provide me with.

One question I did want to ask, whilst the car is waiting to be repaired or after it actually has been repaired (manager said it would go in for repair to try and put it right, as even if we didn't have it ie. it got replaced, it would need to be right for the next buyer), should I go and collect it and use it whilst I wait for a decision regarding replacement/compensation, or should I point blank refuse until I have heard back from the after sales director?

Thanks again for all your help guys, it really has been so useful.