Dealer won't accept the car back, can I bring it to him myself?

[Sara MeLo]

I bought a used car 3 months ago from a trader, which has been giving me problems since day 2 (it started with a massive oil leak, and then further problems appeared). I brought it to the dealer for a repair, but afterwards new problems developed and I wanted to return it. He, of course, didn’t let me; he minimized the extent of all the issues and said he would happily do a second repair, which I didn’t want but was forced to accept. All of this was within the first 30 days. The petition I did to get a refund wasn’t too formal (I asked through email, not by writing a structured letter) so that might have been a mistake from my part.

I tried to trust that the second repair would fix the problem since I didn’t want more troubles with the dealer, but as I kept having suspicions that something wasn’t right, I purchased a vehicle inspection from the AA (almost 3 months after the sale). They found out that the car is not roadworthy, it still has all the problems I reported (although the trader conveniently patched them so that I wouldn’t find out so early) and there’s internal evidence that the car had been involved in an accident (which obviously I wasn’t told during the sale).

I have opened a dispute with the bank as I paid with debit card and they’ve replied today that they can’t give me the money back unless I return the goods to the trader. My question is: how do I do that if the trader doesn’t respond to my messages? Can I just tow the car to his store (which is 60 miles away) and then change the V5 document myself? I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you for reading!

[des8]

Have the bank confirmed (in writing) that they will give a chargeback if you return the car to dealer?

If you want to you can just return the vehicle . The V5 form has a yellow section which needs completing by the trader, but if he is unlikely to cooperate I would just fill that bit in for him and send to DVLA (get free certificate of posting from post office)

How old was the car, its mileage and cost?

[Sara MeLo]

Thank you for your reply and advice. The car is from 2007 and it had a mileage of 107.000 miles aprox the moment of the buy. It drives seemingly fine, if you don't know what is going behind the scenes... I was driving it for 2 months, commuting 34 miles a day (using the motorway), and the only problem I had was that one day while I was parking, the car turned off completely (electrics and all) and didn't turn on again until after a few minutes (that and some weird smells every now and then, oily rests underneath the parking spot, etc.). After I found out the car is not only leaking oil but brake fluid, amongst many other things... I kinda feel that I was very lucky to not have caused an accident. I don't love the idea of returning the car to a trader that might sell it again in the same condition, but... I can't pay the mantaining costs or the legal costs for forcing him to do things right.

I've sent an email to the bank to ask if they will refund me for sure if I give proof that I have returned the goods back. I'll update when they get back to me. Thanks for the advice, it was useful!

S

[goodun]

How would you prove to the bank you returned the car, I'd be concerned the dealer could end up with the car and your cash

[des8]

Take a witness

[2222]

Take a witness

And take pictures.