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New to the forum and need advice.
I purchased a 4x4 from a used car dealer on 21st May 2019. Viewed and test drove the vehicle on 18th May 2019 it was advertised for sale at the price of £5,990, was told by the car dealer that the price advertised included 12 months warranty, a fresh MOT and a service. Whilst I was negotiating the price, the car dealer was writing down figures saying that the service is going to cost him £200 - £300, he was including the warranty also he was getting a fresh MOT on the vehicle, my husband then said to the car dealer that “the vehicle needed two new tyres on the rear”, the dealer said the tyres will cost me £80.00 each, so the best price he could do was £5,800 for the vehicle with a fresh MOT, Service and two new tyres but he would only be able to do 6 months warranty not 12. I agreed the price of £5,800, I paid the deposit and I signed the deposit receipt.
I went to collect the vehicle on the 21st May 2019 with my father in law, I checked the vehicle over and could see the tyres had been changed on the rear and that the tyre patterns were different but I didn’t mention anything at the time because I thought I was just being picky about the pattern as I did not know much about vehicles at that time. I paid the remaining balance, signed the warranty form and purchase invoice, taxed the vehicle and left the forecourt.
When I got home and when my husband looked at the vehicle he asked me why the vehicle had different pattern tyre treads on the rear wheels, I didn’t know why so I emailed the car dealer on 23rd May 2019 to ask why the tyre patterns were different on the rear axle, the car dealer replied the same day stating that “regarding the tyres, they are both road legal and there is nothing wrong with them, your driving is not effected”, I took his words about the tyres.
When I drove the vehicle I did notice a whining noise but to start off with it was hardly noticeable, my husband said that new tyres can make a noise so I just carried on driving the vehicle thinking it was the tyres. After driving the vehicle for a couple of weeks I noticed that the whining noise was getting louder and the faster I drove the vehicle started to vibrate at the rear. I wasn’t happy and I didn’t feel safe so I took the vehicle to a 4x4 specialist garage on 12th June 2019. They took my vehicle for a test drive and told me that the noise was coming from the rear differential and that having odd tyres which are possibly at different stages of wear or just different brands/patterns can cause added stress on the drivetrain which can lead to, or exaggerate the common failure of the rear diff bearings. I sent a email to car dealer on 13th June 2019 explaining the situation and asked him “Is there anything he was willing to do?”, the car dealer replied to my email asking for a full report from the Land Rover Specialist but I was unable to provide this because to be able to do a report the differential would need taking apart. I received a reply from the car dealer stating that “any third party repairs I arranged for the vehicle with out agreeing with us we will not pay any invoice”. I was advised by the 4x4 Specialist not to drive my vehicle as I could cause more damage driving with tyres that do not match on a single axle. I also researched on the internet about tyres and differentials on 4x4’s, it soon became obvious to me that tyres can have a major impact on safety of the vehicle, cause damage to the differential and other parts of a 4x4 vehicle. The car dealer requested that I return the vehicle for him to look at but before I returned the vehicle I wanted to get some advise so I phoned the Consumer Helpline. After speaking with the Consumer Helpline I was told I was within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle and that I could request a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Short Term Rights to Reject as goods supplied must be of satisfactory quality. I sent the car dealer a letter via email on 17th June 2019 requesting a full refund. The car dealer replied the same day and stated the following:
With all due respect please read flowing:
Because the car dealer put “two part worn tyres” on the rear of the vehicle that do not meet The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994 (reg.7.) part of the Consumer Protection Act, instead of two new tyres as verbally agreed, we have been misled, also they have put the safety of myself, my family and other road users at risk of an accident and if I was to have had an accident then my vehicle insurance would have been void!
As for the noise coming from the rear differential, I researched on the internet and spoke to other 4x4 specialists and they state that, "putting two part worn tyres with different tread patterns and as they are part worn will obviously have different tread depths on a 4x4 vehicle can cause more damage to a faulty differential.
I sent a letter before court on 21st June 2019, see below:
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXXX
21 June 2019
Letter before court claim
Dear XXXXXXX,
Re: Not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described.
I purchased from you on 21st May 2019 a XXXXXXXXX at the price of £5,800 and included in that price it was agreed that you would put two new tyres on the rear. Within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle I found a fault with the differential, this was due to the fact that you had put two different brands and pattern of part worn tyres on the rear axle of my vehicle and upon further investigation of the tyres, they do not meet the UK requirements under The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994 (reg.7.) part of the Consumer Protection Act, therefore the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described.
I sent you a letter via email on 17th June 2019 requesting a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Short Term Rights to Reject. You have not given a definitive answer to say you are accepting or refusing the full refund in your replies via email since receiving that letter.
I am once again requesting a full refund of the purchase price of £5,800 on the grounds that the goods were not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I enclose a copy of the proof of purchase.
I would like a reply as soon as possible so that I know you have received this letter. If you don't agree to the refund, could you please then send me a detailed response saying why you don't agree.
I sent you a email on 17th May 2019 asking if you was part of an ADR scheme but you did not reply to this question. If you are part of a ADR scheme, I would be willing to enter to try and resolve the problem to avoid taking court action.
If I do not receive a satisfactory response from you within 30 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue proceedings against you in the county court without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs.
I refer you to the Practice Direction on pre-action conduct under the Civil Procedure Rules, and in particular to paragraph 13-16 which sets out the sanctions the court may impose if you fail to comply with the Practice Direction.
I look forward to your acknowledgement.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXXXX
I have not had a reply yet to the above letter sent. I have looked at the court claim form in case it ends up going to court but I am unsure how to fill it in, such as Brief details of claim and Particulars of Claim.
What would I need to take to court?
I have never dealt with anything like this before so any help would be very much appreciated.
I purchased a 4x4 from a used car dealer on 21st May 2019. Viewed and test drove the vehicle on 18th May 2019 it was advertised for sale at the price of £5,990, was told by the car dealer that the price advertised included 12 months warranty, a fresh MOT and a service. Whilst I was negotiating the price, the car dealer was writing down figures saying that the service is going to cost him £200 - £300, he was including the warranty also he was getting a fresh MOT on the vehicle, my husband then said to the car dealer that “the vehicle needed two new tyres on the rear”, the dealer said the tyres will cost me £80.00 each, so the best price he could do was £5,800 for the vehicle with a fresh MOT, Service and two new tyres but he would only be able to do 6 months warranty not 12. I agreed the price of £5,800, I paid the deposit and I signed the deposit receipt.
I went to collect the vehicle on the 21st May 2019 with my father in law, I checked the vehicle over and could see the tyres had been changed on the rear and that the tyre patterns were different but I didn’t mention anything at the time because I thought I was just being picky about the pattern as I did not know much about vehicles at that time. I paid the remaining balance, signed the warranty form and purchase invoice, taxed the vehicle and left the forecourt.
When I got home and when my husband looked at the vehicle he asked me why the vehicle had different pattern tyre treads on the rear wheels, I didn’t know why so I emailed the car dealer on 23rd May 2019 to ask why the tyre patterns were different on the rear axle, the car dealer replied the same day stating that “regarding the tyres, they are both road legal and there is nothing wrong with them, your driving is not effected”, I took his words about the tyres.
When I drove the vehicle I did notice a whining noise but to start off with it was hardly noticeable, my husband said that new tyres can make a noise so I just carried on driving the vehicle thinking it was the tyres. After driving the vehicle for a couple of weeks I noticed that the whining noise was getting louder and the faster I drove the vehicle started to vibrate at the rear. I wasn’t happy and I didn’t feel safe so I took the vehicle to a 4x4 specialist garage on 12th June 2019. They took my vehicle for a test drive and told me that the noise was coming from the rear differential and that having odd tyres which are possibly at different stages of wear or just different brands/patterns can cause added stress on the drivetrain which can lead to, or exaggerate the common failure of the rear diff bearings. I sent a email to car dealer on 13th June 2019 explaining the situation and asked him “Is there anything he was willing to do?”, the car dealer replied to my email asking for a full report from the Land Rover Specialist but I was unable to provide this because to be able to do a report the differential would need taking apart. I received a reply from the car dealer stating that “any third party repairs I arranged for the vehicle with out agreeing with us we will not pay any invoice”. I was advised by the 4x4 Specialist not to drive my vehicle as I could cause more damage driving with tyres that do not match on a single axle. I also researched on the internet about tyres and differentials on 4x4’s, it soon became obvious to me that tyres can have a major impact on safety of the vehicle, cause damage to the differential and other parts of a 4x4 vehicle. The car dealer requested that I return the vehicle for him to look at but before I returned the vehicle I wanted to get some advise so I phoned the Consumer Helpline. After speaking with the Consumer Helpline I was told I was within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle and that I could request a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Short Term Rights to Reject as goods supplied must be of satisfactory quality. I sent the car dealer a letter via email on 17th June 2019 requesting a full refund. The car dealer replied the same day and stated the following:
With all due respect please read flowing:
- Car is not sold faulty and complaint form you about noise in differential is recent. You have signed warranty documents on collection day whats confirms that vehicle is sold as described and free from defects, the vehicle has been test driven, no concerns regarding engine, transmission and final drive. There is no faults on the vehicle at the point of the sale.
- Your complaint regarding the vehicle service and tyres - You have signed the deposit form whats state in comment field that we will change engine oil and oil filter, will do a fresh MOT and change two tyres. There is no agreement that we will replace with brand new tyres and specific make.
- You can not provide any garage diagnostics work what could prove that there is a fault on the vehicle and refusing to return vehicle to us for inspection, even when we offer to use tow vehicle to collect from your home.
- There is no corporation form you side at all, we are doing all form our side to resolve the matter.
- Before you are claiming for a refund you have to give us a chance to fix a vehicle if there is something to fix. Looking forward to hear from you.
Because the car dealer put “two part worn tyres” on the rear of the vehicle that do not meet The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994 (reg.7.) part of the Consumer Protection Act, instead of two new tyres as verbally agreed, we have been misled, also they have put the safety of myself, my family and other road users at risk of an accident and if I was to have had an accident then my vehicle insurance would have been void!
As for the noise coming from the rear differential, I researched on the internet and spoke to other 4x4 specialists and they state that, "putting two part worn tyres with different tread patterns and as they are part worn will obviously have different tread depths on a 4x4 vehicle can cause more damage to a faulty differential.
I sent a letter before court on 21st June 2019, see below:
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXXX
21 June 2019
Letter before court claim
Dear XXXXXXX,
Re: Not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described.
I purchased from you on 21st May 2019 a XXXXXXXXX at the price of £5,800 and included in that price it was agreed that you would put two new tyres on the rear. Within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle I found a fault with the differential, this was due to the fact that you had put two different brands and pattern of part worn tyres on the rear axle of my vehicle and upon further investigation of the tyres, they do not meet the UK requirements under The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994 (reg.7.) part of the Consumer Protection Act, therefore the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described.
I sent you a letter via email on 17th June 2019 requesting a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Short Term Rights to Reject. You have not given a definitive answer to say you are accepting or refusing the full refund in your replies via email since receiving that letter.
I am once again requesting a full refund of the purchase price of £5,800 on the grounds that the goods were not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and not as described under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I enclose a copy of the proof of purchase.
I would like a reply as soon as possible so that I know you have received this letter. If you don't agree to the refund, could you please then send me a detailed response saying why you don't agree.
I sent you a email on 17th May 2019 asking if you was part of an ADR scheme but you did not reply to this question. If you are part of a ADR scheme, I would be willing to enter to try and resolve the problem to avoid taking court action.
If I do not receive a satisfactory response from you within 30 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue proceedings against you in the county court without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs.
I refer you to the Practice Direction on pre-action conduct under the Civil Procedure Rules, and in particular to paragraph 13-16 which sets out the sanctions the court may impose if you fail to comply with the Practice Direction.
I look forward to your acknowledgement.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXXXX
I have not had a reply yet to the above letter sent. I have looked at the court claim form in case it ends up going to court but I am unsure how to fill it in, such as Brief details of claim and Particulars of Claim.
What would I need to take to court?
I have never dealt with anything like this before so any help would be very much appreciated.
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