Consumer rights act 2015

[Gavlar7]

Hi all and thanks for reading. We recently purchased a Kia Sportage 2017 immaculate with 31000 miles for £17000 plus £199 for delivery. We saw the car on auto trader and still have screen shots of the ad, and viewed the car in the showroom on 15/07/2023. The dealer said he would MOT, service and deliver on the 24/07/2023. On delivery we noticed the wheels were no longer diamond cut alloys but had been spray painted. We Emailed the dealer asking what has happened but they replied they may of had some repairs. On the 10/08/2023 we informed the dealer we are rejecting the car under the consumer rights act 2015 as we feel the car is not as we viewed or advertised. On the 14/08/2023 the dealer has responded this is how we viewed the car and so non returnable. Could we please ask, should we start legal proceedings or get the wheels fixed ourselves and try and reclaim through the small claims process. Legal proceedings looks like a huge battle for ordinary non legal minded folk. Many thanks for your thoughts and expertise.

[atticus]

Based on what you say, if this is just about the type of wheels, I cannot see a breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, save possibly if the vehicle was advertised as having diamond cut alloy wheels. You may have a claim for breach of contract if you can prove that you contracted to buy a vehicle with a certain type of wheel. Did you take photographs which show the wheels on 15 July?

[des8]

It may be that the wheels are those that were on the car when you viewed it.
You say the dealer told you "they may have had some repairs". If the wheels had needed refurbishing it may not have been possible to recut them as that can only be done a limited number of times.
Powder coating would be a better option than spray painting if they cannot be recut

[Pezza54]

Does the Sportage in the spec you purchased come with diamond cut alloys as standard? Diamond cut alloys can be finished with paint and lacquer. Are they the original wheels repaired and painted or has the dealer replaced them with different ones? How did the advert describe the wheels?
Rejecting the car under CRA 2015 can be a long process especially if the dealer refuses to return your money and there is no certainty you would win in court.
You wrote rejecting the car within 30 days of the date of delivery under CRA.
You could now write to the dealer asking him to replace the wheels with wheels identical to the ones in the advert and which matched those you saw at the viewing. You should state you are allowing one week to receive an answer
Under CRA 2015 22(8)(a) the waiting period begins with the day the consumer requests the repair or replacement of the goods.
If the dealer refuses or fails to respond you can then arrange for the wheels to be replaced or repaired and start a court claim to recover your costs.

[Pezza54]

If the wheels were refurbished by a non-authorised Kia dealer the Kia 7 year warranty for the wheels may have been voided. Ask the dealer for the invoice for the work to the wheels.'
Likewise make sure the invoice for the dealer service used Kia approved parts and lubricants to maintain the warranty.

[Gavlar7]

Hi all and thank you for your replies. We currently have the screen shots from the auto trader advert. The advertised pictures do not show any damage so can’t see how they would say they may of needed repair, and these advertised unsprayed wheels were the wheels on viewing the vehicle. No we did not take pictures the day we viewed and left our deposit. It was when the vehicle was delivered a week later we noticed they had been spray painted . We are currently waiting on the full advert to be sent by auto trader to confirm there was nothing wrong with the wheels. They are the same diamond cut wheels but sprayed and we feel these may have been swapped so not as advertised. Yes the dealer is not talking to us and yes rejecting does seem like a long process but would ask is claiming for the wheels to be re diamond cut through the small claims process be a better option. Again thank you all.

[des8]

How have you paid for the vehicle? cash/credit or debit card/ finance?

As the value is over £10,000 any claim is likely to be allocated to the fast track, not small claims.

[Gavlar7]

HiDes8, we paid £500 credit card deposit and the balance by bank transfer. Sorry for the confusion, as the return as not described would be a long process and a battle and as we have no picture at time of viewing, we were considering claiming for the wheels only under the small claims process. Already the car is sat on the drive not being used so as not to add more milage. We viewed the car on the 15/07 but the dealer says they were repaired on the 05/07 but this is not the case as they were diamond cut on the day we viewed. We think this can only be proved by the advertised pictures from auto trader. Many thanks again for your time.

[des8]

Well don't forget you can make what is known as a sec 75 claim against the credit card provider.
Not a quick process (but nor is the court!) but a lot cheaper!

[atticus]

That is a claim under s75 Consumer Credit Act 1974 which makes (in your case) the credit card company jointly liable with the supplier for the supplier's breach of contract.

[atticus]

Are these the same wheels as shown on the advertisement or different ones?

Have I misunderstood: is the problem that you bought a car that works fine but that the wheels are not what you were expecting?

[Pezza54]

If you are happy with the car apart from the wheels, I would follow the process in the 4th paragraph of my 1st post. This carries significantly less financial risk. If the dealer refuses to accept rejection of the car it could be sat on your drive for the best part of a year whilst the court claim is ongoing.
Take the car to a Kia approved garage and obtain a quote to replace or refurbish the wheels as they were in the advert. If new wheels are necessary there should be a trade in value for the existing wheels.

[Gavlar7]

Thank you all for your time. Yes we are happy with the car apart from the wheels being painted. They are the same style of wheel but we think these may have been swapped in the week before delivery. Approximately £450-£500 to get them re diamond cut so has effectively impaired the car value. I’m not sure if the dealer could magically find a receipt for his alleged repair on the date he claims ,as we know this is not hard. We have read on this amazing forum about section 75 and consumer rights act 2015 but the harsh reality is these are all a long process and not sure we want the battle for £450. It’s just a little unfair a dealer could get away with this after what should have been an easy transaction. We will wait on auto trader for the full advert as I can’t remember if there were close up pictures of the wheels but will keep you all informed. Again thank you all.

[Gavlar7]

Hi all, Auto trader have provided only part of the advert and no photos. As we do not want a long costly battle, does anyone know if it would be better starting a MCOL. To start this would we need to send a letter of intent before and should we get the wheels refurbished before the claim or just a quote ? Again to recap, the wheels were not spray painted in the advertised pictures or as viewed on purchase. Thank you for your thoughts.

[Pezza54]

From the photos you provided I am unable to see any difference in the wheels between autotrader's advert and photos taken on 29 July.
Without photos where you can see the difference, what evidence have you got to support your claim?
The dealer is saying the wheels are the same wheels when you viewed the car and the repair work on the wheels was done before you viewed the car.
If you are still unhappy with the wheels my advice is to get the wheels put back to the finish that the car originally came with by a Kia approved garage, get their advice on the repair carried out by the dealer, and then think again about starting a claim.