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I purchased a second hand Kia (19 plate) from a well known national dealer which is also a Kia franchise in September 2022. I still have £5k outstanding on the finance.
I opted for the Kia as they have a 7 year engine warranty and wanted the peace of mind that I’d be covered if I hand any issues. In order for the warranty to remain valid, the car must be maintained as per the manufacturers recommendations, I.e a full service history is required with maintenance conducted when due.
As such, having a full service history that validated the warranty was an essential factor in my purchase decision. I spent some time with the sales agent to find the appropriate car. I even put a deposit down on a car which we thought was perfect but it transpired that this car didn’t have full service history and so I cancelled the purchase.
The advisor then found a car which he said had the required history and assured me that my warranty was valid. I decided to purchase the car and take out a 3 year service plan.
Fast forward to this week, my car suddenly suffered from catastrophic engine failure. I took it back to the dealership who got in contact with Kia to discuss repair works.
Kia have come back and said that my warranty is essentially void. That’s because the first 3 services that the vehicle received were done so beyond the stated mileage and time requirement. They’d been done a few thousand miles and couple months after requirement. These services occurred prior to my ownership, 2 of the services were completed by the dealership themselves.
So essentially, I now have a broken car with a huge repair bill running into the thousands.
My next step is to argue that I was mis-sold, as the car did not in fact have a valid warranty when I bought it. What are my chances of succeeding with this and what evidence of evidence would I need?
The assurances given by the agent were verbal and I don’t have much solid proof other than some paper work from my actual car purchase and paperwork from the car purchase that I cancelled which I will use to demonstrate my intent.
Any advice appreciated!
I have already emailed the below to complaints:
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To whom it may concern,
I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the mis-selling of a vehicle purchased from X branch on X date.
The vehicle details are X.
I chose to purchase a Kia primarily because of the manufacturer’s 7-year engine warranty, which was a decisive factor in my buying decision. I made it explicitly clear to your sales advisor that a valid warranty and full service history were essential requirements for any vehicle I would consider purchasing.
This is demonstrated by the fact that I cancelled an order for Order No. X, after being advised that the vehicle associated with that order did not have a full service history and therefore did not meet Kia’s warranty conditions. Following this, I was presented with the vehicle Y, and I was assured by the sales advisor that this particular car had a full service history and importantly, a valid manufacturer’s warranty.
Relying on this assurance, I proceeded with the purchase and even took out a 3-year service plan to ensure I complied with Kia’s maintenance terms going forward. To be clear, I was of the informed belief that my vehicle had a current, valid warranty at the time of purchase.
On X date, my vehicle suffered catastrophic engine failure, including complete loss of braking functionality, posing a serious safety risk to myself and other road users. The following day, I presented the vehicle to the X, where I was assisted by Service Manager X
Service Manager X contacted Kia and subsequently informed me that the vehicle’s manufacturer warranty is in fact invalid and I would therefore be unable to claim for the repair under warranty. This is due to previous services having been carried out beyond the acceptable mileage thresholds. Importantly, these service history issues occurred prior to my purchase of the vehicle and were therefore not in my control. At no point did the sales advisor make me aware of the fact that these services had been conducted beyond acceptable thresholds and that my warranty would be invalid.
Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as supported by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, it is unlawful for a trader to engage in misleading actions or omissions that cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken.
In this case, the sales advisor represented that the vehicle held a valid manufacturer warranty, which was untrue.
Had I been correctly informed, I would not have purchased this vehicle – as evidenced by my previous cancellation of another vehicle that did not meet my specified valid warranty conditions.
The misrepresentation was material, and I have now suffered financial and practical loss due to the resulting engine failure, which is no longer covered.
I request that X take full responsibility for this mis-selling and provide an appropriate remedy. At minimum, this should include:
I opted for the Kia as they have a 7 year engine warranty and wanted the peace of mind that I’d be covered if I hand any issues. In order for the warranty to remain valid, the car must be maintained as per the manufacturers recommendations, I.e a full service history is required with maintenance conducted when due.
As such, having a full service history that validated the warranty was an essential factor in my purchase decision. I spent some time with the sales agent to find the appropriate car. I even put a deposit down on a car which we thought was perfect but it transpired that this car didn’t have full service history and so I cancelled the purchase.
The advisor then found a car which he said had the required history and assured me that my warranty was valid. I decided to purchase the car and take out a 3 year service plan.
Fast forward to this week, my car suddenly suffered from catastrophic engine failure. I took it back to the dealership who got in contact with Kia to discuss repair works.
Kia have come back and said that my warranty is essentially void. That’s because the first 3 services that the vehicle received were done so beyond the stated mileage and time requirement. They’d been done a few thousand miles and couple months after requirement. These services occurred prior to my ownership, 2 of the services were completed by the dealership themselves.
So essentially, I now have a broken car with a huge repair bill running into the thousands.
My next step is to argue that I was mis-sold, as the car did not in fact have a valid warranty when I bought it. What are my chances of succeeding with this and what evidence of evidence would I need?
The assurances given by the agent were verbal and I don’t have much solid proof other than some paper work from my actual car purchase and paperwork from the car purchase that I cancelled which I will use to demonstrate my intent.
Any advice appreciated!
I have already emailed the below to complaints:
——————————————
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding the mis-selling of a vehicle purchased from X branch on X date.
The vehicle details are X.
I chose to purchase a Kia primarily because of the manufacturer’s 7-year engine warranty, which was a decisive factor in my buying decision. I made it explicitly clear to your sales advisor that a valid warranty and full service history were essential requirements for any vehicle I would consider purchasing.
This is demonstrated by the fact that I cancelled an order for Order No. X, after being advised that the vehicle associated with that order did not have a full service history and therefore did not meet Kia’s warranty conditions. Following this, I was presented with the vehicle Y, and I was assured by the sales advisor that this particular car had a full service history and importantly, a valid manufacturer’s warranty.
Relying on this assurance, I proceeded with the purchase and even took out a 3-year service plan to ensure I complied with Kia’s maintenance terms going forward. To be clear, I was of the informed belief that my vehicle had a current, valid warranty at the time of purchase.
On X date, my vehicle suffered catastrophic engine failure, including complete loss of braking functionality, posing a serious safety risk to myself and other road users. The following day, I presented the vehicle to the X, where I was assisted by Service Manager X
Service Manager X contacted Kia and subsequently informed me that the vehicle’s manufacturer warranty is in fact invalid and I would therefore be unable to claim for the repair under warranty. This is due to previous services having been carried out beyond the acceptable mileage thresholds. Importantly, these service history issues occurred prior to my purchase of the vehicle and were therefore not in my control. At no point did the sales advisor make me aware of the fact that these services had been conducted beyond acceptable thresholds and that my warranty would be invalid.
Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as supported by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, it is unlawful for a trader to engage in misleading actions or omissions that cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken.
In this case, the sales advisor represented that the vehicle held a valid manufacturer warranty, which was untrue.
Had I been correctly informed, I would not have purchased this vehicle – as evidenced by my previous cancellation of another vehicle that did not meet my specified valid warranty conditions.
The misrepresentation was material, and I have now suffered financial and practical loss due to the resulting engine failure, which is no longer covered.
I request that X take full responsibility for this mis-selling and provide an appropriate remedy. At minimum, this should include:
- Full cost of vehicle recovery, engine repair or replacement to restore the vehicle to the condition it was promised at point of sale.
- Provision of a courtesy car whilst necessary repairs are made.
- Consideration of further compensation for the inconvenience, potential safety risk, and breach of trust in the sales process.
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