Car dealer forcing me to buy the warranty

[akz123]

Hi guys

On Tuesday i went to look at a used car priced at £10,965.00.

After test driving the car and the dealer confirming that the works that need to be carried out will be completed i agreed to proceed with the sale.

Upon printing out the order form, i saw that the actual price of the vehicle is £10,665.00 and that the warranty is listed as a "Retailer Option" in the sum of £300.

I had not signed anything and when i got home i asked for the terms and conditions of the warranty to be emailed across. I am not happy with the warranty offered and i know how difficult it can be to make a claim. The warranty provider is Autoprotect and the reviews are shocking. Besides, i am also aware that i am protected for 6 at least months under consumer law. Furthermore ,i have also paid £100 deposit on the credit card for the additional protection.

I emailed the dealer the next morning to advise that i do not wish to take the warranty option and have asked him to amend the order form accordingly. I also pointed to the fact that the order form lists the warranty as a separate option

He is now insisting that the warranty was thrown in for free and that the price remains the same at £10,965. I have advised him through email that i am effectively being made to purchase this warranty against my will.

He has responded by stating that he gave me the warranty free of charge as a gesture of good will and that this is how it has to be shown on their order form.

I want to go ahead with the purchase as this is the only car in the country in the spec that we want and have I have now advised that i will go ahead with the sale.

I intend to cancel the warranty immediately after purchase. The warranty terms and conditions state that no refund will be given upon cancellation. Given this I will then be seeking to raise the complaint in writing to the dealer's head office first with a view to escalating the matter to the Motoring Ombudsman and hope to seek recovery of my £300 for the way in which the warranty had been forced upon me.

Is there anything else that i may have missed?

I know the easiest option is to just walk away and find a deal else where, but the used car market is going through unprecedented times at the moment with limited options within my budget and needs.

Many thanks

[echat11]

Hi AKZ123

Have a read, then email the dealer quoting the act, hopefully he will back tract.

The following applies -

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/contents

https://www.businesscompanion.info/e...unfair-trading.

You could also consider making a Section 75 claim as you've paid £100 on your Credit Card.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...t-aZCUb9i8Kwfa

[akz123]

Many thanks for your quick response!

One thing i wanted to ask was, if i were to go down the S75 route to claim back my warranty money, would this bar me from making a further claim later down the line should the car develop a fault?

[MIKE770]

once garages own warrantee out then no, but as many complain extra warranties are expensive (they get good commission on sales) and very limited cover as to what they will cover. buyer beware, i have had personal dealings for people in the past and to be honest very limited successes in claims.

[R0b]

I really cannot see how you think you have a right to recover the £300. I understand you really want the car but you also have the right to get it removed, so if you choose not to do that and then sign a contract, then you've signed the contract in full knowledge that the warranty has been added and you're bound by the terms including having to pay for it.

If I were you, I would be walking back to the dealership and demanding to speak to the manager, explain the situation and tell them you want it put right. It doesn't matter whether he says its free or not (simple maths tells me it doesn't look free if the car is £10,665 and now its £300 more). It's not clear from your post whether the sale is cash or on finance, but if it is finance then you can also threaten to report them to the FCA for breach of their regulatory obligations by mis-selling as well as informing the finance company.

Motor Ombudsman is about as helpful as a chocolate teapot so good luck going down that route and like I said, if I was the dealer, I would be arguing that you agreed to have it, end of. Unless they have outright said that you cannot have the car unless you have the warranty (in that case I want them to put it in writing by email) then it is your choice to accept the warranty piece.

Also, just to be clear you are not protected under consumer laws for 6 months. The Consumer Rights Act protects you where for example the goods are faulty or not of satisfactory quality and that damage or faulty is deemed to have been present at the time it was collected. But the dealer can rebut that presumption if they have carried out a pre-inspection or made you aware of the problem at the time. Wear and tear is not covered either so it is not an automatic right to a repair.